Amasya – Part 4
Dramatically set on riverbanks hemmed in by a cliff, Amasya features the rock-cut tombs of the Pontic kings dating back to before Christ, a lofty citadel, fine old wooden houses and imposing Seljuk buildings. From the Lonely Planet
The bus ride from Sinop to Amasya was another one that held my interest with the scenery of forests, mountain views, and the Black Sea coast. About the half way point I changed buses in Samsun. The transition was smooth despite me not having a ticket or any idea of when the next bus to Amasya would leave. No sooner than me getting off the bus, someone is there asking me where I want to go. They walk me over to the correct ticket counter and within minutes I have my ticket. The bus stations are abuzz with activity and I like walking around them while waiting for the bus. I had some time to stretch my legs, find a WC, get a bite to eat (a cheese filled pastry type thing), and then hang back and watch the crowds. It was the last day of the Eid holiday and families and significant others were saying their good-byes as they waited for the bus. The families seem to be very close and many of the farewells were teary.
I stayed two nights in the Ilk Pansiyon. The place is in easy walking distance to the main attractions and I found it cozy. I ended up getting a large room because the room had a wood stove instead of an electric heater. I loved having the wood stove and the fellow would come and make sure it was stoked for the night. The hotel to me had a farm house charm to it with the wood stove, wooden floors, high ceilings, large windows, lots of hand embroidered linen and heavy blankets.
The town had a nice European feel to it with the mountains as a backdrop, wooden houses, a river running through the town and pleasant walkways along the river with plenty of benches to sit and rest under shady trees. Off the main street it was back to Turkish bazaars, mosques, kebab restaurants, pastry shops, Turkish baths, and villages. I had two full days to explore this place by foot. The first evening there after several hours of exploring I headed back to a small café to listen to live music. I was there earlier in the day to have tea and noticed the sign about music starting at 9:00pm. I confirmed that with the doorman and he said to come back. The small, intimate café was packed when I got there at 8:30pm. I felt brave enough that night to stay, have wine, and maybe join another table. The same doorman was there and was happy to see me back. He found a spot for me at a table with a group of 6 Turks, 2 guys and 4 gals. They were in the mid to late 20’s and turned out 4 of them were brothers and sisters. 4 of them were from the Istanbul area and were in Amasya for the holiday visiting with family. That is why the place was exceptionally full that night, the last day of the holiday. It was a wonderful evening talking with them, listening to local Turkish folk music, watching people dance as the time got later and the people got braver, and there was a wedding party of about 20 at a near by table. The confident groom was sitting next to the apprehensive bride and eventually most of them got up to dance. The walk back along the river was lovely with the tombs on the mountain side lit up with purple lights. It was a cold and chilly night and I was thankful to have the wood stove blazing in my room upon my return. I slept like the dead that night.
The next morning at breakfast I was joined by two female Danish students. They were working in different gov’t sectors as part of their coursework. I asked them their opinion on Turkey joining the EU. They both agreed Turkey has made many steps forward over the last few years kick starting their economy and compiling with EU regulations, however, when time comes for them to sign on the dotted line, Turkey might say they are doing fine on their own and decide not to join. After the nice breakfast I set out for my walk to explore the area. I ended up walking straight up a hillside on a road passing homes, small shops, and mosques along the way. Kids were out playing in the street and I thought they would make nice pictures. At first there were three in the group and then 5 and then 7 and then 10 or so. The further I walked up the more kids came out running to join their friends and to be in a picture. One little boy made me laugh because in every picture he is giving me the thumbs up. The kids dropped out one by one as I continued further up into the hills. Great views from the road and I noticed the nicer more expensive homes were higher up. They must be summer homes for business people in Istanbul or Ankara.
On my walk down along the same road I was greeted by my small friends. There were new faces and I took some more photos and said farewell as I rounded a corner. Some of the little tikes decided to cut me off and ran down an embankment. There was a pile of gravel where they landed and what happens when kids and gravel get together? They throw it; so here I am watching them throw gravel at me but their little arms did not have the strength to throw the gravel all that far. I thought they would tire soon but they didn’t. There must have been about 5 of them in this rock throwing activity. No adults were around so I decided to sternly yell, “stop throwing rocks, you are being bad”. They retreated for about 30 seconds and came back for another round of rock throwing. Now I am losing patience and started yelling at them again to scare them as I walked forwards taking pictures of them. That did the trick. A family was outside at the next bend just down from the gravel pile. There was a boy of about 10 yrs old and a girl of about 20 yrs of age. Their mothers were outside too. They invited me in for tea and I was glad to sit and rest from the cold and the rock confrontation. We had a nice visit using many hand gestures and using very basic words. I took their photo and ended up showing them the pictures I took of the kids throwing gravel. They recognized them and I am sure the parents of the kids found out about them annoying the foreigner.
On my last day there I walked along the river and passed by the statue of Strabon (BC 63 AD 21). Turns out, based on the plaque, that he was the first geographer of the world and was born in Amasya. He became a prominent person on history, geography, and philosophy. Finding this statue made my day for some reason. I continued and walked into a residential area. There were a few parks, several schools, and shops along the tree lined street. I discussed an excellent yarn store carrying Turkish yarn called Kartopu so the prices were great. Kartopu even calls one of their yarns Rebecka. I happened to be carrying my knitting with me and showed them the Riga yarn that knits into a colorful pattern for socks. The lady behind the counter was impressed with this type of yarn. I was happy to discover this shop and to see the many ladies coming in to buy yarn.
The rest of the day was low key walking along the wooden houses and stopping along the way for tea. My bus left at 7pm for the 13 hour journey back to Istanbul.
My last full day in Istanbul turned out to be a bright and beautiful fall day. I walked over to Taksim to watch a movie, drink some real coffee in a trendy café, buy some music, and to enjoy the views. I watched “Born into Brothels” and came away emotional charged. I applaud Zana Briski for making a difference in some of the lives of these youngsters living in the Calcutta brothels. What a world we live in.
As I met up with friends again before leaving, I knew Turkey would be part of my life. The people make the difference and I have met many wonderful folks there. A special thanks goes to Ahmet for his time and friendship.
Turkey is getting more expensive to visit so I highly encourage anyone to visit in the near future. I would be happy to help devise an itinerary for you.
The next trip letter will be out early 2006 on my adventures in Yemen.
