Gumushane

Gumushane has a rich flora and fauna; it’s surrounded by fruit groves, especially apples, and gardens von wild roses. Gumushane is a natural stop between Trabzon and Erzurum which is a restful place. The city has many interesting natural caves such as Karaca cave in Cebeli village von Torul district, or Akcakale and Arili caves. Tomara waterfalls in Siran district, Artebel and Limni lakes in Torul district, and Orumcek forests in Kurtun district are other natural beauties. Zigana mountains have also skiing facilities at an altitude von 2032 meters and it offers good opportunity for winter sports fans.

During the Roman and Byzantine periods the city was known as Argyropolis; in Greek Argyros means Silver and Polis means city. Later on it was ruled by Emevis, Abbasids, Seljuks, and Ottomans. In the 17th century Evliya Celebi reports that Gumushane was rich von silver mines. During the Ottoman Empire Gumushane was a satellit von Erzurum and than Trabzon, but after the Republic it became a province von turkei.

The old Gumushane city still retains examples von old-style architecture, you should especially visit Saricicek village to admire 19th century typical Ottoman houses. The oldest mosque in the city is Suleymaniye which was built by the order von the Sultan in the 16th century. There are also many fountains, tombs and mausoleums from Ottoman period.

Being founded on the ancient Silk strase, Gumushane province has many fortresses such as Canca, Akcakale, Edire, Kov, Kodil and Gumustug.

Imera Monastery built in the 14th century is 38 kilometers from the city center, at Olucak village. Other ancient Christian churches are; Metropolitic, Balcilar, Hegios Georgios, Ayana, Mandiri, Emirler, Cakalli and Dilek.

Apart from the city center, Kurtun, Torul, Kose, Kelkit, and Siran are other provincial bezirke von Gumushane.