Amasya sits on a threshold, in a narrow valley opened by the Yeşilırmak between the damp mountains of the Black Sea and the dry plateaus of Central Anatolia. Toward the north every slope grows a little greener, toward the south every plain a little paler; because the town stands exactly between these two worlds, both its weather and its vegetation carry something of each. Its rainfall is moderate, its summers hot and clear, and its winters cold, though they fall somewhere between the coolness of the Black Sea coast and the freezing dryness of the steppe. This intermediate position does more than shape the weather. It explains the aroma of the local apple, the layered arrangement of forests on the mountains, and even why the town has been known for its orchards for centuries. The sources rely on different spans of years and therefore give slightly different figures for the same quantity; these differences have not been hidden but are set side by side, with their causes noted.

A Transitional Climate Between the Black Sea and Central Anatolia

The Amasya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism sums up the situation across the province in a single sentence: a climate of transition from the Black Sea climate to the continental climate prevails. Summers are as dry as in a continental climate but not as wet as on the Black Sea; winters are as mild as on the Black Sea but not as harsh as in a continental climate. The "behind the Black Sea" climate is in effect here, meaning that summers are hot and dry, winters are wetter, and the most rain falls in spring. The assessment of the General Directorate of Meteorology points the same way. In the institution's wording, the province has a semi-arid climate with cool winters and hot summers, close to the third degree of maritime influence, according to the familiar classification methods.

This transitional character arises from the yearly course of the air masses. An article published in the Journal of the Institute of Social Sciences of Atatürk University, "The Climate Structure and Characteristics of Amasya City," compares the town's observations for 1961-2019 with those of the Samsun, Tokat and Taşova stations. According to the article's abstract, the Maritime Polar-Continental air masses that arrive over the Black Sea and the Balkans dominate in winter, while the Continental Tropical masses pushing in from the southeast of the country dominate in summer. The transition between the humid Black Sea climate and the semi-arid continentality of Central Anatolia is the joint product of these two air streams.

Climatologists name this intermediate condition differently depending on the criterion. In the 2017 bioclimatology study by Çağlak, Özlü and Şahin, Amasya appears as "steppe-semi-arid" under Erinç's classification, "between steppe and humid" under De Martonne's, and "semi-arid, with dry summers" under Aydeniz's. Under the Thornthwaite method the type is written D, B'2, d, b'3, symbols that describe a semi-arid and mesothermal climate, with no or very little water surplus and a summer evaporation rate of 53 percent. Although the labels differ, all of them point to the same reality, a climate that is neither fully steppe nor fully Black Sea.

Even within the province, the climate is not uniform. According to the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the districts of Merzifon, Suluova, Gümüşhacıköy and Hamamözü reflect the general climatic features of the region, while the central district, Taşova and Göynücek show more continental characteristics. The Geldingen Plain, south of Amasya, receives the least rain in the province, with an annual average given as 400-500 mm. Moving toward the mountainous north and the higher ground, rainfall and humidity increase, while on the plain floors the dryness becomes pronounced.

Amasya's Weather in Figures

Temperature

The General Directorate of Meteorology gives Amasya's long-term average temperature as 13.6 degrees; according to the trend the same institution plots, temperatures are rising by about 1.7 degrees per hundred years. In the study by Çağlak and colleagues, based on data for 1975-2016, the annual average is 14 degrees. The coldest month is January, averaging 2.4 degrees, and the hottest is July, averaging 23.6 degrees. Looking at the averages of maximum temperatures, the hottest month is August (31.3 degrees), while January is the coolest at 6.9 degrees. The averages of minimum temperatures are -0.9 in January and 16.6 degrees in July. In winter the daytime rises above zero while nights generally pass in frost; in summer even the nights stay relatively cool.

Extreme values have also been measured. The Directorate of Culture and Tourism reports that the highest recorded temperature was 45.0 degrees on 30 July 2000, and the lowest was -20.4 degrees on 23 February 1985. In the Meteorology table based on 1961-2007 data, the highest value is again 45 degrees, while the lowest is cited as -21 degrees on 15 January 2008. The annual average number of frost days is 50. This figure also matters for understanding how spring frosts can coincide with the flowering period of fruit trees.

