Skip to main content
Radar Türkiye
Discover events in the app
Open
Radar Türkiye

Summer Pasture Life in Ordu

In Ordu, summer is lived far above the coast.

Radar TürkiyeRadar Türkiye19 Ekim 2026
No ratings yet

Sign in to like and rate

Summer Pasture Life in Ordu

In Ordu, summer is lived far above the coast. The mountains that rise right behind the seaside city open, at heights of over a thousand metres, onto wide meadows, plateaus ringed by forest and scattered hamlets known as obas. For centuries local people have gone up to these summer pastures, the yaylas, in the hot months, grazed their flocks there and come back down in autumn. This article describes Ordu's yayla tradition, its main highland pastures, their festivals and the highland table, and ends with practical advice for anyone going up for the first time.

Summer pasture and winter quarters

The KÜRE Encyclopedia defines yayla culture as a traditional way of life built on livestock farming and on a seasonal migration between the summer pasture, the yaylak, and the winter quarters, the kışlak. Winter quarters are set up in low valleys sheltered from wind and hard frost; summer pastures are cool heights, usually by a lake or stream, chosen to escape the summer heat and to find lush grazing for the flocks. The same source notes that on the Black Sea this tradition merged with the region's steep geography to create a distinctive highland culture, but that it is changing fast today. Months-long migrations on foot have given way to short trips by motor vehicle, and the old shelters to new buildings.

In Ordu the tradition is still alive. According to a report in the newspaper Yeni Birlik, producers who live from livestock in the higher parts of the province set out on the summer migration with their flocks once the weather warms. The flocks stay on the pastures for about five months, and when the cold sets in the shepherds gather them and return. The report says the migration is seen most on the highland roads of Aybastı, Kabadüz, Kumru, Korgan and Mesudiye. Flocks of sheep moving slowly along the road are among the most familiar sights in these districts at the end of spring.

From the valleys to the pastures

The roots of the yayla tradition in Ordu are also tied to the history of settlement. The provincial history on the Culture Portal explains that in this region, where the Çepni branch of the Oghuz settled, villages were founded along the valleys. Along the Bolaman valley grew the settlements around Çamaş, Bolaman and today's Aybastı, and along the Melet valley the villages and hamlets around Mesudiye and Kabadüz inland and around Ordu and Ulubey on the coast. The same history writes that the first place the Turks entered Ordu's lands was the Perşembe plateau, and relates that from 1520 onwards the great majority of taxpayers in the area were farmers who mostly grew barley, wheat, maize and hemp. These valleys, which link the coastal villages to the pastures above, are still the natural passages that the highland roads follow today. As you climb from the coast to a yayla you will see for yourself how you rise through a valley, and how the hazelnut orchards give way first to forest and then to meadow.

A town escaping malaria

In Ordu there is also a reason for going up to the yayla that belongs to the town's own history. According to the provincial history on the Culture Portal, from around 1875 malaria became the nightmare of the town of Ordu, and many people died of the disease. As a result, the town's notables began going up to the Çambaşı plateau in summer and returning to town in September and October. According to the same source a district governor's building was even built on the plateau, but it was later lost in a fire. The history also relates that the poet Tıflı Efendi produced a handwritten newspaper on the plateau whose title meant Inside News; how long it lasted is unknown, and not a single copy has survived. So in Ordu the yayla became the summer home not only of shepherds but of townspeople too.

Çambaşı, the summer home of the coast

Çambaşı in the Kabadüz district is, in the words of the Ordu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, one of the most important plateaus of the Black Sea region. Lying 1850 metres above sea level, it is reached by the paved road that runs from Ordu through Kabadüz. The directorate presents it, with its 72 obas and an area of one hundred thousand decares, as one of the widest plateaus in the country, and writes that a large share of the coastal population goes up there in summer. There are also trout farms on the plateau. According to the directorate, the road from Ordu to the Çambaşı plateau is 58 kilometres long, the road to the ski centre 54 kilometres, and the road is kept open in every month of the year. The plateau also has a small bazaar, a market place and picnic areas, which makes Çambaşı the easiest starting point among Ordu's plateaus for someone going for the first time. In winter Çambaşı takes on another identity: construction of the Çambaşı Ski Centre within Kabadüz began in 2010, and its service building and facilities opened in 2017. The directorate also especially recommends to nature lovers and photographers the season when the plateau blooms with wild hyacinths.

