Gumushane

Gumushane has a rich flora and fauna; it’s surrounded by fruit groves, especially apples, and gardens of 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 of 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 of 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 of silver mines. During the Ottoman Empire Gumushane was a satellite of Erzurum and than Trabzon, but after the Republic it became a province of Turkey.

The old Gumushane city still retains examples of 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 of the Sultan in the 16th century. There are also many fountains, tombs and mausoleums from Ottoman period.

Being founded on the ancient Silk Road, 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 districts of Gumushane.