Macahel Honey and the Highland Villages of Artvin

Macahel is the name given to a long, forested valley in the far north-east of Türkiye, where the province of Artvin runs up against the Georgian border. Cut by a fast-flowing tributary of the Çoruh and walled in by the Karçal Mountains, it is a place of steep wooded slopes, misty mornings and scattered highland villages, and it is known above all for its honey, produced by a native Caucasian bee from the flowers of the surrounding forests and pastures.

Where the Macahel Valley Lies

The valley begins inland from the Black Sea coast and climbs steadily towards the lesser Caucasus, following the Machakhela river, which continues beyond the border into Georgia. The Turkish side is reached from Borçka, itself a small town on the Çoruh, and the road in threads through beech and spruce forest for around thirty kilometres before opening onto the village basin of Camili. Rainfall here is among the highest in the country, and the result is a dense green landscape of rushing streams, small waterfalls, mossy stone bridges and meadows that stay damp well into summer. Altitudes in the valley floor sit close to a thousand metres, while the surrounding ridges and plateaus rise to well over two thousand.

The Villages of the Camili Basin

The settled heart of Macahel is the Camili basin, a group of villages that includes Camili itself, together with Efeler, Kayalar, Uğur and Düzenli. The area was designated a UNESCO biosphere reserve in 2005, the first in Türkiye to receive the status, in recognition of the way its inhabitants have long combined farming, forestry and beekeeping with the conservation of a remarkably rich habitat. The villages are built in the local manner: houses of timber, often raised on stone foundations, with wide balconies, deep eaves and steep roofs suited to heavy snow. Some carry Georgian inscriptions and carved details, a reminder that the valley's culture has never been confined by modern frontiers. The old mosque at Camili, built of wood in the nineteenth century, is a fine example of the region's carpentry.

The Caucasian Bee and Macahel Honey

Beekeeping in Macahel depends on Apis mellifera caucasica, the Caucasian honeybee, a dark, notably gentle race with a long proboscis that allows it to reach nectar in deep flowers and to work in cool, damp conditions when other bees stay in the hive. Hives are traditionally made from hollowed logs as well as from modern boxes, and are grouped on forest edges and in clearings.

The honey varies with the season and the altitude of the hives. Spring and early summer bring a light, aromatic flower honey gathered from meadow blossom, rhododendron and fruit trees. Later come darker, more assertive honeys from chestnut woods and from linden trees, the latter pale and delicately scented. Because the valley is botanically so varied, and because colonies are moved to different pastures during the season, no two harvests are quite alike.

Highland Life and the Summer Pastures

As in much of the eastern Black Sea region, the year in Macahel is shaped by transhumance. In late spring families take animals and beehives up to the yayla, the high plateau settlements of simple wooden houses and stone enclosures where the grass stays green through the hottest months. Hay is cut, cheese is made and the hives are left among the wildflowers. Villagers keep a few cattle, grow maize and beans on terraced plots, and gather mushrooms, berries and medicinal herbs from the forest. Georgian speech, song and the tulum bagpipe survive here alongside Turkish, and the honey harvest is marked locally with gatherings that bring the scattered hamlets together.

Honey in the Local Kitchen

Macahel honey is eaten at breakfast with bread, butter and the local cheeses, and it is used to sweeten desserts rather than to dominate them. It accompanies the region's cornbread and the melted cheese dishes of the Black Sea coast, and a spoonful stirred into hot milk or herbal tea is a common winter remedy. Because the valley's honey is a seasonal, small-scale product, it is usually bought directly from producers in the villages or at markets in Borçka and Artvin.

Forests, Wildlife and Walking Country

Macahel supports one of the richest woodland ecosystems in Türkiye. Beech, spruce, fir and hornbeam cover the slopes, with rhododendron and hazel beneath, while clear streams hold trout and the meadows above the treeline are bright with crocus, gentian and orchid species in spring. Brown bear, roe deer, wild boar and birds of prey are all present, and the relative isolation of the valley has helped keep them there. Walking routes follow old paths between villages and up to the high pastures, passing stone bridges, abandoned watermills and viewpoints over the forested border ridges.