Akçaabat is a municipality and

district 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 county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 4,628 km2, and its population is 818,023 (2022). Located in a strategic ...

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. Its area is 375 km², and its population is 129,290 (2022). It lies on the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal sea, marginal Mediterranean sea (oceanography), mediterranean sea 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 bound ...

coast, to the west of the city of

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

. Its elevation is . Akçaabat is a coastal town known for its local soccer team Akçaabat Sebatspor, its kofta dish ''Akçaabat köfte'' and the Akçaabat Horonu dance. Akçaabat has hosted an international folklore festival since 1990, and it was a venue for the archery and athletics competitions of the First Black Sea Games held in 2007.

Name

The first settlers of the town came from the ancient Greek

Miletus Miletus (Ancient Greek: Μίλητος, Mílētos) was an influential ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in present day Turkey. Renowned in antiquity for its wealth, maritime power, and ex ...

and named the town "Platana" because of the abundance of plane trees (Greek ''Plátanos'', Πλάτανος, Latin

Platanus ''Platanus'' ( ) is a genus consisting of a small number of tree species native to the Northern Hemisphere. They are the sole living members of the family Platanaceae. All mature members of ''Platanus'' are tall, reaching in height. The type ...

). In Turkish, the name was reinterpreted as ''Pulathane'' 'land of iron' and the surrounding district became Akçeabad 'abundance of money'.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. The Köppen Climate System classifies this climate as humid subtropical, abbreviated ''Cfa''.

History

Founded as a trade colony of

around the 7th century BC, the town came under Persian rule around the 6th century BC. After a brief rule under Alexander the Great, Akçaabat was incorporated into the

Kingdom of Pontus Pontus ( ) was a Hellenistic kingdom centered in the historical region of Pontus in modern-day Turkey, and ruled by the Mithridatic dynasty of Persian origin, which may have been directly related to Darius the Great of the Achaemenid dynasty. ...

established by Mithridates I of Pontus around the 3rd century BC. After the dissolution of the Kingdom of Pontus around 60 BC, the Romans took control of the region surrounding Trabzon. Serving as a natural port for Trabzon, Akçaabat was one of the important towns of eastern Black Sea region, and thus Pontus region of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

. Although attacked several times by different nations and tribes Akçaabat remained under Byzantine control until a branch of the Byzantine dynasty,

Komnenos The House of Komnenos ( Komnenoi; , , ), Latinized as Comnenus ( Comneni), was a Byzantine Greek noble family who ruled the Byzantine Empire in the 11th and 12th centuries. The first reigning member, Isaac I Komnenos, ruled from 1057 to 1059. ...

family established their own kingdom with the help of Georgian queen Tamara after the Latin capture of

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

in 1204. This new state, called the

Empire of Trebizond The Empire of Trebizond or the Trapezuntine Empire was one of the three successor rump states of the Byzantine Empire that existed during the 13th through to the 15th century. The empire consisted of the Pontus, or far northeastern corner of A ...

, survived as a vassal kingdom under the Seljukid Empire until Sultan Mehmet II of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

added Trabzon to his territories in October 1461. The first battle between the Ottoman Navy and the Komnenos Navy occurred to the west of Akçaabat port, around Akçakale where the Trapezuntines lost eight ships. As Akçaabat lies to the west of Trabzon, Mehmet II used Akçaabat as his base for the final conquest of Trebizond. Akçakale castle "the White Castle" held its defense until 1468 when the Ottomans finally succeeded in their siege.Akçaabat-H.Gedikoğlu/Akçaabat Belediyesi Kültür Yayını I During the centuries of Ottoman rule, Akçaabat remained the main and most important town center of Trebizond after the city of Trebizond itself. After the establishment of Akçaabat municipality in 1880, Akçaabat officially gained the status of "town" according to the municipal and administrative reform of 1884 which reorganized the administrative structure in the provinces of the Ottoman Empire. In 1810 the Russian Navy landed troops on Akçaabat's shores around Salacik where the defense of the townspeople repulsed the Russian landing after several days. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, Tsarist Russian armies occupied Akçaabat on 20 April 1916. As the Russian forces withdrew after the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...

, Ottoman forces recaptured Akçaabat on 17 February 1918. After the establishment of Turkish Republic in 1923, the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

inhabitants were forced to leave for Greece due to the population exchange. Akçaabat was designated as one of the towns of the city of Trabzon according to the new administrative organization. Akçaabat has remained as the biggest town of Trabzon until today. Until the 1980s Akçaabat did not witness major changes in its natural and social composition despite being the closest town to Trabzon city center, however, with the return of the German Turks people to their hometowns and flow of rural illagepopulation to the town center, the composition of the town center changed. The population of the town skyrocketed from 15000 in the 1980s to 50000 in 2008. The unique old-style houses kçaabat evleriwere replaced by huge apartment blocks, the sea has been constantly filled in order to gain land to meet rising demand for expansion of inter-city roads and recreational lands. The dissolution of the

USSR The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

in 1990 brought the influx of former Soviet citizens who mainly involved in small trades and sex tourism, and this brought major changes in social composition. Added to this, the flood of June 1990, which killed dozens of people and caused much damage necessitated the rebuilding of the town. Today, Akçaabat is one of the most densely populated towns on the Black Sea coast.

