Where Hazelnuts and History Meet: Unearthing the Soul of Giresun, Turkey (2026)

In 69 BC, the Roman general Lucullus, campaigning against Mithridates VI in Pontus, stumbled upon a small Greek colony called Cerasus on the Black Sea coast. So enchanted was he by the bright red fruit hanging from the trees that he brought them back to Rome—and in doing so, introduced the cherry to Europe. That moment, recorded by Pliny the Elder, marks the first whisper of Giresun in the wider world. But the city has far more to offer than its botanical legacy. You’ll find a place where steep green mountains tumble into the sea, where the scent of roasting hazelnuts mingles with sea salt, and where every winding street tells a story that stretches back millennia.

The Story Behind Giresun, Turkey

Long before Lucullus, the Milesian Greeks founded the port of Cerasus around the 6th century BC, naming it after the abundant cherry trees (kerasos in Greek). The city flourished as a trading post, linking the interior of Pontus with the Mediterranean world. When the Roman Empire absorbed the region, Cerasus became a vital stop on the coastal road. Byzantine emperors later fortified the hilltop citadel you can still explore today, and Genoese merchants—ever the opportunists—built a small trading colony on the offshore Giresun Island (Aretias) in the 13th century.

After the Ottoman conquest in 1461 by Mehmed II, Giresun was gradually Turkified, but its Greek and Armenian communities remained vibrant until the population exchanges of the 1920s. The city’s real transformation came in the 19th century when hazelnuts replaced cherries as the dominant crop. Today, Türkiye produces over 70% of the world’s hazelnuts, and Giresun province alone accounts for nearly a third of that. You’ll see hazelnut orchards terraced up the hillsides like green staircases, and in town, the Giresun Hazelnut Research Institute (founded 1937) remains the global authority on Corylus avellana. Travelers often discover that this nutty economy shapes every aspect of local life—from the timing of festivals to the texture of the soil beneath your feet.

Modern Giresun is a city of about 130,000, nestled between the sea and the steep slopes of the Eastern Black Sea Mountains. It’s less frequented by foreign tourists than Trabzon or Rize, which means you’ll experience a genuine slice of Black Sea culture. The 2023 restoration of the historic bazaar and the new coastal promenade have added a fresh energy, but the soul of Giresun remains in its centuries-old stone houses, its island monastery ruins, and the ever-present smell of roasting hazelnuts.

Neighborhood by Neighborhood

A juvenile Ringed Plover Charadrius hiaticula feeding on the rocks at the s…, Giresun, Turkey

Kale (The Castle Hill)

Perched on the rocky promontory that juts into the Black Sea, the Giresun Castle district is the city’s historic heart. You’ll reach it by climbing a steep cobbled street from the main square—the reward being a panoramic view of the entire bay and, on clear days, the snow-capped peaks of the Kaçkar range to the east. The Byzantine fortress walls, patched with Ottoman-era stonework, enclose a small park where local families sip tea at the Kale Çay Bahçesi (open 8 a.m. to midnight, tea 10 TL). Inside the castle grounds, the 14th-century Şebinkarahisar Mosque (actually constructed later, but using Byzantine foundations) offers a quiet spot for contemplation. Savvy visitors arrive just before sunset to catch the golden light on the sea and hear the muezzin’s call echoing over the water. The narrow lanes below the castle, with their wooden Ottoman houses and wrought-iron balconies, are perfect for an aimless afternoon stroll. You’ll spot the occasional hazelnut drying on a rooftop terrace.

Merkez (City Center)

Starting at Cumhuriyet Square, Merkez is Giresun’s modern commercial hub, a bustling grid of shops, banks, and tea gardens. On the pedestrianized Atatürk Bulvarı, you’ll find the Giresun Museum (open Tuesday–Sunday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., entrance 12 TL), housed in a 19th-century Greek Orthodox church. The museum’s collection includes Hellenistic jewelry from the ancient port of Cerasus and a fascinating exhibit on the hazelnut’s social history—complete with vintage harvesting tools. Just around the corner, the Bedesten (covered bazaar) dates from the late Ottoman period and still functions as a daily market. Here, you can buy a kilo of fresh hazelnuts for 80 TL or sample giresun peyniri, a briny white cheese made from mountain goats. Locals recommend arriving at the bazaar by 9 a.m. to see it at its liveliest, and to grab a simit (sesame bread ring) for 5 TL from the cart by the main entrance. In the evenings, the square fills with children playing and couples strolling—a scene that feels timeless in its ordinariness.

