GUMUSHANE TURKEY

Santa Ruins 

Santa Ruins (Santa Kalıntıları) are located on twovalleys in Dumanlı Village (Dumanlı Köyü), 90 km from the citycenter of Gümüşhane. Santa, where the first settlements began inthe Middle Ages, is an ancient Greek settlement with natural andhistorical beauties. Five thousand people were living in thisregion, which was in its heyday in the 19th century.

There arechurches in some neighborhoods in this residential area consisting of sevenneighborhoods and more than 300 constructions. Binatlı, Terzili,Zurnacili, Piştovlu, İşhanlı, Çinganlı and Çakallı, areimportant neighborhoods in the region. 

Satala Ancient City

In theregion where the ruins are located in Kelkit district, brickfragments with coats of arms of Legio XV Apollinaris werefound. The Byzantine historian Procopius writes thatthe city was founded on a plain surrounded by hills. Satala, aLatin cultural center during the empire, was founded around the Roman legioncamp and developed over time. It is known that the walls were repaired duringthe time of Emperor Justinian. Satala Castle (SatalaKalesi), aqueducts and other city ruins are the places in this area that couldremain intact and be seen to this day.

Krom Valley 

The Chrome Valley (Krom Vadisi) is a region where the HistoricSilk Road passes through. There are 300-year-old historical buildingsin the valley, which accommodates 57 monasteries and churches. The tolerancethat the Ottoman State showed for the people living in the region, has led thepeople in this region to claim their religious sites and these historicalconstructions which have survived to this day. This process, which began withthe conquest of Trabzonin 1461, has survived to this day. Most ofthe churches that are standing today were also built at that time.

Kov Castle 

Kov Castle (Kov Kalesi) is located within theborders of Esenyurt Village (Esenyurt Köyü) in Gümüşhanecity center. The castle walls consisting of two parts, namely an inner and anouter castle and are about 1.5 m thick, which belong to the castle built on ahill that dominates the region, preserve its sturdiness. The rectangular castleis supported by constellations and built of rubble stones. It is also estimatedthat there is an ancient city in this region. The castle, which is almost inwhole with the rock mass on which it is located, is a historical building worthseeing.

Torul İnkılap Village Kalecik Castle 

Kalecik Castle (Kalecik Kalesi), which is located on theborders of Kalecik-Işık Village in Torul district,is bordered by the village road from the top and the stream at the bottom. Inthe castle, which is built on a hill formed by the cliffs that dominate theregion, wooden beams in the masonries attract attention. The castle and thewalls (retaining walls) in the form of extensions of the castle are examples ofrubble stone masonry.

Sultan Süleyman Han Mosque

Themosque, located in the Süleymaniye Neighborhood in OldGümüşhane, was built upon an order given by Suleiman the Lawgiver duringthe Baghdad campaign. The mosque has undergone many repairs until today. Therectangular structure consists of three naves extending vertically before thealtar. The naves are covered with a roof on six wooden poles. The mosque’sminaret, which has a single balcony, has a thick cylindrical body. The minaretof the mosque is the only part that is original and untouched.

Kabaköy Hagia Sophia Mosque 

Kabaköy Hagia Sophia Mosque (Kabaköy Aya SofyaCami), which is one of the nine churches called Hagia Sophia Church inTürkiye and was converted into a mosque, was previously used as a church. Onthe southern walls of the mosque, there are two circled stones on which a Greekcross is drawn with equal arms. The roof of the structure, which is organizedin the form of a saddle roof, is covered with sheet metal. To the northeast ofthe building, there is a relic registered fountain. The fountain, which wasstated to have been built in the 19th century, is covered with glass mosaic. 

İmera Monastery Church

Thechurch is within the borders of Olucak (İmera) Village,about 36 km from the city center. Sources say that the building was built in1740, surrounded by high walls, and that the residential sites were built in1827. It is understood from the inscription on it, that the monastery wasrenewed by Abbess Roxane in 1859. The construction was builtas a cut stone, rubble stone material and masonry. The face strings of thewindows on the southern front are pointed arches and the face string on theright is embroidered with an angel motif and a double-headed eagle motif.

