Of, Turkey

Of (, possibly from "Ophious") is a town and district of Trabzon Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located in the eastern part of Trabzon and is an important historical district of the province. The mayor is Salim Salih Sarıalioğlu (AKP).
Etymology and settlement origins.
There are several stories about the origins of Of's name. Of was called Ofis in 1910 by Pontic Greek speaking inhabitants. According to another view it means "village" or "settlement" in the Laz language (Laz: "ოფუტე/oput'e"), as the old name of the town is mentioned as "Opiunte" on the Tabula Peutingeriana. By another version of events, the city got its name from a nearby river described by Arrian as "Ophis", a Greek word for "snake". The Ophius stream - which snakes (zigzags) its way from around 3300 meters altitude in the Pontic Mountains towards the coastal town of Of - was renamed as "Solaklı" during the 1950s Turkification process which is a common policy in whole of Turkey.
Mixed farming settlements of Pontic Greeks were established along most bends of the river at least from the Middle Ages onwards, making it one of the most densely settled valley-systems on the southern coast of the Black Sea. There are hints at earlier settlement by Chaldian peoples, such as a village named "Halt". During most of its history the district and its hinterland were subjugated to nearby Trabzon city. The southern districts Dernekpazarı, Çaykara and Hayrat of Trabzon province and the western half of İkizdere district today part of Rize province were historically also part of the region of Of.
A minority of Muslim Pontic Greek speakers, using a dialect called "Ophitic" (or "Romeyka"), still live in the area.