Introduction
"Pharnaceia" redirects here. For the town of ancient Phrygia, see Pharnacia (Phrygia).
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Municipality in TurkeyGiresunMunicipalityView from the Giresun Castle, looking east (top image) and looking west (bottom image)
LogoGiresunLocation in TurkeyCoordinates: 40°54′55″N 38°23′22″E / 40.91528°N 38.38944°E / 40.91528; 38.38944CountryTurkeyProvinceGiresunDistrictGiresunGovernment • MayorFuat Köse (CHP)Elevation50 m (160 ft)Population (2022)125,682Time zoneUTC+3 (TRT)Postal code28610Area code0454ClimateCfaWebsitewww.giresun.bel.tr
Giresun (pronounced [giˈɾesun]) is a city in the Black Sea Region of northeastern Turkey, about 175 km (109 mi) west of the city of Trabzon. It is the seat of Giresun Province and Giresun District. It has a population of 125,682 (2022).
Etymology
[edit]
Giresun was known to the ancient Greeks as Choerades or more prominently as Cerasus (Ancient Greek: Κερασοῦς, romanized: Kerasoûs), the origin of the modern name.
The name Kerasous consists of the Greek words κερασός (kerasós) "cherry" + -ουντ (a place marker). Thus, the Greek root of the word "cherry", κερασός (kerasós), predates the name of the city, and the ultimate origin of the word cherry (and thus the name of the city) is probably from a Pre-Greek substrate, likely of Anatolian origin, given the intervocalic σ in Κερασοῦς and the apparent cognates of it found in other languages of the region. According to Pliny, the cherry was first exported from Cerasus to Europe in Roman times by Lucullus.
Another theory suggests that Kerasous comes from κέρας (keras) "horn" + -ουντ (a place marker), due to the prominent horn-shaped peninsula that the city is situated on (compare with the Greek name for the horn-shaped Golden Horn waterway in Istanbul, Κέρας (Keras) "Horn"). The toponym would have later mutated into Kerasunt (sometimes written Kérasounde or Kerassunde), and the word "cherry" (as well as its cognates found in other local languages) was derived from the name of the city itself, rather than the other way around.
Pharnaces I of Pontus renamed the city Pharnacia after himself after he captured the city in 183 BC, and it was called by that name as late as the 2nd century AD. According to A. H. M. Jones, the city officially reverted to its original name, Kerasous, in 64 AD.
The Greek name Kerasous was Turkified into Giresun (Ottoman Turkish: گیرهسون) after Turks gained permanent control of the region in the late 14th century.
History
[edit]
Belltower of St. Nicholas church, Kerasus (Giresun)
Giresun city at the beginning of the 20th century
Historical affiliations
Hittites c. 1600–1200 BC
Phrygia c. 800–695 BC
Achaemenid Empire c. 547–333 BC
Macedonian Empire 333–323 BC
Kingdom of Pontus c. 281–63 BC
Roman Empire 63 BC–395 AD
Byzantine Empire 395–1204
Empire of Trebizond 1204–1461
Ottoman Empire 1461–1922
Turkey 1923–present
Greek Catholic Church in Giresun, later converted into a children's library
Pontian Greek athletics team from Giresun (formerly Kerasounta) early 20th century
Old Municipality Building in Giresun
Giresun was founded circa 180 BC by Pharnaces I of Pontus, who sent Greek citizens from Kotyora (modern Ordu) to colonize the area. The name of the city was first cited in the book Anabasis by Xenophon as Kerasus. Historic records reveal that the city was dominated by the Miletians, Persians, Romans, Byzantines and the Empire of Trebizond. The older parts of the city lie on a peninsula crowned by a ruined Byzantine fortress, sheltering the small natural harbor. Nearby is Giresun Island, called Aretias in ancient times, which is the only major Black Sea island in Turkish territory. According to legend, the island was sacred to the Amazons, who had dedicated a temple to the war god Ares here. Even today, fertility rites are performed there every May, usually involving the famed boulder named the Hamza Stone on the east side of the island, now shrouded as a popular practice but in reality a 4,000-year-old celebration.
