Alucra
Etymology
Alucra is a modification of the Ottoman Empire name El Ücra meaning far-off or remote.
Culture
Local cuisine includes:
- Fit (Düü) Çorbası - a soup made of onions and bulgur wheat
- Yağlaç - a cornflour-based polenta-style meal
- Pancar Çorbası - beetroot soup
- Ekmek Aşı - dried bread soaked in a stew of fried meat with onions and hot pepper
- Ayran Çorbası - yoghurt soup
- Kesme Çorbası - a kind of local minestrone soup with lentils and dumplings
- Helle - a soupy dish of bulgur and mint
- Oğlak Kebabı - yeanling kebab
In July, there is a well-known summer festival.
History
This area has firstly been settled by the Hittites in ancient times. During the Middle Ages, Alucra was the part of the Byzantine Empire, disrupted by the Arab armies of the Abbasid caliphate.
Turks first came to the area in their 11th century movement into Anatolia from their homeland in Central Asia following their defeat of the Byzantines at the Battle of Malazgirt. From 1054 this area was settled by the Kipchak Turks from southern Russia, who moved into the area along the Black Sea coast, under the loose authority of the Seljuk Turks. The Seljuks assumed direct control by defeating the Mengujekids in 1228, but their rule came to an end with their defeat by the Mongol hordes at Kösedağ in 1243.
The Anatolian beyliks remerged despite the growth of the Ottoman Empire until the area was brought into Ottoman in 1473 with the defeat of Uzun Hasan by Sultan Mehmet II at the battle of Otlukbeli.
Places of interest
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6c/Church_Ruin_in_%C3%87akrak%2C_Alucra_2011-08-30_01-2.jpg/220px-Church_Ruin_in_%C3%87akrak%2C_Alucra_2011-08-30_01-2.jpg)
As well as walks in the high pastures (yayla), there are a number of historical sites:
- Kamışlı Kilisesi - a church in the village of Çakrak, built by Greeks in the 1800s
- Çakrak Kilisesi - a ruined church
- Gelinkaya (Bride's Rock - site of a gruesome local legend)
- Ikizler Tepesi - two hills near the village of Pirilli
Notable natives
- Nurettin Canikli (born 1960), Turkish politician and former minister
- Hasan Bitmez (1969–2023), Turkish politician
References
- ^ "Address-based population registration system (ADNKS) results dated 31 December 2022, Favorite Reports" (XLS). TÜİK. Retrieved 13 March 2023.
- ^ "İlçe Belediyesi" [District Municipality]. www.e-icisleri.gov.tr (in Turkish). Turkey Civil Administration Departments Inventory. 1 March 2023. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ^ "Çakrak Kiliesi ve Köprüsü" [Chakrak Church and Bridge]. Giresun il Kültür ve Turizm Müdürlüğü (in Turkish). Turkish Ministry of Culture and Tourism. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
- ^ "Hasan Bitmez'in yarın doğum günü olduğu ortaya çıktı!" [It turns out that Hasan Bitmez's birthday is tomorrow!]. Kocaeli Koz (in Turkish). 14 December 2023. Retrieved 14 December 2023.