Trabzon and the Karadeniz

Trabzon and Around

Getting to Trabzon wasn’t exactly fun. I had trouble sleeping due the small bus we were taking. When crossing the borderWhen awaking to find myself back at the bus terminal in Trabzon, it was mixed relief and regret. Relief in that we arrived at our destination. Regret in that I got very little sleep during the bus ride. As we gathered our things and left the bus, Ross notified that we were going straight to his “friends” house once she gets to the bus station. Once there she would guide us with the dolmushes on how to reach her apartment.

Ross’s friend, Husniye, is a girl he originally met on his first visit to Trabzon. She spoke perfect English but apparently Ross must have impressed her with his comprehension of Turkish. According to Ross, they became very close why they were in Trabzon and that after he left, he would talk to her on MSN Instant Messenger almost every day. Ross didn’t clarify as to whether or not they were planning on dating or if the both liked each other, but he didn’t have to. I was able to get my answer in the very first couple of minutes of seeing the two meet each other in person for the second time.

I was blown away at the girl that Ross liked and talked about so much. When she approached us and I first saw her in person she was absolutely stunning! She was practically a Goddess of the Karadeniz (Husniye if you are reading this, please don't think any less of me). They both greeted each other with open arms and she greeted me with just a typical Turkish greeting. She guided us to the dolmushes that would take us to her apartment. I noticed that the conversation between these two was obviously filled with hints, and flirtations however both parties decided to downplay them. I don’t know why there is so much uncertainty about whether or not somebody likes or dislikes you, even though it is clearly obvious to the third person.

Once we got to her apartment, she treated us to Breakfast. However, we were both very tired from the bus ride, so we both decided to take naps while she was at work in the morning. I woke up semi refreshed and in need of lunch. Therefore, Ross and I set out into the city of Trabzon. He was pretty much my guide for the day. Trabzon is a very warm and welcoming city. Lonely Planets description of the city as being a bustling city is far from the truth. Trabzon was perhaps one of the most welcoming places I have been in Turkey up until that point. If you needed help, everyone wouldn’t even hesitate to help you. Try asking for help in America and see what happens. We ate Balik ve Etmek (Fish Sandwich) for lunch along with a salad. While at this one local restaurant, the owner was very interested in Ross and I. It was probably because they don’t see many Americans in Trabzon considering that most prefer the Eastern Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts. He brought out his son to serve us though, and we could tell by his posture that he wanted to practice English but he was a little shy in doing so. With that in mind, Ross and I decided to torture/help the boy by only speaking English to him. He loosened up and started speaking to us in English. The conversation was simple dealing with primarily school, subjects of choice, age, whether or not we enjoyed Turkey, Turkish woman vs. American woman…the usual.

After lunch and çay, Ross set out to show me the city. We started first with Trabzon’s Aya Sophia, which was beautiful, a cool sight to see, and it taught me about the history of the region. Continued to travel along Trabzons water. There isn’t much on the water though unfortunately. The Black Sea is a very cold ocean and is also a major source of Rain in this part of the world. Sunny days are rare here, and therefore would only be a distant second to the beautiful areas out east. However the Black Sea has its own beauty and history, which I think is greatly underappreciated. After all, this is where the Noah’s Ark story is said to have taken place.

After a little exploration, we looked for a Tavla (Backgammon) Board for Husniye as a present (from Ross of course). We had to go the main bazaar (shopping) area to find one but we eventually did. We met up with Husniye and her friend Barhal (who was just as beautiful as Husniye J) at the main square (where there was yet another statue of Ataturk). That night, Husniye thought it would be a good idea to see the outskirts of Trabzon where rivers and lakes were cleverly hidden away in the mountains. We got to see them, walk around them and talk to each other to get to know one another.

Later that night we drove out of Trabzon in order to find some of Trabzon’s famous Kofte. My god, I wasn’t a fan of Kofte before (which is basically just meatballs) but that time was the exception. It was delicious. Another plus though was that Husniye and Barhal refused to let us pay for the meal. I love the hospitality in this country! I just hope that if they come to visit the states sometime I could return the favor. As the night went on, we began to talk about worldly affairs and Husniye’s opinion of them. She showed me that she was a little conservative, but a logical conservative. She joked about how Ross described her as a conservative Keep in mind though, what is conservative in this area of the world is something totally different then what it means in America because there are issues such as globalization that affect countries like Turkey quite differently. Then the subject of Israel came up…shit. She did not like Israel at all. She was very pro Palestinian and absolutely loathed the state. Before I was about to give my opinion she criticized Ross and I (who represented both Israel and America respectively) for being so biased towards the Israelis and not even knowing about the true humanitarian crisis that the Gaza Strip faces. I took offense to that comment and told her that I did understand the humanitarian crisis occurring because instead of watching MSNBC or Fox News, I watch the BBC and Al Jezeara. I told her that I was very symapathetic to the Palestinian plight, and how I am constantly angered by the actions of right wing settlers of Israel, and the inaction of the Doves in that country. She was then taken back by that knowledge and was impressed. This is one thing I like about Turkey though. In my experience, when it comes to political discussions, I have never had an angry conversation, because everyone remains respectful. I think I earned her respect in some ways that night. However what really would have earned her respect was good conversational skills in Turkish, which I greatly lacked.

After dinner, we walked along the Karadeniz. It was a lovely night. We would actually meet up with a rafting guide who worked as a policemen in Trabzon who would later take Husniye and Ross on rafting trip (not fair).