Discover Rize

Rize Çay Çarşısı puts tea in the spotlight, while the tea garden, museums and mosque offer different perspectives. To plan your visit, it helps to organize sightseeing around your priorities and compare hotel options in Rize based on the location and amenities that matter to you.

Tea and views at Rize Çay Çarşısı

Rize Çay Çarşısı was built on an area of approximately 10 dönüm. At its center stands the Tea Glass Tower, with seven floors, a height of 30 meters and 1,453 m² of indoor space. These dimensions give an idea of the scale of the structure; the top floor also has a 280 m² observation terrace with a 360-degree panoramic view. The Çarşı also includes a 13D cinema with 18 seats, which explains the journey of tea from the soil to the cup. The complex thus brings together the scale of its architecture and a themed presentation of tea. Since operating arrangements may change, it is advisable to check the current visiting conditions for the terrace and cinema before your visit.

Panoramas and plants in the tea garden

The Botanical (Ziraat) Tea Garden is a park in the city center. From there, you can enjoy panoramic views of the Black Sea, Rize Castle and the city. The plant labels also give a visit its own focus: signs name plants that grow in the region, as well as trees and flowers adapted to the humid climate and introduced from different parts of Turkey. The names are given in Turkish and Latin.

The walk up to the tea garden takes about 20 to 30 minutes. You can also reach it from the city center by shared taxis and city buses departing from the post office. Check current routes before you travel. This lets you plan your visit around your interests, focusing on the panoramic views, the plant labels or both.

Museums and architectural history

The Rize Museum is housed in Sarı Ev in the Piriçelebi neighborhood; the building is an example of 19th-century vernacular architecture. The museum displays 150 archaeological objects, 781 coins and 1,155 ethnographic objects. Collection numbers may change.

The Rize Atatürk House Museum offers a different historical perspective. The three-story mansion dates from 1921 and is located in the Müftü neighborhood in the city center. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stayed there in 1924 during his trip through Rize, as a guest of Mehmet Mataracı. After renovation, the building opened as a museum on December 27, 1985. Exhibits include some of Atatürk’s personal belongings and ethnographic artifacts from the region.

To compare the architecture, you can distinguish between the different references: Sarı Ev is an example of 19th-century vernacular architecture, while the Atatürk House is a three-story mansion dating from 1921. The İslampaşa Mosque in central Rize, meanwhile, is an example of classical Ottoman architecture.

Outdoor trails

If outdoor activity is part of your trip, Doğu Park on the waterfront in the Hamidiye neighborhood has paths for walking, running and cycling. This offers a different focus from the collections and historic buildings: you can decide whether architecture and culture or time spent on the trails should take center stage during your stay.

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