Precipitation

The precipitation figure depends on which years one looks at. The Directorate of Culture and Tourism states that in measurements made since 1937 the annual average is 436.7 mm in the provincial center, 436.9 mm in Merzifon, 458.3 mm in Gümüşhacıköy, 400.0 mm in Taşova and 427.6 mm in Göynücek. The long-term average of Meteorology is 461.3 mm. Çağlak and colleagues calculate 459 mm for 1975-2016, and the 1961-2016 average cited in the geographical indication document for the Amasya Misket Apple is 460.1 mm. The differences stem from the different measurement periods; all of them cluster in a range of roughly 440-460 mm. With these figures, Amasya lies in a low-rainfall climate belt, in contrast to the Black Sea coast.

The seasonal distribution confirms this. According to Çağlak and colleagues, the wettest month is April with 56.8 mm and the driest is August with 9.1 mm; the Directorate of Culture and Tourism likewise names July and August as the driest months. In the Meteorology data, the highest rainfall measured in a single day is 60.9 kg/m2 on 3 July 1981, which means that short downpours can occur even in the middle of the dry season. The greatest snow depth is 35 cm, measured on 24 February 1983. The same institution speaks of an increase of 295 mm per hundred years in the long-term precipitation trend; because this magnitude is quite high relative to the average, it should be assessed with the length of the measurement series in mind.

Humidity, Cloud Cover, Sunshine and Wind

Annual average relative humidity is 59.6 percent in the 1975-2016 data, 59.8 percent in the Meteorology measurements, and 61 percent in the value reported by the Directorate of Culture and Tourism. Monthly values rise in winter and fall in summer. December is the most humid month at 69.5 percent and July the driest at 52.3 percent; January stands at 67.9 percent, November at 67.0 percent and June at 53.4 percent. Cloud cover follows the same course. On the eighth-scale values, December is the most overcast at 6.7 and August the clearest at 2.3; the annual average is 4.7. According to Meteorology, the average daily sunshine duration is 5.8 hours. The sky is overcast through the winter and clear through the summer, and the abundant summer light also affects the color of the apple in its ripening season.

Wind is the element in which the valley's structure shows most plainly in the climate. According to the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the prevailing direction across the province is the poyraz, the northeasterly wind, but because of the topography of the provincial center, the first-degree prevailing direction is northwest. Çağlak and colleagues likewise write that winds blow most often from the northwest and northeast, and that the variety of directions comes from the landforms. The average wind speed is around 1.7-1.8 m/s; it rises to 1.9 m/s in April, July and August and falls to 1.3 m/s in October and November. The annual average number of strong-wind days is 65 and of stormy days 12. The strongest wind on record blew on 24 September 1996 from the northwest at 36.0 m/s (129.6 km/h).

The valley floor also shapes everyday weather. Because the town lies in a low bed between two slopes, the air is often still; the wind does not batter the town, though a light breeze peculiar to the valley is felt in the early morning and toward evening. According to some accounts, fog and damp also linger on the valley floor on certain mornings longer than on the flats above. The summer heat under direct sun does not carry the sticky humidity of coastal towns; it is a dry heat, and the valley cools quickly in the evening.

Some older geography accounts circulating in places, such as "350-400 mm of rain a year" and "-40 degrees at high elevations," do not match the official measurements. The 400 mm measured at Taşova is one of the lowest values in the province and cannot be taken to apply to the provincial center. Minus forty degrees is not given in the registration document as an air temperature; there it is the limit that the woody parts of the apple tree can endure during winter dormancy.

The Valley's Own Weather: The Yeşilırmak and Its Microclimate

It is not enough to think of Amasya only as a point between two climates, because the town also lies inside a valley. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the city is built at about 400 m above sea level in a narrow valley enclosed by high cliffs on both sides; Çağlak and colleagues give the average elevation of the city center as 412 m. After leaving the Amasya Plain and passing through the Ferhat Gorge, the Yeşilırmak enters what is almost a hidden valley, and it flows through this valley for about 4 km within the city. Because only a narrow strip of the valley floor is suitable for settlement, the city has developed lengthwise and has not been able to climb far up the slopes.

