D.915 is a north-to-south state road in northeastern Turkey. The road starts at
Of, Trabzon on the coast of 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 ...
branching from
D.010 and ends in
Aşkale, Erzurum joining
D.100 running in a high-elevation mountainous terrain. The route is composed of two parts crossed and
overlapped by
D.050 on a length of north of
Bayburt. The northern part, between Of and Bayburt is long, and the southern part, between Bayburt and Aşkale is .
The northern section ,which is the Derebaşı curves, is considered one of the most dangerous routes in the world.
The route's northern part runs through the
districts of Trabzon Dernekpazarı
Dernekpazarı is a district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.The old name of the town was Kondu (or Kondualtı) and the current mayor of the town is Mehmet Aşık ( AKP). Dernekpazarı is part of the Of-valley system ('Solaklı ...
and
Çaykara, passes by
Uzungöl
Uzungöl (meaning "Long Lake"), or in the local Romeyka language: Şeraho, is a lake situated to the south of the city of Trabzon, in the Çaykara district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Uzungöl is also the name of the village on the lake's coast. ...
and crosses Mount Soğanlı of the
Karadeniz Mountain Range with the
Soğanlı Pass at
AMSL
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
on the province border
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 ...
-
Bayburt, and crosses over
Çoruh River
The Chorokh ( ka, ჭოროხი ''Ch'orokhi'', tr, Çoruh, hy, Չորոխ ''Ch’vorokh'', el, Άκαμψις, ''Akampsis'') is a river that rises in the Mescit Mountains in north-eastern Turkey, flows through the cities of Bayburt, İsp ...
before joining D.050.
Starting on the junction of D.050 in Bayburt, the southern part of the route runs through
Maden, crosses Mount Kop of the
Otlukbeli Mountains with the
Kop Pass at
AMSL
Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''.
The comb ...
just south of the province border Bayburt-
Erzurum, where a
highway tunnel is under construction to ease the route with several
hairpin turn
A hairpin turn (also hairpin bend or hairpin corner) is a bend in a road with a very acute inner angle, making it necessary for an oncoming vehicle to turn about 180° to continue on the road. It is named for its resemblance to a bent metal hai ...
s. It reaches Aşkale on the D.100 (
E80). The route from Bayburt to Aşkale is part of
E87.
Road from Of to Bayburt
Built in 1916 by the Russian soldiers following the
Trebizond Campaign
The Trebizond Campaign, also known as the Battle of Trebizond, was a series of successful Russian naval and land operations that resulted in the capture of Trabzon. It was the logistical step after the Erzerum Campaign. Operations began on Februa ...
, the road from Of to Bayburt runs on Mt. Soğanlı climbing up to an elevation of above sea level. The route without guardrails includes 29 steep hairpin turns. While the start and end sections of the route are paved with asphalt, the center part is only gravel.
It is difficult to travel particularly in wet and dark conditions or by fog and snow, and it is considered as one of the most dangerous roads of the world, even more dangerous than the
Death Road in Bolivia.
Named Derebaşı Turns, the most risky part of the route is situated in Çaykara with 13 hairpin turns. At a length of only , it has an elevation difference from .
References
{{State roads in Turkey
915
Year 915 ( CMXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place Europe
* Summer – Battle of Garigliano: The Christian League, personally led by Pope John X, lays s ...
Transport in Trabzon Province
Transport in Bayburt Province
Transport in Erzurum Province