In Amasya the Yeşilırmak does more than divide the town into two banks; it decides where buildings are placed, which face of a house turns toward the water, and why the citadel rises from that particular rock. Known in antiquity as the Iris, the river is the same stream the Hittites called Kumeşmaha. It rises on the slopes of Kösedağ in the Suşehri district of Sivas and reaches the Black Sea at Çarşamba in Samsun. Amasya's natural beauty lies strung along this course: in the town centre, royal tombs cut into the rock and timber houses facing the water; to the north, a landslide-dammed lake among the forests of Taşova; to the west, the hot springs of Hamamözü.

The Course of the Yeşilırmak

The Yeşilırmak is 519 kilometres long, and its basin of 36,144 square kilometres covers roughly five percent of the surface area of Turkey. The river is formed by the joining of three branches. The main branch, also called the Tokat River, is a channel of 468 kilometres; it begins to flow from Kösedağ as the Tozanlı Su, takes the name Tokat River below the Almus Dam, and passes through the Çengel Gorge after Turhal before reaching Amasya. From the point where the Tokat River meets the Çekerek Stream, which is 256 kilometres long and rises in the Çamlıbel Mountains of Sivas, the watercourse is called the Yeşilırmak. The third branch, the Kelkit Stream, is the river's largest tributary. Rising in the Çimen Mountains of Gümüşhane, the Kelkit irrigates the plains of Niksar and Erbaa and joins the Yeşilırmak at the locality of Boğazkesen on the border between Erbaa and Taşova, where the historic Boğazkesen Bridge stands. The length of the Kelkit is given in sources with two different values, 320 and 245.5 kilometres.

The town of Amasya sits in a narrow valley that the river has opened for itself among the Canik Mountains, formed where the mountains of the eastern Black Sea region descend toward the west. About 80 kilometres from the Black Sea coast, this valley lies at an altitude of around 400 metres, and its climate is a transition between the Black Sea and continental types. Summers are not as dry as in the interior or as rainy as on the coastal strip; in winter, even when snow falls on the higher ground, it either has little effect in the town centre or lingers only briefly. The river and the valley system contribute a good deal to this mildness. The average altitude of the province is about 1,150 metres, while the town centre lies at 411.69 metres; such a range of elevation within the same borders explains how very different seasons and landscapes can be experienced side by side.

After Amasya the river opens onto the Taşova and Çarşamba plains. The Kazova, Geldingen, Taşova and Çarşamba plains are fed by the silt it carries, and the alluvium deposited around Çarşamba has formed the Yeşilırmak Delta. The river has an irregular regime, and the Almus, Ataköy, Hasan Uğurlu, Suat Uğurlu, Kılıçkaya and Süreyyabey dams have now been built on it; the Süreyyabey Dam was built chiefly for flood and torrent control. Within the basin lie the lakes of Ladik, Boraboy and Kaz.

The Valley as Strabo Described It

The earliest description of the valley at the scale of the town belongs to the geographer Strabo, who is believed to have been born in Amasya. In Book XII of the Geographica he describes his native city as lying "in a large deep valley" and regards the settlement as the work of human foresight and of nature alike. In his account the town serves at once as city and fortress: it stands on a high rock that drops sheer to the river, enclosed on one side by the wall along the riverbank and on the other by the wall climbing to the peaks. There are two peaks, joined to each other by a natural neck, and within this circuit stand the palaces and monuments of the kings. Two tube-like channels hewn into the rock, one toward the river and one toward the neck, ensure that the city's water supply is never cut off. Strabo also reports that two bridges cross the river, that the valley widens toward a plain called Chiliocomum, and that the plain continues with fertile land as far as the Halys. In the same book he writes that the Iris flows past the very wall of Amaseia, turns toward the east, and further downstream joins the Lycus.

Although it was written more than two thousand years ago, this description largely coincides with the plan of the present town. The citadel still stands on the rocky crag that drops straight to the river, cisterns and water channels are cut into the rock within it, and the bridges over the river still link the two sides of the town. The valley the river opened has a share in this continuity: whichever civilisation arrived, the settlement was founded anew around the same rock and the same water.

Harşena Mountain and the Rock Tombs

Harşena Mountain, which forms the northern wall of the valley, has been inhabited since the Early Bronze Age. The citadel is thought to have been built in the Bronze Age, around 3200 BCE, and recent research traces the settlement as a whole back to the Chalcolithic, to about 5500 BCE. Sources do not agree on who founded the citadel: Arab historians attribute it to a commander named Harşene, Western historians to the Pontic king Mithridates. The same mountain range saw Phrygian, Scythian and Median, Persian, Pontic, Roman, Eastern Roman, Danishmend, Ilkhanid, Seljuk and Ottoman rule.