The Yeşilırmak, the most important river of the province, rises in the Köse Mountains near the Suşehri district of Sivas and is 519 km long; the part within Amasya is 129 km. The province's lands lie largely in this basin, and only part of Gümüşhacıköy falls into the Kızılırmak basin. The Çekerek River joins the Yeşilırmak about 15 km south of Amasya, the Tersakan Stream joins it after the city center, and the Kelkit Stream meets it on the border between Taşova and Erbaa. The measured average discharge is 121 m3/s, the highest discharge 1,914 m3/s, and the total annual flow 5,707 million m3. Floods generally occur in March, April and May, which is consistent with the concentration of rainfall and snowmelt in spring.

The Yeşilırmak valley is both long and covered with highly fertile alluvial soils. In this belt between Amasya and Taşova, in the official wording, a climate "with the character of a microclimate" prevails, and fruit growing and vegetable growing stand out as the main agricultural activities. Among the branches of the valley system, the Onlukköprü Valley, a 20 km strip that begins where the Tersakan Stream flows into the Yeşilırmak and runs through Ziyaret and Yenice to end at Kuzgeçe Village, is described as "the valley where the Amasya Apple grows." The Ferhatarası Valley is the 10 km stretch running from Kayabaşı Village to the city's Hacılar Square; the Beşgöz Valley is 8.5 km long, and the Durucasu Valley is 18 km long, from Kuzgeçe to Çambükü in Taşova. Many dams and ponds have been built in the province to relieve the dryness of the plains. The Yedikır Dam opened for operation in 1986, has an irrigation area of 1,400 hectares, and, lying on a bird migration route, gives winter habitat to 34 bird species; its surroundings were declared a first-degree natural site in 1989.

The Apple's Climate

The best-known product of the transitional climate and the valley effect is the Amasya Misket Apple, registered as a "designation of origin" on 14 March 2019. The application was made on 8 January 2016 by the Amasya Provincial Directorate of Agriculture and Livestock, and the geographical boundary was given as the districts of Merkez, Suluova, Merzifon, Gümüşhacıköy, Hamamözü, Taşova and Göynücek. The climate section of the registration document describes in detail the effect of the valley and the transitional climate on the apple. The microclimate created by the Yeşilırmak Valley produces a "gorge breeze" in the province, and this breeze plays an important role in the apple's distinctive scent and aroma. Flavor depends on growing conditions as much as on the characteristics of the variety: soil, irrigation, fertilization, sun exposure and the difference between day and night temperatures increase the fruit's dry matter, that is, its sugar concentration. The document also states plainly that the apple does not show the same characteristics when grown in climates outside Amasya.

The document contains many measurements that make the relationship between climate and apple concrete:

  • The elevation of Amasya province is given as between 411.69 m and 1150 m; in the lower areas the temperature range is written as -3.7 to +36.1 degrees.
  • The Misket apple has a high requirement for winter dormancy (chilling). The chilling requirement of the variety is 2536 hours, while Amasya's 1970-2014 chilling average is 2526 hours. In a tree that has not completed its chilling, the leaf buds do not break and the tree stays bare.
  • The woody parts in winter dormancy endure down to -40 degrees, but open flowers are damaged at -2.2 to -2.3 degrees and small fruits at -1.1 to -2.2 degrees. Growth stops when the temperature rises above +40 degrees.
  • Apples need 400-600 mm of precipitation a year during the production season; Amasya's 1961-2016 average is 460.1 mm.
  • The period from 15 September to 30 October is when color and firmness become pronounced in the fruit. The average number of dew days in these days is 7.26; an apple that receives sun after the dew takes on a bright red color. The number of dew days is highest in October at 8.12 and is 6.41 in September; the annual total is 40.34 days.
  • Flowering takes place at the end of April and harvest in October. The fruit is picked in the second half of September or the beginning of October and keeps until May in good conditions.
  • The average yield per tree over the last five years is reported as 92.4 kg in Amasya and 49.6 kg for similar varieties across Turkey. Fruit weight is 100-165 g, and the soluble dry matter content is 10-14 percent.
  • A Roman-period mosaic floor with an apple tree figure, found in a rescue excavation in Yavru village in the central district, points to apple growing in Amasya going back about 2000 years.

