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Trabzon

Discover an eastern Black Sea food culture of cornmeal, cheese, butter, anchovies and tea, with a wider provincial history visible at Sümela.

A spoon lifting long strands of melted cheese from a pan of kuymak
Kuymak — cornmeal and melting cheese, a Black Sea favouriteBasak · CC BY-SA 4.0

History & landscape

In Trabzon province, Sümela Monastery occupies the rock cliffs of the Altındere Valley near Maçka. Türkiye’s UNESCO Tentative List submission describes Byzantine building and later enlargement, including work under the Komnenian rulers. Its setting introduces the province’s mountain landscape and Christian architectural heritage. Tentative listing is not the same as World Heritage inscription.

Living culture

Trabzon’s food identity includes district specialities as well as city dishes. GoTürkiye highlights Vakfıkebir bread, Tonya butter and Hamsiköy rice pudding alongside kuymak. Tea is another everyday reference point, with cultivation in the eastern part of the province. Keeping district names matters: a provincial guide should not erase the places and producers behind a food.

Food & ingredients

Anchovies appear in several preparations, including fried fish and pilaf. Corn, kale and beans also feature in the regional repertoire. Kuymak brings together dairy and cornmeal in the version represented by our recipe. It belongs within a wider Black Sea family of preparations, where ingredient choices and names vary.

How our recipes connect

The linked Trabzon-style kuymak is a sourced regional adaptation, not evidence that Trabzon exclusively invented the dish. Our recipe explains its cheese and cornmeal choices. The region’s historic buildings provide cultural context, not proof that the present recipe dates to their construction.

Sources & further reading

Recipes connected to this place