North Point Samsun

Amasya ıs one of the last well preserved Ottoman towns ın Turkey. Here was the educational and learning center of the Kalifs and Sultans before they took over ther reign.

We stayed ın a beautıful pension which was providı ...

The nıce little hotel was just in front of the Sea and we have enjoyed an excellent breakfast, that he landlady has prepared herself. Very nice, even we could not speak one word with each other.

Leavıng Amasra in the morning we have been exposed to a long wıinding road who sometimes was going up to hıghest hills and then dropped down along the coast. Some parts are very similar to Ireland at the west coast. The road is full of pot holes and requires ...

... had two 5cm slashes in it.

 We stopped at Jason's Church built by the Greeks on a site said to have been visited by Jason and the Argonauts after he'd taken Medea and retrieved the Golden Fleece.

We found a camp site in a perfect location by the sea.  We didn't need much more than cheese and bread for dinner because we'd had an amazing lunch of kofte in Kutulus on the coast road.

David and I parted in rain that had started just after we broke camp. It continued until I reached Havza at about 11am. I ducked into a lokanta for an Iskembe soup followed by Kuru Fasulye (Baked Beans) with a mountain of bread. It costs about 7TL.

The rain had stopped when I left and I climbed steadily up to 900m before sailing down into Kavak for another meal. This time I had Paça soup ...

... farcit d Ayrgamboys emprenem l estoica travessa turca. (...) Es trist el Mar negre; d una tristor d aquelles que encongirien el cor si se ls hi pogues treure el so. El cel s ha encapotat per primer cop des de Bari ( Italia) i fins i tot els verds son grisos. D enssa que es toca costa, abans de Samsun, que surt la ganya del mon inhospit. Aquesta es una costa bruta, abarracada de tendes xalet a la platja, amb ...

... a cigarette! And maybe ignoring their mates and talking on a cell phone.

The next day's travel was from Erzurum to Sivas. Fascinating scenery! Plus, some lightening strikes to be seen.

In Sivas I returned to a hotel I had stayed on a previous pass-through, so once I got oriented it was easy to find. Then I went out walking. And something happened. I stoppe to look at the remarkable Selcuk architecture. Or rather the remarkable carvings gracing the ...

I'd been to Amasya before, in my 2002 visit to the east. It is one of my favorite Turkish towns. It has more character than most. Its setting is quite unique. On a river, in a wide gorge.

But this time I was merely using it as a bedroom stop-over on my way to Samsun. The next day in Samsun were to be festivities marking the anniversary of Kemal Ataturk's landing there, basically his first move to begin the Turkish War of ...

... 20 min at sunset at the promenade of a small coastal town called Fatsa to get some sunset shots of the Black Sea. Ill bet some graffiti artist adds an M at the end every night and every morning the munıcipality comes along and wipes it off!! So tommorow I hope to drive to Tokkat - whether I stop there for the night or not I cant say. It has a few things worth seeing in its own right but Cappodica is calling... Dont know - Ill make it up as İ go along. Cheers Wadirunner And TİPO.

... bread eaten at the Ataturk Alani park set back in the throng of the city. Although TZ itself is never going to win any beauty contests it was great to be in a busy vibrant city for a few days. Although only about a third of the size of Sanilurfa (the biggest city Ive been in so far) its light years ahead in terms of pulse and buzz. İt even has a cinema!! So after bfast it was time to put TİPO to work after his day off. His mission - should he choose to ...

... graffiti that was a pity. As we got back on the bus we saw what the other guy was on the bus for- he was our personal steward. He had some drinks in a fridge and went up and down the aisle pouring us drinks. He would provide napkins when we bought food at the market, collected any rubbish and even after toilet visits would give us soap and aftershave! It felt quite luxurious to have a little steward looking after us on the bus. He was a friendly little fellow and tried ...