Beyond the apple, the climate also feeds the plains. The Geldingen, Suluova, Merzifon and Gümüş plains are the most important areas for the province's agriculture, and together they cover about 24 percent of the province's area. The Geldingen Plain, at about 48,400 hectares, is the widest plain in the province, with an average elevation of 450 m. The Suluova Plain is given as about 40,000 hectares at 550 m; the Merzifon Plain as 31,100 hectares at 700 m; the Gümüş Plain as 5,400 hectares at 750 m. The Aydınca Plain, with 4,000 hectares and an elevation of 700 m, is a smaller plain with microclimate characteristics. A continental climate prevails in Geldingen, and the shrinking of irrigation water in summer is the plain's main problem.

The TDV Encyclopedia of Islam likewise records that grain production and fruit growing have held a place in the city's economic life throughout history, and that the Amasya Sugar Factory, founded in 1954, encouraged beet production. This variety of crops reflects the options that a transitional climate offers agriculture: within the same provincial borders there are plants that grow on cool plateaus and plants that grow on warm plain floors.

Mountains and Plains: The Relief of the Climate

What gives Amasya its climate is largely its relief. That the point where the main tributaries of the Yeşilırmak meet is also the point where mountains meet makes the province quite rugged. The highest point of the province is Akdağ Peak at 2061 m, and the lowest is 160 m, where the catchment area of the Hasan Uğurlu Dam begins at Umutlu Village in Taşova. The mountains run east to west; the North Anatolian Fault line marks the boundary between Karaömer Mountain and the Canik Mountains.

Listing the main mountains makes the difference in height plain. Akdağ reaches 2061 m and Karaömer Mountain 1979 m; the highest point of Sakarat Mountain, Cami Tepe, stands at 1956 m, Yuvalı Tepesi on Tavşan Mountain at 1901 m, İnegöl Tepesi on İnegöl Mountain at 1873 m and Kaldırım Tepesi on Eğerli Mountain at 1776 m. The highest point of the Canik Mountains within the borders of Amasya is 1376 m. Akdağ is bounded to the south by the Yeşilırmak and to the north by the Şeyhsuyu and the Kocaalan stream. The municipality also counts Kocacık Peak, Kırklar Mountain and Ferhat Mountain among the notable heights. On these mountains lie highland pastures ranging from 1200 to 1850 m. The Kabaoğuz Highlands, west of Tavşan Mountain, are at about 1400 m, the Tavşandağı Highlands at 1500 m, the Sarıçiçek Highlands east of Karaömer Mountain at 1650 m, the İnegöl Highlands at 1600 m, the Akdağ Highlands and the Boğalı Highlands on Sakarat Mountain at 1850 m, the Çatalçam Highlands on Eğerli Mountain at 1400 m and the Destek Highlands at 1200 m. A festival is held once a year in the Kabaoğuz and Akdağ highlands. Because they lie in the transition zone between the Black Sea and Central Anatolian climates, the highlands shelter both Black Sea and Central Anatolian plant species together.

On the area of the province, the sources give small differences. The municipality writes 5,701 km2, the relevant text of the Culture Portal 5,690 km2, and the TDV 5,520 km2 on the basis of the 1985 census. The difference may arise from changes in the provincial border and from measurement methods, but the sources do not explain the cause.

Vegetation, Layer by Layer

The vegetation changes in layers as one climbs out of the valley, and this change shows how the climate is transformed by altitude. According to the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the forests of the central district spread largely over the Akdağ region. Scots pine, black pine and beech occur in the higher parts, and red pine, juniper, oak, hornbeam and aspen at lower elevations. To these are added small trees such as wild pear and plum and shrub forms such as creeping juniper; clumps of willow grow along the streams, and patches of steppe appear in the lowest places.

