From Boztepe to Hamsiköy, on the Trail of the Old Caravan Road

Begin the day on Boztepe, rising to the southeast of the city, and first go to the edge of the viewing terrace and look down. From here the harbour, the historic centre and the city stretched along the coast appear in a single view. The Trabzon Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism describes Boztepe as an important landscape feature and picnic ground on the hill that dominates the city. That description still holds, because the hill has been the open space where the city breathes for centuries. While looking towards the harbour, keep this in mind: according to a study published in Belleten, most of the caravan roads coming from Bayburt and Gümüşhane descended into the city by way of Boztepe. In other words the ridge you are standing on was the last threshold that loads from inner Anatolia crossed before reaching the sea.

Then follow the wooden walkway eastwards. Opened by the Ortahisar Municipality, this path is about one thousand one hundred metres long and is a platform built on steel legs. According to the news report, the platform was kept slightly above the ground so that digging and filling would be kept to a minimum. Along the way there are two terraces, one clad in wood and one in glass, and two wooden city balconies at the points where the view is most open. The balconies have seating areas, gazebos and swings; they are the best place for a short break. When you step onto the glass terrace you see the slope beneath your feet, and those who dislike heights can stay on the wooden terrace.

As you walk, think about the past of the hill. According to the Wikipedia article, in the Ottoman period Boztepe was first included in pasture land and then gradually opened to settlement. When Evliya Çelebi was in Trabzon in 1640 he mentioned the vineyards here. Today there are no vineyards on the slope, but the green texture of the hill carries on the trace of that picnic tradition. A register dated 1681 records that the residents of the quarter were exempted from tax because they were derbentçi, that is, responsible for the upkeep of the roads. This detail confirms once again that the hill was a road junction. In 1834, as the population grew, the settlement was divided into two quarters called Upper Boztepe and Lower Boztepe.

When you look towards the southern slope you see the Gölçayırı side. The study in Belleten says that the place where Mahmut Pasha set up camp in the summer of 1461 was this area, called Skylolimne in Byzantine sources. The name means dog marsh in Greek, and today neither a lake nor a marsh is left there. The best light for photographs comes early in the morning and at sunset; the midday sun makes the harbour look flat and pale. In the evening, when the city lights come on, the view takes on a completely different character, so if you like you can reverse the route and leave Boztepe for the end of the day. Coming down from the hill, head straight to the centre and Zeytinlik Street by municipal bus or car; the museum is within walking distance from there.

Source: Trabzon İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü; CNN Türk; Belleten; Wikipedia.

When you reach the mansion on Zeytinlik Street, stand outside for a few minutes before going in. According to the Culture Portal this building was built as a residence between 1898 and 1913 by the banker Kostaki Teofilaktos. Turkish sources write that the architects were Italian and that a large part of the materials used were brought from Italy. The corner facade with its stone tower is best read from the opposite pavement. The later life of the mansion is as layered as its facade: when Teofilaktos went bankrupt in 1917 his property was seized and the building passed to the Nemlioğlu family. On his first visit to Trabzon on 15 to 17 September 1924, Atatürk was hosted in this mansion together with his wife Latife Hanım and his party.

Inside, start your visit on the ground floor, because this floor tells the story of the mansion itself. According to the English Wikipedia article, the ground floor is arranged as a display showing the architecture and history of the building in chronological order. Here, raise your head; the Culture Portal says that the walls of every floor except the basement are decorated from end to end with painted ornament. This decoration changes from room to room, so stop for a few minutes in each room and look at the borders where the wall meets the ceiling. The details around the doors and windows deserve the same attention.

Then picture the years in which the mansion changed hands. Expropriated in the time of Governor Ali Galip Bey, the building was used as the Government House between 1927 and 1931 and as an inspectorate building between 1931 and 1937. In 1937 it was given to the Ministry of National Education and served as a girls' vocational high school for half a century. Handed over to the Ministry of Culture in 1987, the mansion opened as a museum on 22 April 2001 after a restoration lasting from 1988 to 2001. That the decoration survived despite so many different uses shows what the restoration rescued.

Next, go down to the basement. This is the archaeological section, offering a selection that runs from the Bronze Age to the Byzantine period. Alongside marble, basalt, ceramic, metal and glass works, old coins are also on display. If you follow the cases in chronological order, the thousands of years of settlement on the Trabzon coast settle more easily in your mind. Finally go up to the ethnography section on the first floor; here there are everyday objects typical of the region and works from the Ottoman period. When you have finished, take a short break in the garden. Check the current opening hours and closing days on the official website before you go. From here it is a short drive to Soğuksu; because the road is steep, take a municipal bus or a car rather than walking.

Source: Kültür Portalı, Trabzon Müzesi; Wikipedia.

