Sultan Murat Yaylası

Sultan Murat Plateau is a broad highland pasture opening above the tree line at about 2000 metres, south of the Çaykara district in eastern Trabzon. The Trabzon Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism places the plateau 27 kilometres south of Çaykara and on the Trabzon-Çaykara-Ataköy road, about 105 kilometres from the city. Wikipedia gives the distance from the district centre variously as between 17 and 25 kilometres; the difference comes from the starting point used. According to Wikipedia, the plateau also lies 54 kilometres north-west of the Aydıntepe district of Bayburt. The plateau's name rests on a legend. According to both Wikipedia and the Küre Encyclopedia, the Ottoman sultan Murad IV is said to have camped on this plateau with his army for a few days while returning from his Iranian campaign in 1635. The name was given to this level ground, at the centre of several plateaus, in memory of that stay. The Ministry page mentions the campaign and the plateau's historical meaning in the same framework. This is a popular account, and the sources pass it on as a legend. The plateau's more recent history reaches back to the First World War. According to the Ministry page, Çaykara was occupied by the Russian army in 1915. A local history book cited by Wikipedia describes the fighting on the plateau in detail under the heading of the Sultan Murat Battles. According to the Ministry page, one officer and seventy soldiers fighting against the Russians lost their lives on the plateau in 1916, which is why the hill was named Şehitler Tepesi. Trenches and soldiers' graves from that war can still be seen on the plateau today. A ceremony commemorating these soldiers is held every year at the end of June; since the Ministry gives the date as 23 June and Wikipedia as 26 June, check the current programme with the Çaykara District Governorate. The plateau is also a living summer settlement. According to the Küre Encyclopedia, local people move up to the plateau in late spring, spend the summer here, and the making of cheese and butter tied to herding continues in the traditional way. According to the Ministry page, the plateau has infrastructure such as electricity, water, telephone and toilets, along with basic services such as a grocery, a bakery and guest houses. Every August the Yayla Ortası festivities are also held; during the festivities horon circles form to the sound of the kemençe. The view is the plateau's real attraction. Because it lies above the tree line, the surroundings are bare green ridges, with plateau houses scattered among them. Mist rising from the valleys below often forms a low sea of clouds in the morning, and the ridges of the plateau remain above it. To catch this view you need to climb onto the ridges early in the morning; towards noon the mist may rise and envelop the plateau too. Because the weather changes very quickly, take a warm layer and a raincoat even in summer. The best thing to do on the plateau is to walk. The Küre Encyclopedia describes the area as well suited to nature walks, mountaineering and photography. The trenches on Şehitler Tepesi can be reached on a short walk; in this area you should behave respectfully and not step on the graves. Dirt tracks along the ridges run as far as neighbouring plateaus, but there are few marked trails, so walking with someone who knows the area is safer. Access is via the Of-Çaykara-Bayburt road, which starts on the coast at Of and follows the Solaklı stream. According to the Ministry page, the district takes its name from the Çaykara spring, which emerges among the rocks near the point where the Solaklı and Yeşilalan streams meet. The same page notes that because the bed of the Solaklı is narrow, the district centre is squeezed onto a narrow valley floor. After Çaykara the road branches onto the plateau route and climbs in steep bends on the final stretch. There is no reliable information on regular public transport to the plateau; you need a private car or local vehicles during the plateau season. In winter the road can be closed by snow, so if you are going outside summer, ask about road conditions beforehand. On the way back, stopping at Çakıroğlu İsmail Ağa Konağı on the coast of Of turns the day into a single journey from the shore to the plateau.