The most detailed field record of this sequence comes from a study of the mosses of Akdağ. While specimens were being collected at 37 separate points on the mountain between 2009 and 2011, the dominant tree cover of each station was also recorded. According to these records, red pine occurs on the low slopes between roughly 490 and 660 metres, in places together with the oak Quercus hartwissiana. Anatolian black pine spreads over a very wide range, from 500 to 1650 metres; at some stations it mixes with dwarf juniper, at others with milk-vetch and spurge species. Oriental beech is found between about 700 and 1070 metres, alone or together with Scots pine. In some areas between about 1060 and 1230 metres cedar was recorded alongside black pine and beech. Around 1750 metres the trees thin out and high mountain meadows begin; above 2000 metres a low, thorny cover formed by milk-vetch and Acantholimon species prevails. Temperature and humidity, changing with altitude, here bring entirely different tree communities side by side within a difference of a few hundred metres.

A flora survey on Sakarat Mountain in the south-east of the province, based on specimens collected in 2004-2005, divides the forest cover into four types of mixed forest: forests in which Scots pine is dominant or co-dominant, forests dominated by oriental beech, forests accompanied by oriental hornbeam, and oak forests formed by Aleppo oak, downy oak, Turkey oak and Quercus macranthera. The mountain's Scots pine forests were sampled on the road to the Taşova highlands, around the villages of Karataş and Böke, on limestone bedrock and between about 1300 and 1700 metres. Above the tree line, communities of mountain juniper form the subalpine belt. The steppe cover is represented first by Astragalus, then by Acantholimon species and by Convolvulus assyricus, a common steppe plant; rock and wet-meadow vegetation also appears in places. Among scattered trees, sweet chestnut, walnut, oriental plane, alder, Turkish hazel and aspen were also recorded. The succession of forest, a subalpine juniper belt and steppe on the same mountain is one of the clearest reflections of the transitional climate in the vegetation.

The district with the highest proportion of forest in the province is Taşova. On the north-facing slopes of the Akdağ and Boğalı ranges and in the area north of the Destek Stream, good-quality beech forests are found above 1000 m. On south-facing slopes, from the Yeşilırmak Valley upward, red pine, oak species, black pine and Scots pine follow in sequence; these forests are in places pure and in places mixed. In the understory there are trees and small trees such as hornbeam, maple-leaved sorbus, rowan, cornelian cherry, maple, buckthorn, sandal and hazel, as well as bramble, bracken, wild rose, prickly juniper, rockrose, nettle and rhododendron. This difference between north and south slopes shows that moisture varies with slope direction, and that moisture-loving species such as beech gather on the cool slopes facing north.

On the share of forest in the province's land, the sources differ markedly. According to an older geography compilation, 16 percent of the province's land is forest, 54 percent is pasture and 30 percent is suitable for cultivation. A 2019 review of the province's ecotourism potential, however, writes in one place that 32 percent of the provincial area is covered by forest and in another that agricultural land accounts for 38 percent, forests for 36.5 percent and highland pastures for 12.5 percent, giving the area of the province as 5960 square kilometres. The difference may arise from the years of the counts and from how broadly forest is defined, but the sources do not explain it. Whichever figure is taken, they agree that the forests are concentrated on the mountains in the north of the province, especially on north-facing slopes. The province's principal forests are known as the Tavşandağı, Destek, Boğalı, Akdağ, Boraboy, Gökdere and Çatalçam forests.

Forests, District by District

  • Merzifon: Beech forests in blocks on Tavşan Mountain; among them, scattered wild cherry, bear hazel, maple, linden and hornbeam. At altitude, local Scots pine and black pine high forests; at low elevations and on south slopes, oak coppices.
  • Gümüşhacıköy: Scots pine and black pine in the mountains toward Vezirköprü, with oak species lower down.
  • Hamamözü: Oak forests together with black pine, and juniper in places.
  • Göynücek: Because it lies in the south of the province, in the transition zone to Central Anatolia, steppe vegetation predominates; the bulk of the forests consists of oak managed as coppice and, in part, juniper.

