Of, Turkey

Of (Turkish: [of], possibly from Ancient Greek: Ὄφιούς Ophious) is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located in the eastern part of Trabzon and is an important historical district of the province. The mayor is Salim Salih Sarıalioğlu (AKP).

Of
District
Of
Location of Of within Turkey.
Coordinates: 40°56′42″N 40°15′52″E
Country Turkey
RegionBlack Sea
ProvinceTrabzon
Government
 • MayorSalim Salih Sarıalioğlu (AKP)
Area
 • District177.81 km2 (68.65 sq mi)
Elevation
10 m (30 ft)
Population
 (2012)[2]
 • Urban
19,970
 • District
42,138
 • District density240/km2 (610/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+2 (EET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+3 (EEST)
Postal code
61830
Area code(s)(+90) 462
Licence plate61
ClimateCfa
Websitewww.of.bel.tr

Etymology and settlement origins
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 its Hellenised Pontic Greek speaking inhabitants.[3] 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".[4] 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 whole of Turkey.

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. There are hints at earlier settlement by Chaldian peoples, such as a village named "Halt". During most of its history the district and its hinterland were subjugated to nearby Trabzon city. The southern districts Dernekpazarı, Çaykara and Hayrat of Trabzon province and the western half of İkizdere district today part of Rize province were historically also part of the region of Of.

A minority of Muslim Pontic Greek speakers, using a dialect called "Ophitic" (or Romeyka), still live in the area.[5][6][7]

Notable people

References
  1. "Area of regions (including lakes), km²". Regional Statistics Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. 2002. Retrieved 2013-03-05.
  2. "Population of province/district centers and towns/villages by districts - 2012". Address Based Population Registration System (ABPRS) Database. Turkish Statistical Institute. Retrieved 2013-02-27.
  3. Dawkins, R.M. (1916). Modern Greek in Asia Minor. A study of dialect of Silly, Cappadocia and Pharasa.
  4. Arrian (1805). Arrian's voyage round the Euxine Sea translated: and accompanied with a geographical dissertation, and maps. J. Cook. p. 33.
  5. "Against all odds: archaic Greek in a modern world | University of Cambridge". July 2010. Retrieved 2013-03-31.
  6. Jason and the argot: land where Greek's ancient language survives, The Independent, Monday, 3 January 2011
  7. 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.


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