Çıtlakkale (The Riverside Quarter)

Following the Batlama River east from the city center, you enter Çıtlakkale, a neighborhood that feels a world apart from the commercial clamor. Here, the river flows between rows of restored 19th-century stone houses, many now converted into boutique guesthouses and art galleries. The name comes from a small cliff in the river that creates a narrow, rapid-filled channel—the “crackle castle” in local dialect. You’ll hear the water long before you see it. The atmosphere is deliberately bohemian: the Giresun Art House on Çıtlakkale Caddesi hosts rotating exhibitions of Black Sea painters (opening receptions usually the first Saturday of each month, free). The riverside promenade, freshly paved in 2022, is perfect for a late-morning walk; you’ll pass elderly men playing backgammon under plane trees and children skipping stones across the water. The real magic happens at dawn, when mist rises from the river and the only sound is the chatter of birds. Grab a seat at Çıtlakkale Kahvesi (open 7 a.m.–10 p.m., Turkish coffee 15 TL) and watch life unfold slowly.

The Local Table: What Denizens Actually Eat

You cannot understand Giresun without tasting its food, and that food begins and ends with the sea and the hills. The Black Sea diet is built on anchovies (hamsi), which appear in everything from fried fillets to rice pilaf to a bread-baked dish called hamsi kuşu (anchovy “birds” with herbs and cheese). Locals eat hamsi from November to March, when the fish are at their fattest. But the year-round star is the hazelnut. You’ll find it ground into sauces, pressed into oil for salads, candied as fındık ezmesi, and, most beloved, in the tiny crescent-shaped cookies called fındık kurabiyesi.

Green and brown mountains under white sky during daytime, Giresun, Turkey

For an authentic meal, head to Bisikletli Kebapçı on Atatürk Bulvarı (open 11 a.m.–10 p.m., closed Sunday). This no-frills joint, run by the same family since 1978, specializes in kuyu kebabı—lamb slow-cooked in an underground pit until it falls apart. A portion with rice and grilled vegetables costs 120 TL. For a true local breakfast, try mıhlama, a fondue-like cornmeal and cheese dish, at Yonca Kahvaltı Salonu on Kale Sokak (open 7 a.m.–2 p.m., set breakfast 70 TL). You’ll share a table with fisherman just in from the harbor, and the owner will likely insist you try his homemade pekmez (grape molasses) drizzled over clotted cream. Travelers often discover that the best food in Giresun isn’t in restaurants at all—it’s the street stalls at the Friday market (Kapalı Pazar, near the bus terminal) that sell freshly grilled mackerel sandwiches for 35 TL, or the carts by the ferry dock offering lokma (deep-fried dough in syrup) for 10 TL for six pieces.

The local drink you must seek out is çay—but not just any çay. Giresun’s tea comes from the eastern mountains, grown in the rain-soaked terraces around Çayeli. At Deniz Çay Bahçesi on the waterfront (open 24 hours, tea 8 TL), you can sip it from the traditional thin-waisted glass while watching ferries chug across the bay. The ritual matters: the tea is strong and dark, always served with a cube of beet sugar on the saucer.

Art, Music & Nightlife

Giresun’s creative pulse beats softly compared to Istanbul or Ankara, but it’s unmistakable once you know where to look. The city is the heartland of the kemençe, a Byzantine-era bowed lute that produces a wailing, melancholic sound. You’ll hear it in the tea gardens on weekend afternoons, especially at the Kemençe Café (İsmet Paşa Caddesi, open 10 a.m.–midnight), where older musicians gather to play folk songs from the Black Sea repertoire. The best time to experience kemençe culture is during the Giresun Festival (last week of June), when groups from across the region compete in a marathon three-day performance. The festival also features hazelnut roasting contests and a lively street parade; hotel rooms book up months in advance, so plan accordingly—check Booking.com for availability.