Forest inventories distinguish two forms of management. High forest is woodland grown from seed and made up of tall-stemmed trees; coppice is a low, multi-stemmed stand, usually of species such as oak, that regenerates by sprouting from the stump after cutting. In Amasya this distinction also follows altitude: Scots pine and black pine high forests gather in the upper reaches, oak coppices on the low, south-facing slopes. Right around the city, too, the effect of altitude on vegetation can be followed over a short distance. In the Amasya valley, enclosed by Kırklar Mountain, Lokman Tepesi, Ferhat Mountain and Yanık Tepe, a walk of two or three kilometres takes one from 400 to 1000 metres. The route through the Boğalı forests and the Ballıca, Tekke and Kumluca valleys, for its part, has a mild climate reminiscent of the Black Sea; here, alongside good-quality hornbeam forests, wild hazel, cornelian cherry and walnut are abundant.

A common misunderstanding needs correcting: Hamamözü is not counted among the forest districts of the north. According to the sources, the district with the highest forest proportion is Taşova, while Hamamözü is known for its black pine and oak forests. The official account also contains a warning about the highlands. The highlands, which are rich in plant life, have in recent years been damaged by excessive use of agricultural chemicals and fertilizer, overgrazing and the opening of fields, and in the upper parts bedrock has almost surfaced. In the forests at the edges of the highlands, old trees are not being replaced by young ones, and the forest line is descending in places.

The Borabay Area and Endemic Plants

One of the most distinct results of a transitional climate is plant diversity. According to the Directorate of Culture and Tourism, the region is rich in endemic plants and the figure of 109 species and 246 varieties is given; among them, under their local names, hazeran, kuduz otu, akça çiçeği, dolama otu, mürdümük, bac biber ağacı, kaside, geven, yalancı havacıva and tüylü keten are listed. The article by Konakoğlu and Kurdoğlu in Turizm Akademik Dergisi, on the other hand, writes that there are 245 endemic plant species within the borders of Amasya. The difference between the two figures may stem from the counting criterion, but the sources do not explain it. According to the same article, six of these endemics (Campanula latiloba subsp. latiloba, Campanula pterocaula, Symphytum bornmuelleri, Heracleum platytaenium, Hesperis buschiana, Digitalis lamarckii) occur within the boundaries of the Borabay Lake Nature Park.

Lake Borabay lies within the boundaries of Boraboy Village in the Taşova district; it is 63 km from the provincial center and 15 km from Taşova, at an elevation of 1050 m. The lake is a natural barrier lake formed when material collapsing from the slopes blocked the stream. There is water welling up from the bed, and it is also fed by water from the stream. It lies in a valley running east to west; its southern shore is steep and sheer, while its northern shore is suitable for recreational use. The sources differ on the measurements: the Culture Portal speaks of a width of 80 m and a depth of 25 m, while another compilation gives a length of about 675 m, a maximum width of 175 m and a deepest point of 11 m. Because the two sets of measurements do not agree, no definite figure has been chosen here.

The protection history of the area has two stages. The surroundings of the lake were declared a first-degree natural site by decision of the Ankara Regional Board for the Conservation of Cultural and Natural Assets on 13 July 1993, and later, in 2014 according to some sources, gained nature park status. The area of the nature park is 255.36 hectares according to Konakoğlu and Kurdoğlu and 259 hectares according to another compilation. Around the lake one sees beech, Scots pine, black pine, oak, chestnut and cedar trees; on the northern slopes oriental beech, black pine, Scots pine and Turkey oak, and on the southern slopes mostly various shrubs predominate. This distribution is a small-scale example of the cover that changes with slope direction, described going up from the valley.

Amasya Through the Seasons

Climate data also give information on which periods are suitable for spending time outdoors. The study by Çağlak, Özlü and Şahin uses 42 years of observations for 1975-2016 at 07:00 in the morning, 14:00 in the afternoon and 21:00 in the evening, and applies the PET (physiological equivalent temperature) index, which measures the body's heat balance by calculating temperature, humidity, wind and cloud cover together. By this method, at 07:00 the conditions are found "comfortable" from mid-May to mid-July and from the end of August to mid-September. December, January and February mornings fall in the "very cold" class, November and March mornings in "cold," and April and October mornings in "cool." From mid-July to mid-August, slightly warm and warm conditions are experienced.

