Turkey · Black Sea Coast
Trabzon
The last Byzantine capital on the Black Sea, and the gateway to Sumela's cliff-face monastery.
Trabzon is the big port city of Turkey's eastern Black Sea coast, once the capital of the Byzantine Empire of Trebizond, squeezed between the sea and steep green mountains. Its 13th-century Hagia Sophia keeps some of the finest Byzantine frescoes in Turkey, and the city is the base for Sumela Monastery, clinging to a cliff in the forested Altindere valley. It is a working, football-mad city with its own cooking, and the gateway to tea terraces, highland pastures and the lake at Uzungol.
Suggested stay
2–4 days
Language
Turkish
Currency
TRY
Timezone
UTC+3
Why you'll love Trabzon
Sumela a monastery built into a sheer rock face high above a forested gorge, one of the most dramatic religious sites anywhere in Turkey
Trebizond the walled old town and a Hagia Sophia whose frescoes survive from the 250-year Byzantine empire ruled from here
Black Sea cooking fried anchovies, corn bread, melted-cheese kuymak and Akcaabat meatballs, with local tea at every turn
Green highlands mist, forest, tea terraces and summer pastures within a couple of hours, a Turkey most visitors never picture
Best time to visit
Mar-Sep, Dec
13-28° days
41.005° N, 39.730° E
UTC+3 · Europe/Istanbul
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Weather & when to go to Trabzon
Month by month: typical highs and lows, rainfall and rain days.
✓ Best Mar-Sep, Dec
Cards tinted by calculated verdict · big number = typical daily high, small = low · hover for conditions
When to avoid Trabzon
There is no bad season, but this is the rainiest coast in Turkey and grey, damp days come in any month, with autumn the wettest stretch. In winter snow can close or slow the high plateau roads above the city. In summer Uzungol and the pastures fill with domestic and Gulf visitors.
Top things to do in Trabzon
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Hagia Sophia of Trabzon - Byzantine frescoes above the sea
history culture arts ⭐ Highly recommendedBuilt in the mid-13th century by the emperors of Trebizond on a terrace west of the centre, this domed church mixes Byzantine, Georgian and Seljuk carving. Its biblical frescoes are among the best preserved in Turkey. It now functions as a mosque, so dress modestly and avoid prayer times.
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Ortahisar - the walled old town of Trebizond
history 👍 PopularThe medieval citadel sits on a table of rock between two ravines, which is what gave the city its ancient name. Walk the surviving walls and bridges, and see the Ortahisar Fatih Mosque, the old Panagia Chrysokephalos church where the emperors were crowned.
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Ataturk Pavilion - a white mansion in the pine hills
history culture arts 👍 PopularA Crimean-style villa in its own gardens on the wooded slopes above the city, built for a Greek banking family and given to Ataturk, who stayed here in the 1930s. The rooms are kept as a museum, and the gardens and views are part of the visit.
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Boztepe - the city and the sea from above
scenicThe hill directly behind the centre has tea gardens and terraces looking straight down over the rooftops, the harbour and the Black Sea. Come late in the afternoon and stay for the lights.
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Meydan and Uzun Sokak - the heart of the modern city
shopping foodThe leafy central square and the long pedestrian street running west from it are where Trabzon eats, shops and strolls in the evening, lined with bakeries, pastry shops and hazelnut sellers. The bazaar streets below lead down towards the old Bedesten.
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Black Sea breakfast and anchovies - eating in Trabzon
food 👍 PopularStart the day with kuymak, cornmeal melted with butter and stringy local cheese, and Black Sea corn bread. Hamsi, the small anchovy, is fried, baked with rice or cooked into bread in the cool months. Akcaabat, just west, is famous across Turkey for its meatballs.
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Trabzon Museum - a Belle Epoque mansion
history culture artsAn early 20th-century merchant's mansion in the centre, with painted ceilings and period rooms upstairs and archaeological and ethnographic collections from the region. A good hour for the history of Trebizond and the Pontic coast.
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Sumela Monastery - the cliff-face monastery of the Virgin
history scenic ⭐ Highly recommendedTradition dates the Greek Orthodox monastery to the 4th century. Its multi-storey facade and frescoed rock church are wedged into a cliff hundreds of metres above the forested Altindere valley. Access and restoration work have changed over the years, so check the current situation before you go.
Best areas to stay in Trabzon
$ Budget $$ Mid-range $$$ Premium
Meydan
First-time visitors $$Busy central square and shopping streets
Explore hotels in Meydan →
Ortahisar
History lovers $Medieval walls and old stone streets
Explore hotels in Ortahisar →
Akcaabat
Food lovers $$Seaside town famous for meatballs
Explore hotels in Akcaabat →
Uzungol
Nature lovers $$Lake village in a forested valley
Explore hotels in Uzungol →
Live nightly prices from Booking.com, Agoda and others, centred on Trabzon
Getting to & around Trabzon
Getting there
Fly into Trabzon Airport on the coast just east of the centre, with frequent flights from Istanbul and Ankara
Flight
Trabzon Airport (TZX)
The airport sits on the shore road about 6 km east of the centre. Taxis reach the main square in around 15 minutes, and dolmus minibuses running along the coast road pass close by.
