Çayeli

Çayeli
Town

Location of Çayeli within Turkey.
Çayeli

Location of Çayeli within Turkey.

Coordinates: 40°45′N 41°04′E / 40.750°N 41.067°E / 40.750; 41.067Coordinates: 40°45′N 41°04′E / 40.750°N 41.067°E / 40.750; 41.067
Country  Turkey
Region Black Sea
Province Rize
Government
  Mayor Atilla Esmen (AKP)
Area[1]
  District 457.57 km2 (176.67 sq mi)
Elevation 0-2,000 m (−7,000 ft)
Population (2012)[2]
  Urban 24,839
  District 42,206
  District density 92/km2 (240/sq mi)
Time zone EET (UTC+2)
  Summer (DST) EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code 53
Area code(s) (0090)+ 464
Licence plate 53
Climate Cfa
Website http://www.cayeli.bel.tr

Çayeli (Laz: მაფავრი/Mapavri) is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey, 18 km east of the city of Rize.

Çay means tea in Turkish and a large percentage of Turkey's tea is indeed grown in this lush green district.

Geography

Çayeli consists of a narrow coastal strip and a large section of the Black Sea Mountain range which rises steeply and runs parallel to the coast. The Rize mountain section of these mountains reach up to 2,000 m in the district.

The local economy is mainly dependent on tea-growing, along with some sweetcorn, which before tea was planted in the 1940s was the major crop here. The town and the cultivated area are all on the coastal strip, while the mountain hinterland is sparsely populated. Indeed, the steepness of these hills is legendary, and celebrated in song; the late Barış Manço used to sing a version of the local ballad Çayelunden Öteye Ciderum Yali Yali, which tells of a man so much in love that he was even prepared to haul his household over the mountains of Çayeli.

However, for anyone who does venture up here the countryside is unspoilt forest and the views from these steep mountainsides are incredible; therefore Çayeli is now attracting visitors on trekking holidays.

The local cuisine includes a dish of large, light-coloured baked beans known as Çayeli fasulyesi.

The people are conservative, and the municipality is controlled by the Islamist-leaning Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi.

Climate

Çayeli has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa).

Climate data for Çayeli
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Daily mean °C (°F) 6.4
(43.5)
6.7
(44.1)
7.9
(46.2)
11.7
(53.1)
15.6
(60.1)
19.4
(66.9)
21.8
(71.2)
22.0
(71.6)
19.5
(67.1)
15.5
(59.9)
12.0
(53.6)
8.4
(47.1)
13.9
(57)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 192
(7.56)
146
(5.75)
123
(4.84)
83
(3.27)
82
(3.23)
129
(5.08)
110
(4.33)
144
(5.67)
185
(7.28)
234
(9.21)
208
(8.19)
215
(8.46)
1,851
(72.87)
Source: Climate-Data.org[3]

History

Mapavri was long occupied by the Laz community, and was part of the Roman Empire and then the Empire of Trebizond until was brought within the Ottoman Empire by Mehmet II in 1461, although this coast has always been vulnerable to invaders from across the nearby Caucasus.

In the recent past Çayeli was an impoverished remote region that saw successive generations migrate away to jobs in Turkey's larger cities or abroad. This emigration slowed when tea was planted here in the 1940s.

See also

Neighborhoods of Çayeli

References

  1. "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. "Climate: Çayeli". Climate-Data.org. Retrieved 14 April 2014.
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