These verdant shores, where densely pine-forested mountains give way to tea terraces, hazelnut groves and tobacco plantations, confound those who envisage Turkey as a sunbaked steppeland. The rugged Black Sea Mountains plunge steeply down towards the sea, making this coastline one of dramatic cliffs and headlands interspersed with sandy beaches. Owing to the mountainous character of the region, much of the settlement is scattered over hill slopes, and the only agglomerated settlements are the towns and fishing villages on the narrow coastal belt. Cut off from the rest of Turkey by the Black Sea mountain chain, this coast has pursued a somewhat independent history. According to legend, these shores were the land of the Amazons, and an Amazon queen is said to have founded Sinop. In the later Middle Ages the coast once again became the center of an independent empire, the Empire of Trebizond (now Trabzon). In fact Trebizond was the last Byzantine city to hold out against the Ottoman Turks and it was not until eight years after the fall of Constantinople that the last Comnene emperor surrendered to Sultan Mehmet II, the Conqueror. Along the western part of the Black Sea coast are several small resorts with sandy beaches, such as Kilyos (on the European side of the Black Sea coast), Sile, Agva and Akçakoca (on the Asian Side). The succession of resorts is interrupted by Eregli and Zonguldak, Turkey's largest coal and steel centers. Beyond Zonguldak is the picturesque town of Amasra clustered around a Byzantine citadel on a promontory between two bays. Following the eastern Black Sea coast from Sinop to Hopa is a good scenic road which greatly facilitates sightseeing. Sinop is famous as the birthplace of the great satirist and philosopher, Diogenes, and there are several interesting Seljuk buildings. From Sinop to Samsun the road passes through maize and tobacco plantations, for which the region is famous. Though the settlement of Samsun is ancient, little remains to testify to its past. Nevertheless, the town has an important place in modern Turkish history since it was here that Atatürk landed to organize the national resistance that liberated Turkish territory from foreign powers. Covering the hill slopes from Samsun to Trabzon are hazelnut groves, which make Turkey the world's largest exporter of this crop. Unye is an attractive resort surrounded by sandy beaches. Giresun is beautifully set around a high rocky peninsula, crowned by a Byzantine fortress. The city is surrounded by lush cherry orchards and it was from here that the Roman general and gourmet, Lucullus, brought back the first cherry trees to Europe. Trabzon was a well fortified city on a sloping table ground between two ravines, and it was one of the few Byzantine cities to resist attacks by the Seljuk Turks and Mongols. Remains of Trabzon's Byzantine fortress can still be seen and also in the city there are many buildings reflecting the two hundred year Comnene rule, such as the Church of St. Sophia with its interesting frescoes and reliefs. Outside Trabzon is the Monastery of Sumela, set like a swallow's nest in a sheer rockface. Most of the monastery was built in the 14th century during the reign of Alexius III the Comnene, and it contains many fine frescoes. Beyond Trabzon the land of the terraces begins. Purple wild rhododendrons, another plant that originated in this fertile region, cover the uncultivated slopes. Rize is the center of this tea producing region, which now supplies the whole of Turkey with tea. Hopa is the last Black Sea harbor before the Georgian border. the east and southeast

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