Boztepe

Boztepe is a natural viewing hill that rises about 230 metres above sea level to the southeast of central Trabzon and lays the whole city out in front of you. The old quarters of Ortahisar, the harbour and the shoreline all meet at the foot of the hill, so for anyone seeing Trabzon for the first time, climbing up here is the easiest way to read the plan of the city. On clear days the coastline can be followed west as far as Akçaabat and east as far as Yomra, together with the line where the sea meets the horizon. The history of the hill reaches back to antiquity, and old sources refer to it as Minthrion. In the Ottoman period its slopes were long used as pasture and vineyards; Evliya Çelebi, who was in Trabzon in 1640, mentions the vineyards of Boztepe in his travel book. The present neighbourhood is thought to appear in the first Ottoman registers as Ketancızade, and in the 1834 count the settlement seems to have been split into two separate quarters, Upper Boztepe and Lower Boztepe. According to a tax register of 1681, its residents were exempt from certain taxes because they were derbentçi, guards responsible for the upkeep of the roads. That detail also says something about the position of the hill on the routes leading inland from the city. The neighbourhood suffered great destruction during the years of the Russian occupation in the First World War. Today Boztepe, with a population of more than seven thousand according to 2024 figures, is one of the living neighbourhoods of Ortahisar. Boztepe is indeed the last threshold of the historic roads that descended from inner Anatolia to the port of Trabzon. A study published in the journal Belleten shows that the Galyan road from Bayburt and the old Silk Road branch over Zigana both reached the city and its harbour by way of Boztepe after passing Maçka. The same study explains that during the campaign of 1461 the Ottoman army camped around Gölçayır on the southern slope of Boztepe, at the place Byzantine sources call Skylolimne. According to the study, Skylolimne is a compound Greek name meaning Dog Lake or Dog Marsh. This marsh, where rain and spring water once collected, has now been completely built over and no trace of it remains. So when you look down from the hill you are not only looking at a view, but also at the threshold over which caravans and armies descended into the city for centuries. Today the best known face of Boztepe is its viewing terrace. The viewing terrace and walking platform opened by Ortahisar Municipality in April 2023 runs for about 1100 metres along the northern slope of the hill towards the east. According to press reports, the project of about 5,000 square metres was built as a timber platform resting on steel legs slightly above the ground, so that digging and filling would be kept to a minimum. Along the way there are a glass terrace and a timber terrace, two timber city balconies, gazebos, swings and seating areas, while the service buildings were set into the slope so as not to block the view. As you walk along the platform, the city lies beneath your feet rather than beside you. Below, the breakwater of the harbour, the red roofs of Ortahisar and the coastal road are laid out like a map, and on changeable days you can watch clouds casting shifting shadows across the sea. Crowds gather in the late afternoon to watch the sunset, and after dark the lights along the coast create a different view altogether. The most rewarding hours for photography are usually early morning and the time before sunset, because at midday the haze over the sea can flatten the view. Beyond the platform, a large part of the hill is a wooded picnic area. Landscaping has added walking paths, benches and playgrounds, and in summer it becomes a place where families spend the whole day. Within the dense building of the city, Boztepe remains one of the few open spaces that has largely kept its green character. For the people of Trabzon it is therefore not just a tourist spot but an everyday place to breathe. Boztepe is easy to reach from the city centre by municipal bus, taxi or car. For those who like walking, the uphill road from the centre takes around half an hour depending on your pace, and the view opens up steadily along the way. There are car parks on the hill for those arriving by car. On foggy or rainy days the view can disappear completely, so it is worth checking the weather before going up. The opening hours of the cafeterias and terraces can change with the season, so current information should be obtained from the operating authority. On the way down, continuing to the museums of Ortahisar or to the Atatürk Pavilion in the direction of Soğuksu is an easy way to carry the day on into the historic fabric of the city.