Kelkit River


The Kelkit River, is a river in the Black Sea Region of Turkey. It is the longest tributary of the Yeşil River. Its name derives from the Armenian Gayl get "Wolf River" and the Greek name Lykos is a translation of 'wolf'. It was known as the Lycus in antiquity.
It rises in Gümüşhane Province and runs through the provinces of Erzincan, Giresun, Sivas, and Tokat before flowing into the Yeşil at the modern village of Kızılçubuk, near the site of the ancient city of Eupatoria. The Kelkit follows the North Anatolian Fault for about 150 km from Suşehri to Resadiye and Niksar.
In Hellenistic times, a major east-west road following the valley of the Kelkit led from Armenia Minor to Bithynia.

Phanaroea

The valley of the last 40 km of the Kelkit before it joins the Yeşil was known by Strabo as Phanaroea ; he described it as being rich in olives and vines and having the best soil in Pontus. There was a city called Eupatoria in this valley. The eastern end of Phanaroea was marked by Cabira, a stronghold of Mithridates Eupator. In the 20th century, it produced grain, fruit, vegetables, tobacco, rice, and opium poppy.