Çayeli

Infobox Settlement

settlement_type = Town
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 = Çayeli


image_caption =
image_blank_emblem =
blank_emblem_type =

---

subdivision_type1=Region
subdivision_name1 = Black Sea
subdivision_type2=Province
subdivision_name2 = Rize| population_total = 26900
population_as_of = 2000
population_density_km2 =
area_total_km2 = 473|elevation_m = 0- 2,000
latd = 40
latm = 45
latNS = N
longd = 41
longm = 04
longEW = E
postal_code_type=Postal code
postal_code = 53
area_code = (0090)+ 464
leader_title=Mayor
leader_name = Rıza Çakır
blank_info = 53|blank_name=Licence plate
website = http://www.cayeli.bel.tr

Çayeli is a town and district of Rize Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey, 18km east of the city of Rize.

"Çay" means "tea" in Turkish and a large percentage of Turkey's tea is indeed grown in this lush green district.

Etymology

Çayeli was formerly known as Mapavri.

Geography

Çayeli consists of a narrow coastal strip and a large section of the Black Sea Mountain range which rises steeply and runs parallel to the coast. The Rize mountain section of these mountains reach up to 2,000 m here.

The local economy is mainly dependent on tea-growing, along with some sweetcorn, which before tea was planted in the 1940s was the major crop here. The town and the cultivated area are all on the coastal strip, while the mountain hinterland is sparsely populated. Indeed the steepness of these hills is legendary, and celebrated in song; the late Barış Manço used to sing a version of the local ballad "Çayelunden Öteye Ciderum Yali Yali", which tells of a man so much in love that he was even prepared to haul his household over the mountains of Çayeli.

However for anyone who does venture up here the countryside is unspoilt forest and the views from these steep mountainsides are incredible; therefore Çayeli is now attracting visitors on trekking holidays.

The local cuisine includes a dish of large, light-coloured baked beans "Çayeli fasulyesi".

The people are conservative, and the municipality is controlled by the Islamist-leaning Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi.

History

Mapavri was long occupied by the Laz community, and was part of the Roman Empire and then the Empire of Trebizond until was brought within the Ottoman Empire by Mehmet II in 1461, although this coast has always been vulnerable to invaders from across the nearby Caucasus.

In the recent past Çayeli was an impoverished remote region that saw successive generations migrate away to jobs in Turkey's larger cities or abroad. This emigration slowed when tea was planted here in the 1940s.

External links

* [http://www.cayeli.bel.tr the municipality]
* [http://www.cayeli.gov.tr the district governorate]