Chronology

* 700 BC: Akçaabat becomes one of the extensions of Miletos Trade Colonies. * 312 BC: Akçaabat was incorporated to Pontus kingdom of Mithridates. * 63 BC: Akçaabat was conquered by the

. * 330 AC: Akçaabat became part of the

Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...

. * 1204 AC: Akçaabat becomes part of the

. * 1461: Akçaabat and

were added to

territories by Mehmed II the Conqueror. * 1810: Russian naval attack on the town was repulsed. * 1880: Akçaabat Municipality was established. * 1884: Akçaabat was awarded with Township according to the new regulations in administrative organization. * 20 April 1916: Russian forces capture and occupy Akçaabat. * 17 February 1918: Ottoman forces recapture Akçaabat. * 1923: Akçaabat Sebatspor was founded under the name of Idman Sebatyurdu as one of the first three soccer teams from Trabzon. * 19–20 June 1990: Akçaabat suffered a major flood due to heavy rain and flooding of the rivers. * 2002: Akçaabat Sebatspor became the first Turkish football team from a town center (except the towns of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, and

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

) promoted to

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

Saint Michael Church

Saint Michael Church, also known as 'Saint Joseph Church', is a large church in the town outskirts of Akçaabat. The church was built in 1332 in memory of the victory of the

Byzantine Emperor The foundation of Constantinople in 330 AD marks the conventional start of the Eastern Roman Empire, which Fall of Constantinople, fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 AD. Only the emperors who were recognized as legitimate rulers and exercised s ...

Manuel Komnenos against the Seljuks. In 1846 it was repaired by the citizens of the city. Later, in 1922 after the Greek citizens left it was turned into a residential home. After the death of the family members who lived there, the building was neglected and damaged. In 2019, started the restoration and in 2021 after the restoration finished is used for social and cultural activities by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Composition

There are 78

neighbourhoods A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

in Akçaabat District: * Acısu * Adacık * Ağaçlı * Akçakale * Akçaköy * Akdamar * Akören * Akpınar * Alsancak * Ambarcık * Arpacılı * Aydınköy * Benlitaş Baltacı * Bozdoğan * Çamlıca * Çamlıdere * Cevizli * Cevizlik * Çiçeklidüz * Çilekli * Çınarlık * Çolaklı * Çukurca * Darıca * Demirci * Demirkapı * Demirtaş * Derecik * Doğanköy * Dörtyol * Dürbinar * Erikli * Esentepe * Eskiköy * Fındıklı * Fıstıklı * Gümüşlü * Helvacı * Işıklar * Kaleönü * Karaçayır * Karaman * Karpınar * Kavaklı * Kayalar * Kemaliye * Kirazlık * Koçlu * Kuruçam * Maden * Mersin * Meşeli * Meydankaya * Nefsipulathane * Oğulkaya Yolbaşı * Ortaalan * Ortaköy * Ortamahalle * Osmanbaba * Özakdamar * Özdemirci * Salacık * Sarıca * Sarıtaş * Sertkaya * Şinik * Söğütlü * Tatlısu * Tütüncüler * Uçarsu * Uğurlu * Yaylacık * Yeniköy * Yenimahalle * Yeşiltepe * Yeşilyurt * Yıldızlı * Zaferli

Notable people from Akçaabat

* Ekrem İmamoğlu, politician * Erol Günaydın, actor * Hasan Saka, politician * Haydar Baş, politician * Hüseyin Türkmen, footballer *

Kadir Mısıroğlu Kadir Mısıroğlu (24 January 1933 – 5 May 2019) was a Turkish Islamist writer, publisher, and conspiracy theorist.

, conspiracy theorist * Mehmet Bölükbaşı, footballer * Metin Aktaş, footballer * Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin, magistrate * Sabahattin Eyüboğlu, writer

References

External links

District governor's official website

District municipality's official website

Platana (Akçaabat)
*Trabzon Akççabattaki Başmelek Mikhail Kilisesi (book) https://www.morebooks.de/store/gb/book/trabzon-ak%C3%A7aabat-taki-ba%C5%9Fmelek-mikhail-kilisesi/isbn/978-3-639-81102-5 {{DEFAULTSORT:Akcaabat Black Sea port cities and towns in Turkey Districts of Trabzon Province Metropolitan district municipalities in Turkey Fishing communities in Turkey Populated coastal places in Turkey Populated places in Trabzon Province Ionian colonies