The monumental tombs in the face of the mountain began to be cut when the Kingdom of Pontus made Amaseia its capital. The founding date of the kingdom is given in sources as 301, 291 or 281 BCE; according to the account that ties its foundation to Mithridates I Ktistes, one of the Persian satraps, tomb building begins with him. In the area of the Maiden's Palace (Kızlar Sarayı) are the rock tombs of five kings who reigned from the founder Mithridates Ktistes to Pharnakes I, and their heights range from 8 to 15 metres. On the citadel side, some 20 to 25 metres above ground, 18 tombs large and small, dated to the 3rd century BCE, are counted, carved into the limestone on a flat wall. Seen from outside, the tombs are hollows in the living face of the rock that look like doorways; when lit at night they form a row hanging above the town. Harşena Mountain and the Pontic Royal Rock Tombs are on Turkey's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List.

The citadel itself is as layered as the river. During the Persian, Roman, Pontic and Byzantine periods it was attacked, demolished and repaired many times, and it was badly damaged in the wars between Rome and Pontus. After it passed into Turkish hands in the late 11th century it was extensively repaired and remained in use until the 18th century, when it lost its military importance. At its centre is a passage cut into the rock, known as Cilanbolu, reached by an underground stair of about 150 steps. The citadel also has cisterns, water reservoirs, the remains of an Ottoman-period bath and four gates (Helkıs, Saray, Maydonos and Meydan). The Ottoman prince Mehmed I (Çelebi Mehmed), fleeing before Timur's armies, took refuge in this citadel. Along the Yeşilırmak, typical Amasya houses, baths and mosques lean against a stretch of about 800 metres of the walls.

The Yalıboyu Houses

The timber houses lined up at the foot of the rocks on the northern bank of the river are known as the Yalıboyu Houses (the waterside houses). They are an Amasya example of the traditional Turkish house of Anatolia and the Balkans and were built in the second half of the 19th century. The buildings sit on the narrow, long plots between the Yeşilırmak and Harşena Mountain; the ground floor of many rises on the remains of the old town wall, so that the houses quite literally stand on the wall. Being on the north bank allows them to face both the river and the sun. Their south fronts, turned to the river, are the main façades; the projections reach out over the water, and because the houses are built wall to wall the façades read from the opposite bank as a single whole.

In the structural system the spaces between the timber frame are filled with earth, that is, in the himiş technique; in a small number of examples the bağdadi technique, plaster over a lattice of laths, is seen. The roof is usually a pitched or hipped one covered with Turkish-style curved tiles. The precautions demanded by life on a damp riverbank are present everywhere in the building: hemp-reinforced lime and straw-clay plasters, graft paint applied to timber eaves and joinery, and wide eaves on the river side. Window openings are arranged in groups of three, in a ratio of 2:3 on the lower floors and 1:2 on the upper floors; the joinery is of the guillotine type, and openings facing the street are fitted with timber lattices for privacy. Some houses have projecting rooms called şahnişin, which receive light on three sides.

The plans are of a basement with one or two storeys above, and the rooms are gathered around a sofa, the central hall; there are examples with inner, outer, corner and middle halls. The narrow, long plot divided the building into two masses in most houses. The larger mass near the river served as the haremlik and the smaller mass near the street as the selamlık; the courtyard between them was both a cool outdoor space in the shade of the larger mass and a working area with the hearth and the well. The rooms contain a hearth, a built-in storage cupboard (yüklük), within it a gusülhane set aside for ablutions, a seat along the wall (sedir), shelves called sergen, and open niches called lambalık or şerbetlik; woodwork, painted decoration, plasterwork and metal ornament are also seen. The architectural scholar Atlıhan Onat Karacalı thinks these houses were used by the valide sultans and pashas who came to the town with the princes, and he finds romantic the interpretations that explain the close relation with the river by longing for Istanbul.

The survival of the houses today is partly the result of a conservation effort. Amasya has lived through the 1939 Erzincan earthquake, countless river floods and fires. The first step to protect the town's traditional fabric was the designation of urban conservation areas in 1979; the town was divided into seven conservation areas, and the Yalıboyu Houses fell in Area No. 2. In 1981 transitional-period conservation decisions were taken limiting storey height and façade openings; in 1992 the Ankara Conservation Council for Cultural and Natural Heritage decided that the registration of 126 civil buildings should continue; and in 1994, under the Yalıboyu Houses Conservation Project, set up jointly by local government and civil initiative, 80 houses were registered. In 1996, as a continuation of this work, the Amasya Foundation for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets was established. After the 2000s the Yalıboyu Coastal Promenade was built on the southern bank of the river, and the Pirinççi Promenade where the river turns north. In the Hatuniye quarter this promenade, the river, the unified silhouette of the houses and the royal tombs forming a backdrop make up a single view.

