Trabzon

The monastery clings to the middle of a cliff, and it is a steep climb from where the cars stop. Falling rock closed it for years and it reopened in stages, so how far inside you get depends on the day. Steel mesh on the rock face above holds the stones back.

Built as a church in the 13th century, it keeps frescoes from then on its walls and vaults. The lower paintings were curtained off when it returned to use as a mosque in 2013. Add the city name when you search, or the Istanbul one comes up.

A long lake formed where the valley was blocked, with a path that circles the shore. In the summer peak, visitors from the Gulf fill it and room rates jump. Mist often rolls down over the afternoon, so photographs come out better in the morning.

A white timber mansion sits in a hillside garden with its rooms left as they were. The garden is large and wooded, so it runs cooler than the town.

Herders move up to this pasture for the summer only, and snow closes the road in winter. Wooden huts stand scattered about while mist rises from below and covers the ridge. The tarmac gives out partway, which makes it hard going in a saloon car.

Boztepe rises straight behind the streets and takes in the harbour and the town at one look. People gather once the evening lighting is switched on, so a seat is worth claiming early.

Water runs through this limestone cave and drips onto the walkway, so the floor is never dry. The temperature inside hardly moves from season to season and sits below the outside air, so even in summer you want a jacket.

A hillside slid down in 1950 and blocked the valley to make this lake, and rowing boats are for hire at the edge.

A stone market hall that stood neglected a long time before it was restored and opened again. The inside is one open storey, so sound carries. Souvenir sellers and silversmiths have the stalls now.

A timber mansion on a hill above the sea, with carved wood covering the walls and ceilings of the upper floor. Each room has cupboards built into the wall where bedding and household things were kept. It is about thirty minutes east of the town.

Built for the banker Kostaki Theophylaktos between 1898 and 1913, this mansion now holds the city museum. Upstairs rooms keep period furniture and painted ceilings, while the basement holds archaeology. A lane off the main shopping street hides it.

A mosque and tomb of the early 16th century raised in honour of the mother of Sultan Selim I. Selim himself grew up here while governor of Trabzon. A quiet park beyond the old walls to the west surrounds it.

Trabzon's central square-park, ringed by tea houses, restaurants and bus stops. It is where Trabzon arranges to meet, so the benches fill by evening. Order a glass of cay and sit watching the city go by.

A highland village in the Kackar foothills of Rize province, with timber lodges, falls and hot springs. It is a summer escape, crowded from June to August and buried in snow in winter. With Trabzon nearly three hours' drive away, most visitors stay overnight.

A valley climbing from Camlihemsin in Rize toward the Kackar range, spanned by several arched stone bridges of the Ottoman era. The river runs fast enough for rafting. Higher up, Zil Castle sits on a rocky summit.