Giresun Province ( tr, ) is a

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Roma ...

coast. Its adjacent provinces are

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the Bl ...

to the east,

Gümüşhane Gümüşhane () is a city and the capital district of Gümüşhane Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. The city lies along the Harşit River, at an elevation of , about southwest of Trabzon. According to the 2010 census, population of Gü ...

to the southeast,

Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. The city is ...

to the south,

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...

to the southwest, and

Ordu Ordu () or Altınordu is a port city on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, historically also known as Cotyora or Kotyora ( pnt, Κοτύωρα), and the capital of Ordu Province with a population of 229,214 in the city center. Name Kotyora, the ori ...

to the west. Its license-plate code is 28. The provincial capital is

Giresun Giresun (), formerly Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, Greek: Κερασούντα), is the provincial capital of Giresun Province in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about west of the city of Trabzon. Etymology Giresun wa ...

Geography

Giresun is an agricultural region and its lower areas, near the

coast. It is Turkey's second largest producer of

hazelnuts The hazelnut is the fruit of the hazel tree and therefore includes any of the nuts deriving from species of the genus ''Corylus'', especially the nuts of the species ''Corylus avellana''. They are also known as cobnuts or filberts according ...

and it is famously home to the best quality hazelnuts in the world; a Giresun folk song tells "I will not eat a single hazelnut, unless you are by my side," while another tells of a lover shot dead under a hazelnut tree. Forests and pasture cover the high mountainous regions, and in places there is mining of copper, zinc, iron and other metals. The mountain villages are remote, with poor roads and little else in the way of infrastructure. The hillsides are too steep for most forms of agriculture, and as a result, cornbread is the traditional meal, as wheat cannot be grown. The climate is typical of this stretch of the

coast, i.e. very wet. Local flora includes

bilberries Bilberries (), or sometimes European blueberries, are a primarily Eurasian species of low-growing shrubs in the genus ''Vaccinium'' (family Ericaceae), bearing edible, dark blue berries. The species most often referred to is ''Vaccinium myrtillu ...

(Turkish "taflan").

Demographics

The province is traditionally inhabited mostly by

Chepni Chepni ( az, Çəpni; tr, Çepni; tk, Çepni) is one of the 24 Oghuz Turkic tribes. History In the legend of Oghuz Qaghan, the Chepni was stated as one of the clans of the tribe of ''Gök Han'' that consists of Pecheneg (''Beçenek''), Bayandu ...

Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...

as well as a minority of Cheveneburi Georgians in select rural villages and towns. Due to migration, more Giresunians live outside of Giresun than inside it.

Districts

Giresun province is divided into 16

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

(capital district in bold):

Culture

Giresun province is culturally divided into two regions from north to south. North Giresun having virtually the same culture as the neighbouring Ordu and Trabzon, while south Giresun (aka. the

Şebinkarahisar Şebinkarahisar is a town in and the administrative seat for Şebinkarahisar District, Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of northeastern Turkey. Name The 6th century Byzantine historian Procopius writes that the Roman general Pompey captu ...

region) being much closer to the neighbouring Sivas province and the

Central Anatolia region The Central Anatolia Region ( tr, İç Anadolu Bölgesi) is a geographical region of Turkey. The largest city in the region is Ankara. Other big cities are Konya, Kayseri, Eskişehir, Sivas, and Aksaray. Located in Central Turkey, it is bordered ...

. Because of the northern part dominating much of the province's economic and demographic sides, south of the province is more often than not ignored.

Handcrafts

Due to the dense forestry in Giresun,

woodwork Woodworking is the skill of making items from wood, and includes cabinet making (cabinetry and furniture), wood carving, joinery, carpentry, and woodturning. History Along with stone, clay and animal parts, wood was one of the first materials ...

is among the common

handcrafts A handicraft, sometimes more precisely expressed as artisanal handicraft or handmade, is any of a wide variety of types of work where useful and decorative objects are made completely by one’s hand or by using only simple, non-automated re ...

in the region. Some small wooden handcrafts peculiar to the city are

churn Churn may refer to: * Churn drill, large-diameter drilling machine large holes appropriate for holes in the ground Dairy-product terms * Butter churn, device for churning butter * Churning (butter), the process of creating butter out of mil ...

s, külek (a storing pot for cheese), and spoons. One of the oldest handcrafts in the city is weaving.

