William Cramer album

Photographs taken by the civil engineer who directed from 1946 onward the construction works of the port of Trebizond. The company’s offices had been placed near the beach, which was to be sheltered from the waves once the 850 m long main jetty of the harbour basin had been built. Engineers used to take their families to the beach on their way to work when conditions were good, provide them with a picnic lunch, and then drive everyone home at the end of the day.

Earlier Mr Cramer undertook the construction of the Transit Road (Trabzon - Erzurum) in the 1930s - 40s. As the construction progressed, he inquired about the main local gang leader and “sat down” with him to gain his trust and protection. At that time, the young Kemalist republic did not yet have adequate control of the east of the country where the often corrupt provincial authorities established during the decline of the sultanate felt their autonomy threatened. For some villages, the only way to get enough resources was to resort to banditry. Band leaders were often men in conflict with authority, who invested themselves in their village, and were highly esteemed and protected by the local population.

Photo captions prepared in Turkish.

Transit road photos

The only photo whose location I can identify is this one at a place called ‘Of’. My father told me that the name derived from the Greek όφις because of the rock formation that resembles a serpent.