http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from Middle East , Turkey , Black Sea en-us Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:09:34 +0000 Fri, 01 Jan 2010 22:09:34 +0000 Hi sorry its been awhile since I have added new pictures but these latest ones are from our trip to Sile pronounced Sheelay on the Black Sea and some pics from Istanbul. Hope you enjoy Please let me know if the videos and pics look ok as I have noticed some of them have the wrong info on them for some reason. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/blog-441799.html . http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Barhal/blog-440163.html Estoy en Barhal celebrando el f305nal del Ramadan. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Barhal/blog-438719.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Safranbolu/blog-431400.html Sinop is a beautiful small town on a peninsula jutting out onto the Black Sea. It is Turkey's northernmost town but not quite it's most northerly point. Getting there involved a 2 hour bus ride from Sivas to Samsun followed by 3 hours or so more along twisting coastal roads with incredible views.We stayed at Otel 57 which has been most comfortable. At 60 Lira per night we've been more than happy. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Sinop/blog-430848.html Amasya was 4 hours away from Sivas by bus. Once again the scenery was impressive. It was a shame we passed through Tokat without stopping but the only reason we wanted to go was to experience a Tokat Kebab. Aubergine and meat are alternatively threaded on a skewer and it is cookedsmoked vertically resulting in an apparently exquisite taste Never mind it's only foodWe arrived in Amasya at 8pm http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Amasya/blog-430421.html We arrived in Trabzon with only a vague idea of where we were going to stay. The bus from Rize dropped us off at the bottom of a market which climbs uphill towards Ataturk Square. The driver pointed us in the right direction and we climbed up through the market our rucksacks attracting many gazes to the top where we found several hotels. As we walked past one a voice said nice room 40 Lira so http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Trabzon/blog-429798.html Crossing the border from Georgia to Turkey was quite easy. The Georgian side was incredibly smooth especially after we were told to go to the front of the queue The Turkish side was slightly more problematic. We had to show our passports to the border guard only for them to say ldquoyou need a visardquo. They wouldnrsquot listen to us when we said it. Then we had to carry our rucksacks a f http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Rize/blog-429776.html Turkey package tours are providing a great variety of packaged private tours to Turkey tailored to your needs. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Surmene/blog-427580.html Day 15 Our day started with a ridiculous wake up time of 4 am. Our Transport picked us up at 440 am and we were off to the airport for a 630 flight to Izmir. We were hoping to catch a few zzz's while waiting for our flight but no so. There were probably about 12 children various ages all totally awake and totally running around and screaming. Thanksfully though they were not on our fligh http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/blog-412467.html After my two days in Batum I crossed the border from Sarp. The taxi drivers on the Turkish side annoyed me before by asking more money they should so this time I made sure about the money I should pay. But this time they tricked me once more by squeezing me in a taxi full of people. There are some places in earth which you should never ever take a taxi and Turksh side of Sarp border is definetely http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Artvin/blog-405924.html Do you ever hear a bad word about Turkey No We now know why. The place is very simply easy beautiful and blessed with helpful friendly people. We allocated a month for Turkey. This is obviously not enough to see all of what the country has to offer but then if we try to do that in every country we come to we will traveling forever. Is that a bad idea Enthusiastic shaking of the head from a http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/blog-399718.html Hey there allThis is a small one about the most beautiful city i think i have been in from the momment you get there despite the cold and the rain you fsall in love with this place ooopss sorry for spelling mistakes this is a free write no spell check just like asia.So to describe the city it is very spread out as a lot of European cities are with the Bosphorous river slitting the city on each s http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/blog-396292.html As so often happens in the Army a soldier gets married and his first assignment after the marriage is overseas unaccompanied. This is what happened with us. Robert and I traveled back across the country to CA one more time to drop me off while he served a year unaccompanied overseas. Well I was never one to back down from a challenge so a few short months into his tour we convinced my parents t http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Sinop/blog-362156.html Bu sene Kurban Bayram Iin Barhal'a gittim iste resimler. Este ao he estado en Barhal para la Pascua Musulmana en la cual se celebra el cordero que sacrific Abraham en lugar de su hijo Ismael segn la tradicin musulmana. http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Barhal/blog-354084.html There are some places for everyone which you feel a belonging without knowing really why and Black Sea region of Turkey is somewhere like that for me. Ok my father is from this region and when I seek my ancestorywhich ever branch I look for at my fathers side I always end up somewhere in eastern Black Sea but still I spent a very little time of my life in this region and I was in my end twenties http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Trabzon/blog-345980.html It had been a bit of an adventure to find the cushy blue seat I was sitting in. I had managed to find my way to the gate that the bus company representative told me to go to. I discovered there that the lsquogatersquo was only a very general description of where I may find the bus that I had purchased a ticket on. I stepped out into the group of people crowding around a few buses none of http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Safranbolu/blog-341611.html Hanging out at a bus station in Istanbul on a Friday night in the height of Summer is not something I want to do again Everyone tells me how great the Turkish bus system is and I'm sure it is. My first experience just happened to be chaos Cumhur decided to come to Safranbolu with me as he hasn't seen much of Turkey so I was happy to have company. Not to mention someone who could speak Turkish wi http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Safranbolu/blog-316427.html Tag 37 bis 49 8.750 km von GalwayWir sind in Asien Juhu... und haben schon eine Menge erlebt seitdem wir den Bosporus ueberquert haben.....Das Wichtigste zuerst Ja wir waren in Georgien. Aber leider nur 4 Tage. Als wir gehoert haben dass Georgien von russischen Truppen bombardiert wird haben wir das Land sofort am Samstag den 09.08. also einen Tag nach Kriegsausbruch wieder verlassen. W http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Artvin/blog-306687.html It has been over two years I have not been to my fathers home town. As Turkish Airlines started flights between Istanbul and Sinop now there is an alternative for the hectic 12 hours bus journey. Also another good reason I have was to see my fathers boat in the sea which he has been struggling to build for three years. Sinop is a very old port city of Anatolia whose history dates back to the Hiti http://www.travelblog.org/Middle-East/Turkey/Black-Sea/Sinop/blog-305220.html