Wool Wool is the textile fibre obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have properties similar to animal wool. As ...

linen Linen () is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant. Linen is very strong, absorbent, and dries faster than cotton. Because of these properties, linen is comfortable to wear in hot weather and is valued for use in garments. It also ...

threads and similar raw materials are spun in handlooms to produce various local clothes, heybe (shoulder bags) and bags. Strong threads and knitted threads are also produced in handlooms.

Cuisine

Some of the dishes peculiar to the city are

corn Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. Th ...

soup (Mısır çorbası), kale soup (kara lahana çorbası or pancar çorbası), cabbage leaves stuffed with a meat filling (etli lahana sarması or pancar sarması/dolması), black cabbage dish ( karalahana yemeği or pancar yemeği),

pilaf Pilaf ( US spelling) or pilau ( UK spelling) is a rice dish, or in some regions, a wheat dish, whose recipe usually involves cooking in stock or broth, adding spices, and other ingredients such as vegetables or meat, and employing some techniq ...

with anchovy (hamsili pilav),

with cabbage ( dible), kaygana,

kuymak Kuymak is a regional meal of Turkey. Its primary ingredients are corn meal and cheese. and is typically served with bread and a spoon. It is also popular in Georgia, Azerbaijan and some regions of Caucasus. Similar dishes Muhlama, also refer ...

(made of cheese, cornmeal and butter)

Places of interest

* Kümbet, Karagöl and Bektaş are areas of an attractive mountain pasture in the district of

Dereli Dereli is a town in Giresun Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Dereli District.Rahşan Ecevit Rahşan Ecevit (''née'' Aral, 17 December 1923 – 17 January 2020) was a Turkish author, painter and politician. She was the second lady of Turkey four times during her husband Bülent Ecevit's prime ministries. Biography She was born in ...

(1923, Bursa - 2020), wife of former Turkish Prime Minister,

Bülent Ecevit Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist, who served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in ...

, born to a

family *

Hayrettin Erkmen Hayrettin Erkmen (19 April 1915 – 18 May 1999) was the minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental cou ...

(b Tirebolu - ), former foreign minister *

Harun Karadeniz Harun Karadeniz (1942, in Armutlu, Alucra – 15 August 1975, in Istanbul) was a Turkish political activist and author. He was the student leader of the late 1960s generation in Turkey and the chair of the Student Union of Istanbul Technical Univers ...

(1942, Alucra - 1975), writer and student activist leader of the 1968 generation * İdris Küçükömer (1925, Giresun - 1987), economist and thinker *

Topal Osman Hacı Topal Osman Ağa (1883 – 2 April 1923) was a Turkish officer, a militia leader of the National Forces, a volunteer regiment commander of the Turkish army during the Turkish War of Independence who eventually rose to the rank of lieuten ...

(1883, Giresun - 2 Nisan 1923, Ankara), soldier and commander in the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

Mustafa Suphi Mustafa Suphi or Mustafa Subhi (1883 – 28 January 1921) was a Turkish revolutionary and communist during the period of dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. Early life Suphi was born in 1883 in Giresun Province, in the Ottoman Empire, now loc ...

(1883, Giresun - 1921), founder of the Communist Party of Turkey * Naim Tirali (1925, Giresun - ), journalist and politician *

Hasan Âli Yücel Hasan Âli Yücel (17 December 1897 - 26 February 1961) was a Turkish education reformer and philosophy teacher who served as minister of national education of Turkey from December 1938 to August 1946. He is remembered for the foundation of Vil ...

