The Hemshin peoples (Armenian: Համշէնցիներ Hamshentsiner) or Hemshinli (Turkish: Hemşinli) also known as Hamshenis or Homshentsi, are a diverse group of people who in the past or present have been affiliated with the Hemşin district in the province of Rize, Turkey.

The term "the Hemshin" is used also in some publications to refer to Hemshinli.

Robert H. Hewsen shows the region where today's Hemshin is located to be populated by a people with different designations throughout the ancient and early medieval history. He indicates thereby that some designations may have alternative forms and partially presents the names used with question marks. In summary from 13th century to 6th century BC Kolkhians, 550 to 330 BC Kolkhiansa and Makrones, 180 BC to 14 AD Laz (Chanian tribes), in the Arsacid Period (63 AD–298 AD) Heniokhians, Makhelones, Heptakometians, Mossynoeci as well as Sannians, Drilles and Makrones are mentioned.

The Hemshin region is shown as part of Colchis (299 AD–387 AD),Tzanica ( 387 AD–591 AD) and Chaldia ( 654 AD–750 AD). The specific location of Hemşin is indicated as Tambur/Hamamašen as a fort and town for the first time in the map covering the period 654–750.

Özcan Alper (born in Hopa, Artvin, Turkey in 1975), is a Turkish film director and screenwriter.

He studied at Trabzon Lisesi. In 1992, he moved to Istanbul to study at İstanbul Üniversitesi Fen Fakültesi in the Physics Department and then moved to İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi where he studied History of Sciences and graduated in 2003.

Since 1996, he was interested in films and took part in workshops organized by Mezopotamya Kültür Merkezi, the Nâzım Kültürevi culture house (now renamed Nâzım Hikmet Kültür Merkezi). Starting 2000 started assisting in films under the supervision of film director Yeşim Ustaoğlu.

After being assistant director in the short Toprak, he filmed Momi as his first short film as main director. He also shot the documentary Tokai City'de Melankoli ve Rapsodi in Japan following it with yet another documentary entitled Bir Bilimadamıyla Zaman Enleminde Yolculuk.

In 2008, Alper released his first long feature Sonbahar (Autumn in Turkish) with multiple awards as a newcomer. He followed that with another critically acclaimed film Gelecek Uzun Sürer, English title Future Lasts Forever that has also won important awards.

The Pontic Greeks of the Pontians (Greek: Πόντιοι, Turkish: Pontus Rumları) are an ethnic group traditionally living in the Pontus region, the shores of Turkey's Black Sea. They consist of Greek descendants and speak the Pontic Greek dialect, a distinct form of the standard Greek language which, due to the remoteness of Pontus, has had a process of linguistic evolution different from that of the rest of the Greek world.

Nowadays, due to extensive intermarriage (also with non-Pontic Greeks), the exact number of Greeks hailing from the Pontus, or people with Greek descent living there, is unknown. After 1988, Pontian Greeks in the Soviet Union started to migrate to Greece settling in and around Athens and Thessaloniki. They are known as "Russian Pontians" (Ρωσσοπόντιοι) by fellow Greeks. The largest communities of Pontian Greeks (or people of Pontian Greek descent) around the world are:

In Greek mythology the Black Sea region is the region where Jason and the Argonauts sailed to find the Golden Fleece.