Watch out Iran: The Turks are no slouches in the hospitality department and are a definite contender for gold medal! The Black Sea coast in particular has been a hospitality highlight. OK, to be honest, we have organized some of the hospitality in advance. For all those who do not know this wonder of the Internet, there is a hospitality club operating all around the world, offering anything from a piece of floor to sleep on, to a guided tour or five-star treatment.
In a town called Trabzon, the first major town we visited on the Black Sea coast, we met a man called Erjan who cheerfully bundled us into his car and took us to all the major sites. In the space of a few hours we had admired the building in which Atatürk stayed on his visits to Trabzon (and its immaculate gardens), the Trabzon museum complete with a two-dimensional bronze statue of Hermes (he was rather ignominiously crushed under a pıllar of his own temple), and the Aya Sophia - a late Byzantine masterpiece of a church innovatively blending Byzantine, Moslem, Georgian and Selçuk styles. After this whirlwind tour we sat down to have a chat over the compulsory cup of tea. We learned a lot about Turkey's recent history and Erjan, in his opinions and comments, underlined the red crescent/star nationalism constantly fluttering over our heads.
Giresun was the next city we visited and was home to Nuri - another member of the hospitality club. Nuri lives 12kms out of town and came on his moped to guide us to his house. He had jumped ship on a visit to the US and stayed for 17 years: He spoke English well. Nuri had come back to Turkey, bought a 5 storey apartment building and a grocery store, got married, had a daughter but, even after all this flurry of Turkish activity, he still had an eye on the western hemisphere. He had recently successfully applied for a Canadian immigrant visa, and was heading off again (this time with young wife and child in tow) to seek his fortune for a second time. Nuri was extremely generous, taking us for pides, buying us beers, cooking us a big breakfast of eggs, cheese and chorizo in the morning, and all the while talking non-stop in American slang. But the best thing for me was the shower: I had not seen such a beautifully clean shower since leaving Perth. Such a pleasure.
In a town called Trabzon, the first major town we visited on the Black Sea coast, we met a man called Erjan who cheerfully bundled us into his car and took us to all the major sites. In the space of a few hours we had admired the building in which Atatürk stayed on his visits to Trabzon (and its immaculate gardens), the Trabzon museum complete with a two-dimensional bronze statue of Hermes (he was rather ignominiously crushed under a pıllar of his own temple), and the Aya Sophia - a late Byzantine masterpiece of a church innovatively blending Byzantine, Moslem, Georgian and Selçuk styles. After this whirlwind tour we sat down to have a chat over the compulsory cup of tea. We learned a lot about Turkey's recent history and Erjan, in his opinions and comments, underlined the red crescent/star nationalism constantly fluttering over our heads.
Giresun was the next city we visited and was home to Nuri - another member of the hospitality club. Nuri lives 12kms out of town and came on his moped to guide us to his house. He had jumped ship on a visit to the US and stayed for 17 years: He spoke English well. Nuri had come back to Turkey, bought a 5 storey apartment building and a grocery store, got married, had a daughter but, even after all this flurry of Turkish activity, he still had an eye on the western hemisphere. He had recently successfully applied for a Canadian immigrant visa, and was heading off again (this time with young wife and child in tow) to seek his fortune for a second time. Nuri was extremely generous, taking us for pides, buying us beers, cooking us a big breakfast of eggs, cheese and chorizo in the morning, and all the while talking non-stop in American slang. But the best thing for me was the shower: I had not seen such a beautifully clean shower since leaving Perth. Such a pleasure.
2 comments:
os dejamos un mensaje hace unos dias desde Las Vegas pero el master de la pagina lo ha debido borrar... Ahora sentimos las brisas del Pacifico y aunque cabalgamos las olas echamos de menos cabalgar las burras en buena companyia.Bueno Supers, ya sabeis donde teneis una casa (en zaragoza, que aqui de momento os pongo una tienda de campanya)
Un besazo
SuperP Naranjas
Bueno viajeros incansables, esto de reunirnos cada vez se hace más difícil...Desde la mesa de la envidia sana del currante incansable os mandamos besicosx3. Guille&Mai
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