Photo: Countryside near Trabzon
The bus was very comfortable. It showed movies on the small TV consuls. A stewardess or hostess would occasionally pass through the bus and pour perfumed oil into the passengers hands. It was a very long bus ride and I awoke to see the sun rising on the Black Sea. I trekked up to the heart of downtown Trabzon. While looking for a cheap hotel, I couldn't help but notice the Russian or Ukrainian prostitutes in the town. Many business men and traders came through Trabzon. It represented some opportunity for desperate young women from the ex-Soviet Union.
After breakfast I was near Ataturk Square, when at 9:05 everything stopped and was silent. Walking to the square, I saw a large crowd and a military procession. I later learned that it was to honor the leader Ataturk who had died on November 10, 1938 at 9:05 AM, exactly 56 years ago. Ataturk's image is everywhere, even on a corner of the TV on most programs.
Photo: Sumela Monastery
I wanted to go to the Sumela Monastery and soon found the taxi stand where transportation can be arranged. About the same time a South African couple, Wayne and Ronel, showed up with the same idea. The taxi driver took us to the site and waited until we were done touring, a couple of hours later. The Monastery was a Greek monastery, perched on a ledge hundreds of feet above the forest floor below. Much remained from the 6th century buildings.
I accepted Wayne and Ronel's invitation to travel with them over the next few days. In the afternoon of the next day we took the bus to Erzurum, a pleasant city on the main road to the Iranian border. There was a fair amount of snow on the ground. I was introduced to Nuri, a carpet dealer in Erzurum, who Ronel and Wayne had befriended a few days earlier. He arranged with the three of us to take us to some old churches the next day.
Photo: Looking up at Monastery
Photo: Ruins of monastery
Photo: Ralph at ruins
Photo: Ruins of monastery
Photo: Ruins of monastery
Photo: Ruins of monastery
Map of Turkey trip
