Artvin Attractions
Black Sea Region (East Pontus)
The small provincial capital of Artvin is situated in the far northeast corner of Turkey, separated from the coast by the first of the Pontic mountain ranges. It makes an excellent base for forays into the surrounding countryside in search of some of the province's many ruined Early Christian and ninth-11th century churches. These often lie off the beaten track, accessible only on foot or along dirt roads.
Located in the very heart of Turkish Georgia, this charming old town is also known as Çoruh (from the Çoruh Nehri) or Lazin (from Lazistan i.e. land of the Laz). Ascending in a series of southwest facing terraces, it clings to a steep hillside above the mouth of the Çoruh gorge.
Despite the steepness of its mountain slopes the area around Artvin - the "rain-covered Kolchis" of the Argonaut legend - is blessed with conditions ideal for the cultivation of a wide variety of fruit, vines, olives, hazelnuts and tea.
The history of Georgia
Relatively little is known about Artvin's past. Although the Muslim Laz (Chani) who inhabit the Black Sea coastal region form a distinctive ethnic group, they nevertheless share a common history with the other Caucasian peoples of Georgia. Once fought over by Romans and Sassanids (Persians), the area was conquered by the Arabs in the seventh century; it remained under Arab rule for nearly three hundred years.
Turkish Georgia was the homeland of the Bagratid dynasty, who came from Ispir. In the 10th century the Armenian branch siezed control of parts of Armenia and the Transcaucasus; in the 12th and 13th centuries the Georgian Bagratids left an indelible mark on the whole of Christian Georgia.
The Arab invasions signalled the start of a lengthy period of decline, following which the Persians, Turks and Russians each sought to dominate the region. In 1071 the Artvin area, which from the ninth century onwards, under the Bagratids, had became the political and cultural heartland of Georgia, fell to the Seljuk Alp Arslan. After the Seljuks had been driven out it became, under David the Restorer (David III, 1098-1125), the flourishing Bagratid kingdom of Georgia. This period of prosperity was cut short by the Mongols who laid waste the land in 1386. In the 15th century Tao Georgia became part of the Ottoman Empire. Following the Turko-Russian War of 1877/78 Artvin was in Russian hands until 1918.
The small provincial capital of Artvin is situated in the far northeast corner of Turkey, separated from the coast by the first of the Pontic mountain ranges. It makes an excellent base for forays into the surrounding countryside in search of some of the province's many ruined Early Christian and ninth-11th century churches. These often lie off the beaten track, accessible only on foot or along dirt roads.
Located in the very heart of Turkish Georgia, this charming old town is also known as Çoruh (from the Çoruh Nehri) or Lazin (from Lazistan i.e. land of the Laz). Ascending in a series of southwest facing terraces, it clings to a steep hillside above the mouth of the Çoruh gorge.
Despite the steepness of its mountain slopes the area around Artvin - the "rain-covered Kolchis" of the Argonaut legend - is blessed with conditions ideal for the cultivation of a wide variety of fruit, vines, olives, hazelnuts and tea.
The history of Georgia
Relatively little is known about Artvin's past. Although the Muslim Laz (Chani) who inhabit the Black Sea coastal region form a distinctive ethnic group, they nevertheless share a common history with the other Caucasian peoples of Georgia. Once fought over by Romans and Sassanids (Persians), the area was conquered by the Arabs in the seventh century; it remained under Arab rule for nearly three hundred years.
Turkish Georgia was the homeland of the Bagratid dynasty, who came from Ispir. In the 10th century the Armenian branch siezed control of parts of Armenia and the Transcaucasus; in the 12th and 13th centuries the Georgian Bagratids left an indelible mark on the whole of Christian Georgia.
The Arab invasions signalled the start of a lengthy period of decline, following which the Persians, Turks and Russians each sought to dominate the region. In 1071 the Artvin area, which from the ninth century onwards, under the Bagratids, had became the political and cultural heartland of Georgia, fell to the Seljuk Alp Arslan. After the Seljuks had been driven out it became, under David the Restorer (David III, 1098-1125), the flourishing Bagratid kingdom of Georgia. This period of prosperity was cut short by the Mongols who laid waste the land in 1386. In the 15th century Tao Georgia became part of the Ottoman Empire. Following the Turko-Russian War of 1877/78 Artvin was in Russian hands until 1918.
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Dort Kilise, Turkey
(Near Artvin)
Dört Kilise, translates as four churches. Today tourists will find the ruins of two of the original four structures.
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Imerhevi Valley
The Imerhevi Valley was once known for its collection of churches and monasteries but today they exist only as ruins.
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Ishan, Turkey
(Near Artvin)
Reached via a dirt road, Ishan contains an interesting church dating from the 7th C with carved rosettes and floral ornamentation in the apse.
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Kaçkar Daglari
The spectacular Kaçkar Daglari is a mountain range that rises to heights above 2,000 m and is a noted hiking destination.
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Parhal, Turkey
(Near Artvin)
The small town of Parhal has a former monastery (now a mosque) that was founded by David Kuropalat and built in the 10th C.
Borcka, Turkey
(Near Artvin)
West of the mining town of Borçka there is an Ottoman bridge spanning a tributary of the Çoruh Nehri. Above the town, which in earlier times was also known as Yeniyol (New Way), stands a completely ruined fortress. In autumn the narrow gorge of the Çoruh Nehri between Artvin and the Turkish-Armenian border is visited by vast numbers of migrating birds.
Georgian Fortress
Artvin's 16th century Georgian fortress, perched on a cliff high above the river, is out of bounds to the public (military zone). The Salih Bey Camii, in the Çayazi area of the town, was built by Sivan in 1793(?). Salih Bey was Governor of the town.
Hamamliköy
31km/20mi east of Artvin in the valley of the Okçular Deresi is a ruined monastery, one of the most important of all those in the Imerhevi valley. The chief point of interest today is a well preserved domed church, cruciform in plan, originally endowed by Smbat (923-85). Part of the church is now used as stabling, another part as a mosque. Note the south window, with figures of the Archangels Michael and Gabriel, also the relief of the founder on the drum.
Savsat, Turkey
(Near Artvin)
Savsat, also known as Yeniköy or Zavsat, a district center about 63km/39mi east of Artvin on the scenic road to Ardahan, is dominated on its east side by a massive ruined Georgian fortress. This is a relic of the days when it was the seat of the princes of Chavchetien, one of the small Georgian principalities which came into being when the country was partitioned in the ninth and 13th/14th centuries.
Yeni Rabat
About 15km/9mi southeast of Ardanuç, the ruins of the Georgian Schatberdi Manastiri (or Yeni Rabat ie. new monastery) lie almost out of sight in a wooded hollow in the Yalnizçam Daglari, above the Köprüler Deresi. The church, endowed by Gregory Chandstili, has beautifully ornate window frames. Yeni Rabat was famous for its school of manuscript illuminators and some exquisitely illuminated Gospels produced here in the ninth and 10th centuries can be seen in the museum in Tiflis (in the Georgian Republic).
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