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Published: August 21st 2012
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Amasya
English 'sh' in Turkish is written as 'ş' yet there was nothing harsh at all about the Harşema Otel in Amasya.
Accommodation and food I only looked at one other place before I found the Harşema Otel right in the middle of the north bank row of beautifully restored Ottoman houses. An air conditioned single with bathroom was 50TL including breakfast (great buffet the first day, not as awesome subsequently but Turkish coffee was available if I asked for it), WiFi, and probably laundry if I had been motivated enough to collect my clothes. I initially planned 2 nights but stayed a third since Amasya was such a relaxing place and the hotel was really comfortable. Right after arriving at the train station I stumbled across a kebap shop where
döner and
ayran was 2.50TL and a plate of rice, salad, and chicken or meat went for 4TL. There were huge
iftar dinners available for ~20TL but I didn't think I could eat that much food since I wasn't fasting. The one time I did try to go it had already ended even though it was only one hour after sunset. Be quick or go hungry. There was
a city run
çay bahçesi (tea garden) right on the river where there was also a restaurant serving very inexpensive and massive plates of
şiş for 8-10TL. Too numerous ice cream and pastry shops dotted all over town.
Transport I'd had enough of the cramped 30 seater buses after Sivas so I opted for the train to Amasya. Took a bit longer but was half the price and much more comfortable than the bus. Additionally, the train station is much closer to Amasya's center than the
otogar although there are
servis shuttle from the latter into town. Leaving Amasya, I took the rail bus to Havza for 3.75TL after being told I could get directly from there to Sinop. Turned out not to be true and I had to go to Samsun anyway and from there to Sinop. Havza to Samsun was 10TL on a Metro coach coming from Ankara but from Samsun to Sinop was a MiniMetro bus for 25TL. There weren't as many services to Sinop from Samsun as I thought there would be, maybe less than one per hour, and I had to wait an hour during which I bought a
gözleme (rolled pancake stuffed with
cheese) for 2.50TL. I finally arrived in Sinop's
otogar at 2:45 pm, slightly more than 3 hours from Samsun, and took the free shuttle into town which was far away. In hindsight it would have been better to take Metro's bus from Amasya to Samsun at 8:00 am then a Sinop Birlik bus at 10:30 am to Sinop minimizing transfer time.
Yıldız Hamamı Bath of the Stars. 24.50TL for the works - bath,
kase (scrub), and
masaj (massage). Open late. Don't miss it.
Pontic Tombs Entry conveniently adjacent to the Harşema Otel. 3TL entry fee and can scramble around for an hour or so. Great views from the cafe.
Kale Best situated fortress of the half dozen or so I've seen in Turkey. 3TL entry. Can walk from town in 30 minutes. Ask for directions at the police station which is on the way.
Sivas
Off the tourist radar, underrated town with many well preserved Seljuk buildings. Also situated in the middle of many other sites which are probably best visited by car. Definitely worth a night to break up the long journeys in Central Anatolia.
Accommodation and food Rather than lug my
bag into the center, I took a room at the aptly named Otel Terminal immediately adjacent to the bus terminal. A decent single with private bathroom, malfunctioning TV, breakfast (ask about serving time if planning early departure), and WiFi was 40TL without bargaining. It was a 10-15 minute walk to the center where there is a tourist office (free map and Sivas tour guide available) adjacent to the hospital. Many pastry shops and restaurants in the center. Mola on the main drag does a good job of both and also serves turbo charged
Türk kavesi (Turkish coffee, literally coffee of the Turk) for a mere 3TL.
Transport After arriving back in Malatya at 9:15 am after the Nemrut tour, I hurriedly grabbed my backpack and walked the 2 km on the shady side of the street (blistering 34°C early morning in the city, but it’s a dry heat) to the
eski otogar (old bus station) where there were hourly buses departing for Sivas with Hekimhan for 25TL. I only had to wait 15 minutes for the 10:00 am departure which was supposed to take 3½ hours but the bus was very slow and made a lot of stops along
the highway to pick up and drop off passengers so we arrived at 2:00 pm. I would have definitely preferred the train from Malatya to Sivas but it left late in the afternoon and I did not want to hang around Malatya while the temperature approached 40°C. Leaving Sivas I did opt for the train instead of the bus for the trip to Amasya. The bus was 25-30TL with a few companies for the 4 hour trip. The train left at 8:50 am and arrived in Amasya at 2:30 pm and it only cost 14.75TL, less than half the price of some of the bus tickets. Additionally, for short bus rides in Turkey (~4 hours or so) there is a tendency for the companies to use smaller 30 seat buses which are much less comfortable than the long distance coaches. To Amasya, besides being much cheaper, the air conditioned, roomy train carriage was very nice and had a toilet (irritatingly absent on all Turkish buses on which I’ve ridden).
Sivas Gar (train station) is about a 15-20 minute walk from Otel Terminal or take one of the frequent local buses passing between the
otogar and
istasyon.
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John Loomis
non-member comment
Harsh?
Geez! You had my hopes up there for a minute. I wanted to see what a harsh hotel, Turkey-style, looked like. No such luck. You've probably seen your share though. No harsh hotels in Bedford, MA though. Got rated in the top five on CNN recently as most "livable" towns in the US. See ya.