“Red River”
Old names: Marassantiya (Hittite), Halys (Greek),
The stately Kızılırmak is Turkey’s longest river, rising in the foothills of Mt Kızıldağ (Red Mountain) in Sivas province and then wending its way north for over 1,100 km to empty into the Black Sea near Bafra.
In the past the Kızılırmak held great strategic importance, marking the western boundary of the Hatti and Hittite kingdoms.
The Kızılırmak Deltası (delta) is a recognised Ramsar site for its wildlife and features a küs cenneti (bird paradise) protected area. Large numbers of water buffalo live here in the summer months.
Perhaps the most important inland place to visit along the river is Avanos where the red clay from the bed of the river has provided the basis for a flourishing ceramics industry producing everything from workaday cooking pots and tiles to the individual pieces made in the small local ateliers.
Since 2010 the river has become much more of a feature of Avanos with gondolas now providing a stately way to glide along it in the cool of the evening. In contrast jetboats are also available to race upstream to riverside picnic places.
