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Santa Ruins

Santa Ruins (Santa Kalıntıları) are located on two valleys in Dumanlı Village (Dumanlı Köyü), 90 km from the city center of Gümüşhane. Santa, where the first settlements began in the Middle Ages, is an ancient Greek settlement with natural and historical beauties. Five thousand people were living in this region, which was in its heyday in the 19th century.

There are churches in some neighborhoods in this residential area consisting of seven neighborhoods and more than 300 constructions. Binatlı, Terzili, Zurnacili, Piştovlu, İşhanlı, Çinganlı and Çakallı, are important neighborhoods in the region.

Satala Ancient City

In the region where the ruins are located in Kelkit district, brick fragments with coats of arms of Legio XV Apollinaris were found. The Byzantine historian Procopius writes that the city was founded on a plain surrounded by hills. Satala, a Latin cultural center during the empire, was founded around the Roman legion camp and developed over time. It is known that the walls were repaired during the time of Emperor Justinian. Satala Castle (Satala Kalesi), aqueducts and other city ruins are the places in this area that could remain intact and be seen to this day.

Krom Valley

The Chrome Valley (Krom Vadisi) is a region where the Historic Silk Road passes through. There are 300-year-old historical buildings in the valley, which accommodates 57 monasteries and churches. The tolerance that the Ottoman State showed for the people living in the region, has led the people in this region to claim their religious sites and these historical constructions which have survived to this day. This process, which began with the conquest of Trabzonin 1461, has survived to this day. Most of the churches that are standing today were also built at that time.

Kov Castle

Kov Castle (Kov Kalesi) is located within the borders of Esenyurt Village (Esenyurt Köyü) in Gümüşhane city center. The castle walls consisting of two parts, namely an inner and an outer castle and are about 1.5 m thick, which belong to the castle built on a hill that dominates the region, preserve its sturdiness. The rectangular castle is supported by constellations and built of rubble stones. It is also estimated that there is an ancient city in this region. The castle, which is almost in whole with the rock mass on which it is located, is a historical building worth seeing.

Torul İnkılap Village Kalecik Castle

Kalecik Castle (Kalecik Kalesi), which is located on the borders of Kalecik-Işık Village in Torul district, is bordered by the village road from the top and the stream at the bottom. In the castle, which is built on a hill formed by the cliffs that dominate the region, wooden beams in the masonries attract attention. The castle and the walls (retaining walls) in the form of extensions of the castle are examples of rubble stone masonry.

Sultan Süleyman Han Mosque

The mosque, located in the Süleymaniye Neighborhood in Old Gümüşhane, was built upon an order given by Suleiman the Lawgiver during the Baghdad campaign. The mosque has undergone many repairs until today. The rectangular structure consists of three naves extending vertically before the altar. The naves are covered with a roof on six wooden poles. The mosque's minaret, which has a single balcony, has a thick cylindrical body. The minaret of the mosque is the only part that is original and untouched.

Kabaköy Hagia Sophia Mosque

Kabaköy Hagia Sophia Mosque (Kabaköy Aya Sofya Cami), which is one of the nine churches called Hagia Sophia Church in Türkiye and was converted into a mosque, was previously used as a church. On the southern walls of the mosque, there are two circled stones on which a Greek cross is drawn with equal arms. The roof of the structure, which is organized in the form of a saddle roof, is covered with sheet metal. To the northeast of the building, there is a relic registered fountain. The fountain, which was stated to have been built in the 19th century, is covered with glass mosaic.

İmera Monastery Church

The church is within the borders of Olucak (İmera) Village, about 36 km from the city center. Sources say that the building was built in 1740, surrounded by high walls, and that the residential sites were built in 1827. It is understood from the inscription on it, that the monastery was renewed by Abbess Roxane in 1859. The construction was built as a cut stone, rubble stone material and masonry. The face strings of the windows on the southern front are pointed arches and the face string on the right is embroidered with an angel motif and a double-headed eagle motif.