Keyfalan, the plateau of obas

The Keyfalan plateau, southeast of Mesudiye, lies 20 kilometres from the district centre and 134 kilometres from Ordu. According to the directorate it sits 1200 metres above sea level on grassy open ground among the pine forests at the foot of Kara Tepe, and it has three obas. What makes Keyfalan interesting is that it is a good example of traditional highland house architecture and of the oba settlement pattern. A large part of the plateau is protected as a game reserve, and in 1995 it was declared a tourism centre by a decision of the Council of Ministers. Walking slowly through the plateau is enough to see how the oba houses are scattered across it. The directorate also notes that the plateau has electricity. The edges where pine forest meets open meadow are the best places for a walk and a picnic break; since it is far from the district centre, do not forget to bring enough water and food.

Perşembe and the other pastures

The Perşembe plateau in Aybastı, famous for the meanders that small streams draw as they wind across its flat floor, is the most photographed yayla in the province; it was declared a tourism centre in 1991. Since it is described in detail on its own place page in Keşfet, we will only add this here: Ordu's highland tradition does not fit in one spot. Go Türkiye lists the Çambaşı, Düzoba, Keyfalan, Perşembe, Argan, Yeşilce, Topçam, Toygar, Karatepe, Kızılağaç, Çukuralan and Korgan plateaus. Yeni Birlik also mentions Çambaşı, Perşembe, Düzoba and Korgan as places where people migrate in summer and where festivals are held, and stresses that wooden highland houses are part of this culture.

Festival time

The festivals are the high point of the highland summer. According to Go Türkiye, Ordu's plateaus host many festivals in spring and summer, where lively music accompanying folk dances is heard alongside the region's soulful melodies. Yeni Birlik writes that these festivals are held to the sound of the horon dance and the kemençe fiddle, with a programme stretching from wrestling to folk concerts. The directorate notes that the festival held every July on the Perşembe plateau includes competitions, folk dance shows, concerts, wrestling bouts and horse races. According to an NTV report, summer festivals also feature football tournaments and off-road races. The plateaus get very crowded on festival days; since dates and programmes are announced every year by the municipalities and the provincial directorate, check current information with official sources.

The highland table

The yayla has a table of its own. According to the book Ordu Mutfak Kültürü by the Ordu Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, in the higher areas, where livestock tied to the summer pastures has long been the main livelihood, dishes with meat and dough, maize, potatoes and wheat come to the table more often; beef is eaten more on the coast, mutton more in the highlands. The book also notes that in the high areas, with their more closed social structure, traditional cooking was preserved until recently. Ordu's highland pancar pickle, made from black cabbage, is among the province's registered products according to the list reported by TRT Haber. The Anadolu Agency report on the Perşembe plateau says that a market is set up in the plateau centre where local people sell what they produce. When you go up, browsing these markets for butter, cheese and seasonal produce is the easiest way to get to know the highland table.

Before you go up

  • The plateaus are much cooler than the coast and fog comes down often. Even in summer, take a warm layer and a rain jacket.
  • In the snowy months conditions on highland roads become difficult and some roads may close temporarily. In winter, check road conditions with official sources before setting out.
  • The meadows are grazing land. Do not drive onto the pasture, do not startle the flocks and keep away from the sheepdogs.
  • The houses in the obas are people's summer homes. Respect their privacy when taking photographs and do not walk into yards uninvited.
  • Public transport is limited. According to the directorate there are regular minibus services between Ordu and Çambaşı, but the other plateaus usually require a car; confirm service details before you set out.
  • Accommodation varies from plateau to plateau; guesthouses and holiday flats are reported on the Perşembe plateau. Finding a room becomes harder in festival weeks.
  • Leave no litter in nature and keep the surroundings of springs clean.

It is possible to see Ordu only by driving along the coast road, but to understand the rhythm of the province you need to spend at least one day up high. Watching the flocks spread over the meadows as the morning fog lifts, the quiet in front of the obas in the afternoon and the air turning cool towards evening explains by itself why Ordu has spent its summers on the yayla for centuries.

Sources

Comments

0/1000

Be the first to comment