Ortamahalle (Historic Akçaabat), Sera Lake and Kaymaklı Monastery

If you want a relaxed half-day loop right on Trabzon's doorstep without spending two hours on mountain roads, three atmospheric sights sit within a 15- to 20-minute minibus or taxi ride of Meydan Square.

1. Ortamahalle in Akçaabat (15 km west of Trabzon, "The Safranbolu of the Black Sea")

Directly above the famous seaside meatball restaurants of Akçaabat rises a peaceful, olive-and-hazelnut-shaded hill where time stopped in the late 1800s: Ortamahalle. Protected as an urban archaeological conservation site, its curving stone-paved lanes (such as Timurciler Sokak) preserve more than a hundred two- and three-storey 19th-century Ottoman townhouses (konaklar) with whitewashed stone ground floors, protruding timber bay windows (cumba), wide eaves and walled lemon-and-persimmon courtyards:

• What to see in Ortamahalle: step inside the restored Ortamahalle Museum House and the 19th-century stone St Michael's Church (Mikhael Arkhistrategos, 1846), whose interior preserves original geometric pebble floor mosaics, then drink Turkish coffee at a garden mansion café overlooking the Black Sea before descending to the Akçaabat waterfront park for a plate of chargrilled Akçaabat köftesi.

2. Sera Lake Nature Park (Sera Gölü, 12 km west of Trabzon)

Halfway between Trabzon Hagia Sophia and Akçaabat in the Derecik Valley lies Sera Lake (Sera Gölü), formed in February 1950 when massive boulders broke loose from the valley walls after days of torrential rain and dammed the stream in a matter of hours. Surrounded by steep green alder and hazelnut slopes, the 1.2-kilometre-long emerald lake offers pedalo boat rentals, waterside walking paths and cliffside breakfast terraces serving kuymak over the water.

3. Kaymaklı Monastery (Amenapırgiç, 3 km south-east of Meydan above Değirmendere)

Perched on the eastern hillside above the Değirmendere highway entrance to Trabzon (a 10-minute taxi hop from Meydan), Kaymaklı Monastery was founded in 1424 as the Armenian Monastery of the All-Saviour (Amenapırgiç). Although turned into a farmhouse in the 20th century, its stone chapel and barrel-vaulted chancel preserve some of the most vivid, detailed 17th-century biblical frescoes in the city, including a monumental Last Judgement scene covering the western wall.