BLACK SEA

 

 

KARTALKAYA

Kartalkaya is one of the most favorite winter centers of Turkey. A weekend classic especially for the Istanbulite... Bolu enjoys highway accessibility and Kartalkaya is an easily accessible skiing heaven. It has the highest quality snow in Marmara region. Tracks in Kartalkaya offer different slopes and difficulty degrees; it is a well-known fact that these tracks are longer and more suitable than those in Uludağ.

You will not pay for chair-lifts (which are capable carrying 5000 people) if you stay at a hotel. Beginners may enjoy separate and available tracks. You can take private lessons and hire skis.

Outdoor and Sport

Kartalkaya is a skiing center, firsty.

Vertical drop: 700m/2,300'
Height: 2,200m/7,216'
Snowboard: available
Available for skiing between November and April. Snow thickness is almost 3 meters.

You do not pay for chair-lifts (which is capable of carrying 5000 people) if you stay at a hotel. Beginners may enjoy separate and available tracks. You can take private lessons and hire skis.


We told that Kartalkaya is first a ski center but there are also many activities in the summer. There are bicycle and tracking paths. For the tours organized by Kartal Otel, here are the standards of the paths, which are defined according to the participants.

Tracking Paths:

Resuldere Path : 4000 meters
Kartalkaya Path : 4850 meters
Deveren Plateau Path: 5000 meters

Bicycle Paths :

Kandira Plateau : 8000 meters
Bedil Plain - Saraycik Pond: 13000 meters

 

ABANT

At the intersection area of West Black Sea and Marmara region, 35 km far from Bolu, Abant fascinates people with a perfect panorama, looking like a postcard. Abant Lake is a wonder of nature covered by beaches, pines and acorns their names we hear since our childhood. The winter appears here with its most beautiful and romantic face. People who want to live again their childhood days have to see spring here at least once in a lifetime. Beautiful nature, fresh air and cheerful people with consciousness of environment, Abant is a place where you have to spend time even just for a weekend.

The region which includes Abant was invaded by different civilizations during the time. After Hittites and Byzantines, there were Roman and Byzantium sovereignty. During Byzantium period, Abant was not discovered. The area stands between the mountains kept life as a quiet and secluded centre of population. During the Ottoman rule, Bolu didn’t lose importance, on the contrary it gained much more. The development of Abant with the foundation of Republic is not so surprising. It became a shelter for the people running away from big cities and near industrial centres. Abant is accepted as a vacation centre and appeared as one of the famous romantic places of Turkish movies at 1970’s.

 

 

 

ILGAZ MT.

 

RESOURCE VALUES
 Covering an area of 1088 hectares, the site was designated as National Park on June 2, 1976. Within 3 hours drive to Ankara, the capital city, it is an important centre meeting the ever-increasing demand of Ankara for recreational facilities to a great extend.
A trout production station was established in Baldiran valley within the boundaries of the National Park as well as ponds where visitors may fish for sporting purposes during 15 June - 15 September. Visitors can also purchase fish from the station if they desire

FLORA AND FAUNA
The Ilgaz Mountains possess a flora predominated by species of trees such as scotch pine, black pine and fir, rising from the skirts up to the peaks. This flora is endowed with a rich variety of grassy vegetation. Owing to many streams rushing all year round and lush vegetation, the area offers a suitable environment for the survival of wildlife such as roe deer, wild boar, bear, wolf and fox, which still exist in spite of excessive hunting

 

 

 

ORDU

Görmeden DönmeyinOrdu brings together the striking hues of blue and green, gathering in its bosom all of nature’s abundant beauty. Tourism in Ordu looks to expand even more in the future thanks to its flora & fauna, beautiful coast, villages and beaches, mountains stretching up from the coastline and unique plateaus which seem endless. The region’s most virgin sand and longest coastal strip is in Ordu. The towns of Ünye-Fatsa and Perşembe, which line the coast, are the largest populated towns.

Research and excavations carried out by historians have shown that the first traces of civilization in Ordu and its immediate surrounds dating back to 15 thousand years B.C. In the 13th Century, Ordu was included in the Seljuk State boundaries and in the 14th Century it entered under Ottoman rule. The county of Ordu was a part of the city of Trabzon until April 17, 1920 when it became a province. The town of Fatsa, which used to be under the Canik Flag, was annexed to Ordu.

