Rize

History

Arrian was the first writer to mention Rize. In his Periplus of the Euxine Sea, he described it as a city founded at the mouth of the river of the same name, the ancient and Byzantine ῾Ρίζιος ποταμός. Dated to 130–131AD and written as a letter to Roman Emperor Hadrian, the work records how its author, the governor of Cappadocia, made a tour of the Eastern Black Sea territories that formed part of his jurisdiction, first visiting the Roman Empire's Eastern Anatolian frontier garrisons before pushing on to the Black Sea coast in the Trabzon (Trebizond) region. The city of Rize formed part of the historic Georgian province of Chaneti (). From 1547, Chaneti province was incorporated into the Ottoman Empire and became a part of the sancak of Lazistan. The city was claimed by the short-lived Democratic Republic of Georgia between 1918 and 1920. On the basis of the 1921 Treaty of Kars, Soviet Russia granted Rize to Turkey along with the other territories of Artvin, Ardahan, and Hopa (). File:Rizunda.jpg|Rize in 1890s File:Rize-postakarti-osmanli.jpg|Rize, 1910s, Ottoman-era postcard File:Atatürk Rize'de.jpg|Mustafa Kemal Paşa in Rize, 1920s

Geography

The city is built around a small bay on the Black Sea coast, on a narrow strip of flat land between the sea and the mountains behind. The coastal strip is being expanded with landfill and the city is expanding up the steep hillsides away from the coast. Rize is probably best known for its black tea which was introduced to the region in the 1940s and 1950s, changing the destiny of a region which was until then desperately poor. The local tea research institute was founded in 1958 and other tea gardens can be seen all around the town. Tea is even planted in local gardens. Rize is a centre for processing and shipping locally grown Rize Tea. More recently kiwifruit plants have also been grown in Rize. Fishing remains another important local source of income. Tourism to destinations in and around Rize is growing in importance. File:Aşağı Ceymakçur 01.jpg|Kaçkar Mountains National Park File:Pokut Yaylası Rize.JPG|Pokut Yayla is a popular tourism destination File:Tar Creek Waterfall View.jpg|Tar Creek Waterfall File:Entrance of the Castle of Rize, Rize, Turkey.JPG|Entrance to Rize Castle

Most-observed species

• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  222
• Yellow-legged Gull

  Larus michahellis J.F.Naumann, 1840 · Aves
  219
• Great Cormorant/European Shag

  Phalacrocorax carbo (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  141
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  134
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  132
• Black-headed Gull

  Chroicocephalus ridibundus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  122
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  113
• Little Egret/Western Reef-Heron

  Egretta garzetta (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  107

Most recent

• M 4.5 — 2024-11-15
  2 km WNW of Nurluca, Turkey
• M 4.6 — 2020-11-22
  1 km SSE of Bayburt, Turkey
• M 4.4 — 2009-04-15
  eastern Turkey
• M 3.2 — 2007-02-05
  4 km NNW of Of, Turkey
• M 3.1 — 2006-03-16
  7 km NW of Arakl?, Turkey
• M 2.9 — 2005-12-29
  5 km ENE of Düzköy, Turkey