Turkey Part 2 - Safranbolu
Welcome to December, ready or not.
Hard to believe we are quickly approaching the end of 2005. Before December slips away I promised myself to finish my Turkey Trip letter. The delay has been with posting the photos and it is not working out. It takes too much time, some photos get blocked, and some never get posted at all. I will try to resolve this problem in 2006.
Here is part 2 and I have part 3 finished so that will come out in a day or two. Until I get the photo thing worked out, please check out this site for pictures of Safranbolu (mine are better). http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Turkey/Black_Sea/Zonguldak/Safranbolu/ or http://www.renaudvisage.com/en/images/97_Safranbolu,prints.aspx
Have a great day.
BoA
PS a holiday card from you would be greatly appreciated. Mine is written and the picture drawn. Today I will start on the envelopes.
Safranbolu
Safranbolu is a UNESCO world heritage site best known for its rich and rare collection of beautifully preserved Ottoman houses and craftsmanship which represent traditional Turkish life and culture. Situated on a caravan route in the midst of a rich agricultural area, Safanbolu was for centuries a very prosperous little country town ruled first by the Seljuks, then by the Isfendiyarogullari and Candarogullari finally becoming part of the Ottoman state in 1392. The wealth and prosperity to which its excellent situation gave rise was reflected in the mansions, hans, and mosques with which it is still adorned. This area is one of the few that have remained unaffected by the technological and demographic changes of the last 20-30 years.
Saffron, which gave the town its name, is still grown in the area. The crocus-like flowers bloom and are harvested over 15 days in the autumn. Saffron must be picked at night when the petals are open. Each flower has only 3 fibers and you need 150 fibers to make just one gram of precious saffron.
I was happy to be spending 4 nights in this rural village surrounded by hills and mountains. It reminded me of Vermont with the hilly landscape, old wooden homes, wood fires burning, and where everyone knows everyone else. The trees were changing shades of orange and red and that made it all the more special. I spent the first night in a boutique hotel called Havuzlu Konak.
This hotel has several charming features. The rooms had kilims on the wooden floors, there are lovely and inviting window seats lining the room under the tall windows, a brass bed awaiting the weary traveler, the low set table is a huge round copper tray, the window shades and window seats are nicely trimmed with delicate embroidery of floral motifs, and the authentic lighting gives a soft glow to the room. The salon where breakfast is served is surrounded by windows on three sides along with the window seats. The same care is taken here with lovely embroidery on the shades and window seats. Once again you find tables made of huge copper trays and these tables surrounded the main feature of the salon, a pool. My guide told me the function of the pool served two purposes in times gone by. One was to discourage eavesdropping by the gurgling water coming from the lion’s head and the other is to fill one with a feeling of peace and contentment from listening to the gently trickling water.
I agree on all accounts, this was a special place to stay. I was dead tired when I laid my head down at 11:00pm and the down comforter on the bed took the chill out of the air. The next morning I couldn’t resist spending an hour reading on the window seat before breakfast. I was sad to say leave this gem of a hotel but I had three more nights and opted to stay at a more rustic place down the road. The other hotel was also very comfortable and charming but being right on the road made it noisy. Also my room was on the road side and I swear the drummer who comes along at 3:00am during Ramadan to wake people up for them to eat before sunrise stood right under my window and banged away for over 5 minutes. All in all it was a good place to stay as I realized many of the other hotels in town were also located on streets.
Safranbolu has many activities to offer. I walked the cobbled stone streets to other parts of town to sight see, Gokhan, a friend of Selcuk’s, had a car and offered to take me to the Black Caves – the 4th largest in Turkey and it was a great way to spend Halloween as we walked along the 6.5km stretch of eerie stalagmites and stalactites. Gokhan was the one who wrote me a note saying I was beautiful and then turned it over and wrote, “I love you”. I bet he writes this to all the female tourists. The old Turkish bath was a great place to sit and be for several hours on two separate occasions to get out of the cold. The first time I had the scrub down knowing I was caked in sweat and dirt from my recent travels. It felt good to be really clean. I tasted some very good locally made Turkish delight. It was interesting to spend time in the bazaar with local craftsman with their trade. I watched them bang away on copper pots and wrought iron. I wish I had the room in my luggage to take back some copper pieces, maybe next time. No trip to Turkey would be complete if you don’t drink at least 10 cups of tea a day. I had my share sharing tea with a local coppersmith, Memhet – he was working on a beautiful tray. Half joking I told him and the tour guide I would come back to take lessons from him.
Another day I sidestepped into a cozy café to warm up and drink some tea. I entered through the small kitchen used by the lady proprietor for making tea and food. The café side was small with a wood burning stove in the middle. She would use the stove to put the double-decker tea pot on to make the tea. The top part is for the tea and the lower part is for water. The tea is half the tea concentrate and half water. It was a lovely spot to sit and watch her make food, get warm, and to converse a little
Here are some pictures of Safranbolu as I took my time walking the many streets through different villages. I highly recommend this place to relax for a few days.
Stay tuned for part 3 on Sinop, a fishing village on the Black Sea, and why I like pastries better than fish.
