Laz costumes worn by a group of heavily armed men at Trabzon on the Black Sea coast in north-eastern Turkey. The capital of Trabzon Province. Trabzon was located on the historic silk road route and during the Ottoman period, because of the importance of its port, Trabzon became a focal point of trade to Iran, India and the Caucasus. Predictably the Black Sea man, or the "Laz" as he is called with a mixture of affection and sneer, has become a stock figure of the Turkish social typology