Bayburt was once an important center on the ancientSilk Road. It was visited byMarco Polo in the 13th century, and also byEvliya Çelebi in the 16th century.[3] Remains of its medievalcastle still exist. There are several historical mosques,Turkish baths, and tombs in the city. There are also ancient historical sites such as the Çatalçeşme Underground Complex and natural wonders like the Sirakayalar Waterfall in the other parts of the province.
The name of the town was formerly written inOttoman Turkish as بايبورد (Bayburd)[4] and in English as Baiburt.[5][6] It was known under a variety of names during theByzantine period;Procopius naming the cityBaiberdon, meanwhileKedrenos calling itPaiperte.[7] The name derives from the medievalArmenianBaydbert (Բայտբերդ).[8] InMovses of Khoren'sHistory of Armenia the town is being named as Բայբերդ (Paypert). Movses asserts that the city's ancient name was Smpadapert, in reference to the Smbat I, founder of theBagratuni dynasty.[7]Dede Korkut mentions the city in hisbook a couple of times as بايبورد (Bayburd). It is thought thatBaydbert consists of two words namelyBayd andBert. The first one has been discussed so much but true etymon is not clear yet. However, the second one is most probably an Armenian loanwordbert (բերդ) "fortress".
The town was the site of anArmenian fortress in the 1st century and may have been the Baiberdon fortified by theemperorJustinian. It was raided by the Seljuks in 1054, recaptured byTheodore Gabras, and conquered by theDanishmendids before theCrusade of 1101.[10] It was a stronghold of theGenovese in the late Middle Ages[5] and prospered in the late 13th and early 14th century because of the commerce betweenTrebizond andPersia. It contained a mint under theSeljuks andIlkhanids.[11] From c. 1243 to 1266, Bayburt was under brief control of theGeorgianprinces of Samtskhe. A Christian church within theBayburt Castle was built in the 13th century under the Trapezuntine or Georgian influence.[12]
Bayburt and the surrounding areas are considered to be one of the earliest Turkish settlements in Anatolia.[13] Under Ottoman rule, the town was the center of the BayburtSanjak inErzurum Eyalet. WhenErzurum was devastated in the early 16th century, Bayburt served for a time as thede facto capital of the province.[11] The area was raided by theSafavids in 1553. Bayburt was captured by aRussian army underGeneral Paskevich[6] and its fortifications thoroughly demolished in 1829.[5] It was the furthest westward reach of the Russians during that campaign.[6] The British traveller and geologistWilliam Hamilton commented on the ruins in the 1840s,[14] though the population grew to 6000 by the 1870s.[5] Thebazaar, however, remained poor and the town long lacked industry. On the eve of theFirst World War, the population of 10,000 was mostlyTurkish with someArmenians.[6]
According to theQamus al-A'lam (Qāmūsu'l-aˁlām/قاموس الأعلام, “Dictionary of the World”) ofShemseddin Sami, Sanjak of Bayburt, comprising fourkazas calledIspir,Şiran,Kelkit andBayburt itself, had 505 villages and 40nahiyes. The sanjak had a population of 124,019 people. 108,373 people were Turkish and Muslim, and the rest of the population was Christian, predominantly Armenian.[15]
Inside the Sanjak of Bayburt there were said to be 292mosque andmasjid, 176madrasah, 87 church and monastery, 2 middle school (rushdiye), 108 primary school (sıbyan mektebi).[16]
Bayburt has acontinental climate with warm summers and cold winters. Precipitation is fairly frequent most of the year, with a peak in spring. The city gets frequent, but not necessarily heavy snow, the highest snow depth recorded was 110 cm (43.3 inches) in March 1976.[citation needed]
Highest recorded temperature:38.4 °C (101.1 °F) on 15 August 2019 Lowest recorded temperature:−31.3 °C (−24.3 °F) on 20 January 1972[17]
Climate data for Bayburt (1991–2020, extremes 1959–2023)
Bayburt has several parks and open spaces like ''Aslan dağı Ormanı '' (Lion Mount Forest ) "Gençlik Parkı" (Youth Park), "Şehit Nusret Bahçesi" (Martyr Nusret Gardens), and "Yenişehir Parkı" meaning "New City Park". The city has 535.780 m2 (5,767.09 sq ft) ofnursery areas, where young plants are raised for the forests of Bayburt. Also there are two caves that visitors can see the interesting natural shapes of the stones. These caves are, "Çimağıl Cave" and "Helva Village Ice Cave".
Bayburt Castle stands on the steep rocks north of Bayburt. It was held by theBagratuni dynasty in the 9th, 10th, and 11th centuries. It was completely rebuilt by theSaltukid rulerMugis-al-Din Tugrul Sah between 1200 and 1230, as attested by an inscription in the walls of the castle. The massive size of its walls and the quality of its masonry place it amongst the finest of all the castles in Anatolia but for its destruction by the Russians[11] during the early nineteenth century.[20] Rebuilding was done during the Ottoman period. The castle was inhabited until it was the destroyed[11] in 1829.[6]
Located 45 km (28 mi) from Bayburt, theAydıntepe underground City consists of rock-cut galleries, vaulted rooms and wider spaces excavated out of natural rock, without using any building material within 2–2.5 metres (6 ft 7 in – 8 ft 2 in) from the surface in the tuff. Vaulted galleries about one meter wide and 2 to 2.5 meters tall are expanding on both sides.[21]
The Dome ofDede Korkut is approximately 30 kilometres (19 mi) away from Bayburt, and is located inMasat village.[22] It is located in the middle of village's graveyard, has been hosting plenty of people from many countries including Turkic countries because ofDede Korkut Culture and Art Festival since 1995, and it is held every July. The dome, also known as Ali Baba and Korkut Ata, was restored in 1994, and it was released to the public. It has gained importance after has been included in theRepresentative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity ofUNESCO in November 2018.[23]
TheBaksı Museum stands near the Black Sea, 45 km (28 mi) from Bayburt on a hilltop overlooking the Çoruh Valley. Rising in what used to be called Baksı and is now the village of Bayraktar, this unusual museum offers contemporary art and traditional handicrafts side by side under one roof.[24]
There are many indoor swimming pools in Bayburt, among them the semi-olympic swimming pool is the most notable one. It is located in the city center opposite of the Yenişehir Park. The pool water is kept at the same temperature in summer and winter so that the users can enjoy the pool in the best possible way.
The city also hosts winter sport activities, such as skiing. Ski resorts are located away from the city center.
Bayburt University is located roughly one kilometer away from the center of the city, the university has several faculties such as Engineering, Arts and Sciences, and Administrative Sciences. The university also contains a guest house (Turkish:konukevi). There are several vocational schools.
^"BAYBURT".TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved2023-12-14.
^Vryonis, Speros (1971). The Decline of Medieval Hellenism in Asia Minor and the Process of Islamisation from the Eleventh through the Fifteenth Century. Berkeley: California University Press. p. 162
^abcdSinclair, T. A. (1989).Eastern Turkey: An Architectural & Archaeological Survey, Volume I. Pindar Press. pp. 284–289.ISBN9780907132325.
^Peacock, Andrew (2012). "Between Georgia and the Islamic world: the atabegs of Samc'xe and the Turks". In Beyazit, Deniz (ed.).At the Crossroads of Empires: 14th-15th century Eastern Anatolia. Varia Anatolica. Vol. 25. Paris and Istanbul: Institut français d'études anatoliennes. pp. 49–70.ISBN978-2-36245-002-0.
^"BAYBURT".TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved2023-09-30.
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