Hopa (Laz and Georgian: ხოფა, romanized: khopa,[2] Hamshen Armenian: Հոփա, romanized: Hop'a)[3] is a town in Artvin Province in northeast Turkey. It is located on the eastern Turkish Black Sea coast about 67 km (42 mi) from the city of Artvin and 18 kilometres from the border with Georgia. It is the seat of Hopa District.[4] Its population is 23,846 (2021).[1]
Hopa | |
|---|---|
 | |
  Hopa Location in Turkey | |
| Coordinates: 41°23′25″N 41°25′10″E / 41.39028°N 41.41944°E | |
| Country | Turkey |
| Province | Artvin |
| District | Hopa |
| Government | |
| • Mayor | Taner Ekmekçi (CHP) |
| Population (2021)[1] | 23,846 |
| Time zone | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Postal code | 08600 |
| Climate | Cfa |
| Website | www |
Geography
editHopa is on the Black Sea Coast 65 km (40 mi) from Artvin and 18 km (11 mi) from the Sarp border crossing (into Sarpi) on the Georgian border. The land climbs sharply from 10m above sea level in the coastal areas up into the Sultan Selim Mountains, the hillsides are well watered and green with alder, chestnuts, hornbeams and other deciduous trees. The highest point is Mt Yavuz Sultan Selim at 1513m. The climate is mild and wet, although only July and August are warm enough to be called summer. There is annual snowfall in winter.
The town consists of 7 quarters: Bucak, Merkez Kuledibi, Ortahopa, Sundura, Yukarı Kuledibi, Cumhuriyet and Sugören.[5]
History
editThe area was part of the kingdom of Colchis but was always vulnerable to invasions, first the Scythians from across the Caucasus, then the Muslim armies led by Habib, son of Caliph Uthman who controlled the area from 853 AD to 1023 when it was conquered by the Byzantines from the Sac Emirate allied to the Abbasids. The Seljuk Turks led by Alp Arslan conquered the area in 1064. With the collapse of the Seljuks, the Artvin area came under the control of the Ildeniz, one of the Anatolian Turkish beyliks[6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
Ottoman Sultan Selim I brought it into the Ottoman Empire during his campaign against the Crimea that took place in 1490–1512. Lala Mustafa Pasha made it part of the Childir Eyalet formed in 1578. The area was captured by Russia following the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878) and many people of Hopa moved westwards away from the Russian-controlled zone. Hopa was returned as part of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk in 1918 and formally joined Turkey on 14 March 1921. The Sarp border gate was opened on 31 August 1988 with the "International Road Transport Agreement" between Soviet Union and Turkey and gave a big boost to Hopa in trade and tourism.
There is currently a high rate of cancer in Hopa, attributed to fall-out from the Chernobyl disaster, across the Black Sea from here.[13] Between 2001 and 2004, cancer cases sharply increased in the Black Sea region, especially in Hopa, with 47.9% of all deaths during this time being due to cancer.[14]
Economy
editThe economy is based on trade, fishing and agriculture, mostly tea, nuts (especially hazelnuts) and kiwifruit. There are two tea factories, the Black Sea Copper Works, a Thermal Power Plant, the Hopa port and the Hopa Vocational School. It has direct bus connections to Trabzon, Rize, Artvin, Ardahan, Kars, Erzurum and Sarp which go on to Georgia. The Sarp border gate was opened on 31 August 1988 with the "International Road Transport Agreement" between Soviet Union and Turkey and gave a big boost to Hopa in trade and tourism. The Hopa Port is managed by a privately owned company Hopa Limani and is active in international trade.[15]
Notable people
edit- Cemil Aksu (born 1977), Hemshin political and social activist
- Özcan Alper, Director
- Adem Büyük (born 1987), footballer
- Kazım Koyuncu (1971–2005), rock guitarist and singer
- Tolga Zengin (born 1983), footballer
Climate
editThis area is characterized by equable climates with few extremes of temperature and ample precipitation in all months. Hopa has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen: Cfa).
| Climate data for Hopa (1991–2020) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 11.2 (52.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
14.0 (57.2) |
17.2 (63.0) |
20.9 (69.6) |
25.2 (77.4) |
27.3 (81.1) |
28.0 (82.4) |
25.2 (77.4) |
21.5 (70.7) |
16.7 (62.1) |
13.2 (55.8) |
19.4 (66.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 7.4 (45.3) |
7.4 (45.3) |
9.3 (48.7) |
12.2 (54.0) |
16.6 (61.9) |
20.9 (69.6) |
23.4 (74.1) |
24.0 (75.2) |
20.6 (69.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
12.1 (53.8) |
9.4 (48.9) |
15.1 (59.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.8 (38.8) |
3.5 (38.3) |
5.1 (41.2) |
8.0 (46.4) |
12.5 (54.5) |
16.8 (62.2) |
19.8 (67.6) |
20.6 (69.1) |
16.8 (62.2) |
13.0 (55.4) |
8.1 (46.6) |
5.7 (42.3) |
11.2 (52.2) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 199.06 (7.84) |
168.36 (6.63) |
155.66 (6.13) |
92.87 (3.66) |
97.66 (3.84) |
154.49 (6.08) |
154.43 (6.08) |
179.98 (7.09) |
316.78 (12.47) |
317.1 (12.48) |
264.93 (10.43) |
239.94 (9.45) |
2,341.26 (92.18) |
| Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 12.9 | 12.4 | 13.6 | 10.6 | 10.2 | 10.9 | 10.8 | 10.9 | 11.6 | 12.2 | 11.2 | 12.5 | 139.8 |
| Average relative humidity (%) | 66.7 | 69.9 | 73.0 | 76.7 | 79.6 | 79.1 | 79.8 | 80.3 | 79.4 | 79.0 | 70.9 | 64.1 | 74.9 |
| Source: NOAA[16] | |||||||||||||
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ a b "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2021" (XLS) (in Turkish). TÜİK. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ აბაშიძე, ირ. ქართული საბჭოთა ენციკლოპედია. p. 504. OCLC 9959451.
- ^ "Համշէնական ապրումներ | Ակօս". Agos (in Armenian). Retrieved 2021-06-22.
- ^ İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
- ^ Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
- ^ The Turks: Middle ages, Hasan Celāl Güzel, Cem Oğuz, Osman Karatay, 2002
- ^ Les Origines de l'Empire ottoman, Mehmet Fuat Köprülü, Gary Leiser, 1992, page 82
- ^ European and Islamic trade in the early Ottoman state: the merchants of Genoa and Turkey, Kate Fleet, 1999, page 49
- ^ Turkey, Verity Campbell, 2007, page 35
- ^ Turkey, James Bainbridge, 2009, page 33
- ^ Eastern Turkey: The Bradt Travel Guide, Diana Darke, 2011, page 77
- ^ The Turks: Early ages, Hasan Celāl Güzel, Cem Oğuz, Osman Karatay, 2002
- ^ Çernobil sonrası Türkiye’de kanser
- ^ "SundaysZaman".
- ^ Hopa Ekonomisi Archived 2011-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "World Meteorological Organization Climate Normals for 1991-2020 — Hopa". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved January 15, 2024.
External links
edit
- the Municipality
- (in Turkish) Photo and Art website
- (in Turkish) Photo and mountaineering
- (in Turkish) photos of Hopa in local news website
- Hopa Port's web site
- Hopa Otelleri