Temperature: mid-twenties with a very cool evening.
Photo: the sultana bun made for us and collected early in the morning.
Photos: Being ever resourceful civilizations used rubble from previous settlements to expand the massive wall.
Photo: Desley and I at the mouth of the inlet to the fjord.
Photos: the little cafe where our visit caused quite a stir. David and I enjoyed a delicious lentil soup, drink and bread for Australian $4.50.
Photo: Getting ready to enter the mosque at Duragan.
Photo: a lovely gentleman from the town wishing us well.
Photo: Sultan II Bayezid Mosque.
Photo: Traditional houses over the river in central Amasya.
Photo: Burmali Minare Camii- Mosque with Spiral Minaret.
Weather: sunny
As we were readying for the bus many of us went to the little restaurant we had dined at the previous evening and picked up our order of a sultana bun famous in the area. The owner had wrapped up the warm bun in alfoil for us and placed it in a bag all ready for pick up.
Before we set off to our next town we explored Sinop further by stopping off to see the statue of Diogenes, the founder of Cynic philosophy and who made a virtue of poverty. He begged for a living and slept in a barrel in the marketplace. Diogenes made his way to Greece and died in Corinth.
We walked across the road to the old castle which was constructed in 7th century BC. It has a significant history and was restored by the Romans, Byzantine and Seljuk Turks. The outer walls are three metres thick however the inside wall was only added in the past hundred or so years to build a jail. It was last used in the mid-nineties and housed criminals as well as political activists which was pretty alarming as conditions were grim.
About half an hour out of town we visited a fjord made famous because of the Crimean War in 1853. The Russians invaded without warning and there were countless losses however a small fleet of Ottoman vessels were able to hide in a fjord a little away from Sinop. The area is particularly beautiful with very clear water.
As we drove along the changing of the season was becoming evident with the leaves of the trees turning yellow and brown. We have been very fortunate with the weather with another magnificent sunny day although the evenings have definitely become very cool.
Our lunchtime stop at Duragan was very interesting as the tables turned on us and suddenly we were the tourist attractions! As very few tourists visit this town the mayor sent a policeman to negotiate with our guide to ask if we would mind having our pictures taken at their newly renovated kervan sarayi. As there was time we drove a little way to the site and met with the photographer who busily took photos of us while we visited the kervan sarayi and mosque. The people were very friendly and we had a happy time. When we were leaving an old gentleman in traditional vest and cap hopped onto the bus to wish us a safe journey and that God may look over us. Ergun, our guide did a lot of translating at this lunch break!
We crossed over the Kizilimak River (also known as the Red River) and learnt it was the longest river in Turkey! It is used for irrigation for rice fields and we saw many of these around Duragan. The level was quite low in areas as the winter rains feed the river.
Our last stop for the day was Amasya which is a very ancient town going back to Neolithic times. The museum was very informative and well displayed. It actually houses about eight mummies from the area which are preserved under glass. The little Hittite figurine of the God of Air and Sky dated from fifteenth century BC.
After settling into our hotel it was time for a walk to a beautifully preserved mosque – Sultan II Bayezid built by the Seljuk Turks in 1500 AD. It is surrounded by lovely and beautifully kept gardens. The oak tree at the front of the mosque was planted in the 1400s. Donning our headscarves and removing our shoes we were permitted inside. It is very plain inside with some exquisite painted patterns on the two domes.
We were setting off to visit the tombs on the hill however they were closed so we are going to see them first thing after breakfast. We could see the tombs just above the township and as the sun set they were lit up for the evening. To fill in time before dinner our guide showed us some very impressive Seljurk mosques. One was built in 1237 and had a very interesting spiral minaret.
Dinner was at one of Amasya’s old houses over the river. We are becoming very adventurous with our food and tonight I had keskek (beans and veal). Desley and another traveller had their wishes granted and had meat and salad! They had been yearning for it for days.
A stroll back to the hotel with some of our fellow travellers buying ice-creams (even in cold conditions) ended a very pleasant day.
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