chapter 3 Trabzon and Sinop Turkey

The Black Sea Coast is lush and beautiful. The damp northerly and westerly winds that hit a wall of mountains south of the shore, have created a relentlessly rainy land, much like our northwest coast.  We were blessed with sunny beautiful weather.

Our first stop was at the fabled city of Trabzon. It was founded by the Greeks, followed by the Romans and Byzantines.  Its golden age, in the 13th and 14th Century occurred when the Trapesuntine empire, a break off of the Byzantines, made it it’s capital. Its wealth grew when the main silk road was diverted this way because the Mongol raiders controlled the old Silk road. The Genoese and Venetians came for all the silks, spices and other goods from the far east. Marco Polo was enthralled by all the luxury, exotic customs and fairy tale architecture. Today the gilded roofs and cosmopolitan atmosphere are gone.  A modern provincial town remains. 

Our Turkish guide took us to  Ataturk House.  Ataturk is the modern hero of Turkey.  He was the leader for Turkish independence and helped to westernize the country.  He introduced many reforms, made  it a secular state, which meant that there was not a state religion. He introduced a new westernized alphabet, emancipated women, adopted the roman calendar and other reforms that helped to bring Turkey into  the modern world.

Below is his house that he used occasionally.  It is a graceful art nouveau residence, notice its whimsical design. A beautiful rose garden graced the front of the house. 

 

Our next stop was at Aya Sofya,the remains of a Byzantine chapel, it was probably the site of a pagan temple earlier. The Muslims have covered many of  the painting with drapes, and spread rugs out for prayer.  In rooms off to the side we were able to see  many of the old paintings.

 

From here we traveled 1.5 hours to the Sumela Monastery, thru a river valley and climbed up into the Karadag mountains.

 

 

From the entrance of the park we transferred into small buses to complete our journey.  We hiked the rest of the way up to the monastery, nestled on the steep cliff. The monastery was founded in 386 AD.  Legend has it that two priests undertook its creation after discovering a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary in a cave on the mountain. It remained a popular destination for monks and travelers through the years.

  

 

Notice how we climbed down into the monastery.  Many of the beautiful painting were still visible.

How did the monks ever build this?, it is a mystery.

The view was stunning. After coming out of the mountains we drove to a spot to view the city of Trabzon. A nice little town on the sea.

Good bye to Trabzon, and after a long day of sight seeing we are back on the ship for food and rest.   The ship cruises on to Sinop. 

Sinop takes it name from the mythical Amazon queen Sinope.  After a wealthy period of Roman rule Sinop declined. The Ottoman Turks held out here until the Russians triggered the Crimean war in 1919…

 

The first thing we noticed on arriving in Sinop is the ancient city walls and huge towers of the fortress.  It was converted into a prison in 1887.  

Living conditions, at the prison,were harsh due to the moisture from the closeness of the ocean. The last picture is from a more recent addition for juveniles. I was glad we saw the prison on a sunny day.

We drove out to Hamsilos Bay.

  

Hamsilos Bay is also know as Hamsilos Fjord.  At first it looks like a lake then you can see that is connected to the sea by a narrow channel.  We enjoyed the drive in and out, we saw the  farmland and the parks.

    

Back in town we toured the Sinop Archaeology Museum.  It is know for its display of religious icons. sorry no picture taking allowed.  This area was important in the early days of Christianity. Peter and Paul wrote letters to these saints.

 

This is Dr. Wilcox our educator and Tanner our Turkish tour guide. The statue is of a popular figure in this town.  Diogenes was born in Sinop, he became a philosopher.  He made a virtue of poverty. He begged for a living, slept in a large ceramic jar and carried a lamp in the daytime claiming to be looking for an honest man.  

A day at sea followed.  Dr. Wilcox gave us a couple of lectures, one on “Russia’s Drive to the Black Sea-What’s behind Putin’s Land Grab”  and “The prophet Muhammed and The Islamic Empire”.  Very interesting.  I came home with a Koran that I picked up in Istanbul. 

Next week Istanbul and the people of Turkey.