Hamsiköy

Hamsiköy is a mountain settlement in the district of Maçka, set on the northern foot of Mount Zigana on the road linking Trabzon to Gümüşhane. According to Wikipedia it lies at an altitude of about 1,200 metres, 48 kilometres from the provincial centre of Trabzon and 19 kilometres from the centre of Maçka. The Culture Portal describes the settlement as an old resting place on the northern route of the Silk Road that ran from China and India to Europe. With houses scattered over green valley slopes, forests and mountain foothills wrapped in mist, Hamsiköy is one of the best known stops on the road that climbs from the coast into inner Anatolia. The settlement has a long and layered past. Byzantine sources are said to refer to it as Palaiomatzouka, meaning Old or Upper Maçka, and to mention a castle nearby. In the Ottoman land registers the settlement appears in 1486 under the name Hapsi. In the Republican period the village was called Ciharlı; this name was changed by law to Hamsiköy in 1959, and the village was recorded under its new name from the 1960 census onwards. The Culture Portal, on the other hand, writes that the name comes from Hamse köy, from the Arabic word hamse meaning five, and that the settlement is made up of five separate quarters. Knowing that the sources give different explanations for the name is useful when you listen to stories about the village's past. The study in Belleten, for its part, gives Palima and Palaikastro as former names of Hamsiköy. According to 2022 figures, 365 people live in the neighbourhood, compared with 764 in 1985. The importance of Hamsiköy comes above all from the road. A study published in the journal Belleten describes the route that came from Bayburt over the Vavuk Pass and Torul and descended to Trabzon by way of Zigana village, Hamsiköy, Dikkaya and Maçka as one of the northern branches of the historic Silk Road in Anatolia. According to the same study, this road was used twelve months a year as both a summer and a winter route. Being a place where caravans and travellers rested before or after crossing Zigana explains Hamsiköy's identity as a staging post. Today most visitors know Hamsiköy for its rice pudding. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism lists Hamsiköy rice pudding, together with Akçaabat meatballs and Sürmene pide, among Trabzon's products with a geographical indication. The Culture Portal traces its fame to milk nourished by the flowering plants of the region; the same milk is also used in the village to make kashar cheese, butter, string cheese and curd cheese. The pudding is also remembered here as a roadside dessert; it is one of the main reasons travellers on the Zigana road stop in the village. It is worth pulling over to try this local taste even for a short break. When visiting Hamsiköy, it pays not to stay only at the roadside. The Culture Portal mentions the rushing streams of the valley, the purple-flowered rhododendrons, the historic mansions and the fountains. Walking a little way up from the main road and following the quarters on the slope is the best way to see how the houses are spread across the valley. In summer the slopes turn bright green, while in autumn mist often descends into the valley and settles over the village like a blanket. The surroundings of the village are also a gateway to highland tourism. The Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism notes that visitors going up to the nearby plateaus can stay in guesthouses in Hamsiköy and neighbouring Gürgenağaç and meet all their needs from the shops here. Those who continue towards Zigana soon find themselves among forests and mountain meadows. Hamsiköy can therefore be used both as a short roadside stop and as a base for a mountain trip of a few days. Hamsiköy is reached from Trabzon by taking the Gümüşhane road via Maçka; for public transport options in this direction, check current information locally. Snow and ice can occur on the mountain road towards Zigana in winter, so ask about road conditions before setting out. Because of the altitude the air in the village is noticeably cooler than on the coast, and it is a good idea to bring an extra layer. On the way back, seeing Maçka on the same road and Boztepe as you approach Trabzon completes the story of the historic road from start to finish.