Wender·Vista
Erzincan
shown on ceramic, 12-inch tileTurkey
on the upper Euphrates plain, in eastern Anatolia

Erzincan

— — a green valley that keeps starting over.

— Where it lives

Not only on a wall.

A small tile on the nightstand catching the morning. A larger one above the fire. Yours, wherever you spend the slow hours.
— On the nightstand, a 6-inch on a walnut stand
— Among the books, a 6-inch leaning into the spines
— Beside the kettle, a 12-inch propped
— Down a quiet hall, an 18-inch floating off the wall
— Above the fire, the 24-inch in a walnut surround
— a note from the studio

“A city on the Karasu, the river that becomes the Euphrates further south. The plain sits at about twelve hundred metres, ringed by the Munzur range to the south and the Esence to the north. The town was levelled by earthquakes in 1939 and again in 1992, and built itself back both times. Spring runs the orchards green; autumn turns the Cimin vineyards copper. from the studio

from the studio
Erzincan
— bring it home

Erzincan, on ceramic.

Each tile is finished by hand in our Knoxville studio. Artwork is slowly infused into the ceramic surface under high heat and pressure, and rests beneath a thin glossy finish. The colour lives in the surface, not on top of it.

What kind of piece?
One tile — square or rectangle.
How big?
the popular one — counter, shelf, nightstand
6 × 6 in · 15 cm · 1.6 lb
Surface finish
A clear glossy finish — the artwork reads as if under resin. Ideal for show-pieces and framed wall art.
How it sits
A hidden cleat — sits ¼″ proud of the wall.
$58
Hand-finished and shipped from our studio at the foot of the Smokies. On your wall in about ten days.
— size
6 × 6 in
15 cm
— weighs
1.6 lb
solid in the hand
— surface
ceramic, hand-finished
art rests beneath a thin glossy finish
— from
Knoxville, TN
our family studio, at the foot of the Smokies
— start a Coaster Set

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

— about Erzincan

The place, in three passes.

A little of what's known, in case you fall down the rabbit hole — or want to go see it yourself.
— the place

Erzincan is the seat of Erzincan Province in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region, set on a wide alluvial plain at roughly 1,185 metres along the upper Karasu, one of the two headwaters of the Euphrates. The city's population is around 165,000. The plain is bracketed by the Munzur Mountains to the south and the Esence (Keşiş) range to the north, and sits along the North Anatolian Fault. Major destructive earthquakes struck in 1939, killing about 33,000 across the region, and again in 1992.

— the water

South of the city, the Karasu cuts the Karanlık Kanyon, the Dark Canyon, through the Munzur range in Kemaliye district. Sheer limestone walls rise more than a kilometre above the water, and a road carved by hand into the cliff connects the villages along it. The canyon is one of the deepest river gorges in the country and the reason Kemaliye is on the national heritage register. Boat trips run the calm stretches through summer.

— informed by Wikipedia — Kemaliye
— the season

Erzincan is known across Turkey for two things from the plain. Tulum cheese, ripened in goatskin and tied to the high pastures of the Munzur, carries a protected designation of origin. The Cimin grape, grown in Üzümlü district just east of the city, produces small dark berries that ripen in early autumn. The vineyards turn copper by mid-October. Local producers press both table wine and the grape molasses called pekmez.

— where
Turkey · Erzincan, Eastern Anatolia
— elevation
1,185 m · 3,888 ft
— position
39.7464° N · 39.4914° E
— the neighborhood

What's nearby.

A handful of named places within an hour's walk or short drive. Some we've already painted; some we will.
95 km SW
Kemaliye
canyon town
13 km E
Üzümlü
vineyard district
40 km S
Munzur Mountains
mountain range
N
Erzincan
Kemaliye
Üzümlü
Munzur Mountains
— common questions

What people ask.

A few questions we get about Erzincan — and about bringing the piece home.
— about the place

Erzincan is a city in Turkey's Eastern Anatolia Region, on the upper Karasu — a headwater of the Euphrates. It sits at about 1,185 metres on a plain between the Munzur and Esence ranges.

Tulum cheese matured in goatskin, the Cimin grape of Üzümlü district, and the Dark Canyon of the Karasu in Kemaliye. The province sits on the North Anatolian Fault and has rebuilt after two major earthquakes.

On 27 December 1939 a magnitude 7.8 quake on the North Anatolian Fault struck Erzincan in winter, killing about 33,000 people across the region. It remains one of the deadliest earthquakes in Turkish history.

The Karanlık Kanyon is a deep limestone gorge of the Karasu in Kemaliye district, with walls rising more than a kilometre above the river. A hand-cut road connects the villages along the canyon.

Cimin grapes ripen in early autumn around Üzümlü, east of the city. The vines colour copper through mid-October before harvest, and local producers press both wine and grape molasses called pekmez.

Erzincan Airport has daily flights from Istanbul and Ankara. The city also sits on the main D100 highway across Eastern Anatolia and has a station on the eastward rail line from Sivas.

— about the piece in your home

Many of our customers send a piece to family from the plain or from Üzümlü. The work reads as a portrait of the valley, not a postcard, and a Small or Medium ships well with a handwritten note from the studio.

The greens and copper notes of the valley sit naturally with Mountain-modern, Mediterranean, and warm Mid-century rooms. The piece holds against pale plaster walls or against deep terracotta.

Warm-earth palettes have moved from beige into copper, olive, and faded terracotta. The Erzincan piece lives in that direction, with the river light keeping the warmth from going heavy.

A single Large reads well above a console table. Above a standard sofa, the four-tile Mural or a nine-tile Mural carries the wall; the nine-tile gives the canyon room to breathe at distance.

Yes, on the Dura Satin or Matte finish. Both are scratch-resistant and built for vertical installation around water. The Glossy finish is meant for framed wall use rather than backsplashes.

A soft microfibre cloth and water. No abrasive sponges, no ammonia cleaners. The colour lives in the ceramic surface, not on top of it, so the piece never needs sealing or refinishing.

Yes. Every WenderVista piece is painted in the studio's own visual language and produced only by us. We do not license the work to other makers or print-on-demand services.

— if this one stayed with you

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