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Published: August 21st 2009
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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 we went and had a look. It was really nice so we booked into the
Evim Otel for 2 nights. We had feared it was close to the red light district but we didn't notice any illicit activity at all and it felt perfectly safe.
Trabzon itself is nothing special at the moment, but they are trying hard to make the city more attractive. We had a good wander around as usual and saw many monuments of Grand Turks from days gone by, plus the inevitable ones of Ataturk. We also saw McDonalds and Burger King, a rare sight for us! Our wanderings took us to the other side of the centre where a new park has been built but some old building remain.
I guess they will be demolished in due course but maybe they should be restored instead. A new shopping centre is well under way too.
In the evening we sat in the
Efes Pub and drank refreshingly cool beer whilst watching football on TV. No, not British football, but Turkish league football. The first night we were treated to Fenerbahçe against Sivasspor so Russ wore his Brighton shirt (in Fenerbahçe colours!) which drew some comments. The second night was Beşiktaş against Antalyaspor which was quite bizarre as it was played behind closed doors with no spectators at all.
The main reason for coming to Trabzon is the Sumela Monastery. Buses leave the centre at 10am every day. Get there early though: we were pleased we did as all of the buses seemed to be full. The road winds its way up through beautiful mountain gorges eventually stopping a 10 minute walk away from the monastery entrance. On the way you stop at a viewpoint which gives the best view of Sumela from a distance. You don't get to see that face of the monastery again so take your photos while you can!!
Entry to the monastery costs
8 Lira, about £2. There is a long flight of stone steps to climb at the beginning which brings you into a courtyard where several rooms have been a little over-restored. The main attraction is the cave church which is covered in frescoes and, sadly, graffiti. Having avoided exposure to the sun, some of them are still vibrantly coloured. It's just a shame that people have felt free to etch their names onto the pictures and scratch out their faces throughout the centuries.
There's not really too much more to see inside the site. We then had a good hour's walk down through the woodland areas to the restaurant zone. It's all quite tastefully done but the portions are small and expensive. Bring a picnic! We were never sure what the tethered ram was there for, maybe a barbecue later in the day (!), but he was tied up at a beautiful spot near the gushing river.
We arrived back in Trabzon feeling a little weary, but that didn't stop us from going into an ice-cream parlour to sample the local offerings! The next morning we left for Sivas, an 8 hour journey by bus and our longest
for some time.
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Dawn Smallwood
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Love your photos!
Love the Panoramic shot! Happy travels, best wishes, Dawn