Trabzon Weekend

I truly am the most unfit woman in the world. I was working in my office this afternoon when E showed up. He had left his keys in our apartment and needed to get his soccer kit for a match. I was basically finished with my work, so I speed walked with him home. At least, I felt like I was speed walking. E kept saying, “Walk fast.” Ahh!

When we arrived, we discovered people (including a crying baby—there are no other children in our building) moving into the apartment across from ours. Boo hiss sigh. So much for our comfortable and quiet little corner of the world.

We arrived home last night from a long weekend in Trabzon. My sweet husband decided since it was my birthday, and the 23rd was a holiday, that we should head up to Trabzon for a few days. He finished his midterms Thursday afternoon, and we hopped a bus for our 5-hour journey through the snowy mountains.

When you ask a Turk where he is from, he will answer with his ancestral village—whether or not he’s actually been there. As such, E proudly tells everyone he is from Trabzon. However, counting this weekend, he has been to the city exactly four times (although he was actually born there). I’ve been there three times.

Because E still has family in Trabzon, we were invited to use one of his uncle’s holiday homes in E’s family village, about 45 minutes outside of the city. A friend-of-a-friend picked us up at the bus station, and I had visions of us staying in a primative Ukrainian dacha (no water, no electricity) out in a true village like I used to visit.

Turns out my fears were unfounded. The city is small, about 17,000 people, but his uncle owns a very new, very big, and very modern apartment in a new development that looks over the Black Sea.


The apartment was lovely, but only a handful of people lived in the building. It was big and empty and cold, and we ended up sleeping huddled together near a space heater. We also saw that the apartment was out in the middle of nowhere, and we knew immediately that we’d have to rent a car if we ever wanted to eat again.

The next morning, we waited outside for a minibus to take us into the city. As we waited, a giant herd of sheep simply meandered down the busy street, causing traffic to stop for long periods of time. I stood by a bit nervously as dozens of sheep walked past us.

We rented a car for two days, and I will say it was NOT cheap. On top of the hideous rental fee, one tank of gas cost $100!!! Nevertheless, we felt spoiled rotten by having a car. Life is just so much easier when you have your own transportation. We couldn’t help but dream about how convenient our lives in Erzurum would be with a car.

We also dreamed about how much nicer our lives would be if we lived in Trabzon where there are trees and grass and green and the sea. Sigh. However, I don't know if we could really make it in Trabzon. E struggled a lot in the city (and in his village) because of the looks and comments the locals gave me. Because I am blonde, they assumed I was a Russian whore spending the day with a Turk. Many people said very unkind things that hurt my husband much more than they hurt me.

We spent a nice day in the city, and E bought me two maxi dresses for my birthday. The maxi dress is a great compromise. I think they are cute, and E loves that they are long. (I included a scary picture of me wearing one of the dresses below).

I especially enjoyed the day because we were able to meet up with two other ELFs for dinner. Dustin works in Trabzon, and Mark was up visiting for the weekend from Van. I thoroughly enjoyed their company, even if E was nervous the entire time because of his English skills.

The next day, we decided to go out to Uzungöl, a lake a few hours outside of Trabzon. We met up with one of E’s friends for breakfast. Sahil used to work at a hotel in Uzungöl, so E invited him along for the day. (I also have to mention how glorious the breakfast was. It was a buffet that included French toast and pancakes. Sure, they were savory pancakes with veggies inside them, but they were pancakes. I thought I had died and gone to heaven and ate so much that I did nearly explode.) These photos were taken at the restaurant.


The drive up to Uzungöl was gorgeous. The Black Sea region is famous for its tea, and I loved seeing the mountainsides covered with tea plants.

The lake area itself was also lovely. It is small, but it has visions of being a little Alpine village. We walked alongside the lake, up into the mountain, and through the little city.


We had dinner that night at the restaurant where Sahil used to work. The hotel has its own fishery, and I enjoyed watching the fish jumping around (why they were jumping, I don’t know).

Sahil was so kind to us. The restaurant actually allowed him to prepare our meal. He garnished everything with tomatoes cut like roses and gave us so much food we were about to burst (main dish, salad, desert, fruit plate). He even brought me hot chocolate instead of tea. After all that, they didn’t charge us anything.

That night, Sahil also arranged for E and me to have a complimentary room in the hotel. It was nice to sleep in a warm room (although I couldn’t get reception on either English-language channel!). We were thoroughly spoiled by Sahil and all of his attention and help while we were in Trabzon. I just hope I can someday be that kind of friend.

We had to leave early the next morning to drive back to Trabzon for our bus to Erzurum. I drove from Uzungöl to Trabzon. I know E was a bit nervous at first. And I was also nervous since I am not an aggressive and crazy driver (both necessary attributes in Turkey), but everything went well. E loved seeing me drive because he could see how much joy I felt at being free again. I honestly hadn’t realized how much freedom a vehicle provides.

We were both incredibly disappointed when we turned in our car, boarded the bus, and left Trabzon and Sahil behind. Erzurum is just so . . . blah . . . in comparison.