Of
District and municipality
Map showing Of District in Trabzon Province
Map showing Of District in Trabzon Province
Of is located in Turkey
Of
Of
Location in Turkey
Coordinates: 40°56′42″N 40°15′52″E / 40.94500°N 40.26444°E / 40.94500; 40.26444
CountryTurkey
ProvinceTrabzon
Government
 • MayorSalim Salih Sarıalioğlu (AKP)
Area
258 km2 (100 sq mi)
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2022)[1]
43,591
 • Density170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Time zoneTRT (UTC+3)
Postal code
61830
Area code0462
ClimateCfa
Websitewww.of.bel.tr

Of (Turkish: [of], possibly from Ancient Greek: Ὄφιούς Ophious) is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey.[2] Its area is 258 km2,[3] and its population is 43,591 (2022).[1] It is located in the eastern part of the province and is an important historical district of the province. The mayor is Salim Salih Sarıalioğlu (AKP).

Etymology

Section of an 1877 map showing the original names of towns and villages in the Of region

There are several stories about the origins of Of's name. Of was called Ofis in 1910 by Pontic Greek speaking inhabitants.[4] According to another view it means "village" or "settlement" in the Laz language (Laz: ოფუტე/oput'e), as the old name of the town is mentioned as "Opiunte" on the Tabula Peutingeriana. By another version of events, the city got its name from a nearby river described by Arrian as Ophis, a Greek word for "snake".[5] The Ophius stream - which snakes (zigzags) its way from around 3300 meters altitude in the Pontic Mountains towards the coastal town of Of - was renamed as "Solaklı" during the 1950s Turkification process which is a common policy in all of Turkey.

History

Ophius was a known harbor during ancient times.[6] The area was inhabited by the native Colchian people.

Mixed farming settlements of Pontic Greeks were established along most bends of the river at least from the Middle Ages onwards, making it one of the most densely settled valley-systems on the southern coast of the Black Sea. During most of its history the district and its hinterland were subjugated to nearby Trabzon. The southern districts Dernekpazarı, Çaykara and Hayrat of Trabzon province and the western half of İkizdere district today part of Rize province were historically part of the region of Of.[7][8]

The defter of 1515 records 60 settlements in the Of area and 2601 taxable families out of which 51 (almost 2%) are recorded as belonging to Muslims while the rest 2550 (98%) are recorded as Christian. However, the defter of 1583 shows a sharp increase in Muslim presence with 991 out of 4159 families or 24% of the population. During that time many Christians began retreating to the upper valley highlands away from areas showing an increase in Muslim presence.[9][10]

While the last quarter of the 16th century saw an acceleration in the growth of the number of Muslims, it was during the years of the 17th century. that the region began its transformation into a bastion of Sunni Islam due to forced conversions.[10]

Until the 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey, the river Ophis (now Solakli) was a natural border between Muslim Greek and Orthodox Christian Greek settlements. The settlements inhabited by Orthodox Christian Greeks were Halt (Sogutlu), Zourel (Sarakoy), Kourits (Sivrice), Krinita (Catalsogut), Kofkia (Yaniktas), Giga (Yiga), Zisino (Bolumlu) and Leka (Camli). Despite their religious differences everyone spoke Ophitic Greek, a dialect of Pontic Greek.[11]

After the population exchange, refugees from the Of area were resettled in Northern Greece, mainly in the areas of Drama, Kilkis and Kozani. In 1926 a group of these refugees purchased land near Katerini and 2 years later in 1928 founded Nea Trapezounta one of only a handful of purely Ophitic refugee villages.[11]

A minority of Muslim Pontic Greek speakers, using the Ophitic dialect (or Romeyka), still live in the area.[7][8][12]

Composition

There are 68 neighbourhoods in Of District:[13]

A detailed map of Asia Minor in antiquity by J. B. Bourguignon d'Anville (1794)

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  2. ^ Büyükşehir İlçe Belediyesi, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  3. ^ "İl ve İlçe Yüz ölçümleri". General Directorate of Mapping. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
  4. ^ Dawkins, R.M. (1916). Modern Greek in Asia Minor. A study of dialect of Silly, Cappadocia and Pharasa.
  5. ^ Arrian (1805). Arrian's voyage round the Euxine Sea translated: and accompanied with a geographical dissertation, and maps. J. Cook. p. 33.
  6. ^ De Graauw, Arthur (2016). "Catalogue of potential ancient ports in the Black Sea". Revue Méditerranée: 141.
  7. ^ a b "Against all odds: archaic Greek in a modern world | University of Cambridge". July 2010. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  8. ^ a b Jason and the argot: land where Greek's ancient language survives, The Independent, Monday, 3 January 2011
  9. ^ Meeker, Michael (1971). "The Black Sea Turks: Some Aspects of their Ethnic and Cultural Background". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 2 (4): 318–345. doi:10.1017/S002074380000129X. S2CID 162611158.
  10. ^ a b Poutouridou, Margarita (1997-01-01). "The Of valley and the coming of Islam: The case of the Greek-speaking muslims". Δελτίο Κέντρου Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών. 12: 1, 48–51. doi:10.12681/deltiokms.74. ISSN 2459-2579.
  11. ^ a b Ρεβυθιάδου, Ανθή (2011). "Η ταυτότητα της Οφιτικής Ποντιακής: Μια γλωσσολογική μελέτη των πηγών και των ομιλητών της". Δελτίο Κέντρου Μικρασιατικών Σπουδών (in Greek). 17: 221–223.
  12. ^ Özkan, Hakan (2013). "The Pontic Greek spoken by Muslims in the villages of Beşköy in the province of present-day Trabzon". Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies. 37 (1): 130–150. doi:10.1179/0307013112z.00000000023.
  13. ^ Mahalle, Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. Retrieved 19 September 2023.

External links

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