Firtina Valley and River

Firtina River is nestled in the steep-sided valley in the Rize district of the Black Sea coast in Northern Turkey. stretching for many Kilometre it is home to different villages that have made their livings from the natural style of the region, with beekeeping and other forestry-based work being the main lively hood. This natural style of living has made it popular with tourists both international and domestic alongside the Turkish film industry with the film ‘Bal’ or ‘Honey’ was set in the region.

The name ‘Firtina’ translates as ‘Storm’ while the region sees a large amount of rain it is thought that it more describes the roaring of the water as it passes under the Ottoman bridges that were built during the early days of the empire. The bridges were built by local stonemasons, under Ottoman authorities’ direction, some of the builds are unusual in style or are large enough for a village to use regularly.