Ordu Province

Ordu Province Ordu ili
—  Province of Turkey  —
Location of Ordu Province in Turkey
Country	Turkey
Region	Black Sea
Capital	Ordu
Area
- Total	6,001 km2 (2,317 sq mi)
Population (2010-12-31)[1]
- Total	719,183
- Density	119.8/km2 (310.4/sq mi)
Area code(s)	0452
Vehicle registration	52
Website	ordu.gov.tr

Ordu Province (Turkish: Ordu ili ) is a province of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, Sivas to the south, and Giresun to the east. Its traffic code is 52. The capital of the province is the city of Ordu.

Etymology

"Ordu" means 'army' in Turkish but there are many speculations about the name's meaning.

Geography

A typical Ordu farm house

Ordu is a strip of Black Sea coast and the hills behind, historically an agricultural and fishing area and in recent years, tourism has seen an increase, mainly visitors from Russia and Georgia, as Ordu boasts some of the best beaches, rivers, and lush, green mountains on the Black Sea coast. Walking in the high pastures is now a popular excusrion for Turkish holidaymakers.

Ordu is famous for hazelnuts. Turkey as a whole produces about 70 percent of the world's hazelnuts, and over 50 percent of those come from Ordu.^[2] The recent drop in hazelnut prices however have led farmers to supplement their income with honeybees. The higher altitudes are covered in forest. Melet river, Bolaman river, Fatsa river, Cevizdere stream, Curi stream and Bağdere stream are main rivers of the Ordu province and Gaga lake is the only lake of the city ^[3]

Raising bees among hazelnut trees

Mostly Chepni Turks and other Oghuz Turks live here and the province is home to a minority of Cheveneburi Georgians ^[4] and Muslims of Greek ethnic origin in Mesudiye.

In recent decades many people from Ordu have migrated away to jobs in Istanbul, Bursa, Samsun, Sakarya or abroad.

Districts

Ordu province is divided into 19 districts (capital district in bold):

Akkuş Aybastı Çamaş Çatalpınar Çaybaşı Fatsa Gölköy Gülyalı Gürgentepe İkizce

Kabadüz Kabataş Korgan Kumru Mesudiye Ordu Perşembe Ulubey Ünye

Places to see

Ordu has an attractive coast including pretty bays and the cleanest and longest beaches on this stretch of the Black Sea coast. Specific sites include:

• The Russian bazaar in the city of Ordu
• Boztepe - a 460 m hill above the city.
• Karagöl - a crater lake at 3107 m, above the plateau of Çambaşı
• Yason (Jason) point - a headland in Perşembe
• Çambaşı Yaylası a high plateau
• Meletios Greek Church in Mesudiye
• Samuga Armenian Church in Mesudiye

Well-known residents

• Fikri Sönmez - left-wing mayor of Fatsa in the period leading up to the 1980 Turkish coup d'état

University

• Ordu University^[5]

References

1. ^ Turkish Statistical Institute, MS Excel document – Population of province/district centers and towns/villages and population growth rate by provinces
2. ^ Inventory Of Hazelnut Research, Germplasm And References
3. ^ Ordu
4. ^ Chveneburi.Net :: Yeni Sayaca Köyü - Ulubey - Ordu
5. ^ http://odu.edu.tr/tr/]

External links

• (English) Ordu governor's official website
• (Turkish) Ordu municipality's official website
• (English) Ordu weather forecast information
• (Turkish) Ordum.com local information

Coordinates: 40°48′41″N 37°32′26″E / 40.81139°N 37.54056°E / 40.81139; 37.54056