 

 

 

 

 

SAFRANBOLU

Safranbolu is a sub-provincial centre in the north-western Black Sea region,located at the cross-section of the 41°16' northern latitude and 32°41' eastern longitude. According to the present administrative system the neighbouring provinces are: Karabük, Zonguldak, Kastamonu, Çankırı, Bolu; and the sub-provinces are: Eflani, Ulus, Bartın, Araç, Eskipazar, Bulak, Tokatlı, Gayıza (İncekaya),Danaköy, Çiftlik, Kirpe (Düzce), Yazı, Konarı, Yürük, Akveren, Oğulveren, Davutobası, Çerçen, Hacılarobası, Bostanbükü, Karıt, Başköy, Kılavuzlar and Kapullu are some of the villages in the same region. Among these Bulak, Tokatlı, Gayıza, Danaköy, Yazı, Konarı, Yürük, Karıt, Bostanbükü and Kılavuzlar are of special significance to Safranbolu (Safranbolu Map).

Yürük village has long been an important centre close to Safranbolu, with its large houses and the labour it supplies to Istanbul, primarily in bakery.

The environs of Safranbolu have been an area of settlement ever since the Paleolithic Age. There are three large tumulus around Eflani. Homeros refers to this area as Paphlagonia. After the Persian and Hellenistic periods it became an even more densely populated region during the Roman and Byzantine eras.The 24 tumuli in the Safranbolu-Eflani region various rock-tombs,reliefs and a Roman temple in the village of Sipahiler, south of Safranbolu, are among the tangible evidence of these periods. There is no trace of either the Roman or the Byzantine era within the city of Safranbolu; neither is there any refence to its name during these periods. The historian Leonard suggests that Safranbolu could be the old Germia, while according to Ainsworth, as the city was formerly named Zafaran Boli, it could well have been Flaviopolis which literally has the same meaning: city of saffron5. Osman Turan writes that the city was named Dadybra before it was taken over by the Turks.

After the Turks came to Anatolia, the history of Safranbolu developed in relation to that of Kastamonu. This region was first occupied by the Turks at the the 12th century, during the reign of the Danışmentliler. Later it was recaptured by the Byzantines, but the Çobanoğulları settled here at the beginning of the 13th century. At the start, the Çobanoğulları were loyal to the Seljuks, then, Ilhanlılar. The chieftain of Çandaroğulları from the tribe of Kayı, established at Eflani towards the end of the 13th century, was also loyal first to the Seljuk to the İlhanlıs; was independent for a short period at the beginning of the 15th  century, and stayed in power until 1461, then becoming loyal to the Ottoamans. The name of the city is believed to be Zalifre or Zalifra during that period. Eski Cami, Süleyman Paşa Madrasa and Eski Hamam (Old Baths) in Safranbolu are from the period of the Candaroğulları. All through these periods and later in the Ottoman era, Kastamonu has always been the regional centre. Starting from the Çandaroğulları period, for a long time under the Ottoman rule Safranbolu was referred to as Taraklı Borlu.  The names Zağfiran Borlu and later Zağfiranbolu were used from the start of the 18th  Century onwards

Documentary research on the history of Safranbolu during the Ottoman period is very scarce. Some names may emerge when we look at its historical buildigs; Cinci  Hoca,  Köprülü  Mehmet  Paşa,  İzzet  Mehmet  Paşa  being among the prominent people who have left their mark on Safranbolu.

SAMSUN

Samsun is the Black Sea’s leading city which has the highest tourism potential with road, air, sea and rail transport facilities.

The Red River delta encloses one of Turkey’s most important water sourced forest and it houses 318 different varieties of birds and even more variations of plants making it a major attraction for visitors. Samsun is a rare city in which you can find all varieties of tourism. The coasts bring together emerald green and bright blue, both winter and summer brings its own beauty, the plateaus, lakes and healing spas app Although it has been asserted that the name Samsun derives from the Greek word “Amisos” according to the “os” or “s” at the end of the word, it is much more probable that the name Samsun has its roots further back in an age before the Greeks. In this case, Amisos would not be a name given by Greeks who came by sea, but rather a name with Anatolian origins, such as in the example of Amasia (Amasya) which is a neighbouring city.

The traces of first human presence in the Samsun area were found in Tekkeköy. Excavation carried out in caves and flat dwelling areas has come across Paleothilic (Pre-Stone Age – 600.000-10.000 B.C.) and Mesolithic (Middle Stone Ages – 10.000-8000 B.C.) relics. It was found that Samsun had a close relationship with the Northern Greek, Bulgarian and Aegean islands which began in 5000 B.C. and that these relations were established through coastal seafaring. By the Laccolithic Age (3500-3000 B.C.) these relations had progressed as far as Central Anatolia. When sea trade suffered during WWI, Samsun was hit hard economically and bombed four times by Russian battleships. Samsun was damaged badly in 1915. On 19 May 1919 General Mustafa Kemal, as Inspector of the 3rd Army Corps, landed in Samsun to initiate the War of Independence in Anatolia. Due to this important chapter in history, the city of Samsun is a significant symbol of the War of Independence. Until the end of the 19th century Samsun was governed as a part of the city of Trebizond and after Turkey became a Republic Samsun became a province in its own right. eal to every taste.