In this part of the town centre the bridges that follow one another across the river carry the same historical continuity. Studies mention the Alçak Bridge from the Roman period, the Hükümet (Helkis) and Magdenüs bridges from the Byzantine period, and the Meydan (İstasyon) Bridge from the Seljuk period. The area on the southern bank where the Temple of the Mother Goddess stood in the Roman period was used as a prayer ground (namazgâh) under the Danishmendids and as an open-air prayer place (musalla) under the Seljuks, and the same area was chosen for the Bayezid II Complex in the Ottoman period.

Lake Boraboy

As one climbs north from the town centre toward Taşova, the valley turns into wooded, rugged country. Lake Boraboy lies 62 kilometres from the provincial centre of Amasya, 22 kilometres from Taşova and 3 kilometres from the village of Boraboy, and is a natural landslide-dammed lake. The rock structure of the region and the North Anatolian Fault line running close by prepared its formation: water seeping deep along the weak fracture zones created by the fault eased the mass movement on tuff and agglomerate, and when the landslide closed the valley of the Çatağın Stream, the accumulating water formed the lake. A concrete weir was later built on the barrier created by the landslide to prevent it from being breached in floods and to provide water for agricultural irrigation. A gate system in the weir releases surplus water when the lake level rises excessively with rainfall and sudden snowmelt; because of the weir, about 5 metres high, the lake surface widens in spring.

The lake is about 750 metres long and 200 metres wide, with a surface area of 0.11 square kilometres and a greatest depth of about 11 metres. One source gives its surface altitude as 1,500 metres, while a geomorphological study measuring the level of the landslide barrier uses 1,054 metres. The same study reports that the total catchment of the streams of every size flowing into the Çatağın Stream and the lake is 11 square kilometres, and that the sediment these streams carry is enough to fill the lake over time. For this reason four retaining barriers were built, beginning from the barrier level at 1,054 metres and going upstream at altitudes of 1,075, 1,110, 1,129 and 1,220 metres, about 5 to 6 metres above the stream bed; the ground behind the two uppermost barriers has been almost completely filled with sediment. An assessment using three separate indices concluded that the lake barrier is stable, though the researchers also stress that observation should continue because of the proximity of the North Anatolian Fault zone.

The area around the lake is a nature park of 255.34 hectares. The area was first declared a first-degree natural conservation area, was regarded as a tourism centre in 1992, received third-degree natural conservation status in 1996, and has served as a nature park since 3 September 2013. The first simple facilities in the area were built in the 1970s; walking trails, picnic areas, a children's playground, viewing terraces, bungalow-type accommodation, a camping area, a country restaurant and pedal boats are among today's amenities. About 70,000 people visited the area in 2017; a study carried out in the 1990s recorded 12,970 day visitors for 1993 and 16,439 for 1994. As there is no regular public transport from the town centre or from Taşova, most visitors arrive by private vehicle.

On the northern slopes of the lake, eastern beech, black pine, Scots pine and oak predominate; on the southern slopes, Scots pine, black pine and mixed scrub communities are seen. It is known that 245 endemic taxa occur within the borders of Amasya province, and 29 of them are distributed around Akdağ and Lake Boraboy. Six endemic species have been recorded within the park itself. The wildlife includes mammals such as roe deer, hare, wolf, fox, wild boar, squirrel and badger, birds such as the quail, chukar, woodcock, nightingale, sparrowhawk, black stork and spotted woodpecker, and the land tortoise and the pond turtle. Carp and wels catfish live in the lake, which is suitable for sport angling.

Hamamözü and Its Healing Waters

To the west of the valley, between Amasya and Çorum, lies the district of Hamamözü, surrounded by Gümüşhacıköy, Laçin, Osmancık and the centre of Çorum. The district is 90 kilometres from the provincial centre of Amasya and 43 kilometres from the provincial centre of Çorum; its area is 204 square kilometres and, in population, it is the smallest district of the province (3,567 people in 2024). It is a settlement of recent date: it is recorded as having been founded in 1887, when the farm of two notables from the nearby village of Gümüş was bought by Circassian immigrants numbering 60 households. The district has borne the same name since 1914; formerly a sub-district attached to Gümüşhacıköy, it gained municipal status on 20 August 1971 and became a district by a law published in Official Gazette No. 20523 of 20 May 1990.

