Gulf travelers discovered Trabzon a decade ago and redrew Turkish tourism: a Black Sea city whose mountains rain green all summer — Switzerland's looks at Turkish prices, half the flight. The city itself takes a day (Meydan, its own Hagia Sophia, Boztepe); the jewels orbit it: Uzungöl, cliff-hung Sumela, the Sultan Murat mists, and Rize's Ayder beyond. A car is essential; book Uzungöl hotels two months out or day-trip from the city.