At 14:00, the hottest time of day, there is comfort from mid-April to mid-June and throughout September. From mid-July to mid-August, "hot" stress is seen in the early afternoon, and in late July and early August "extreme heat" stress appears at a rate of 10 percent. Summer evenings (21:00) are comfortable from mid-June to September, which makes it suitable to spend time outdoors on summer nights. Looking at the whole day, the most suitable period is May and June, together with the time from the end of August to mid-September. On the basis of these findings, the study recommends that these periods be taken into account in tourism planning.

A link to the fruit calendar can also be drawn from these data. April is the wettest month and coincides with the period when fruit trees are in bloom; late September and early October are the time the registration document gives for the apple harvest. Winter is the season of highest relative humidity and cloud cover, while summer is the period defined more by sunshine than by rain.

The Valley, the Climate and the History of the Town

Amasya's climate and vegetation are also related to the way the town was settled historically. The article by Çağlak and colleagues writes that the Yeşilırmak determined the fate of the city. The city is one of the few towns in Anatolia built on the floor of a V-shaped valley; according to the article, this hidden position is the reason the town was at times a capital or an important city in different periods of history. In the Republican period, under conditions where security had been established, it did not develop quickly for economic reasons, and this allowed the old fabric to be partly preserved. The same study notes that this preserved structure is regarded today as attractive for tourism.

The narrow valley has been suited both to defense and to agriculture. A town tied to a well-watered river with moderate rainfall has been known for its orchards and its fruit through the centuries. On the same slope there are orchards at the bottom, red pine above them, oak higher still, and beech and Scots pine at the very top; going south, the sparse cover of the steppe begins. In a town in the middle of two climates, all these layers can be seen within a single day, and Amasya's geography is the product of the transitional conditions that make this possible.

Bibliography

Academic studies

  • Savaş Çağlak, Tamer Özlü, Kemalettin Şahin, "Amasya'nın Biyoklimatolojik Koşullarının Turizm Yönünden İncelenmesi", Studies of the Ottoman Domain, vol. 7, no. 13, 2017. amasya.gov.tr
  • "Amasya Şehri'nin İklim Yapısı ve Özellikleri", Journal of the Institute of Social Sciences of Atatürk University (DergiPark, article abstract).
  • Sultan Sevinç Kurt Konakoğlu, Banu Çiçek Kurdoğlu, study on nature-based tourism corridors, Turizm Akademik Dergisi, 2020, pp. 83-95.
  • İlhan Şahin, Feridun Emecen, "Amasya", TDV Encyclopedia of Islam (islamansiklopedisi.org.tr).
  • Cansaran, A. et al. (2010). Sakarat Dağı Florasına Katkılar (Amasya-Türkiye). Biological Diversity and Conservation, 3(1): 103-120.
  • Kılıç, D. D., Güler, D., Babacan, A. and Kılıç, M. (2019). Amasya'nın Ekoturizm Potansiyelinin Belirlenmesi Üzerine Bir Derleme. Sinop Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, 3(2): 77-106.

Official sources

  • Amasya Provincial Directorate of Culture and Tourism, "İklim" and "Bitki Örtüsü" pages (amasya.ktb.gov.tr).
  • General Directorate of Meteorology, Samsun Regional Directorate, "Amasya İklim Değerlendirmesi" (samsun.mgm.gov.tr).
  • Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, "Amasya Misket Elması" Designation of Origin Registration Document, 14.03.2019 (ci.turkpatent.gov.tr). ci.turkpatent.gov.tr
  • Governorate of Amasya, "Yeryüzü Şekilleri" page (amasya.gov.tr); Municipality of Amasya, "Amasya'nın Coğrafi Yapısı" and "Ovalar" pages (amasya.bel.tr).

Other sources

  • Turkish Culture Portal, "Amasya Misket Elması" and "Doğa Yürüyüşü - Boraboy Gölü" pages (kulturportali.gov.tr); Wikipedia, "Lake Boraboy".
  • The Moss Flora of Akdağ Mountain (Amasya, Turkey). PMC4284982.
  • Amasya Coğrafyası (mountains, highlands, lakes), karadenizinfo.com.
  • Murat Eliçalışkan, "Amasya: İklim ve Bitki Örtüsü" (cografya.gen.tr); "Amasya İklimi" (universiteler.net).

Online sources