Beyond the mystical mists and rushing rivers of Ardeşen
Oh, once we set off on a completely spontaneous, crazy journey. And it truly was wild in every sense — across countless green hills, along a mighty, powerful river, over the endless sea, and through magical hanging mists.
As usual, I didn’t really want to go on this trip, but my unstoppable mom @olga.maslievich pulled me along. I couldn’t even imagine that the places we were heading to would be so incredibly beautiful. Because officially, I can say that the most beautiful part of Turkey, in my opinion, is the place where we live — the Antalya region and its surroundings. But the Turkish Black Sea coast turned out to be just as stunning, and in some ways even better.
I’m talking in particular about the regions of Trabzon, Rize, and Ardeşen — we passed through these cities on our way, and the point where our route truly settled was the small town of Ardeşen. It’s home to a bridge that stretches over the source of the wild and unique Fırtına Creek as it flows into the Black Sea. In fact, this river was, is, and will be the hero of this story. It feels like tourism in Ardeşen revolves around this river. Of course, also around the green hills and waterfalls, but the river plays a huge role — for example, riverside restaurants are very popular, as well as cozy, authentic wooden houses with views of the water.
Actually, it was one such house I saw on Airbnb that made us drive 1,000 kilometers to this region. And it was absolutely worth it — the atmosphere was simply magical. The most popular activity here is rafting, which runs every day from morning till evening. Along the narrow, many-kilometer road that follows the river and the mountains, there are countless rafting companies inviting you to stop by — not just for rafting, but also for ziplining or swinging among flowers — and then later selling photos taken by their photographer for what feels like half a million dollars 🤣
We got tricked like that a couple of times. But honestly, during these activities you don’t really think about taking pictures, and it’s nice when someone else does — though they definitely make good money from it. Ardeşen became like a separate little country for us, full of intense, vivid moments and unexpected changes during the time we spent there.
We changed three accommodations in six days, all close to each other — because Turkish Airbnbs, of course, come with their own quirks, like everything else in Turkey. I’ll probably share the details of those moves and places in future posts, because there’s too much for today. So for now, I’ll just talk about the first one. The road there was long and difficult — there was a huge stretch with no internet at all, complete wilderness — so we only reached Ardeşen around 2 a.m. Thankfully, our host was very understanding and caring (unlike the next one). He waited for us and checked us in smoothly, which was really kind.
But our first impression, when we arrived in the dark and saw some kind of messy, empty-looking area and a small building that resembled a giant doghouse in the middle of nowhere, was… mixed. However, when we walked around to the other side and especially once we stepped inside, the smiles returned — because everything we had hoped for was actually there.
Link for river house on airbnb
An incredibly cute riverside house with stylish design in every corner. And most importantly, the next morning we discovered the cherry on top — a beautiful tea area with a comfortable sofa right by a huge window overlooking that dreamlike view.
Fırtına is probably one of the first truly powerful rivers I’ve ever seen, and it’s absolutely hypnotizing with its flow. There was, however, one big downside — there was no Wi-Fi at all in the house, and in that mountainous area there was no mobile internet either.
So whenever we needed to get things done, we had to leave our cozy little nest and drive down to the waterfront just to catch a signal. Also, for most of our stay in Ardeşen, it rained — creating a very specific vibe, not always the most pleasant, but now it feels like a vivid part of the whole story, adding depth to the picture of that place.
On the first morning, the girls wanted to run down to the river, and it was raining the entire time — so we can officially call it a wet vacation. Water was everywhere. But the air was unbelievably clean and fresh — maybe even mixed with tea, because tea was literally everywhere. By the way, one of my favorite things was photographing every hill — such an unusual sight, because I had never seen tea leaves so close and on such a massive scale.
For me, it felt like a museum exhibit. The views from our house on both sides were absolutely incredible — as they say in Turkey, muhteşem. I’m always amazed by this natural phenomenon where steep, high hills and cliffs rise around a flat river valley. The contrast in height is striking.
I had to tilt my head all the way up to see some of the mountain peaks, with mist hanging and drifting above them. Along the river valley, there’s also a whole series of historic arched bridges. As you drive for many kilometers along the river, you can spot many of them.
One of the closest and probably the most visited is the Timisvat Bridge — a stone bridge believed to have been built between the 17th and 18th centuries. It has an arched structure that withstands water flow and pressure very well.
The bridge has two arches and looks incredibly authentic surrounded by lush greenery. If you look closely, you’ll notice how carefully and uniquely all the stones are laid. It’s also a stopping point for all rafting tours. And right next to the bridge, people love to jump into the water — which, by the way, was freezing beyond belief when we tried rafting… but that’s a story for another time.
