Çamlıhemşin

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title: "Çamlıhemşin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["populated-places-in-rize-province", "çamlıhemşin-district", "district-municipalities-in-turkey"] topic_path: "geography/turkey" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Çamlıhemşin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox Turkey place"]

FieldValue
typemunicipality
nameÇamlıhemşin
image_skylinePokut Yaylası 4.jpg
image_captionPokut plateau. Clouds above the mountains of Rize
coordinates
provinceRize
districtÇamlıhemşin
leader_partyAKP
leader_nameOsman Haşimoğlu
elevation_m300
population_footnotes
population_total1763
population_as_of2021
area_code0464
website
blank1_nameClimate
blank1_infoCfb
::

| type = municipality | name = Çamlıhemşin | other_name = | image_skyline = Pokut Yaylası 4.jpg | image_caption = Pokut plateau. Clouds above the mountains of Rize | image_shield = | coordinates = | province = Rize | district = Çamlıhemşin | leader_party = AKP | leader_name = Osman Haşimoğlu | area_footnotes = | area_total_km2 = | elevation_m = 300 | population_footnotes = | population_total = 1763 | population_as_of = 2021 | postal_code = | area_code = 0464 | website = | blank1_name = Climate | blank1_info = Cfb Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ვიჯა Vija ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District. Its population is 1,763 (2021).

With its mountains and valleys in all shades of green, Çamlıhemşin has a reputation as one of the most attractive parts of the eastern Black Sea region according to CNN, particularly during and thanks to its autumn foliage.

Etymology

The town was originally known as Vija, Vije, or Vice with local variants Vicealtı, Vicedibi, although it was officially named as Vicealtı until 1953 when its name was changed to Çamlıca by Turkish authorities. Its current name, Çamlıhemşin, was given in 1957, a combination of the terms "Çamlı", which in Turkish means "pine-forested" or "piney" and "Hemşin", which is the name of the indigenous Armenian population of the region.

The name Vija is the Laz word for brine, mineral (salty) water, which corresponds to the Kartvelian *weʒ₁- form.

Geography

Çamlıhemşin is high in the Fırtına Valley, which leads down to the Black Sea coast, and is an important access point to the Kaçkar mountains. This is a hilly area surrounded by very high mountains that poke up into the clouds, and watered by the Hala River and other streams running down the Black Sea. It rains here all year round, temperatures drop to -7 °C in winter and reach 25 °C in summer.

This is a low-income district and successive generations of Çamlıhemşin have migrated to jobs in Turkey's larger cities (for example they have reputation as the best bakers and pastry-cooks in Ankara). In Çamlıhemşin some tea is grown and otherwise people live from forestry, beekeeping or herding animals on the mountainside. However the countryside here is a gorgeous mix of meadows and valleys and in recent years the district has begun to attract tourists, people on trekking holidays in the Kaçkar. There are now small hotels and guest houses throughout the district.

Çamlıhemşin itself is a small town of 2,355 people. There is a health centre and some blocks of public housing, residences for teachers and civil servants posted here. There are high schools in Çamlıhemşin and primary schools in the mountains villages. The traditional Çamlıhemşin village house is wooden, with a steep roof to run off the rain and a wooden terrace at the side. Many of these homes seem stuck to the steep hillsides by magic.

20 villages of the district are inhabited by Hemshinli, 7 villages are inhabited by Laz. The centre of the district (Vija/Vicealtı) has a Hemshinli majority and a Laz minority who are mostly recent settlers. Hemshinli have a distinct folk culture, for example, the women wear bright orange headscarves which they tie in a certain way to declare their availability (or not) for marriage.

The local cuisine includes muhlama, the fondue-type hot cheese, butter and flour pudding.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b0/ArchBridgeOverFirtinaDeresi@Rize-Turkey-1.JPG" caption="One of stone arch bridges over Hala Deresi which has been built in Ottoman Empire Era in the 19th century."] ::

Climate

Çamlıhemşin has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

|location = Çamlıhemşin |metric first = yes |single line = yes |Jan mean C = 3.8 |Feb mean C = 4.4 |Mar mean C = 6.6 |Apr mean C = 10.8 |May mean C = 14.7 |Jun mean C = 18.4 |Jul mean C = 21.2 |Aug mean C = 21.3 |Sep mean C = 18.6 |Oct mean C = 14.1 |Nov mean C = 10.0 |Dec mean C = 5.9 |year mean C = 12.5 |Jan precipitation mm = 141 |Feb precipitation mm = 109 |Mar precipitation mm = 94 |Apr precipitation mm = 77 |May precipitation mm = 77 |Jun precipitation mm = 109 |Jul precipitation mm = 87 |Aug precipitation mm = 108 |Sep precipitation mm = 138 |Oct precipitation mm = 177 |Nov precipitation mm = 159 |Dec precipitation mm = 164 |year precipitation mm = |source 1 = Climate-Data.org |url=http://en.climate-data.org/location/30517/ |title = Climate: Çamlıhemşin |accessdate = 14 April 2014 |publisher = Climate-Data.org}}

Places of interest

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ec/Ayder3.jpg"] ::

Çamlıhemşin has a number of places for hiking and escaping into the countryside, including:

  • Ayder - the village has mineral baths and plenty of accommodation for visitors.
  • the Fırtına Valley, which runs through the heart of Çamlıhemşin, and is spanned by the Ottoman-era Fırtına River bridges. These bridges are a regional speciality.
  • Kale-i Balâ a castle high on a rock
  • Zilkale, a medieval era castle

Notable residents

    • a Turkish musician of Hemshin origin playing the tulum

Gallery

File:Çamlıhemşin-01Apr2025-06.jpg

File:Çamlıhemşin-01Apr2025-04.jpg|The central mosque at the village

File:Çamlıhemşin-01Apr2025-05.jpg

File:Çamlıhemşin-01Apr2025-03.jpg

File:Çamlıhemşin-01Apr2025-02.jpg

File:Çamlıhemşin-01Apr2025-01.jpg

References

References

  1. [https://web.archive.org/web/20070703183343/www.kadirkalemci.com/mohti.html Mohti Rize Fındıklı lazlar çamlıhenşin horon Lazca google Kadir Kalemci Web Sayfası Maşukiye Laz Mehmet]
  2. [https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx İlçe Belediyesi], Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  3. "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021". [[TÜİK]].
  4. Yalav-Heckeroth, Feride. (2023-07-03). "Turkey’s hidden mountain hideaways".
  5. [https://www.academia.edu/14174763/%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%96%E1%83%94%E1%83%97%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%A5%E1%83%90%E1%83%9A%E1%83%90%E1%83%A5_%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%AF%E1%83%90%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%AE%E1%83%94%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1%E1%83%97%E1%83%95%E1%83%98%E1%83%A1_About_the_name_of_Vija_town_in_Lazeti Gogokhia, Bakur, "About the name of Vija town in Lazeti", ''Etymological Researches XI'', Arnold Chikobava Institute of Linguistics, Tbilisi, 2014, p.p. 3-10]; {{ISSN. 1987-9946 (in Georgian).
  6. "Turkey".

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::

populated-places-in-rize-provinceçamlıhemşin-districtdistrict-municipalities-in-turkey