Cerasus in late antiquity became a Christian bishopric, and the names of several of its bishops are preserved in the acts of church councils: Gregorius at the Council of Ephesus in 431, Gratianus at the Council of Chalcedon in 451, Theophylactus at the Third Council of Constantinople in 680, Narses at the Trullan Council in 692, Ioannes at the Second Council of Nicaea in 787, and Simeon at the Photian Council of Constantinople in 879. An episcopal seal records a Leo of the 9th century, and a Michael was transferred from here to the see of Ancyra at the time of Michael Caerularius. It was the seat of a Greek Orthodox metropolitan until 1703, when the city was placed under the metropolitan of Trebizond. Accordingly, it is today listed by the Catholic Church as a titular see. The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople also considers Cerasus (Kerasous), together with Chaldia and Cheriana, as a titular metropolitanate in Turkey.
During the medieval period, Kerasunt was part of the Byzantine Empire and later the second city of the Empire of Trebizond ruled by the Komnenian dynasty. Alexios II Komnenos, Emperor of Trebizond, defeated the Turkmen "Koustoganes" at Kerasunt in September 1302; to secure his victory, Alexios II built a fortress which overlooks the sea. From 1244 onwards, the Seljuk Turks moved into the area, pursued at times by the Mongol hordes until in 1461, subsequent to the Fall of Constantinople, the whole of this coast was brought within the Ottoman Empire by Sultan Mehmed II. It was briefly occupied by Emirate of Hacıemiroğlu (Emirate of Chalybia) between 1398 and 1400. Local traditions claim that Kerasunt held out for many months after the fall of Trebizon in 1461, then surrendered on terms that the Christian inhabitants could remain and retain their arms, but were required to maintain a boat for the use of the Turks on a nearby river.
Ottoman era paintings and drawings of Kérassunde
General view of Kerassunde on the Black Sea.
Bell tower of the church of metamorphosis.
The acropolis and the government palace from the sea.
Hills of St. Demetrius.
Chapel of St. Panteleimon and hanging garden of Calypso.
Postcard of Kerassunde (Giresun), Vilayet of Trebizond (Trabzon), Ottoman Empire.
Gate to municipal garden and residency copy.
High Street of the bazaar.
Day of regattas at Limeri beach.jpg
The beach where they sell anchovies.
The old city walls and the government palace of Kerassunde.
Acropolis and house of Captain Yorghi Pasha.
4.2 km east-northeast of Kerasus is a fortified island called Ares (Αρητιας νήσος or Αρεώνησος). According to the poetic account of Apollonius of Rhodes, it was here that the Argonauts encountered both the Amazons and a flock of vicious birds. The Greeks of the island held out against the Ottomans for 7 years after the fall of Trebizond (modern Trabzon) in 1461.
Kerasounta became known by its Turkish name Giresun after 1923.
Demographics
[edit]
Surviving Greeks fled to Greece after the 1923 Population Exchange founding villages such as Nea Kerasounta in Preveza, Greece.
Economy
[edit]
Giresun Commerce High School
Historically, Giresun was known for producing hazelnut. As of 1920, hazelnuts covered 460 square miles of the area.
Manganese mines were also in the area, producing 470 tons as of 1901.
Sports
[edit]
The city owns a football team Giresunspor and a football stadium Çotanak Sport Complex.
Alperen Şengün (25 July 2002) a professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association (NBA) was born in Giresun.
Places of interest
[edit]
The well preserved Giresun Castle in the city center
Giresun Island
Museum, Children's Library, Hacı Hüseyin Mosque, Kale Mosque, Seyyid-i Vakkas Tomb, Mausoleum of Topal Osman
Giresun Archaeological Museum (the former Gorgora church)
Old Ottoman houses of Zeytinlik district
Kırkharman Kilisesi, a former Greek church
Highlands (Kümbet, Bektaş, Kulakkaya, Çakrak, Tohumluk, Kurtbeli, Kazıkbeli, Ayıbeli, Beytarla, Buları, Kırkharman)
Kuzalan Falls and Blue Lake
Duroğlu
Giresun places of interest
Old Ottoman houses in Zeytinlik neighbourhood
Giresun Archaeological Museum, formerly known as Gogora church
Giresun and its island
The island of Giresun
Notable people
[edit]
Ashot Zorian (1905–1970), Turkish-born Egyptian painter and educator, of Armenian ethnicity
Alperen Şengün (2002), Turkish basketball player
Topal Osman (1884 - 1923) Turkish commander
Murat Ongun (1975) Turkish journalist
Geography
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Northern end of Gedikkaya crag, located in the eastern part of Giresun city
The surrounding region has rich agriculture, growing most of Turkey's hazelnuts as well as walnuts, cherries, leather and timber, and the port of Giresun has long handled these products. The harbor was enlarged in the 1960s, and the town is still a port and commercial center for the surrounding districts.
