Sinop Turkey on Dad's birthday

Thursday, April 22, 2010 – Happy Birthday, Dad!! – Sinop Turkey
Turkish merchants were responsible for bringing Europe its first coffee beans.

After starting out with gray-ish weather and with a tour van whose microphone does not work for 23 people, we found this port very quaint, interesting and well-worth the visit. We wanted a few more hours to explore!!

The approach is supposed to be on the most scenic in the Black Sea but, alas, the weather did not cooperate. We arrived in the mist and set off exploring with Mr. Adem in an older 27 passenger mini-coach and we discovered the microphone did not work. We drove through the small city centre to find a repair shop and then out to a fortress in the hillside that has been turned into an arts and crafts demonstration area INSIDE a prison.

Next we headed up a very steep hill, not completely paved, and again, there are certain times you do not want to be in the front of the bus...to me, this was one of them. I don’t like seeing the narrow streets and near-scrapes of the cars on either side of us NOR seeing the deep ruts of wet mud we were driving through to get to the top of this hill. I kept wondering WHY are we going here and what are we going to see?????

But why do I doubt? It was still gray out but we had a wonderful view and perspective of the peninsula and Sinop. We could see the ship and see how deceiving it could be to find north/south/east/west from Sinop. There was a U.S. military base here for many years with a small American community also but there are not many locals who speak English. We also heard the echoing of the call to prayer as it reverberated throughout the city.

We toured the Balatlar church, a ruin from 660 AD is the best example of Byzantium brick and stone masonry. Very interesting mix of layers of red brick and then concrete and a few frescoes on the domed ceiling in the nave of the church.

The Ethnographical Museum was not going to be a highlight – or so we thought. It is a 3-storey wooden home decorated with what seem to be floral hand painted friezes at the top of the wall, in the middle of the wall and on each door panel. It is a unique example of the Ottoman’s civil architecture from the 18th century; a true picture of residential life it he Ottoman time. It was very colorful and even the tops of the door frames are curved and colorful. The historical and archeological society have created a masterpiece museum with each room filled with an aspect of their daily life – a bride’s room, a groom’s room, a gun room, a baby and mother, a prayer room, dining room, kitchen…all with wax figures in full costume. It was an informative and colorful way to better understand the local culture.

The Archeological Museum had artifacts both inside and outside – reliefs from 400 BC recently unearthed from the Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantium, Seljuks and Ottoman period are protected and displayed.

The Alaaddin Mosque - we can only enter when they are not praying. Men wash their feet and arms in the round center fountain outside the mosque. All remove their shoes to enter and the carpet is perfectly fitted with a pattern just wide and long enough for a person to bend over and pray. The women pray from the upper level of the mosque as their bending over would be a distraction for the men as they would view the back end of the woman in front of them, thus causing a mental distraction!

The Muslim Theological School (Pervane Medrese) was built in 1262 and is now a tourist trap – filled with interesting crafts (I bought two rings!) but nothing left of the school.

The “historical” prison was a real eye-opener. If you saw the movie “Midnight Express”, it was filmed here – do I need to write more? It was only closed in 1979 and they had 600 prisoners at that time. Considering it was built in 1215 and operational as a prison since 1873 with very thick stone walls, no plumbing, something resembling a toilet in a “few” cells and thick doors and iron padlocks, it was a powerful reminder of how prisoners could be treated in a foreign country. Most of the comments from the group were about how overboard the U.S. system is in the reverse direction compared to what we saw today.

The drive through town to the Hamsilos fjord was through a farm region with sheep and cows roaming wildly, wild waves crashing on a long expanse of pebbly sand and a university whose dormitory had an incredible view of the Black Sea waves crashing on a gorgeous beach. The fjord had crystal clear water in a narrow channel – no high mountains as one usually imagines – and nearby was the Akliman Bay with a boat rental area, picnic spot and café. VERY NICE undiscovered beachy area.

The South Sinop Castle, the symbol of the city, was built in 2000 BC. It was directly in front of our ship and we climbed the hundreds of steps to the top. Not easy regular-sized steps but double-high and slippery and angled and wet with no hand-bar steps. But what an incredible view from the top! The sun was shining and the sky was clear; the ship was on one side of us and the castle’s courtyard and stone walls on the other side. Not a bad way to end the day.

We had free time to venture in to the town, found a men’s hairdresser for Gene, I played on the internet and I enjoyed some Turkish tea while I waited (a local café brings it over on a round tray with a handle in a small hourglass), talked to a cute little 11-year old boy who was trying so hard to speak to me in English – Yes, My name is… -- was the extent of his English and my Turkish was even less. But we smiled and kept trying. Time to board the ship and we saw the town disappear in the wake of the ship as we were off to our next port of call.

The oldest name of the city Sinop has been found as Sinope. It took its name from Amazon that is accepted as the founder of the city. According to another legend, the city has been founded in ancient Greece by Sinope who was one of the water fairy girls of Asopos, the God of Rivers. Coins with her head are dated between the 3rd-5th century BC.

Amazon women founded a state near the Black Sea coast. They rode horses and used arrows as war materials; worshiped Athena, the War God and they participated in the Trojan War. The queen of the Amazons, Penthesileia was killed by Asil during the war.

Have you heard of Diogenes, “the long-suffering thinker”? He lived in Sinop between the years 412-320 BC and was one of the pioneers of the principles of self-sufficiency and plainness. It is said he walked around the streets in daylight with a lantern in his hand to find a trustworthy man. His principle is “to have everything inside oneself that is required for happiness”.

Dinner was in the Lido buffet – at a table for two. Time to unwind a little and enjoy time with the crew; they are the absolute most friendly crew on any ship. It is so much fun to share a meal with them – or rather, they serve us as we dine but they hang around and we talk. They cannot do enough for you. One of our friends had purchased a fresh loaf of Turkish bread and shared it with everyone – a real treat.

Laundry, production show called “Latin Nights” and computer….can’t wait to relax at sea tomorrow.

“God does not simply will that we should be happy, but rather that we should make ourselves happy.” - Immanuel Kant