Around Trabzon, Turkey

Wow! That sign makes it seem like Trabzon is a must-see destination, like Dollywood. Well, Trabzon is a destination, but almost only because it’s in Turkey, where I hadn’t been since 1974. So, it’s worth it for that reason.

When I’m on a long trip, like a month or more, every few weeks, I need downtime. If Trabzon had captured my imagination, I could have gotten up the energy to be busier, like seeing every little thing, taking buses here and there, bothering to learn more about the culture, and stuff like that. After all, a month isn’t long compared with my previous life on the road. But I didn’t feel like it. And I don’t have to. So there! Myung had more energy, but she’s lived on the road before, too. Filling the day is not a goal in itself for her, either.

I anticipated enjoying Turkish food. Since you have to eat, Turkey is one of the best places to do that. Even the cheap grub is good. It’s all inexpensive, actually, even less expensive than Georgia.

Bread is nearly free, and sooo good. Wheat flour or bakers must be subsidized. Meals almost always come with all the bread you can eat, even if you’re having a $2 bowl of soup.

My impression of Turkey? I’m still pretty jaded about observing new cultures. My impression was that Trabzon, at least, was quite modern, compared to 50 years ago. Which is no surprise at all, duh. The world is modernizing in much the same way everywhere. The eating and shopping experience is getting uniform. Conveniences are commonplace. Travel is easy. Internet really changed everything, making travel easy. You hardly need any skills or courage. Turkey could be thought of as an exotic destination, but about 90% of people could go there in their sleep, especially if they just drift around.

Tea is definitely a thing there. Myung bought some to take home.

Certainly, there is much to learn about Turkey, but in my week there, I just took it easy. Myung had more intent, but I wonder how much she will retain.

Trazdon is a Black Sea coastal city about 200 km, a 3-hour bus ride, from Batumi, Georgia. Actually, it’s two bus rides because you have to go 13 km from Batumi to the border, then continue on. The border crossing is a breeze. The coast around there, and in Georgia, is pretty. Not Big Sur, but better than Florida. Right behind the coastal strip are mountains. In places, these mountains are quite high, snow covered and scenic. It looks a bit like viewing the Andes from just inland from the Chilean coast, if you’ve ever been there.

Here’s sort of a view from a pleasant boardwalk at a mirador call Boztepe.

You can see how it goes up right away, as soon as you get away from the coastal strip.

There’s a nice botanical garden, though not as nice as in Batumi.

We mostly just walked the streets for the week we were there. There is a crumbly castle wall, one of Kemal Ataturk’s homes, some okay museums and such. We got out of town three times. One day we went to Sumela monastery. Another day we went to a resorty scenic lake, called Uzingol. And another day we took a two-hour ride to Giresun, in the next province. (There are 81 small provinces in Turkey.)

Sumela monastery is a World Heritage Site worth going to. It was originally constructed in the 4th century. Then it was enlarged during Justinian’s reign. Then it was destroyed by the Byzantines in the 7th century. Most of what you see now, including the frescoes, is from the 11th century.

Here’s Uingol. Not so fantastic, but hey, it’s there.

Here’s Giresun. The view of the city from the heights is like Trabzon. We mostly went there to enjoy the ride along the coast.

We stayed in Turkey till it was time to go home. We went back to Batumi, spent the night, took the train to Tbilisi, spent another night, then hung around in town till our plane left at 10:15 PM. Yuk! What a grueling trip home that was, first taking that red-eye to Doha, then the 9 hour flight to Seoul, then back to Gyeongju from there. I wish I could sleep on planes.

I gotta show you our airbnb in Tbilisi. Believe it or not, it was nice inside.

If you’ve never been to the Doha, Qatar airport, here’s what the terminal looks like. It’s like an arboretum, complete with cool mist.

 

So, that’s it for this trip. I suppose we’ll go someplace else again, someday. My need to travel is sated for now.

Again, I welcome any comments. I’d like to know who, if anyone, reads this.

In any case, be well, all of you.