The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has completed the 'Ayder Renewal and Protection Project' prepared for the Ayder Plateau in the Çamlıhemşin district of Rize. The plateau, whose natural beauties have been revealed, 'definitely protected sensitive areas' have been cleared of illegal swings, has been equipped with structures in line with local architecture, an eco-friendly parking lot and a wastewater treatment plant. Minister Murat Kurum shared the new images of the Ayder Plateau on his social media account with the note, "Have you been to Ayder lately? We have added beauty to the beauty of the natural wonder Ayder."
Following President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s instructions in 2019, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change took action for the ‘Ayder Renewal and Protection Project’. The Urban Transformation Presidency, the General Directorate of National Real Estate, the General Directorate of Natural Assets Protection (TVK), the Housing Development Administration (TOKİ) and the Bank of Provinces (İLBANK) mobilized their resources to preserve the natural beauty of Ayder Plateau and offer it to the public. First of all, the areas where 5 hotels were located were expropriated and turned into green areas. The hotels in these areas were demolished. TOKİ built 52-room apartments with regional architecture and in line with the natural texture. New apartments from this project were given to the rightful owners of the demolished hotels.
PARKING LOT FOR 650 VEHICLES
The areas where illegal swings were installed, which caused environmental and visual pollution, were declared as 'Sensitive Areas to be Strictly Protected' by the TVK General Directorate. The swings were dismantled. The Urban Transformation Presidency stepped in to solve the traffic problem on the plateau, and İLBANK stepped in for the wastewater facility. Ayder was provided with a 650-vehicle parking lot and a wastewater treatment facility. Minister of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Murat Kurum shared images of Ayder Plateau with the note, "Have you been to Ayder lately? We added beauty to the beauty of Ayder, a natural wonder."
“AYDER’S WASTEWATER IS NOW BEING PURIFIED”
Rize Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change Provincial Director Ali Serkan Savaş drew attention to the fact that a project that puts an end to the illegal construction that spoils the silhouette of Ayder and reveals the natural texture has been implemented. Savaş said the following:
Our vision was to create an Ayder where water is cleaned with wastewater treatment, Fırtına Valley flows cleanly, roads are cleared of traffic, exhaust fumes are low and people can walk while breathing nature. Ayder's wastewater is now being treated. Again, our 650-car parking lot, which we can call an environmentally friendly and engineering marvel, was built this year. Traffic in Ayder began to decrease and thus our citizens began to walk comfortably on the sidewalk. Our aging thermal hotel was renewed. Again, apartments with a total of 52 rooms in accordance with the local architecture were built. With the instructions of Mr. Murat Kurum, Ayder's silhouette was exchanged with hotels that could be made into green areas and the places of these hotels were demolished and delivered to these hotels by keeping them green. These hotels started operating this year.
“WE ARE OPENED HERE”
Visitors to Ayder also spoke highly of the renewed state of the plateau. Nazan Sümer said, “We saw the parking lot on our way here. Parking lots have been built that go down to the ground without spoiling the view in any way. I think this is very nice.” Noting that the hotels were built with a focus on wooden materials, Sümer said, “I think it is authentic. It is nice to have stone and wood instead of concrete.” Expressing that she really liked the new state of Ayder, Derin Ekşi said, “We said we wouldn’t stay here for long, but we have been walking around here for about 3 hours. It is so nice, we liked it very much. We felt good, we recommend it. We also shot a small vlog in the meantime. It was very well done. We would like to thank the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change.”
