YALNIZCAM MOUNTAINS

The Yalnizçam Mountains running from northeast to southwest in the Eastern Black Sea region are covered by forests of spruce and fir, and vast alpine meadows. They are one of Turkey’s loveliest scenic areas and due to their unspoilt natural beauty have been declared a national park. The range, which is largely volcanic in character, rises in places to over 3000 metres and its large plateaus lie at an altitude of over 2500 metres. It is to these plateaus that people move in the hot summer months, and this traditional sojourn on the high pastures known as yayla is an important part of the local culture. Most famous of all is Bilbilan Yayla, one of the largest alpine pastures in Turkey, with around forty summer villages.

Families from the districts of Hopa, Hemsin, Ardahan, Göle, Ardanuç and Borçka arrive every year, carrying household essentials in baskets on their backs and bringing thousands of sheep and cattle to graze on the rich grass.

For this reason the yayla is also an important livestock market, attracting large numbers of people from surrounding provinces who come to buy sheep and cattle. The colourful lively crowds in the marketplace, local costume, traditional ways of striking a bargain that have remained unchanged over the years, and the coming and going of the animals make it a fascinating sight.

One of the many pleasures of life on Bilbilan Yayla is walking through the magnificent scenery in the fragrant mountain air. Lake Karagöl, for instance, is just an hou’sn walk away in the district of Ardanuç. As the summer progresses and the water level in the lake recedes, Karagöl divides into four smaller lakes of various sizes and colours. Set in a bowl overlooking deep ravines, the lakes with their green, dark blue and light blue waters surrounded by vegetation and volcanic rock are an enchanting sight.

Turkey’s highest mountain pass, the Yalnizçam (2650 metres), is in this mountain range, as is the third highest, the Çam Pass (2460 metres). Approaching these passes from the northwest the mountain flanks are covered with spruce, fir and Scots pine, and nestling like ornaments amongst this forested scenery you catch glimpses of wooden houses and bridges. Forestry is the mainstay of the local economy on this side of the mountains. Crossing the pass, however, you find the scenery undergoes a startling transformation: instead of forests there is treeless steppeland, and instead of wooden houses adobe cottages with flat mud roofs. Plots of maize are supplanted by fields of golden wheat stretching into the distance.

The Yalnizçam Mountains have been home to various civilisations over the course of time, and many historic monuments are to be seen here.

Remains from the Georgian kingdom of Klarjeti include numerous churches and castles standing in sheltered spots in the Tortum, Çoruh, Kura and Berta river valleys. The monastery church of Satberdi was a celebrated centre for the production of illuminated manuscript bibles. The Klarjeti capital of Old Ardanuç stood on the banks of the Cehennem river just outside the Cehennem Gorge, or Hell’s Gorge, a name entirely appropriate for this intimidating gorge with its towering walls.The invincible Ardanuç Castle is perched on cliffs several hundreds of metres in height, commanding an extraordinary view over the surrounding land. New Ardanuç is situated five kilometres away on the plain. There is an old Armenian church in the town, where time seems to have stood still. All the houses, and even the mosque minarets, are made of wood, hay is carried in ox-carts, and oldfashioned horse-drawn ploughs are still in use. As in other rural parts of Turkey the people are friendly and hospitable, readily urging complete strangers to share meals with them. Their kindness reminded us of what we lose by living in big cities.

Savsat is a town on the northern flanks of the Yalnizçam Mountains southwest of Ardanuç. Its origins go back to 4000 BC, but the oldest monuments still standing date from the 10th century Georgian kingdom of Bagrat. These include the Tibeti Church in the village of Cevizli and Rabat Church in the village of Köprülü. Savsat is a place of castles. Apart from Savsat Castle itself, the town is virtually surrounded by six others: Bilbilan, Dutlu, Parih, Petrikisman, Tukharis and Ustamis.Arsiyan Yayla 30 kilometres from the town is well worth visiting, with its numerous mountain lakes, large and small. The biggest and highest of them is Lake Boga, which lies at the edge of a steep slope overlooking all of Arsiyan. Lake Davar is surrounded by reedbeds and home to abundant wildlife, but the most fascinating of all is Lake Sedeva, whose surface is covered by diverse water plants and floating islands of reeds. In September Arsiyan Yayla’s meadows burst into a colourful carpet of autumn crocuses.

So next summer head for the Yalnizçam Mountains to savour their spectacular and diverse beauty, make the acquaintance of the hospitable local people, and experience the festive mood of summer life on the high pastures.

By Ali Ihsan GOKCEN

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