At the end of April, CIEE took us on a trip to a couple of towns in the Black Sea region, most famously Trabzon. This whole region had a very different feel than the other places I've been to in Turkey. Istanbul is busy and cosmopolitan; Ankara is quiet and modern; Diyarbakir is arid and "Arab"; Antalya is touristy and laid-back. And this region is different from all that. The towns themselves have their own slightly tourist, slightly bustley edge, but for me what is much more salient is the lush, quiet nature that dominates the area, in some cases even the towns.
The first day of the trip we toured around Trabzon, visiting mosques, churches, and bazaars. We also went to see the Sumela Monastery, one of the most famous sites in Turkey. It's literally built into a cliffside, way up high. It's gorgeous from every angle, seen from the valley below and from the buildings within. Although to get there was another story. Usually there are minibuses that take tourists up the cliff to see it, but for some reason that wasn't included in the itinerary so we got to really appreciate height of the building and grade of the cliff by walking up to the monastery. I'm not sure I would've made it if I hadn't been singing Disney songs with Susannah and Conor all the way. I even stripped down to a tank top, something I rarely do in this conservative country. But it was incredible (the monastery, not the tank top). The inside was covered in beautiful, colorful frescoes. Infuriatingly, they have been vandalized by visitors of all different language-backgrounds, political affiliations, and relationship statuses. Here's the view out from the vantage point of the monastery:
This is the inside (you can't really see the frescoes at this distance):
After this we took the bus into deep valleys covered in rivers and bright green trees. It was so beautiful. Also, much of the ground was covered in a funny little shrub that I found out was tea. This area, particularly Rize, is famous for its production of tea. We even got to go to one of the factories, and try some of their delicious tea.
We spent some time in one of the villages here. We walked up the slopes, between tea fields and dense clouds, seeing gorgeous views whenever the fog parted. We also split up into groups to have lunch with some of the villagers. This was one of the most incredible meals I've ever had. Everything on the table was fresh and derived from somewhere nearby, "all natural", as we say in California. And there was SO MUCH. There was:
- çoban salatası (shepherd's salad: a Turkish standard: tomatoes and cucumbers)
- chicken and potato stew
- ballı kaymak (=honey with cream butter. This is one of my favorite Turkish dishes anyway, but this one blew my mind. The honey, harvested from the backyard, was totally bitter, and the cream butter was so fresh. And of course, it was eaten on fresh bread.)
- muhlama (cheese with corn starch... wait for it... fried in butter. You have no idea.)
- thought we had enough carbs and saturated fats? Our hosts didn't. There was dessert: sütlaç (Turkish rice pudding, also translates as "most delicious thing you've ever eaten". Always amazing. Never this amazing. Every once in a while I have a transcendental gustatory experience, and this was one of those times.)
Here's the view out the window of the home where we were served the feast:
After eating, we sat and chatted a bit with the family. Then ol' papa Turk took out a bagpipe and played a little. Although he wasn't very good, it was exciting for me to see.
Our last day we took a short hike in the mountains, had a picnic, and then went to some hot springs nearby. The area was really beautiful, of course. The hot springs were in a building and all, so it didn't really seem any different than a regular hamam, except way hotter. Regardless it was quite relaxing. Besides us there was a large group of Turkish women there, who started singing at one point. I was all about it :)
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