It took little time once back in Trabzon to get back to the center and check
into the same hotel we had stayed in before, which was even cheaper than we had
expected. On the ride from the airport,
I had a delightful conversation with a Turkish woman who was clearly trying her
hardest to use her limited English. Both
because she was doing better than she thought and because she was clearly
trying so hard, I was so pleased and sincerely wished my students were like
that.
We grabbed some tea on the square before returning to the
hotel to meet up with two other friends.
We then walked around a bit and enjoyed another delicious dinner along
the waterfront. We stopped and got a
selection of pastries to enjoy back at the hotel, where we met a fascinating
American from Seattle. He sat, ate, and drank with us for several
hours, sharing stories of his travels on ships and planes around the world, and
swapping Turkey
stories.
The next morning we made our friends try their first and
only real Turkish breakfast before taking a 10am bus to Sumela, an orthodox
monastery about an hour away, set along the side of the hill. Our new friend joined us for the journey as
well, and at the monastery we ran into another group of TLGers on their way out
of the monastery. The small-world
syndrome of Georgia had been
transported to Turkey
with the vast swathes of TLGers overrunning the border for our Easter break.
The monastery is impressive mostly for its position, perched
on the edge of a dubious cliff. It was
built around the 1300s by Greek Orthodox Christians living in the area and was
active for centuries. After WWI, when
the Greeks in the area were sent back to Greece, the monastery lay empty,
and only a few years ago were services allowed to resume. There are several beautiful frescoes both
inside and outside the chapel, although many of the faces have been destroyed
by sling shots or other means. Still,
the craftsmanship is impressive, especially as the painting adjusts to the
natural curvature of the rock in some places.
We had a glass of tea (notice a theme yet?) and a snack
before heading back to Trabzon. As it was our last night in Turkey, we wanted
to truly feast, but having skipped lunch, gave in to food at about 4:30 after
finding the market mostly closed. We
found a place where we could point to what we wanted and then wandered over to
a dessert stand, where I got a baked rice pudding I had previously tried and
really enjoyed. They also threw in our
tea for free because Turks are simply wonderful.
Then two of my friends went back to make use of the internet
and another friend and I kept wandering, hoping to finish our shopping. We found a lot closed or not what we wanted,
but at a home goods store, I managed to find both a set of Turkish tea glasses
for me and a present for my host family.
We also happened upon the caravanserai, a beautiful stone building that
was the basis for the market, where caravans could sell their wares. Then we headed back to the hotel, chatted
with our friends and new American friend for a while longer, and decided to
find more food since we now had more room for deliciousness in our stomachs.
We were trying to find a place with atmosphere, real food,
and desserts but had trouble finding all three in a place still open and not
stifling. Eventually, after spotting two
fights we assumed were related to the Trabzonites fanatical love of their
soccer team and loss that night, found a place on the square that would let us
sit out on the square. We all tried to
order soup and tea, with one order of meatballs and a salad, but again, the
Turks knew better than we did. They also
brought out some bulgar pilaf, a red sauce that tasted like Mexican food, that
I, of course, adored, and another salad.
They also threw in some baklava.
We were bracing for a large bill, but found the bill very reasonable,
since several items had been thrown in gratis.
Stuffed and delighted with Turkey, we headed back to our
hotel, very sad to leave. The next
morning we said goodbye to Thomas, grabbed a quick breakfast at the market next
door, and headed to the bus station, with a bit of difficulty. It took us no time at all to find a bus
heading to Rize, our last stop on our tour of Turkey.
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