Black Sea-Georgia Road Trip

Hi All:

In order to avoid the intense heat endured while camping on the concrete pad in Alanya Marina, we  took  a very long drive (3,000 + kilometers) from Alanya, north to the Turkish Black Sea coast, with a day trip into Batumi, Georgia.

In advance, we took great pains to inform the guide, that because of the distance, he had to provide a quality van, with all seats facing forward. He picked us up in an almost new VW people carrier, which we enjoyed for three hours, until we were pulled over by the Turkish road police. A check of the vehicle’s records showed that the license renewal was 30 days past due. Do they instruct the guide to go to the closest vehicle bureau or issue a fine?  No, they impound the van on the spot, in the middle of nowhere. It took a lot of sorting out to get the vehicle leasing company to deliver a replacement in the closest town. They arrived with a 20+ year old Mercedes van, whose sliding side door kept popping ajar and an interior was beyond scruffy. A good start to our weeks sojourn.

bOur first stop of key interest that day was in Konya, the epicenter of the Dervish religion (as in whirling dervish). The beautiful mosque/museum well illustrated the origins and history of the religion. 



Konya - The Dervish Museum



    A tea break later was at Sultanhani Caravanserai (1229), which is the best remaining example of where the merchants travelling the Silk road would stop to rest and conduct business. 

Sultanhani Caravaserai

Cappadocia

Day 2 brought us the highlight of the trip, which was a balloon ride over Cappadocia, renowned for its unique topography and Christian dwellings within the rock formations. It was a 0400 pick-up which took us out to the “air field”, where we watched the many balloons being inflated. 

Following some safety instructions we climbed aboard and were adjusted for ballast. Then it was a gentle dawn lift-off, along with the other 50+ balloons. 

The sandstone and volcanic stone has been eroded by wind and rain to produce a spectacular landscape. Early Christians in the area saw pigeons burrowing into the sandstone to make nests and followed suit, leaving behind a wild array of surface and underground residences and churches.   

The pilot explained all his maneuvers to ease any tension and demonstrated that he could only control up and down or rotation. He took us from where the basket kissed the grain in a nearby field and then up to a panoramic 1000 meters.

Nearing the end of the flight, the chase crew appeared in a nearby field, where the pilot softly landed the basket precisely onto the trailer bed.

Precisely how we landed



While we were enjoying our glass of celebratory bubbly, the ground crew deflated the balloon. The glass of bubbly is a tradition stemming from the conclusion of the very first balloon flight in France, in a balloon constructed of paper. A well deserved tipple in our eyes and start to a great tradition.

We were able to see only a small section of the area. Some subterranean dwellings are reported to descend 7-9 levels. Other “Fairy Chimneys” are hollowed out with rooms, windows and doors



The local cop shop

 

From Cappadocia, it was a long drive to the northern Black Sea coast where we visited many ancient mosques and churches. But the most spectacular required a long and sometimes tricky climb up a cliff face to the Sumela Monastary, in Trabezon. It is a 4^th century Greek Orthodox structure glued 1200 feet up to a rock face. It was finally abandoned in 1923, but the extensive friezes show centuries of vandalism by the many domineering forces that passed through.



Sumela Monestary 4th century - Trabazon




A tricky path to the monestary



some of the defaced friezes

The end of the day brought us to our hotel for the next three nights. We were now well into the steep mountains along the north coast, such that our van couldn’t deliver us up the last stretch. Our host had to drive down the steep narrow path to get us. This was a rustic family run affair, which grew/made most of what was served at meal time (cheese, eggs, veg, trout, nuts, hooche). The evening’s entertainment was provided by neighbours who stopped by for a sip and a song. It was a very enjoyable and educational experience seeing how these folks eked out a living in hard conditions. Tea is a major crop for the area and harvesting looked arduous owing to the 45 degree incline of the ground.





Tea "fields"

Batumi, Georgia



Carousel  at 3/4 mark

  We took a one day excursion across the boarder into Georgia, to the port city of Batumi. Because of the recent oil discoveries it is undergoing an economic boom.

Radisson Hotel/University






The Upside Down Whitehouse
political statement?

 There still remains extensive evidence of the Russian love for uninspired concrete block buildings, but large sums of US investment are changing its skyline – Donald Trump included. For us, the most memorable aspect of Georgia was getting out. We arrived at the border crossing at prime time and havoc ensued. It was our first time of being in a crowd where we became concerned for our safety. We were forced to pass through a long hot airless tunnel, which took well over an hour and a half. The crowd became aggravated with the waiting time and was surging toward the passport desks. Armed guards were pushing back. We believe the boarder was closed behind us as part of the control measures. It was sheer madness.



All told we covered about 3000 kilometers in a week. Not something we’d rush out and do again.

Our goal had been to check out the Turkish north coast to determine if we wanted to sail there next summer. Our conclusion was decidedly not. Inland is very varied with a mountainous coastline fading to flat farm land, but the coast and its harbours were not at all inviting. Furthermore, despite all their talk about environmental proponents, the towns along the Black Sea all have their municipal trash heaps on the shore line. But, we feel now we have done Turkey proud by touring more of its inner self than we have for any other country. We only scratched the surface on Turkey’s vast archeological offering, much of which is not promoted. We found that our schooling is practically void when it comes to mentioning Turkey’s political and religious history. Another benefit was the trip gave us a break from the relenting heat we were experiencing in Alanya. And they tell us it gets hotter for July and August. But, we don’t care. We are now home back in Canada, for the next two months, to attend our youngest son’s wedding and my (Mike’s) fathers 90^th birthday. We expect to return to Turkey in the fall. But unfortunately the political and social unrest throughout the eastern Med is placing many restrictions on our travel options. So, we’ll just have to wait and see. Until then, we wish a good summer to all.

Mike and Grace