Black Sea’s Santa ruins fascinate visitors

TRABZON

The Santa ruins on the Trabzon-Gümüşhane border in the Black Sea region fascinate visitors. Located inside Dumanlı village, about 72 kilometers away from Gümüşhane city center and 42 kilometers away from Trabzon’s Arşin district; the ruins are home to artifacts unique to Greek civil architecture.

The archaeological site, founded by the Greeks in the 17th century, has single-story stone houses and at least one church in every neighborhood as well as a fountain in every street.

There are seven settlements in the Santa Ruins, covering three different slopes, which are all visible to each other. In these neighborhoods, official buildings built in the last half of the 18th century are also noteworthy.

In recent years, the Santa Ruins are waiting to be discovered by local and foreign tourists.

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Gümüşhane Governor Kamuran Taşbilek said that the site holds important cultural and natural value for Gümüşhane.

“Santa, with Sümela, Çakırgöl on one side and Taşköprü, Karaca Cave and Limni Lake on the other side, is a very special tourism destination Gümüşhane offers,” the governor said.

He said that a road construction project has helped to eliminate some of the transportation problems in Santa and added, “I hope this year we will complete the road work. After that, the ancient city of Santa will be more comfortable for tourists coming to Trabzon, Gümüşhane and surrounding areas. We also started infrastructure works. Santa will be at the service of tourists and citizens as a very special tourism destination.”

Maçka Mayor Koray Koçhan, who also visited the region, said: “Santa is an important stopover destination on the Green Road project in this area.”

The Green Road project is a plan to build 2,600 kilometers of roadway to connect the highlands of nine provinces in the Eastern Black Sea mountains.

Koçhan said Santa is “a beautiful destination with a church, many fountains and original houses around it. For this reason, the historical monuments here should be restored as soon as possible, and it should be transformed into a tourism destination as a single village.”

Koçhan said that the region is also important for tourists coming to Sümela Monastery and that Santa is a gateway to other tourism destinations.

“I believe that the tourism potential will increase in the next two to three years, especially with the completion of the Green Road project,” he added.