Rize Webcam – See the Main Square of Turkey’s Tea Capital

The Rize Webcam looks down on 15 July Democracy and Republic Square, the broad paved square at the center of Rize on Turkey’s eastern Black Sea coast. From a high corner, the camera takes in the round municipal social facility with a cafe terrace and a helicopter on its roof, the main road curving along the edge of the square, and the stop where blue-green shared minibuses, known locally as dolmus, wait for passengers. Pigeons settle in flocks on the open paving, people cut between the planters, and yellow taxis loop past through the day. Rize Municipality runs the camera as one of six city cams, and the scene shifts with the hour and the weather: light traffic early in the morning, a steady flow of shoppers by the afternoon, and wet paving on the many days when rain blows in off the sea.

About Rize

Rize is the capital of Rize Province, a city of about 120,000 people in 2021, and lies 66 kilometers (41 miles) east of Trabzon along the coast road. The Roman writer Arrian mentioned it as Rhizaeon in his Periplus of the Euxine Sea, an account of the Black Sea coast written in 130 to 131 AD. Its modern identity comes from tea. Plantations spread across the hills around the city in the 1940s and 1950s, a tea research institute opened here in 1958, and the state tea company Caykur still has its headquarters in Rize.

The square in front of the camera is one of the newest parts of the center. To build it, the city demolished an auxiliary police building and the old Ses cinema, then put a two-level underground car park for 608 vehicles beneath the paving. The round building in the frame is a social facility run by the municipality, and the helicopter on its roof is a simulator used to promote the city to visiting tourists. A three-part monument on the eastern side of the square shows scenes from the War of Independence, the resistance to the coup attempt of 15 July 2016 that gives the square its name, and a final section on national unity.

On the municipality’s own live camera page, this feed is simply labeled Meydan, the Turkish word for square, next to five others named Kale, Ziraat, Dagbasi, Arastirma Yolu and Devlet Hastanesi. The player here shows a YouTube rebroadcast of the same feed, which carries a date and time stamp in the top left corner, which gives a quick read of local time, three hours ahead of UTC all year.

Weather and Climate in Rize

Rain is the defining feature of the weather here. Rize records about 2,310 millimeters (91 inches) of precipitation a year, with October the wettest month at around 307 millimeters (12.1 inches). Even February, the driest month, brings about 171 millimeters (6.7 inches). Sunshine averages a little over four hours a day across the year, so the camera often shows a pale, overcast sky, umbrellas crossing the square and dark, wet stone that reflects the shopfronts.

Winters are mild for the latitude. January highs average 11 C (52 F) and lows about 4 C (39 F). Spring warms slowly, with April highs near 16 C (61 F) and nights around 8.5 C (47 F). Summer is warm and humid: July averages 27 C (81 F) by day and about 20.5 C (69 F) at night, and the planters on the square are at their greenest. Autumn stays mild, with October highs around 21 C (71 F) and lows near 14 C (57 F), but it is also the rainiest stretch of the year, so a dry, bright afternoon on the Rize Webcam in October is worth catching when it comes.

Things to Do Near Rize

Rize Castle, a 13th century ruin on a hill southwest of the center on Piri Reis Caddesi, gives wide views over the city and is free to enter. The Kale Mosque, built in 1658, stands beside it. Back in the center, the Seyh Mosque from 1711 is the city’s main mosque, and the Yeni Orta Mosque of 1941 hides a handsome interior behind a plain front lined with shops. The small Rize Museum covers local history, and the Ataturk House on Kirazlik Caddesi, where Ataturk stayed during a visit in 1924, holds an ethnography exhibition. Both open Tuesday to Sunday and charge no entry fee.

For tea with a view, the Ziraat Tea Garden sits on a wooded hillside about 2 kilometers (1.2 miles) southwest of the center, in a botanical garden founded in 1924, and stays open until 11 pm. Football fans can watch Caykur Rizespor, named for the tea company, at its stadium about 6 kilometers (3.7 miles) east of the city. Farther inland, Ayder is a highland village at 1,350 meters (4,429 feet) in the Kackar Mountains, 88 kilometers (55 miles) from Rize and 17 kilometers (11 miles) beyond Camlihemsin, known for its hot springs, waterfalls and rhododendron honey from hives hung in the trees.

Similar Webcams You Might Like

More cameras along the Black Sea coast and across Turkey:

• Giresun Webcam
• Batumi Webcam
• Istanbul Webcam

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is Rize located?

Rize is on the eastern Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey, 66 kilometers (41 miles) east of Trabzon, and is the capital of Rize Province. The camera faces 15 July Democracy and Republic Square in the city center, near the Rize Municipality building.

What can you see on the Rize Webcam?

The main square of Rize from above: the round municipal social facility with its cafe terrace and rooftop helicopter, the road curving along the square, a minibus stop, taxis, pigeons and people crossing the paving.

What is the weather like in Rize?

Mild and very wet. January highs average 11 C (52 F) and July highs 27 C (81 F), and the city gets about 2,310 millimeters (91 inches) of precipitation a year, with October the wettest month.

Why is there a helicopter on the building in Rize square?

It is a simulator on the roof of the municipality’s social facility, used for tourism promotion with visitors to the city. It is not a working aircraft or a helipad.

Why is Rize called the tea capital of Turkey?

Tea plantations spread across the hills around Rize in the 1940s and 1950s, a tea research institute opened in the city in 1958, and the state tea company Caykur is headquartered there.

Is the Rize Webcam live 24 hours a day?

Yes. The stream is presented as a round-the-clock live view of the square. After dark, how much of the scene shows depends on the street lighting.

How do you get to Rize?

Rize-Artvin Airport, opened in 2022, is 36 kilometers (22 miles) east of the city, with daily flights from Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. Trabzon Airport, 73 kilometers (45 miles) west, has more international connections.

Source: Rize Municipality