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Published: August 18th 2014
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Safranbolu's bathhouse
A good place for a clean getaway. Men on the right and ladies on the left. On the bus to Ankara 5pm August 17 2017
Lie back and think of England! I thought that might help and it just brought an awkward smile to my face as the middle age man's soapy hands got all close to my exposed goolies.
Jane was not there to help being in the Ladies Hamam next door. I was getting a massage and wash from a friendly Turk called Abdul in nothing but my birthday suit. We had decided to have a Turkish bath as we had enjoyed the one in Fethiye some years ago and this one at Safranbolu was recommended. It's main draw back is that it was empty at 9.30am on a Sunday. One gets the impression a visit to the Hamam should be a social occasion which makes it difficult when your travelling companion is in the bathes next door.
You certainly finish up feeling clean - having been scrubbed with a sandpaper glove and soaped everywhere short of an enema. It is well worth it if you get the chance.
We went on the bus to Safranbolu for a weekend break between collecting visas
in Ankara. (Stop Press: we now have Uzbekhistan and Turkmenistan visas in the bag.) It is a unique town full of timber frame wealthy Ottoman houses. Most have been renovated and the town well deserves its UNESCO status. We stayed in the Bastoncu Hotel (120TL) a three hundred and fifty year old traditional house run by a delightful couple who have just got married. You take your shoes off to enter and pass through wooden stairs and corridors covered with exotic carpets. The room had intricately carved cubby holes, cupboards and ceiling rims. Our room was a four bedder and was just for us. It was spacious with a lace and carpet covered sofa cum sitting bench at one end. The wifi was excellent! The loo was ensuite and reminiscence of a yacht head. I could stand up. I could not swing a cat.
Safranbolu old town is not big and then it's narrow cobbled streets and bazaars are not something to rush around either especially in the heat of August. The standard tourist procedure was to get from the bus station to the old city in a taxi (15TL/£3). I always think buses are more fun
Tea at the Bizim Cafe
With the owner in attendance if you have the time. Taxis are for business. So we first took the complimentary bus laid on by Metro who had brought us from Ankara. Perplexingly, this only goes as far as the centre of the 'new city', Kirankoy, 2km short of old Safranbolu. So after a bit of confusion we found where to catch a dolmen (half bus/half minibus) with a full complement of locals down to the old town (1.5TL each).
We have decided that in the heat it is a good thing to rest in the early afternoon when the thermometer is in the high 30's C. After lunch our wooden room was a cool haven. The early evening was an ideal time to stroll down the narrow cobbled alleys browsing the many shops selling clothes, souvenir trinkets and Turkish delight amongst others. The smell from the bakers was divine. Humanity seemed to ignore the regular call to prayer as if deaf. We liked the shop carving decorated dried gourd 'shells' into lights. The last 'yemini' shoe cobbler could not oblige me with any size 49's. The view from Hidirlik Hill up a steep cobbled climb behind our hotel before breakfast was superb.
Morning view from Hidirlik Hill
Note geological formation above the town Our favourite place for eating was Bizim Cafe (once we found it in the maze of streets). Nice owner and great value food. We had the briefest of sign language conversations with his parents which established that they had been married 45 years to our thirty.
We had dinner at Kadioglu Schzade Sofrasi who specialty is lamb roasted in a pit oven. The low stools and tables fitted Jane nicely!
The local museums were small and characterful. They showed how a wealthy family would live a hundred years ago with the women in embroided gowns separated visually from any visitors and the direct families divided in rooms. I have just noted that it was illegal for men and women to hold hands in public in Turkey at least until the sixties. It has come a long way since then with a full spectrum of women's dress etiquette, from burka to bikini and shorts, on view.
Safranbolu is well worth a visit. There is much more to do in the surrounding area than we have had time for. It is surrounded in National Parks. It seems to have been discovered by the Japanese judging by the coaches. The vast majority of tourists are Turkish families. If you come, don't forget to get a good clean getaway in the Hamam.
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