Hard to believe we are quickly approaching the end of 2005. Before December slips away I promised myself to finish my Turkey Trip letter. The delay has been with posting the photos and it is not working out. It takes too much time, some photos get blocked, and some never get posted at all. I will try to resolve this problem in 2006.
Here is part 2 and I have part 3 finished so that will come out in a day or two. Until I get the photo thing worked out, please check out this site for pictures of Safranbolu (mine are better). http://www.trekearth.com/gallery/Middle_East/Turkey/Black_Sea/Zonguldak/Safranbolu/ or http://www.renaudvisage.com/en/images/97_Safranbolu,prints.aspx
Have a great day.
BoA
PS a holiday card from you would be greatly appreciated. Mine is written and the picture drawn. Today I will start on the envelopes.
Safranbolu
Safranbolu is a UNESCO world heritage site best known for its rich and rare collection of beautifully preserved Ottoman houses and craftsmanship which represent traditional Turkish life and culture. Situated on a caravan route in the midst of a rich agricultural area, Safanbolu was for centuries a very prosperous little country town ruled first by the Seljuks, then by the Isfendiyarogullari and Candarogullari finally becoming part of the Ottoman state in 1392. The wealth and prosperity to which its excellent situation gave rise was reflected in the mansions, hans, and mosques with which it is still adorned. This area is one of the few that have remained unaffected by the technological and demographic changes of the last 20-30 years.
Saffron, which gave the town its name, is still grown in the area. The crocus-like flowers bloom and are harvested over 15 days in the autumn. Saffron must be picked at night when the petals are open. Each flower has only 3 fibers and you need 150 fibers to make just one gram of precious saffron.
I was happy to be spending 4 nights in this rural village surrounded by hills and mountains. It reminded me of Vermont with the hilly landscape, old wooden homes, wood fires burning, and where everyone knows everyone else. The trees were changing shades of orange and red and that made it all the more special. I spent the first night in a boutique hotel called Havuzlu Konak.
This hotel has several charming features. The rooms had kilims on the wooden floors, there are lovely and inviting window seats lining the room under the tall windows, a brass bed awaiting the weary traveler, the low set table is a huge round copper tray, the window shades and window seats are nicely trimmed with delicate embroidery of floral motifs, and the authentic lighting gives a soft glow to the room. The salon where breakfast is served is surrounded by windows on three sides along with the window seats. The same care is taken here with lovely embroidery on the shades and window seats. Once again you find tables made of huge copper trays and these tables surrounded the main feature of the salon, a pool. My guide told me the function of the pool served two purposes in times gone by. One was to discourage eavesdropping by the gurgling water coming from the lion’s head and the other is to fill one with a feeling of peace and contentment from listening to the gently trickling water.
I agree on all accounts, this was a special place to stay. I was dead tired when I laid my head down at 11:00pm and the down comforter on the bed took the chill out of the air. The next morning I couldn’t resist spending an hour reading on the window seat before breakfast. I was sad to say leave this gem of a hotel but I had three more nights and opted to stay at a more rustic place down the road. The other hotel was also very comfortable and charming but being right on the road made it noisy. Also my room was on the road side and I swear the drummer who comes along at 3:00am during Ramadan to wake people up for them to eat before sunrise stood right under my window and banged away for over 5 minutes. All in all it was a good place to stay as I realized many of the other hotels in town were also located on streets.
Safranbolu has many activities to offer. I walked the cobbled stone streets to other parts of town to sight see, Gokhan, a friend of Selcuk’s, had a car and offered to take me to the Black Caves – the 4th largest in Turkey and it was a great way to spend Halloween as we walked along the 6.5km stretch of eerie stalagmites and stalactites. Gokhan was the one who wrote me a note saying I was beautiful and then turned it over and wrote, “I love you”. I bet he writes this to all the female tourists. The old Turkish bath was a great place to sit and be for several hours on two separate occasions to get out of the cold. The first time I had the scrub down knowing I was caked in sweat and dirt from my recent travels. It felt good to be really clean. I tasted some very good locally made Turkish delight. It was interesting to spend time in the bazaar with local craftsman with their trade. I watched them bang away on copper pots and wrought iron. I wish I had the room in my luggage to take back some copper pieces, maybe next time. No trip to Turkey would be complete if you don’t drink at least 10 cups of tea a day. I had my share sharing tea with a local coppersmith, Memhet – he was working on a beautiful tray. Half joking I told him and the tour guide I would come back to take lessons from him.
Another day I sidestepped into a cozy café to warm up and drink some tea. I entered through the small kitchen used by the lady proprietor for making tea and food. The café side was small with a wood burning stove in the middle. She would use the stove to put the double-decker tea pot on to make the tea. The top part is for the tea and the lower part is for water. The tea is half the tea concentrate and half water. It was a lovely spot to sit and watch her make food, get warm, and to converse a little
Here are some pictures of Safranbolu as I took my time walking the many streets through different villages. I highly recommend this place to relax for a few days.
Stay tuned for part 3 on Sinop, a fishing village on the Black Sea, and why I like pastries better than fish.
posted by Becky of Arabia at 6:09 PM
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