Shopping in Black Sea

The Black Sea region, with its rugged waves and lush forests, is truly a paradise. So, what can you bring back as souvenirs when you visit this beautiful area? We've put together a list to give you some ideas.

In Amasya, you can buy a traditional samovar, local pastries, famous Amasya apples, healing syrups, tarhana, and Turkish arts and crafts products. The border city of Artvin is known for products such as pine resin, linden flowers, black dried plums (Köme), mulberry molasses, pestil, and Maçahel honey, as well as its folkloric and stone dolls. From Bartın, you can find copper products, woven items, Uskufa vests, and buffalo yogurt. Bayburt is famous for its honey, copper products, and kilims. In the western Black Sea region, Bolu is known for its chefs and offers delightful treats like hazelnut sugar, Mengen cheese, copper and leather goods, yogurt powder, sugar beans (Göynük), and palace and foam helva. When it comes to Çorum, the first thing that comes to mind is leblebi (roasted chickpeas), but you can also find handmade flutes, bastons (walking sticks), baskets, Hitite-inspired ornaments, walnuts, and wooden and stone products. Although Düzce is a small city, you can find plenty of hazelnuts, tobacco cologne, and towels here. Giresun is a region where hazelnuts and hazelnut products are common, along with cherries, pestil, and copper goods. In Gümüşhane, you can purchase rosehip and rosehip-based products, silk carpets, and woven kilims. Karabük, a city with a long cultural history, is known for Safranbolu delights, handmade pasta, yemenis (traditional shoes), homemade baklava, and souvenirs themed after Safranbolu. Kastamonu is famous for garlic, boxwood spoons, pull candy, Selalmaz fabric, Tosya rice, Üryani plums, and bulgur. You can also find the renowned Evrenya knives here.

Moving on to Ordu, you can find items such as oyalı yemenis (embroidered slippers), handmade flutes, walking sticks, clarinets, as well as hazelnuts, kiwis, honey, and corn flour. So, what should you buy in Rize? Of course, first and foremost, tea (of all kinds), Anzer honey, and Karakovan honey. You can also purchase locally made cheese from the plateau, chocolate-covered dates, molasses, Rize's unique fabric known as feretiko, stools, and various handcrafts.

In the heart of the Black Sea, Samsun and Sinop are known for their dried fish, fish pickles, rice, linen clothing, woolen handicrafts, model ships, and Sinop knives. Finally, we arrive at Trabzon, one of the most iconic destinations in the Black Sea region. In Trabzon, you can buy traditional clothing, handwoven textiles, copper artifacts, silver, kemençe (a local string instrument), Trabzon-style gold crafts, kavurma (traditional meat dish), güğüm (copper container), hazelnuts, and, of course, hamsi (anchovies). To the locals, hamsi is more than just food; it's a lifestyle.

Other cities like Zonguldak and Tokat also offer delightful souvenirs such as the famous Devrek walking stick, items shaped like mining tools, Ottoman strawberries, tel kırma (handcrafted metalwork), Tokat's local cheese (Tokat çemeni), molasses, and handmade slippers.

Of course, this list is far from exhaustive, but we've tried to include the most famous items from each city to give you a taste of the region’s richness.

For accommodation suggestions, be sure to check out our Black Sea Region Hotels page.