Virgin Mary (Panagia Theotokos) Monastery

The Virgin Mary Monastery (Meryem Ana Manastırı) is located on the slope on the left side of Çit Creek (Çit Deresi) in the Büyükçit Village Valley in Torul district. The monastery is located inside the courtyard, which is surrounded by high walls. There are two different views in the sources about the date the monastery was built. The first source states that the monastery was built in 890; The other source states that it was founded in 900 by three monks on behalf of Theotokos Mary. Built for the second time in 1830, the church was used as a school in the 1870s and was repaired in the 19th century during the Kingdom of Trabzon Komnenos.

Aydınlar Church

Located in Atalar Village (Atalar Köyü) in Torul district, the church is 27 kilometers from the center. The church, whose walls are made of neat cut stone and rubble stone and built with a saddle roof, has survived to this day. The ceiling and walls of the church include fresco-technique paintings. The original stretchers connecting the pillars are still visible.

Hutura Hagios Monastery Church

It consists of a monastery, church, chapel and other constructions built on the area obtained as a result of the correction of the battered land at the entrance of the village and has reached our time quite dilapidated.

The church was built by the Trabzon Prince Aleksios Komnenos in the first half of the 14th century. The church was repaired in 1509 by Monk Ananias and in 1624 by Georgios Stratilatis. There is also an inscription indicating that it was repaired again during the period of Abdulhamid II (1876-1909).

Other Churches to See

Although it has not survived to this day with great protection within the borders of Gümüşhane, there are many churches that can be seen: St. Theodoros Church, Hagios Georgios Metropolitan Church, Hagios lonies Monastery Church, Hagios Stephanos Church, Hagios Theodoros Church, Mary Church, Sihanandon Neighborhood Church.

Karaca Cave

Karaca Cave (Karaca Mağarası), a fossil cave that has the opportunity to develop in massive limestones with abundant cracks surrounded by character volcanic, is not a cave but an underground palace so to speak. This underground palace at an altitude of 1550 m from the sea is fascinating with stalactites in a wide variety of colors, dickites, organ-patterned walls, flag shapes curtain dripstones, cave flowers, cave pearls, elephant ears, travertine pools, travertine steps, columns, cave roses appearances and observations. This underground palace came in existence by the merging of four separate halls resembling ellipses, developing in a horizontal direction. The underground palace, which is 105 m between the extreme point from the entry point, the ceiling height of the cave is 18 m, and the total interior area is 1,500 m3.

The cave is also useful from health perspective by offering a comfortable atmosphere to its visitors, especially asthmatics, with its natural air conditioning feature and air.

Gümüşhane Mansions

Gümüşhane Mansions (Gümüşhane Konakları) were built three floors in a large garden. The exterior of the mansions is shaped according to geographical conditions and the inside is shaped according to practical use. Local stone and wooden materials were used as building materials. Some of these mansions, which smell history with all their elements, have survived to this day. Balyemez, Hasan Fehmi Ataç and Zeki Kadirbeyoğlu mansions are some of the restored mansions.

Gümüşhane Mansions, with their grand looks and architecture that sheds light on history, are a bridge between past and now. In the architecture of the mansions, which are part of the Turkish residential architecture, the effects of social conditions such as faith, customs, habits, traditions and cultures are seen as much as natural conditions. With these features, it whispers the philosophy of life of an era into our ears.

Sarıçiçek Village Rooms

The decorations of the rooms, located about 40-50 meters away from each other and which are very similar in size, in the village center, still preserve the features of the first day they were made. The rooms are notable for their interior arrangements such as lounge, ceiling, cabinet, stove and coffee pavilion. The yellow pine tree, which is abundant in the surrounding area, was widely used in the ceiling and decoration of the rooms. All of the decorations in both rooms were made in baroque and rococo style from curled branches and schematic plant motifs.

Süleymaniye Neighborhood (Old Gümüşhane)

Süleymaniye Neighborhood (Süleymaniye Mahallesi), located four km southwest of the city center, is known as the Old Gümüşhane. Due to the richness of the silver and gold mines and its position on the Historical Silk Road, it has never lost its importance throughout history. Assyrians, Urartians, Medes, Persian Kingdom, Macedonians, Pontus Kingdom, Roman Empire, Umayyads, Seljuks and Ottoman Empire ruled in the region. The settlement came under domination of Turks in 1461, when Mehmed the Conqueror made an end to the existence of Trabzon-Pontus Greek State.