Sesamos by the Sea

From Safranbolu, it is only about 80 kilometers due north to the sunny little Black Sea port of Amasra, but  by minibus it took nearly 3 hours. The roads are good - surprisingly good, but the bus stopped everywhere!

We arrived to find the town engulfed in blustery cold winds out of the north, making a white-capped mess of the Black Sea. The ports are fairly sheltered, and many Turks were out splashing around off their muddy beaches, but we were too cold to partake.  Instead we walked around the rocky promontory jutting north into the sea which once held a Roman fort (est. 70 B.C.) before the fall of the empire.

The area's history actually dates to the 15th century B.C., with the Phoenicians establishing a trading colony in the 12th century B.C. - they named the city Sesamos. The name was later changed by Alexander the Great to "Amastris" in honor of a Persian princess.

I had my first fish meal in Turkey - a super fresh bonito out of the Black Sea, served with salad of local fresh and pickled vegetables (mmmm, pickled cabbage!)  Our waiter was the Turkish version of Ernie from Cheers, and although he only spoke 2 words of English, we had a successful dining experience.

Relaxing Ottoman Style

Our second day in Safranbolu broke bright, clear and crisp. The temperature dipped into the 50's at night, but heated up again to the low 80's during the day - even hotter in the sun.  We happened to be in town during the 12th Annual International Documentary Film Festival (we didn't attend), an "antiques" bazaar a.k.a. junk on tables (but interesting junk), and a folk dance demonstration.  So we drank cay (Turkish tea, pronounced "chai"), wandered about, and ate more lokum (saffron-flavored!)

 Our pension was run by a nice Turkish Muslim couple who spoke English fairly well, and Helena took the opportunity to quiz them about all the different spices and fruits she saw in the market (Turkish cranberries, jujubes, Hawthorne apples, etc.). They also made us a lovely vegetarian lunch - the best food we had in town (we are both over the whole meat thing).  The only downside to the pension was the proximity to the loudspeaker on the mosque which blasted a call to prayer at 5:30 a.m. every morning.  While we have heard this every morning in Turkey (you can hear the calls across the city in Istanbul), this one was particularly loud.  There is no way anyone could sleep through it!

We have been drinking cay like the locals - several times a day, although Helena tells me that normally she drinks much more tea at home.  Which led her to query - which country consumes more tea per capita, Britain or New Zealand? Well, as it turns out, it is nearly a tie between Britain and ..... Turkey!  Since most people in Turkey don't drink alcohol, it is the tea shop that replaces the pub for a place to gather with friends (backgammon is the game of choice in this country).  The photo shows the typical Turkish tea glass, saucer and spoon, and you have to hold the glass at the rim as the tea is piping hot.  I usually don't put sugar in my tea, but the intense brewing of Turkish tea leaves it begging for a couple cubes.

Hamam Oh Man

From guest blogger, Helena:

The twin domes of the hamam are a landmark

We had been to one hamam in Istanbul and I have been to others previously but this one in Safranbolu was by far the most authentic experience for both of us. We had the whole place to ourselves which was luck but felt like absolute luxury. If you have never been, imagine a huge old stone church with a marble altar in the middle and smaller alcoves radiating off it at right angles. There are big marble basins at regular intervals along the walls where you can scoop up bowls of water to douse yourself. There are tiny star shaped holes in the domes that let in light, lots of hot steam, constant sound of running water and all sounds reverberate like mad. I thought of many of my friends that can sing well and how nice it would be if they were there to liven it up. It was quite hot and while I waited on the hot slab marinating till my turn, listening to the staccato slaps of Elizabeth's massage ringing through the high stone cupola like gun shots. I was forced to get up and cool off in a stream of cold water a few times. Our "telallin" or washer took every last bit of skin off, first using a rough black mitt and lots of pressure, then a scratchy pad with soap on it, my skin literally squeaked. We had been peeled and came out all bright and shiny. It was exhausting but we both felt gratifyingly clean.

Inspite of this we still managed to do a fair bit of exploring,  discovering the small town and making friends with many of the resident cats and their 'owners'. Some ownerless cats followed us on a long walk, just wanting cuddles and probably out of boredom. We went to visit a huge old house that has been turned into a museum complete with mannequins in exhibits, beautiful old kilim rugs and original features like bathtubs in cupboards and revolving cupboards for women to be able to serve food and not be seen by strange men. it was a fascinating look at Ottoman architecture and lifestyle back before the fall of that empire.

We named these two Stripey and Fluffy

Safranbolu

About 300 kilometers east of Istanbul is the small UNESCO World Heritage listed town of Safranbolu, so named because it is one of the few places in the world that produces saffron.  The town was built mainly during the height of the Ottoman empire and reflects the classic Ottoman architecture of half-timbered stucco houses.  Set in a narrow valley, the old town is a microcosm - a step back in time, with mainly tourist shops aimed at the mainly Turkish tourists. Think rough cobblestone streets, vine covered alleyways, tea shops and bakeries....and lokum shops (Turkish delight).
This from Helena on our 7 hour bus ride (!!!) getting here:

Turkish buses don't have onboard toilets. This is good and bad. If you are used to keeping yourself hydrated during the day you need to prepare when faced with a 7 hour+ journey that has unclear stopping times/frequency. As it turned out we were able to pop out several times during the journey "just in case" as the potential discomfort was daunting. It really dawned on us how big the city is seeing as it took us 2 hours to reach the city limit. A bit less than half-way we stopped at a rest station just as you know them in the west. I was astonished to note many differences along the road and this modern rest-stop was so different from the rustic stations of 15 years ago when I was last on a Turkish bus. Here you have the same kinds of tacky souvenirs and overpriced food as the west, but all Turkish. We stocked up on nuts and dates and water. There was some pretty interesting landscape and mountain ranges visible during our journey. Toward the end of our journey we came over a huge high plateau where the air was fresh, cold in the dusk, and dry before heading down toward the coast and our little valley of Safranbolu. We put up in a 300 year old Ottoman house (as they all are here) and our room was typical with a carved wood ceiling and a closet toilet/shower combo which as bright and clean but I can't say that Elizabeth was particularly enamored of our "squatty" toilet. We decided to deal with it and that was fine for a couple nights. 

Leaving Istanbul

Tonight is our last in Istanbul. Tomorrow we move on to Safranbolu, to the east.  We are just taking care of a few things, packing up (we had sprawled out in our large flat), and preparing ourselves for the 7 hour bus trip on the morrow.

Yesterday I tried unsuccessfully to visit the Aya Sophia, the famous Byzantine church from the mid 6th century. Four cruise ships are in town, and there was a long line all day, which I just couldn't face in the sun and heat of the day. So I took a stroll through the park below Topkapi Palace, a lovely and rare spot of green in this city.  It's there that I spotted the statue of Ataturk (see photo).

Ataturk (Mustafa Kemal) is a national hero - THE founding father of modern Turkey.  Not only did he lead the Turkish forces at Gallipoli during World War I, he organized the last vestiges of the Ottoman empire into a unified Turkey, and fought back invading Greeks who had made a major push east after the end of the war (parts of western Turkey historically were part of ancient Greece).   As the leader of the new state, he set about modernizing Turkey and making it closer to Europe than the Middle East.  Throughout the 1920's and 1930's Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar (bringing it in line with the West), reformed its alphabet (adopting the Roman script), standardized the Turkish language,  outlawed the fez, instituted universal suffrage, and required that Turks adopt surnames, something they had previously gone without. Reading up on Turkey's history, one can understand why there are photos of him everywhere!

Catstanbul... formerly Catstantinople... A guest blog from Helena TCOCL* in the making.

Ada cafe cat - a rascally thing that loves cuddles

During my last trip to Turkey back one freezing week in November 2008, I discovered two things of note: 1) this fabulous neighborhood of Cihangir in a corner of Beyoglu perched above the Bosphorus and 2) the myriad cats that lounge, decorate, entertain and pervade this corner of the magic ancient city. The chic low-key but super hip neighborhood coupled with the cats and the piles of cat biscuits that cat-loving istanbullus serve up in doorways, street corners and convenient nooks for their feline friends made a huge impression on me then. Now I am back enjoying it in the glory of late summer breezes, amazing food, the civilized blend of a east-west amenities and general yummy exoticness.

{Some may know that the past 6 months has seen me riding out the interminable, unbearable noise, heat, smells and chaos of Delhi - so Cihangir and its cats provide healing balm to my battered senses.}

If you are a cat hater then read no further.

Greeter of tourists

Chora church museum resident will jump on you given half the opportunity - cuddly!

Not only are there many cats but it turns out that they all want to know me, I am assailed by purred greetings, miaos, raised tails in salute when they see me coming REGARDLESS if I am holding anything edible. This is a source of extreme gratification to a TCOCL*.This especially after months of enduring streets full of battered wild dogs and cats that are unloved, run-over, kicked and generally badly treated in India. 

Cats enhance the tourist experience

I am daily surprised by seeing the most unlikely men stoop down to pat a cat, invite one onto his lap at a cafe or call out to one in the street. I'm not talking about sensitive intellectual types but all kinds from the crusty old fisherman to the mustachioed tough-guy.

Cat lodging on Buyuk Ada Island

Island cat

Island cat

Island cat

Chora Church resident

Young member of the Chora church cat community

Metro cat at Aksaray

Cats are everywhere - except the mosque. Cats in the museums, cafes, shops, restaurants, parks, hanging around the waterfront,  

and of course in the bazaar.

Luxurious lingerie store cat

Not only are cats everywhere but also the cat theme is prevalent in shops and art around the city.

Cat art

The Red Cat bookstore

While I am not quite sure that the cat theme is exactly top-of-mind in the Istanbullus psyche, it nevertheless warms my heart to experience a city and its people so obviously loving towards these animals.

* TCOCL: That Crazy Old Cat Lady

yes.. I know... why fight it?

Lazy Days

Today we had a day at the bazaar, wandering around, seeing what we might be interested in getting when we come back at the end of the month, and getting harassed (as everyone does) by shop owners trying to entice passers by to stop at their shop. Some will even yell "You dropped your money!" to get you to stop so they can get up in your face with a hard sell. Very cheeky.

And again, lots of walking, so not very lazy after all. The photo was taken on our crossing from the Galata Bridge, and shows one of the seven hills on which Istanbul is built.  Our place is at the top of that hill. Luckily there are trams that take us up as it gets quite steep in places. Not a walk for every day.

We have 2 more days in Istanbul, but are not too fussed that we didn't see everything.  Must save something for next time!