(1897, İstanbul – 1961), poet, thinker, and politician, former minister of education, born to a

Görele Görele is a town and a district of Giresun Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey. The population was 16,033 in 2010. Geography The district is mainly mountainous and watered by streams and rivers running into the Black Sea, the h ...

family

Writers and artists

* Kadir Çelik (b Görele ), TV producer and presenter * Hulki Cevizoğlu (b 1958, Giresun - ), journalist, TV presenter and producer, specialises in political debate *

Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu Bedri Rahmi Eyüboğlu (1911 – 21 September 1975) was a Turkish painter, mosaic-maker, muralist, writer and poet. His art work was inspired by Anatolian village scenes and folk literature, and included traditional handicraft folk patterns. E ...

(1913, Görele - 1975, Istanbul), painter and poet * Hamit Görele (1903, Görele - 1980, Istanbul), painter * Ergin Günçe (1938, Giresun - 1983), poet * İlyas İlbey, actor, husband of Yasemin Yalçın * Şafak Karaman (b 1967, Trabzon - ), minor celebrity and TV presenter, born to a

Tirebolu Tirebolu (from the Greek word《Τρίπολις》meaning "three cities", named as such by its ancient Greek founders), is a town and district of Giresun Province, Turkey. Geography Tirebolu is a small town of 14,303 people located on a hill nam ...

family *

Fatih Kırtorun Fatih Kırtorun (born 1985, Görele, Giresun) is a Turkish poet and translator. Personal life Born in Giresun, Görele, he moved to Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , a ...

(1985, Görele - ), writer and poet * Salih Memecan (1952, Giresun - ), cartoonist of ''

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah borders the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and the North Kalimantan province of Indone ...

'' newspaper *

Fethi Naci Fethi is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic name Fathi (Arabic: فَتْحِي ''fat·ḥiy/ fat·ḥī/ fat·ḥy'') which means "victorious, triumphant". It may refer to: * Fethi Benslama (born 1961), Paris-based Tunisian psychoanalyst * Fethi ...

(1927, Giresun - ), writer and critic *

Aziz Nesin Aziz Nesin (; born Mehmet Nusret, 20 December 1915 – 6 July 1995) was a Turkish writer, humorist and the author of more than 100 books. Born in a time when Turks did not have official surnames, he had to adopt one after the Surname Law of ...

(1915, Şebinkarahisar - 1995), writer and journalist *

Yaman Okay Yaman Okay (1951 – 19 February 1993) was a Turkish actor. He won the 1981 Golden Orange Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in '' On Fertile Lands''. Okay was married since 1984 to actress and screenwriter Meral Okay. He died ...

(b 1951, Giresun -), actor and film director *

Öztürk Serengil Öztürk Serengil (2 May 1933 – 11 January 1999) was a Turkish actor and comedian. He is mostly known as one of the famous comedians in Turkish films. Biography He was born in Artvin, Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially t ...

, well-known film actor, father of Seren Serengil, grew up in Giresun * Ahmet Yalçınkaya (b 1963, Giresun ), poet * İlker Yasin,

Kanal D Kanal D, also known as Channel D, is a nationwide television channel in Turkey and part of Demirören Group. It was founded by Ayhan Şahenk and Aydın Doğan in 1993. The network also runs an international channel, Euro D which is available o ...

s football commentator

Musicians

Giresun province shares the folk music of the Black Sea region and is the birthplace of: *

Picoğlu Osman Picoğlu Osman (, 1901 – 31 May 1946) was a Turkish kemençe player from the Eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey. He was also a famous composer and he is thought to be one of the best kemençe players. Early life He was born in Görele i ...

(b. 1901, Görele - d. 1946 Amasra), folk musician, considered to be one of the best

kemençe Kemenche ( tr, kemençe) or Lyra is a name used for various types of stringed bowed musical instruments originating in the Eastern Mediterranean, particularly in Armenia, Greece, Iran, Turkey, and Azerbaijan. and regions adjacent to the Black ...

players * Katip Şadi (b 1932, Görele -), folk musician, kemençe player Other musicians include: *

Ozan Arif Ozan may refer to: Companies * Ozan Lumber Company, a former company based in Arkansas People *, an itinerant poet, poet-singer (similar to "bard", "balladeer", or "troubadour") in Turkic traditions, predating the term ''ashik'' Given name "Oza ...

