Advertisement
Published: August 26th 2009
Edit Blog Post
Safranbolu was just a short 6 hours bus ride from Sinop! Actually our bus dropped us off in nearby Karabuk and we had to get a local bus to Safranbolu. That took 45 minutes as it went all the way around the local towns before depositing us near the impressive old hammam. Ali from the
Bastoncu Pension came to meet us and then we followed him along cobbled lanes to the old Ottoman house which was to be our home for 2 nights. Inside it is beautifully decorated and Trish couldn't have asked for a nicer place to spend her birthday!
It's not a big place but it's a nice place to relax for a day or two. There's nothing much more to do than amble around the streets, visit the museum, browse the souvenir shops or go for a Turkish bath. We did all but the latter. Wandering around can be tricky though because some of the streets are steep and the majority are cobbled and uncomfortable on the feet!
The museum at the top of the hill in the old government house is worth going in. There are good old photos of Safranbolu as it used to be
and the downstairs part has dioramas featuring an old sweet shop and a cobbler at work. It is quite well done but the layout occasionally lets it down and there could be a bit more information in English. Still, what's the alternative? Sit in a tea house and drink even more tea?!!! The views from there are pretty good too.
On a hill the other side of town is the curious sight of an aeroplane, a Dornier 28, which nobody seemed to know much about. Luckily there is an information plaque when you get there. After the war of independence in the late 1920s the Red Crescent made many aid flights with the help of aircraft purchased thanks to the support of the population of many towns and cities. Safranbolu was one such place. About 20 years a local businessman apparently bought the Dornier aircraft to put up as a memorial to this effort.
Nearby is the cemetery with a monument to the fallen soldiers of the Turkish military in various conflicts. The list of names is unusual (to us) as they are in alphabetical order of forenames. There were a lot of Mustafas killed in action, and
many other common names too. Some artillery units are also on display in that area if that's your thing.
At the pension there has been a good mix of nationalities. We've met people from Australia, New Zealand, France, Holland and Italy. We were also entertained by Ali and his friend who played guitar and
baglama. They also sang. Some of the songs were very reminiscent of Azerbaijani
muğam songs with periods of mournful "wailing"!
It's been a nice place to chill out, and hopefully Trish has had a happy birthday even if it wasn't exactly celebratory. Ramadan seems to have deprived her of a meal in a posh restaurant and a bottle of wine! Maybe we'll make up for it in Istanbul!!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.142s; Tpl: 0.014s; cc: 10; qc: 34; dbt: 0.09s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb