Rize

Infobox Settlement

settlement_type =
subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = TUR
timezone=EET
utc_offset=+2
map_caption =Location of PAGENAME within Turkey.
timezone_DST=EEST
utc_offset_DST=+3

official_name = Rize


image_caption =
image_blank_emblem =
blank_emblem_type =

---

subdivision_type1=Region
subdivision_name1 = Black Sea
subdivision_type2=Province
subdivision_name2 = Rize| population_total = 78144|population_footnotes=
population_as_of =| 2000
population_density_km2 =
area_total_km2 =
elevation_m = 6|latd = 41
latm = 01
latNS = N
longd = 40
longm = 31
longEW = E
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code = 53
area_code = (0090)+ 464
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name = Halil Bakırcı
blank_info = 53|blank_name=Licence plate
website = http://www.rize.bel.tr

Rize (Greek: polytonic|Ρίζα "Riza",cite web |url=http://www.karalahana.com/karadeniz/rize_maddesi.htm |title=Rize |last=Öztürk |first=Özhan |work=Kara Lahana] _ka. რიზე, _hy. Ռիզե) is the capital of Rize Province, in northeast Turkey, on the Black Sea coast.

Geography

The city is built around a small bay on the Black Sea coast, on a narrow strip of flat land between the sea and the mountains behind. The coastal strip is being expanded with landfill and the city is growing up the steep hillsides away from the coast. Rize enjoys a mild, extremely wet climate, vulnerable to storms coming off the Black Sea and therefore the surrounding countryside is rich with vegetation and is attracting more and more visitors every year.

Rize is a center for processing and shipping the tea grown in the surrounding area. Tea was introduced in the region in the 1940's and 1950's, changing the region's destiny, which was deperately poor until then. The city has a tea research institute founded in 1958 and tea gardens are the main sight in the town's panoramic view. Tea and kiwifruit plants are even planted in gardens around the town. The secondary activity is fishing. Rize is linked by road with Trabzon (41 miles [66 km] west), Hopa (55 miles [88 km] east, on the Georgian border, and Erzurum (north). The nearest airport is in Trabzon.

Rize is a quiet town, a typical Turkish provincial capital with little in the way of night life or enetertainment. However the border with Georgia has been open since the early 90's, the Black Sea coast road has been widened and Rize is now wealthier than in previous decades; there are more cars in the streets, higher buildings on the sea front, and some places for young people to go are opening up now. The visitors to the surrounding countryside also contribute to the economy of the town.

Mountains

Notable mountains
*Kaçkar (3.251 m)
*Barut (3.251 m)
*Ziglat (3.511 m)
*Verçenik (3.711 m)
*Hipot (3.560 m)

Rivers

From east to the west
*Fındıklı Deresi (Laz: "Viçe abja")
*Büyükdere
*Pazar Suyu
*Karadere
*İyidere or (Greek: "Kalopotamos")

Economy

The economic structure of Rize is based primarily around its geographic location. Rize is a very mountainous city, making industrial development difficult and impractical. Given the lack of air and rail transit, most goods have to travel by truck or ship, which makes exporting and importing more difficult. Rize's primary trading partner is Trazbon, the most developed city of northeast Black Sea region. Rize's main exports are agriculturally based; tea and kiwi fruit are among its most popular commodities.

Education

Rize University was founded in 2006. It consists of the following faculties:

Merkez Milli Piyango Egitim Kampusu - Milli Piyango Teacher's College Central Campus

Ilahiyat Kampusu - Theology Campus

Egtitim Fakultesi (Cayeli/Rize) - Cayeli Tezcher's College Campus

Rize Meslek Yuksekokulu - Rize Vocational High School

Findiklı Meslek Yuksekokulu (Findiklı/Rize) - Findikli Vocational High School

Ardesen Meslek Yuksekokulu (Ardesen/Rize) - Ardesen Vocational High School

As of 2007, the university was also building a Faculty of Medicine.

History

See Rize Province for the history of the area.

Notable natives

* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Politician and current prime minister
* Mesut Yılmaz - Politician and former prime minister
* Köksal Toptan Politician, Speaker of Parliament
* İsmail Bilen Politician, Former General Secretary of Communist Party of Turkey (TKP)
* Tuncay Mataracı Politician, Former Minister
* Ahmet Tevfik İleri - politician and former deputy prime minister
* Besim Tibuk, politician and businessman
* Erol Evgin singer, spent his childhood summers with his grandparents in Rize
* Fahri Tatan - football player
* Kazım Ayvaz - Olympic medalist and world champion in wrestling
* Mehmet Akif Pirim - Olympic medalist in Greco-Roman wrestling
* Temel Kotil - aeronautical engineer and CEO of Turkish Airlines
* Zafer Biryol - football player
* Davut Güloglu pop singer and musician, born in Rize in 1972
* İsmail Türüt - Singer of folk music of the Black Sea region
* Sinan Özen singer,
* Hülya Polat Black Sea folk singer
* The ship-owning Kalkavan family

Çaykur Rizespor, the local football team, play in the Turkish Super League and are local heroes, occasionally capable of defeating even the big Istanbul teams. They play in green and blue, reflecting the blue of the sea and the green of the tea growing on the hillsides.

Others who have never lived in Rize but come from Rize families include:
* Tarkan the Turkish pop star
* Asena television's best-known belly dancer
* Murat Karayalçın Politician, leader of the SHP
* Yaşar Okuyan journalist and nationalist politician

Population figures

Notes

References

* Özhan Öztürk (2005). [http://www.karalahana.com/english/ENCYCLOPEDIC%20DICTIONARY%20OF%20BLACKSEA.html Encyclopedic Dictionary of Black Sea] . 2 Cilt. Heyamola Yayıncılık. İstanbul. ISBN 975-6121-00-9

External links

* [http://www.karalahana.com/english.html Travel Rize]
* [http://www.karalahana.net/fotograf/thumbnails.php?album=2 Rize image gallery]