Çamlıhemşin

Çamlıhemşin
Town
Pokut plateau. Clouds above the mountains of Rize
Location of Çamlıhemşin within Turkey.
Çamlıhemşin Location of Çamlıhemşin within Turkey.
Coordinates: 41°08′N 41°01′E / 41.133°N 41.017°E / 41.133; 41.017Coordinates: 41°08′N 41°01′E / 41.133°N 41.017°E / 41.133; 41.017
Country	Turkey
Region	Black Sea
Province	Rize
Government
• Mayor	Osman Haşimoğlu (AKP)
Area
• District	699.59 km2 (270.11 sq mi)
Elevation	300- 700 m (985-2,300 ft)
Population (2012)
• Urban	1,273
• District	5,976
• District density	8.5/km2 (22/sq mi)
Time zone	EET (UTC+2)
• Summer (DST)	EEST (UTC+3)
Postal code	53
Area code(s)	(0090)+ 464
Licence plate	53
Climate	Cfb

Çamlıhemşin (Laz: ვიჯა/Vica or ვიჯე/Vice; Georgian: ვიჯა/Vija) is a small town and district of Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

With its mountains and valleys in all shades of green Çamlıhemşin has a reputation as one of the most attractive parts of the eastern Black Sea region, particularly with the autumn foliage.

The town was originally known as Vija or Vije, with local variants Vijealtı, Vijedibi, although it was officially named as Vicealtı until 1953 when its name was changed to Çamlıca by Turkish authorities. The name Vija/ვიჯა (Vizha/ვიჟა||Vije/ვიჯე) is Laz word for brine, mineral (salty) water, which corresponds to Kartvelian *weʒ₁- form. Its current name was given in 1957. This is a combination of the terms "Çamlı" which in Turkish means "pine-forested" or "piney" and "Hemşin".

Çamlıhemşin is high in the Fırtına Valley, which leads down to the Black Sea coast, and is an important access point to the Kaçkar mountains. This is a hilly area surrounded by very high mountains that poke up into the clouds, and watered by the Hala River and other streams running down the Black Sea. It rains here all year round, temperatures drop to minus 7 °C in winter and reach 25 °C in summer.

This is a low-income district and successive generations of Çamlıhemşin have migrated to jobs in Turkey's larger cities (for example they have reputation as the best bakers and pastry-cooks in Ankara). In Çamlıhemşin some tea is grown and otherwise people live from forestry, beekeeping or herding animals on the mountainside. However the countryside here is a gorgeous mix of meadows and valleys and in recent years the district has begun to attract tourists, people on trekking holidays in the Kaçkar. There are now small hotels and guest houses throughout the district.

Çamlıhemşin itself is a small town of 2,355 people. There is a health centre and some blocks of public housing, residences for teachers and civil servants posted here. There are high schools in Çamlıhemşin and primary schools in the mountains villages. The traditional Çamlıhemşin village house is wooden, with a steep roof to run off the rain and a wooden terrace at the side. Many of these homes seem stuck to the steep hillsides by magic.