(1949, Alucra - ), poet, lyricist, balladeer of the extreme right MHP * Bahadır Aydoğan, Arabesk style singer * Mustafa Küçük, folk-arabesk musician * Gökhan Semiz (1968, Istanbul - 1998 İstanbul), member of the pop music group Group Vitamin; family from Giresun *

Teoman Teoman () is a masculine Turkish given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Ali Teoman Germaner (1934–2018) Turkish sculptor * Teoman Koman (c. 1936–2013), Turkish general * Teoman (singer), stage name of Faz ...

(1967, Alucra - ), rock singer

Sports people

* Şenes Erzik (1942, Giresun -), businessman and vice president of

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

* Hasan Gemici, 1952 Olympic gold medalist in freestyle wrestling *

Giresunspor Giresunspor Kulübü is a Turkish professional football club based in Giresun. It was founded in 1925 and re-formed in 1967 after the merger of Yeşiltepespor, Akıngençlikspor, and Beşiktaşspor. The football club is playing in the Turkish S ...

, a 1st (Süper Lig) league football team * Tolga Seyhan (b 1977 -) and

Gökdeniz Karadeniz Gökdeniz Karadeniz (born 11 January 1980) is a Turkish former professional footballer who played as a winger or as an attacking midfielder. Club career Trabzonspor Karadeniz played his first professional match for Trabzonspor in the 1999–0 ...

(b 1980 Giresun, currently with

Rubin Kazan FC Rubin Kazan (russian: Футбо́льный клуб Руби́н Каза́нь, ''Futbolny klub Rubin Kazan'' , Tatar: Рубин Казан) is a Russian professional football club based in the city of Kazan. They play in the second-tier ...

), footballers

Giresun in popular culture

* The TV series '' Uy Başuma Gelenler'' was filmed in the village of Düzköy. It is the story of a young man from Istanbul who inherits a hazelnut grove in Giresun (a Turkish twist on '' Monarch of the Glen''). * The folk song "Giresun üstünde vapur bağrıyor" ("Eşref Bey Ağıtı") has been recorded by a number of artists including Ismail Hakkı Demircioğlu, and tells of a wounded soldier dying in Giresun. * "Giresun'un içinde" has been sung by

Musa Eroğlu Musa Eroğlu (born 1946) is a Turkish folk musician and bağlama virtuoso. He was born in the Mut county district of Mersin. He is a Tahtacı. He completed his secondary education in Mut. He then started to perform Turkish folk dance and music. I ...

Selda Bağcan Selda Bağcan (; born December 14, 1948) is a Turkish folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and music producer. Early life Selda Bağcan was born in 1948 in the western Turkish town of Muğla. Her father was a veterinarian medician of Macedonian ...

and

Fuat Saka Fuat Saka (born 1952) is a Turkish singer, songwriter, arranger, and guitarist (although he may be more precisely called a multi-instrumentalist). Saka received art training in İstanbul and later music training in France and (Germany). He had ...

, who also sang "Lazutlar," which means ''corn'' in the local dialect and is a kind of ''

Cider with Rosie ''Cider with Rosie'' is a 1959 book by Laurie Lee (published in the US as ''Edge of Day: Boyhood in the West of England'', 1960). It is the first book of a trilogy that continues with ''As I Walked Out One Midsummer Morning'' (1969) and '' A ...

'' rural idyll in verse. *

Ahmet Kaya Ahmet Kaya (28 October 1957 – 16 November 2000) was a Turkish– Kurdish folk singer. Kaya was persecuted by Turkish nationalist celebrities and authorities. Kaya left Turkey in an act of self- exile, and moved to France, where he would sho ...

sang "Mican," a ballad about a local bandit in the mountains.