Artvin
- Black Sea Region
About Artvin
Artvin, in the east of Türkiye's Black Sea region, borders both Georgia and the Black Sea. Besides the central district it has 8 districts, and its neighbours are Ardahan, Erzurum and Rize. With an area of 7,436 square kilometres, it is Türkiye's 55th province by size.
Some 55% of the province is forest, and the terrain is very rugged. Artvin has copper mines, and its people include Laz, Kipchak Turks and Georgians. The Çoruh is its most important river. Karagöl-Sahara National Park, which includes Şavşat Karagöl and Borçka Karagöl, is a place not to miss. Camili, a village in Borçka district and centre of a former sub-district, has been designated a biosphere reserve by UNESCO.
Artvin's famous dishes and desserts
Cornbread, anchovies, honey and pastries stand out in Artvin cooking. Most of the dishes below are registered geographical indications.
Hopa Hamsili Ekmeği
A cornbread dough made with brined anchovies (hamsi), cornmeal and vegetables is baked in the oven and eaten on its own rather than as a side. Hopa Hamsili Ekmeği is a registered geographical indication.
Puçuko
Green beans picked in summer are strung and dried; in winter they are boiled and cooked with tomato paste and bulgur. Puçuko is a registered geographical indication.
Hopa Laz Böreği
A dessert of thin pastry sheets layered with milk pudding and baked. Hopa Laz Böreği is a registered geographical indication.
Termoni served at the Arhavi Culture and Arts Festival
Arhavi Termonisi
A kind of aşure (a sweet grain pudding) made with borlotti beans and bulgur and sweetened with grape or pear molasses instead of sugar; it is also called Laz aşure. Arhavi Termonisi is a registered geographical indication.
Şavşat Ketesi
A yeasted dough made with Şavşat butter is shaped into rounds and baked over a wood fire; it melts in the mouth. Şavşat Ketesi is a registered geographical indication.
Places to visit in Artvin
The centre of Artvin has an old castle and Ottoman-era houses, mosques and fountains. The province's real wealth, though, is its nature: Karagöl-Sahara National Park, which includes Şavşat Karagöl and Borçka Karagöl, is one of its most visited places.
The Georgian churches in the valleys of Yusufeli, the highland pastures of the Kaçkar Mountains and the Macahel Valley, known for its beekeeping, are also worth seeing. The Çoruh River is good for rafting; the Deriner Dam, one of the dams on the river, is 249 metres high.
Every June a bullfighting festival, in which bulls wrestle each other, is held on the Kafkasör plateau.
Culture and arts in Artvin
Artvin's culture bears the marks of the communities that have lived together here for centuries. Laz culture is strongest in Hopa and Arhavi on the coast, Georgian culture around Borçka, Murgul and Şavşat, and Hemshin culture in the mountain villages of Hopa. Laz, Georgian and Hemshin are still spoken today.
In folk dance, the coast dances the horon to the kemençe (a small bowed fiddle) and tulum (bagpipe), while inland the bar is danced to drum and zurna (a shrill reed pipe). Ata Barı is the province's best-known dance, and Deli Horon, Hemşin Horonu and Borçka Horonu are often danced too.
The wooden houses on stone foundations in the villages of Şavşat and Macahel keep the province's traditional architecture alive. The Kafkasör Culture, Tourism and Arts Festival, held on the Kafkasör plateau at the end of June every year with bull wrestling and folk dances, is Artvin's biggest gathering.
Getting to Artvin
You can reach Artvin by road, sea or air. Roads connect it with every part of Türkiye, and many bus companies run services to Artvin and its districts. From Istanbul you can also take a ship to Trabzon and continue to Artvin by road.
Artvin has no airport, but you can fly to Erzurum or Trabzon and continue by road. Erzurum Airport is 203 kilometres from Artvin and Trabzon Airport 234 kilometres.
There is no direct rail service to Artvin, but you can take the train to Erzurum and continue by road.
Istanbul is about 1,300 kilometres from Artvin, Bursa about 1,300, Eskişehir about 1,225, Samsun about 565 and Erzurum about 200.
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