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Published: August 23rd 2009
It took 8 hours to get to Sivas from the bus station in Trabzon. The journey wasn't too bad and certainly took in some interesting scenery as the road climbed from the Black Sea coast up onto the Anatolian plain.
When we got there, our
Couch Surfing friend, Sefa, met us and his cousin Emre drove us around the city and back to Sefa's flat. There we were introduced to his parents and his sister and immediately became part of the family. A nice salad and some refreshing home-made ayran (a Turkish yoghurt drink) were prepared for us to go with our Sivas Köfte we had picked up on the way. Sefa was great because he didn't mind spending all evening translating between Turkish and English and vice versa so that we could talk to his family. Our apologies for only managing 3 glasses of tea but we just can't manage the customary 10 before bed that the Turks sometimes drink!!
The next morning we had the most wonderful breakfast ever! Sefa's mother and sister put on a wonderful spread of salad, cheese, home-made jam, fresh bread, eggs cooked with sausages and, of course, tea! Feeling rather stuffed, Sefa accompanied
us to the bus station and made sure we got the right bus to Kangal, 90 minutes away.
Kangal is a nice little place famed for its
Sivas Kangal dogs which are gorgeous. We even managed to meet a
breeder in town but there was nowhere in our rucksacks to smuggle a puppy home! It is also famous for its
fish doctors and that is the reason we went there. From Kangal a taxi takes about 20 minutes to take you to the spa where you can paddle in the stream allowing fish to come and nibble at your feet. There are also 2 swimming pools full of fish - one for men only, the other for "families" meaning no men! So we split up and went to our respective pools for an hour where our skin was nibbled at by little fish leaving us feeling totally cleansed! They are supposed to be particularly fond of any psoriasis infected skin and a month's treatment can have incredible effects on badly afflicted people. Quite why they appreciated the dead skin on Russ' feet so much, we will never know!!! The pools were very busy, and a trip when the kids are at school
might be a bit more pleasant!
Back in Kangal we had a walk around and were greeted everywhere we went by cries from the local kids of "hello tourist". They were never brave enough to say it to our faces though, it was only when we had gone about 100 metres past them! We saw the new and old mosques plus the intriguing sight of an old man test driving a new tractor!
Sefa met us again at the bus station in Sivas. He was a little late arriving so he missed the chance to meet his future bride we found for him! Russ gave a young girl, Deniz, an English lesson on the bus!! She was lovely but alas, she didn't get to meet Sefa!!!
We enjoyed a delicious kebab in a city centre restaurant before Sefa took us to what we thought must be one of the city's must-see places. The Sifaiye Medresesi, a former school from centuries past, is now a wonderful tea house. There we sat out an sipped çay (tea), meeting up once more with Emre. Earlier we had gone to visit the oldest mosque in Sivas which was very interesting. Exhausted,
we were taken back to Sefa's place where more tea and some melon awaited us before bed.
In the morning we had another amazing breakfast. Then we packed up and said our goodbyes to the family. It's incredible how close you feel to people after just a few days in their care, even if you don't share a common language. Staying with them will be one of our highlights of Turkey.
Sefa took us to see some of the sights of the old city by day which was nice. He was very well informed and keen to share the history of his city. Later we returned to the Sifaiye Medresesi where we drank tea (again!) and ate some wonderful
gözleme, a kind of enormous savoury pancake. All too soon it was time to go to the bus station and say a sad farewell to our wonderful host, Sefa.
Sefa, it was a privilege meeting you and a most pleasurable experience staying with you and your family. We wish you all the best with your future as a teacher and hope you find a job in a place you really enjoy. Insha'allah we shall meet again!
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