Coach
Trabzon bus station
Long-distance coaches run along the Black Sea coast road from Samsun, Rize and Hopa, and overnight from Ankara and Istanbul
Coach
Trabzon bus station
Coaches from Batumi in Georgia follow the coast road via the Sarp border crossing
Getting around
Walking
Meydan, Uzun Sokak and Ortahisar are close together, though the city is hilly and Boztepe is a steep climb
Free
Dolmus
Shared minibuses run along the coast road and up to Boztepe and the suburbs from stops around the main square
TBC
Taxi
Plentiful and handy for the Ataturk Pavilion and the hills; agree a price for longer trips to Sumela or Uzungol
TBC
Tour
Daily minibus tours from the centre are the easiest way to reach Sumela and Uzungol without a car
TBC
Day trips from Trabzon
Sumela Monastery
Half dayCliff-face monastery
The Byzantine-era monastery hangs on a cliff above the Altindere valley, reached through dense forest that is often wrapped in mist. Opening and access have varied with restoration work over the years, so confirm the current situation before setting out.
Getting there
car | tour | bus
About 1 hr south by car, tour or minibus via Macka
Uzungol
Full dayMountain lake village
A long lake in a steep forested valley, with a mosque on its shore and wooden hotels climbing the slopes. It is the most famous picture of the Black Sea highlands and very busy in summer; walk up the valley or to the higher pastures to escape the crowds.
Getting there
car | tour
About 2 hr east and inland by car or tour
Rize and the tea country
Full dayTea terraces
The steep hills around Rize are covered in the tea gardens that supply most of Turkey's cups. Drink tea with a view over the terraces and the sea, and carry on inland towards the Firtina valley and its old stone bridges if you have a car.
Getting there
car | bus | tour
About 1.5 hr east along the coast by car, bus or tour
Akcaabat
Half daySeaside town
The coastal town that gave its name to Turkey's best-known Black Sea meatballs. Eat along the seafront, then climb to the Ortamahalle quarter for old timber and stone houses looking out over the water.
Getting there
bus | car
About 20 min west by dolmus or car
A little history of Trabzon
Trabzon began as Trapezus, a Greek colony founded from Sinope on a flat-topped headland, and grew into the Black Sea's great port for trade with Persia and the Caucasus. In 1204, as the Fourth Crusade took Constantinople, the Komnenos family founded the Empire of Trebizond here, and for more than 250 years it survived on silk road trade, diplomacy and royal marriages, building Hagia Sophia and endowing Sumela.
Mehmed II took the city in 1461, and it became a nursery of Ottoman princes: Selim I governed here and Suleiman the Magnificent was born here. Russia occupied it during the First World War, and the 1923 population exchange ended the long Greek presence of the Pontic coast. Today it is a busy port and university city, with a football club that became the first from outside Istanbul to win the Turkish league.
Greek colonists from Sinope found Trapezus
Xenophon and the Ten Thousand reach the sea and the city after their march out of Persia
Alexios Komnenos founds the Empire of Trebizond
Hagia Sophia is built under Emperor Manuel I
Mehmed II captures Trebizond, the last Byzantine successor state to fall
Suleiman the Magnificent is born in Trabzon
Russian forces occupy the city until 1918
The population exchange between Greece and Turkey ends the Greek community of the coast
Trabzonspor becomes the first club from outside Istanbul to win the Turkish league
Know before you go
Payment
Cards & cash mixed
English
Widely spoken
Wifi
Reliable
Power
Type C / F
230 V, 50 Hz
Dialing
+90
Mobile network & SIM card
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FAQs about Trabzon
▸ When is the best time to visit Trabzon?
March to September is the most comfortable stretch, and summer is when the highland pastures come alive and the plateau roads are open. December is also mild on the coast. Rain is possible in any month on this coast, and autumn is the wettest. In winter snow can make roads to the high pastures slow or impassable.
▸ Is Sumela Monastery open?
Sumela has been through long restoration works, with access closed or limited at times, so its status can change. Check the current situation locally or with a tour operator in Trabzon before planning your day around it. Even when access is restricted, the forested valley below is worth the drive.
▸ How do you get to Sumela and Uzungol from Trabzon?
The easiest way is a daily minibus tour from the city centre, which handles the mountain roads for you. With a car you get more freedom to stop in the valleys and pastures. Sumela is about an hour south, and Uzungol roughly two hours east and inland.
▸ What should I eat in Trabzon?
Try kuymak, the cornmeal and cheese fondue of the Black Sea, for breakfast, and fried hamsi anchovies when they are in season in the cooler months. Akcaabat meatballs, Black Sea corn bread, hazelnuts and local tea round it out. Laz boregi, a custard pastry, is the classic sweet.
▸ Is Trabzon a good base for the Black Sea highlands?
Yes, for Sumela, Uzungol and the Rize tea country. For the Kackar Mountains and Ayder plateau further east, most people move on to a base closer to the mountains, as the drive from Trabzon is long for a day trip.
▸ How many days do you need in Trabzon?
Two days covers the city and Sumela: one for Hagia Sophia, Ortahisar, the Ataturk Pavilion and Boztepe, and one for the monastery. Add a day or two for Uzungol and the tea country, or stay a night at the lake.
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