Yusufeli

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

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

Field	Value
type	municipality
name	Yusufeli
image_skyline	File:Yusufeli Çoruh Valley 08.jpg
image_caption	Çoruh Valley, Yusufeli
coordinates
province	Artvin
district	Yusufeli
leader_party	CHP
leader_name	Barış Demirci
elevation_m	741
population_footnotes
population_total	7306
population_as_of	2021
postal_code	08700
website
blank1_name	Climate
blank1_info	Cfb
::

The town of Yusufeli sits in a valley where the Çoruh River is joined by the Barhal. To its north are the Kaçkar Mountains running east to west, with villages in other valleys between the mountains. The micro climate allows the cultivation of olives, grapes, and citrus fruits, the driving forces of the economy in addition to tourism. The town can be reached by air via Erzurum Airport, 135 km away from Yusufeli or by road from Artvin, Erzurum and Trabzon (via İspir in Erzurum Province).

There is a widely criticised plan to dam the Çoruh at Yusufeli, which would submerge 15,000 homes.

Climate

Yusufeli has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb).

|location = Yusufeli |metric first = yes |single line = yes |Jan mean C = 0.5 |Feb mean C = 2.0 |Mar mean C = 5.7 |Apr mean C = 11.0 |May mean C = 15.0 |Jun mean C = 18.4 |Jul mean C = 21.6 |Aug mean C = 21.6 |Sep mean C = 18.4 |Oct mean C = 13.3 |Nov mean C = 8.0 |Dec mean C = 3.0 |year mean C = 11.5 |Jan precipitation mm = 80 |Feb precipitation mm = 68 |Mar precipitation mm = 59 |Apr precipitation mm = 63 |May precipitation mm = 65 |Jun precipitation mm = 67 |Jul precipitation mm = 49 |Aug precipitation mm = 54 |Sep precipitation mm = 68 |Oct precipitation mm = 96 |Nov precipitation mm = 94 |Dec precipitation mm = 95 |year precipitation mm = |source 1 = Climate-Data.org{{cite web|url=http://en.climate-data.org/location/19361/|title = Climate: Yusufeli|access-date = 12 April 2014 |publisher = Climate-Data.org}}

History

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/59/Yusufeli.jpg"] ::

The history of Yusufeli, formerly Perterek or Pertarek, is traced to 3000 BC, the Bronze Age. The area has since been inhabited by Hurri, Urartu, Persians, Armenians, Ancient Romans, Byzantines and Georgians. In the Turkish era the area has been settled by Seljuks, Saltukids, Ilkhanids, Tamerlan, Akkoyunlu, Safavids and the Ottoman Empire. In the Kingdom of Armenia in antiquity it was part of Tayk province, known as the Canton of Arsiats por. In 1879 the area was the district of Kiskim in the eyalet of Çıldır. Then following the war between the Ottoman Empire and Russia it became a county of Erzurum. Most of the population is descended from Armenians or Georgians who converted to Islam in the 1700s.

Because of the rocky geography it was difficult for people from all villages to reach the city center, so a local district was established centred on Ögdem, but this was still inaccessible so Kılıçkaya (Ersis) became the center of county. Ersis means "a place where no boys live", so-called because so many sons of the district were lost in the Russo-Turkish War of 1878 and First World War. In the year 1912 the county name became Yusuf İli, i.e. "province of Yusuf" so the name Kiskim should not be confused with the name Keskin which was a county of Ankara at that time.

Culture

The folk music and culture is typical of the Black Sea region featuring the clarinet type zurna, a drum and bagpipes.

There are a number of historical Georgian churches in the valleys of Yusufeli, including the ruins of the Four Churches (Dört Kilise) in a village off the road to İspir (Map).

Places of interest

There are many medieval forts and Georgian churches in the valleys of Yusufeli. Some of them:

Armashen fortress
Ersis fortress
Nihak fortress
Oshnak fortress
Ishan monastery
Ogdem fortress
Peterek fortress
Parhal monastery
Savangin, a pre-historical cave with an inscription written in an undeciphered writing system

Notable natives

The singer and politician Zülfü Livaneli was born into a family from Yusufeli.
The former mayor of Istanbul, Kadir Topbaş, was born in Yusufeli.

References

[https://www.e-icisleri.gov.tr/Anasayfa/MulkiIdariBolumleri.aspx İlçe Belediyesi] {{Webarchive. link. (2023-06-11 , Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 30 January 2023.)
"Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021". [[TÜİK]].
[http://www.rivernet.org/turquie/yusufeli.htm The Yusufeli dam project]
[http://www.foe.co.uk/campaigns/corporates/success_stories/amec_pull_out.html Friends of the Earth: Campaigns: Corporates: AMEC and Spie pull out of Yusufeli Dam]
[http://www.ilisu.org.uk/news28.html Balfour Beatty withdraws support for the Ilisu Dam] {{webarchive. link. (April 15, 2007)
"Archived copy".
Simonian, Hovann H.. (2007). "The Hemshin: History, Society and Identity in the Highlands of Northeast Turkey". Routledge.
[http://www.karalahana.com/karadeniz/yusufeli-tarihi-eserler.htm Yusuefli forts and monasteries (Turkish)] {{webarchive. link. (November 22, 2008)

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