Ordu Province - Overview
Ordu Province
(Turkish: Ordu ili) is a province of Turkey, located on the Black Sea coast. Its adjacent provinces are Samsun to the northwest, Tokat to the southwest, Sivas to the south, and Giresun to the east. Its license-plate code is 52. The capital of the province is the city of Ordu.
EtymologyOrdu is the word for 'army' in current Turkish, originally meaning 'army camp', but it is not clear whether, and if so how, this relates to the meaning of the name of the province, which is the former name of its central district.
GeographyOrdu is a strip of Black Sea coast and the hills behind, historically an agricultural and fishing area and in recent years, tourism has seen an increase, mainly visitors from Russia and Georgia, as Ordu boasts some of the best beaches, rivers, and lush, green mountains on the Black Sea coast. Walking in the high pastures is now a popular excursion for Turkish holidaymakers. The higher altitudes are covered in forest.
Melet river, Bolaman river, Fatsa river, Cevizdere stream, Curi stream and Bağdere stream are main rivers of the Ordu province and Gaga lake is the only lake of the city
Hazelnut production and apicultureOrdu is famous for hazelnuts. Turkey as a whole produces about 70 percent of the world's hazelnuts, and over 50 percent of those come from Ordu. The recent drop in hazelnut prices however have led farmers to supplement their income with beekeeping.
DemographicsMostly Chepni Turks and other Oghuz Turks live here and the province is home to a minority of Cheveneburi Georgians.
In recent decades many people from Ordu have migrated away to jobs in Istanbul, Bursa, Samsun, Sakarya or abroad.
DistrictsOrdu province is divided into 19 districts (capital district in bold):
Akkuş, Aybastı, Çamaş, Çatalpınar, Çaybaşı, Fatsa, Gölköy, Gülyalı, Gürgentepe, İkizce, Kabadüz, Kabataş, Korgan, Kumru, Mesudiye, Altınordu (central district, formerly also named Ordu), Perşembe, Ulubey, Ünye