The spa that gives the district its name is much older. The history of the Hamamözü Hot Springs is not known precisely; they are thought to have been in use since antiquity, and on the basis of excavation finds it is also claimed that they have been operated since the middle of the 1st century CE. The spa is also called the Arkut Bey Bath, after the Seljuk bey Arkut Bey. The water, which until then emerged at the surface as a seepage, acquired in Arkut Bey's time a bath with two domes, one for women and one for men. It is said that the building, which was also operated under the Ottomans, came under the management of migrants from the Caucasus after the Ottoman-Russian War of 1877; this date does not fully match the record stating that the district was founded in 1887, and the sources do not explain how the two pieces of information relate to each other. Modern thermal facilities came into service in the 2000s: two indoor pools, a sauna, cure pools, Turkish baths and an accommodation section of 63 rooms and 130 beds; the old bath is also still in operation.

There are three springs at the spa, and the waters belong to the group of sodium bicarbonate waters. The temperature of the water is given as 38 degrees in one record and 42.5 degrees in another; its pH is 7.4 and its radioactivity 6 eman. The water is used both for bathing and for drinking; drunk, it is believed to be good for stomach and intestinal ailments, and as a bath to be beneficial for disorders of the nervous system, the heart and circulation, and sciatica. In the sources these benefits are reported as folk belief and therapeutic practice and carry no medical confirmation.

Highlands and Touring the Valley

The higher parts of Amasya are cool places visited in summer by those escaping the heat of the valley. That the average altitude of the province is 1,150 metres explains why wooded, cool and well-watered places like Boraboy lie within the provincial borders. In town, the walking paths along the valley, the viewpoints reached by cable car and the tea gardens on the riverbank are good places from which to watch the light change across the rocks over the course of the day. In the late afternoon the lights in the windows of the Yalıboyu houses reflect on the water, and at night the illuminated royal tombs line up above the river; the valley shows a different view from season to season and from hour to hour. The fish-and-bread sold in the restaurants along the Yeşilırmak is also one of the familiar stops of a visit to the town.

Chronology

About 5500 BCE: According to recent research, the settlement of Amasya is thought to go back to the Chalcolithic.

301, 291 or 281 BCE: The Kingdom of Pontus is founded and Amaseia becomes its capital; the rock tombs begin to be cut in this period (the date varies by source).

70 BCE: The Roman commander Lucullus annexes Amasya to Roman territory.

1393: Amasya joins Ottoman territory and the prince Çelebi Mehmed is appointed to govern the city.

Second half of the 19th century: The Yalıboyu Houses are built.

1887: Hamamözü is founded with the settlement of Circassian immigrants.

1939: The Erzincan earthquake also affects Amasya.

1979: Amasya's urban conservation areas are designated; the Yalıboyu Houses fall in Area No. 2.

1990: Hamamözü gains district status.

1994-1996: The Yalıboyu Houses Conservation Project and the Amasya Foundation for the Protection of Cultural and Natural Assets carry out their work.

3 September 2013: Lake Boraboy and its surroundings gain nature park status.

Bibliography

Primary sources

  • Strabo, Geographica, Book XII (the sections on Amaseia and the Iris); Thayer text, penelope.uchicago.edu. penelope.uchicago.edu

Academic studies

  • Atlıhan Onat Karacalı, "Amasya Yalıboyu Evlerinin Mimari Özellikleri Üzerine Bir Değerlendirme ve Bir Öneri", DergiPark.
  • Yayla, O.; Atayeter, Y., "Boraboy Heyelanında (Amasya) Jeomorfolojik Değerlendirmeler", Ahi Evran Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi, 10/1 (2024), pp. 169-187.
  • Bingül Bulut, M. B.; Kurt Konakoğlu, S. S., "Boraboy Gölü Tabiat Parkı'nın ziyaretçi yönetimi üzerine bir araştırma", AÇÜ Orman Fakültesi Dergisi, 24/2 (2023), pp. 193-201.

Official sources

  • Kültür Portalı, "Doğa Yürüyüşü - Boraboy Gölü - Amasya" (data of the General Directorate of Nature Conservation and National Parks). kulturportali.gov.tr

Other sources

  • Güncan, Özlem, "Hamamözü Kaplıcaları", Online Türkiye Turizm Ansiklopedisi, 2020. turkiyeturizmansiklopedisi.com
  • Articles on the Yeşilırmak, Kelkit Stream, Çekerek Stream, Harşena Mountain, Amasya Citadel, Hamamözü and Taşova, Wikipedia (auxiliary source).

Online sources