Virgin Mary (Panagia Theotokos) Monastery 

The Virgin Mary Monastery (Meryem AnaManastırı) is located on the slope on the left side of ÇitCreek (Çit Deresi) in the Büyükçit Village Valley in Torul district.The monastery is located inside the courtyard, which is surrounded by highwalls. There are two different views in the sources about the date themonastery was built. The first source states that the monastery was built in890; The other source states that it was founded in 900 by three monks onbehalf of Theotokos Mary. Built for the second time in 1830, the church wasused as a school in the 1870s and was repaired in the 19th century duringthe Kingdom of Trabzon Komnenos.

Aydınlar Church 

Locatedin Atalar Village (Atalar Köyü) in Torul district,the church is 27 kilometers from the center. The church, whose walls are madeof neat cut stone and rubble stone and built with a saddle roof, has survivedto this day. The ceiling and walls of the church include fresco-techniquepaintings. The original stretchers connecting the pillars are still visible.

Hutura Hagios Monastery Church

Itconsists of a monastery, church, chapel and other constructions built on thearea obtained as a result of the correction of the battered land at theentrance of the village and has reached our time quite dilapidated.

Thechurch was built by the Trabzon Prince Aleksios Komnenos inthe first half of the 14th century. The church was repaired in 1509 by MonkAnanias and in 1624 by Georgios Stratilatis. There isalso an inscription indicating that it was repaired again during the periodof Abdulhamid II (1876-1909).

Other Churches to See

Althoughit has not survived to this day with great protection within the borders ofGümüşhane, there are many churches that can be seen: St. Theodoros Church,Hagios Georgios Metropolitan Church, Hagios lonies Monastery Church, HagiosStephanos Church, Hagios Theodoros Church, Mary Church, Sihanandon NeighborhoodChurch.

Karaca Cave 

Karaca Cave (Karaca Mağarası), a fossil cave that hasthe opportunity to develop in massive limestones with abundant crackssurrounded by character volcanic, is not a cave but an underground palace so tospeak. This underground palace at an altitude of 1550 m from the sea isfascinating with stalactites in a wide variety of colors, dickites,organ-patterned walls, flag shapes curtain dripstones, cave flowers, cavepearls, elephant ears, travertine pools, travertine steps, columns, cave rosesappearances and observations. This underground palace came in existence by themerging of four separate halls resembling ellipses, developing in a horizontal direction.The underground palace, which is 105 m between the extreme point from the entrypoint, the ceiling height of the cave is 18 m, and the total interior area is1,500 m^3.

The caveis also useful from health perspective by offering a comfortable atmosphere toits visitors, especially asthmatics, with its natural air conditioning featureand air.

Gümüşhane Mansions

Gümüşhane Mansions (Gümüşhane Konakları) werebuilt three floors in a large garden. The exterior of the mansions is shapedaccording to geographical conditions and the inside is shaped according topractical use. Local stone and wooden materials were used as buildingmaterials. Some of these mansions, which smell history with all their elements,have survived to this day. Balyemez, Hasan Fehmi Ataç and ZekiKadirbeyoğlu mansions are some ofthe restored mansions. 

Gümüşhane Mansions, with their grand looksand architecture that sheds light on history, are a bridge between past andnow. In the architecture of the mansions, which are part of the Turkishresidential architecture, the effects of social conditions such as faith,customs, habits, traditions and cultures are seen as much as naturalconditions. With these features, it whispers the philosophy of life of an erainto our ears.

Sarıçiçek Village Rooms

Thedecorations of the rooms, located about 40-50 meters away from each other andwhich are very similar in size, in the village center, still preserve thefeatures of the first day they were made. The rooms are notable fortheir interior arrangements such as lounge, ceiling, cabinet, stoveand coffee pavilion. The yellow pine tree, which is abundant in the surroundingarea, was widely used in the ceiling and decoration of the rooms. All of thedecorations in both rooms were made in baroque and rococo stylefrom curled branches and schematic plant motifs. 

Süleymaniye Neighborhood (Old Gümüşhane)

SüleymaniyeNeighborhood (Süleymaniye Mahallesi), located four km southwest of the city center, isknown as the Old Gümüşhane. Due to the richness of the silver andgold mines and its position on the HistoricalSilk Road, it has never lost its importance throughout history. Assyrians,Urartians, Medes, Persian Kingdom, Macedonians, Pontus Kingdom, Roman Empire,Umayyads, Seljuks and Ottoman Empire ruledin the region. The settlement came under domination of Turks in 1461,when Mehmed the Conqueror made an end to the existenceof Trabzon-Pontus Greek State.