A body of water with a hill in the background, Giresun, Turkey

For contemporary art, the Giresun Sanat Galerisi (just off Cumhuriyet Square, free entry, open 10 a.m.–6 p.m. except Mondays) has rotating exhibitions of local painters and photographers. What surprises most visitors is the gallery’s focus on textile installation—works that incorporate the hazelnut husk fibers and handwoven fabric from village looms. Nightlife is modest: a handful of bars along the waterfront, like Mavi Bar (open 8 p.m.–2 a.m., beer from 40 TL), where you can sit outdoors and watch the lights of the fishing boats. The scene is more about conversation than loud music; locals recommend coming after 10 p.m. when the fishermen dock and you might get offered a freshly grilled fish.

Practical Guide

• Getting There: Fly into Ordu-Giresun Airport (OGU), about 30 km east of the city. Turkish Airlines and AnadoluJet operate daily flights from Istanbul (1h45m, round-trip from 800 TL). Book at Skyscanner for best deals. Alternatively, intercity buses from Istanbul (13 hours, 400 TL) and Ankara (9 hours, 300 TL) arrive at Giresun’s new otogar, a 10-minute taxi from the center (45 TL).
• Getting Around: Walking is the best way to explore the compact center. For the castle and outer neighborhoods, minibuses (dolmuş) run from Cumhuriyet Square every 10 minutes until 11 p.m.; fares are 7 TL flat. Taxis start at 20 TL for short hops; negotiate for longer trips. To reach Giresun Island (summer only), take the municipal ferry from the harbor at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. (30-minute crossing, 25 TL round-trip).
• Where to Stay: For convenience, stay in Merkez: Ottoman Park Hotel on Atatürk Bulvarı (from 400 TL/night, breakfast included). For atmosphere, choose Çıtlakkale’s Şehzade Butik Otel (from 600 TL/night, with river views and a garden). Castle district options are limited to a few small guesthouses like Kale Evi (from 350 TL/night, no elevator). Book early for spring and autumn. Search Booking.com for current rates.
• Best Time: May–June and September–October offer the most pleasant weather: 20–25°C, lower humidity, and fewer crowds. July and August are hot (30°C) and rainy, but the hazelnut harvest festivals in August are colorful. Winters are cold and damp (5–10°C), with occasional snow on the hillsides.
• Budget: You’ll spend around 800–1,000 TL per day for a mid-range traveler (double room, two meals, transport, and a museum ticket). Budget travelers can manage on 500 TL/day with dorm accommodation and street food. Higher-end dining (seafood restaurants) will cost 1,200 TL plus.

What Surprises First-Time Visitors

Many travelers come to Giresun expecting a sleepy coastal town, only to find a city that hums with a quiet intensity. The biggest surprise is the sheer greenness: the mountains are so steep and forested that the city feels swallowed by nature. You’ll look up from a bustling intersection and see a dense canopy of hazelnut trees climbing almost vertically, with tiny houses peeking through. The air smells of damp earth and leaves, even in the center of town—a far cry from the arid landscapes of central Turkey. Locals take this greenery for granted, but first-time visitors often find themselves constantly looking up.

Another revelation is the warmth of the people. In Istanbul, you might be ignored by passersby; in Giresun, strangers will greet you on the street, insist you sit for tea, and offer directions even if you don’t ask. The secret is that Giresun residents are deeply proud of their city—they’ll tell you about the cherry origin story, the world-record hazelnut production, and the fact that the island’s monastery (Aretias, the ancient Temple of Apollo) is one of the most important archaeological sites on the Black Sea. Savvy visitors learn to accept these invitations; they lead to conversations that unlock the city’s hidden corners, like the village behind the castle where a family dries hazelnuts on their roof and will show you the process for free.

Finally, the importance of the sea catches first-timers off guard. Giresun is not a beach-tourism destination—the water is cold and the coast is rocky—but the Black Sea dominates daily life. You’ll see fishermen mending nets on the seawall, ferries sounding their horns every half hour, and children diving off the harbor breakwater. The weather changes with shocking speed: a clear morning can turn into a drenching squall by lunchtime, then clear again by sunset. Locals call the sudden rain “yağmur tanrısı (rain god) teasing you.” Pack a rain jacket no matter the season.