When you reach the Soğuksu ridge, do not go straight into the pavilion; first take a walk along the garden path in the pine grove. The Trabzon Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism writes that the garden of the pavilion is surrounded by pine trees, and you see the building best from among these trees. The garden with its pool and flower beds in front of the main facade gives the most suitable angle for photographs. The pavilion was built as a summer house by the Trabzon banker Konstantin Kabayanidis. Its construction date is given differently in the sources: the Culture Portal writes the early 19th century, Wikipedia a construction that began in 1890 and ended in 1912, and another page of the Ministry gives 1913. So the safest statement is that the pavilion was built between the late 19th and the early 20th century.

As you approach the facade, look at the materials. Wikipedia says the pavilion was built in the masonry technique with stone, brick and timber and has four floors including the basement. According to the Ministry, stonework was used on the exterior and brick inside, while the staircases are wooden with balustrades. The influence of Western Renaissance architecture can be read clearly in the showy ornament of the facade. Once inside, start with the sitting room, the resting room, the dining room and the guest room on the ground floor. On the first floor there are a study, a large bedroom, and waiting and meeting rooms, and on the second floor there are two small rooms. According to a report in Haber7, the museum displays 344 items consisting of furniture, porcelain, carpets and paintings from the late 19th and the 20th century.

While walking through the rooms, knowing how the pavilion became a museum enriches your visit. Passing to the Treasury in 1923 after the population exchange, the building was bought by the provincial administration in 1930 and transferred to Atatürk in 1931. Atatürk was hosted here on his first visit in 1924, came again in November 1930 and stayed two nights in the pavilion on his last visit in June 1937. The Culture Portal writes that on the night of 11 June 1937 he took here the decision to donate his property to the nation. After Atatürk's death the pavilion was bought by the municipality and opened as a museum in 1943.

At the end of the visit, go back out to the garden and look at the double doored section on the garden side of the pavilion. According to the report, beneath this section there is a cistern where rainwater was collected and a tunnel running towards the woods that was later closed. Today this passage is not visible, but the information shows how carefully the building was planned as a summer house. The Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality, as the operating institution, looks after the pavilion; because it can be closed for repairs from time to time, check its current status and hours before you go. After this the route leaves the city: turn south towards Maçka and set off for Hamsiköy following the Zigana road.

Source: Kültür Portalı, Atatürk Köşkü; Trabzon İl Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü; Wikipedia; Haber7.

As you pass Maçka and climb the Zigana road, you will notice the valley narrowing and the air cooling. The Culture Portal presents Hamsiköy as an old stopping place on the northern foot of Mount Zigana, on the northern route of the Silk Road, 19 kilometres from Maçka. The study in Belleten also writes that the Zigana road reached Boztepe by way of Hamsiköy and Maçka and was used in every month of the year. In other words the loads bound for the harbour you looked at from the hill in the morning passed right in front of this village. When you arrive, leave your car and first get to know the valley on foot.

The Culture Portal links the name of the village to the Arabic word hamse, meaning five, and says that the settlement consists of five separate parts. The geographical indication record of TÜRKPATENT lists these five villages as Hamsiköy, Çıralı, Güzelyayla, Dikkaya and Başar. Wikipedia records that the old name of the settlement was Ciharlı and that the name was changed to Hamsiköy by a law passed in 1959. As you walk, pay attention to the old mansions and stone fountains along the stream; the Culture Portal mentions them as part of the natural beauty of the village. In spring the purple flowered rhododendrons bloom on the slopes and colour the valley. Fog is a regular guest here; when it settles on the foothills the view changes within minutes.

Then it is time for the dessert that made the village famous. Hamsiköy rice pudding was registered as an indication of origin in 2017, and the holder of the registration is the Maçka Chamber of Tradesmen and Craftsmen. The registration document writes that the dessert is made only with milk, rice, sugar and a pinch of salt. According to the document, the village lies between 1200 and 1600 metres, and because the seaward slope of Zigana gets plenty of rain, the meadows stay green for most of the year. It states that the flavour of the milk comes from the varied plants of these pastures and that production, including the supply of milk, must take place within the geographical boundary. It is cooked with two pots, and the right consistency is recognised when it runs from the spoon without a break, like honey. The dessert can be served fresh or with its top darkened in the oven, with cinnamon and hazelnuts.

The Culture Portal writes that kashar cheese, butter, string cheese and curd are also made from the milk of the village; you can look for these to take home. The Trabzon Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism notes that there are guesthouses in Hamsiköy, so it is also possible to extend the day and spend the night here. For photographs, climb a little up the slope of the village and frame the view of the houses spreading across the valley. The afternoon light falls on the western slope of the valley and makes the green look more vivid. Because the weather turns quickly in the mountains, do not leave your rain jacket in the car. On the way back follow the same road down to the city by way of Maçka, and try to be past the winding section before darkness falls.

Source: Kültür Portalı, Hamsiköy; TÜRKPATENT; Belleten; Wikipedia.