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    Bayburt

    Bayburt Castle 

    It is unknown when and by whom the historical castle was first built on a hill overlooking Bayburt city. Bayburt Castle (Bayburt Kalesi), which can be reached by crossing the Zigana and Kop Mountains, is located on the trade route connecting the Black Sea to the Persian Gulf surrounded by Çoruh River on three sides. The castle was dominated by the Romans, Byzantines and Arabs before it was taken under the control of the Turks. The most important feature of the castle is that it is decorated with tiles in turquoise, purple, sky-blue, green colors and different patterns on the walls in the 12th century during the Seljuk period. Evliya Çelebi, who visited Bayburt in 1647, wrote that there is a neighborhood of 300 houses and the Ebü’l-Feth Mosque in the castle.

    Aydıntepe Underground City

    Aydıntepe Underground City (Aydıntepe Yeraltı Şehri) consists of galleries and rooms carved without using any building materials into the bedrock, two to five meters below the surface, and larger spaces where these rooms are opened. There are two views put forward regarding the underground city, which has not been fully discovered. The first view is that the region belongs to Halde city and that the name “Halde” originates from “Halt”. The other view is that the first Christians expelled by the Romans came to this region and took refuge.

    Kop Mountain Winter Sports and Tourism Center

    Kop Mountain Winter Sports Tourism Center (Kop Dağı Kış Sporları ve Turizm Merkezi) starts behind a hill known as Kartal Hill, at an altitude of 2950 m. It starts holding snow in December and continues to offer quality snow until the end of May. The clean air of the center, mixed with the scents of juniper and flowers that will allow you to get rid of the stress of the crowded city life, will make you relaxed and renewed.

    Offering abundant oxygen, a virgin nature and a calm skiing experience, the ski center has a 1240 m long teleski. The ski center has 10 separate tracks that start from 2950m peaks and vary by their difficulty level.

    Clock Tower

    The Clock Tower (Saat Kulesi), rising right in front of Bayburt Castle, can be seen from almost every point of the city center with its imposing architecture.

    The construction of Bayburt Clock Tower dates back to 1923. The construction of the tower, which started with the proclamation of the Republic, took a year. The clock of the tower was brought from Switzerland and is still intact.

    Baksı Museum

    This extraordinary museum located in the village of Bayraktar with its current name, formerly known as Baksı, displays contemporary art and traditional handicrafts together under the same roof. Baksı Museum (Baksı Müzesi), which spans 40 acres of land, with exhibition halls, warehouse museum, workshops, conference hall, library and guesthouse, sprouted in 2000 as the personal dream of artist and academician Prof. Dr. Hüsamettin Koçan, born in Bayburt. This project is a result of Hüsamettin Koçan’s effort to bring life to the land where he was born. In order to make this dream true, Baksı Culture and Arts Foundation was established in 2005 and the museum turned into a real social project over the years with the contribution of many volunteers, especially artists.

    Kenan Yavuz Ethnography Museum

    Kenan Yavuz Ethnography Museum (Kenan Yavuz Etnografya Müzesi); with its traditional village houses, mills, amphitheater, mansion, theater, cinema hall, library, local kitchen workshop, village coffee house, indoor and outdoor museum that contains the traces of rural life, Loru Han, which reflects the culture of the Seljuk period, has the appearance of a local cultural complex.

    Bayburt Grand Mosque

    Bayburt Grand Mosque (Bayburt Ulu Cami), which is accepted to be built during the period of Anatolian Seljuk Sultan Mesud II (late 13th-early 14th century), was rebuilt in the 1970s based on its original plan. Two doors opening to the harim place, a few of the muqarnas trumpets, which are the transition elements of the dome in front of the mihrab, and the glazed and patterned brick minaret of the mosque have survived from the original building to the present day.

    Dede Korkut Cupola

    The cupola is thought to belong to Dede Korkut, a semi-legendary sage who knew very well the traditions and customs of the steppe life and was enshrined in the epics of the Oğuz Turks.  Also known as “Ali Baba” or “Korkut Ata” Cupola by the people, it is said to have been built in the middle of the ninth century.

    International Dede Korkut Culture and Art Festival is held in Bayburt every July in the name of Dede Korkut.

    Büyüktepe Tumulus

    It was discovered during the excavations in Büyüktepe that the settlement in the region started in 3500 BCE. Settlement continued starting from this date until the Roman period. The settlement has been severely damaged due to erosion since it was first established, but some pottery remains survived to the present day. All vessels and fragments belonging to the Early Bronze Age were collected. It is stated that these handmade ceramics are products from the Early Transcaucasian / Kura-Aras tradition.

    Büyüktepe Tumulus (Büyüktepe Höyüğü) is one of the most importanttumulus of the region and in the studies, findings from the Hellenistic Period were found as well as Iron Age findings.