Akçaabat Castle (Pulathane)
Known in antiquity as Polathane, the castle dates from the Byzantine period and stands on a hill overlooking the sea. Part of the castle walls survives, and there are wide views of the Black Sea from here.
View on map5 places to visit in the Akçaabat district of Trabzon: Akçaabat Castle (Pulathane), Akçaabat Seafront and Akçakale (Livera) Castle. Plan your trip to Akçaabat with local food, practical tips and transport information.
Introduction
Akçaabat, formerly known as Polathane, is a district of Trabzon province. It is bordered to the west by Çarşıbaşı and Vakfıkebir, to the south by Düzköy and Maçka, and to the east by Ortahisar, the central district. Akçaabat, the second largest district of Trabzon by population, is famous for its köfte and its horon. The district covers an area of 375 km², and the average elevation of the district centre above sea level is 11 metres.
Etymology
The oldest known name of the town is Platana, which means plane tree in Greek. In the 19th century this name was distorted into Pulatane and Pulathane. The 1904 Trabzon Provincial Yearbook states that the name of the district centre was Platana, meaning plane tree in Greek.
History
Traces of Roman, Byzantine, Trabzon Empire and Ottoman history can be found in Akçaabat. Turks began to settle in the district from the 12th century, when Turkmen beys conquered the region in the Seljuk period. Akçaabat, conquered by Fatih Sultan Mehmet in 1461, still bears traces of these periods. The plague of 1796 affected Akçaabat greatly.
Population and Settlement
According to the 1835 census, the Akçaabat subdistrict had a total of 11,248 male inhabitants, of whom 8,645 were male Muslims and 2,603 were male non-Muslims. The census of 1835 showed that the Akçaabat subdistrict consisted of 91 settlement units in total: 5 neighbourhoods and 86 villages.
History and Culture
Turks began to settle in Akçaabat from the 12th century, during the Seljuk period. Akçaabat was incorporated into Ottoman territory with the conquest of Fatih Sultan Mehmet Han in 1461. In 1897, during the Ottoman period, when Akçaabat was a subdistrict, a district administration was established there. In 1810, a Russian naval landing attempt was prevented by the people of Akçaabat in their defence. On 20 April 1916, Russian ships bombarded Akçaabat and occupied it.
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