Like everywhere else on the Black Sea coast, it rains (and often snows in winter) and is very humid throughout the year, with a lack of extreme temperatures both in summer and winter. As a result, Giresun and the surrounding countryside are covered with luxuriant flora. Just beyond the city are hazelnut groves, and there are high pastures (yayla) further in the mountains.
Climate
[edit]
Giresun has a humid subtropical climate (Cfa or Cf) under both the Köppen and Trewartha climate classifications, with warm, humid summers and cool, damp winters. As a part of the very humid southern Black Sea coast, it experiences frequent precipitation throughout the year (mainly due to the lake-effect rain phenomena), with a small peak in rainfall days in spring and fall. Giresun is the cloudiest city in Turkey, as well as one of the cloudiest cities of the temperate latitudes; with annual sunshine of around 1,000 hours, it is more akin to far northwestern Europe.
Snowfall is somewhat common between the months of December and March, snowing for a week or two, and it can be heavy once it snows.
The water temperature is cool in winter and warm in summer and fluctuates between 8 °C (46 °F) and 24 °C (75 °F) throughout the year.
Climate data for Giresun (1991–2020, extremes 1929–2023)
Month
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Year
Record high °C (°F)
29.1(84.4)
29.5(85.1)
34.9(94.8)
36.0(96.8)
35.4(95.7)
36.2(97.2)
35.3(95.5)
35.2(95.4)
32.9(91.2)
37.3(99.1)
32.8(91.0)
28.0(82.4)
37.3(99.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)
10.6(51.1)
10.7(51.3)
12.4(54.3)
15.3(59.5)
19.2(66.6)
23.9(75.0)
26.8(80.2)
27.4(81.3)
24.2(75.6)
20.3(68.5)
16.0(60.8)
12.7(54.9)
18.3(64.9)
Daily mean °C (°F)
7.6(45.7)
7.4(45.3)
8.8(47.8)
11.6(52.9)
16.0(60.8)
20.8(69.4)
23.7(74.7)
24.3(75.7)
21.0(69.8)
17.2(63.0)
12.8(55.0)
9.7(49.5)
15.1(59.2)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)
5.3(41.5)
4.8(40.6)
6.1(43.0)
8.9(48.0)
13.6(56.5)
18.1(64.6)
21.0(69.8)
21.7(71.1)
18.4(65.1)
14.7(58.5)
10.3(50.5)
7.3(45.1)
12.5(54.5)
Record low °C (°F)
−6.2(20.8)
−9.8(14.4)
−5.8(21.6)
−1.4(29.5)
4.0(39.2)
6.8(44.2)
12.1(53.8)
12.1(53.8)
4.8(40.6)
4.2(39.6)
−1.6(29.1)
−2.4(27.7)
−9.8(14.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)
127.6(5.02)
92.0(3.62)
98.0(3.86)
72.8(2.87)
73.1(2.88)
83.9(3.30)
82.2(3.24)
81.8(3.22)
133.7(5.26)
175.8(6.92)
158.5(6.24)
129.0(5.08)
1,308.4(51.51)
Average precipitation days
14.9
14.3
16.5
14.9
14.57
12.57
10.93
11.1
12.77
15.43
13
14.73
165.7
Average snowy days
3.0
2.5
1.5
0.1
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1.3
8.4
Average relative humidity (%)
66.7
67.3
69.8
73.8
76.1
73.8
73
72.5
72.7
73.1
67
65.1
70.9
Mean monthly sunshine hours
52.7
70.6
65.1
87.0
108.5
141.0
124.0
108.5
87.0
62.0
75.0
49.6
1,031
Mean daily sunshine hours
1.7
2.5
2.1
2.9
3.5
4.7
4.0
3.5
2.9
2.0
2.5
1.6
2.8
Source 1: Turkish State Meteorological Service (sun 1929–2020)
Source 2: NOAA NCEI (Humidity), Meteomanz (snowy days 2000-2024)
Twin towns and sister cities
[edit]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in Turkey
Giresun is twinned with:
Alba, Italy
Bátonyterenye, Hungary
La Louvière, Belgium
Ölgii, Mongolia
Sagae, Japan
Shaki, Azerbaijan
Urmia, Iran
