As promised by Halis, Zafer, and Hüsniye, we were on our way to visit the Sumela Monestary and Uzungöl. They told us to meet in the main square at 10am. We woke up, got dressed, and waited. Unfortunately, they did not arrive until 11am. We were told that the reason was because Hüsniye was late due to taking too long to get ready. I guess Turkish girls are no different from American ones! :)
We crammed into the car (with the same setup as the previous day) and began driving towards our first destination of Uzungöl. The trip was rather uncomfortable because there were four people crammed in the back seat (and as you all know I am way to big to be riding in one of the two middle seats in the back). The trip to the lake took about an hour as we wound up through the Kaçkar Mountains. The roads were also not the best once we went off from the main road.
We finally arrived in Uzungöl, which literally means "Long Lake" in Turkish. It was a picturesque lake in the mountains and is honestly one of the most beautiful places I had ever seen. After parking the car, we began to take a walk around the lake,taking several pictures with the scenery of the lake with the mountains in the background. After walking around the circumference of the lake, we arrived at a bridge, which spanned the lake's feeder stream. The water originates from the snow melts at the top of the mountains, making it quite cold. I also happen to enjoy watching mountain streams.
After walking around the lake, we passed a bike stand and Zafer, Halis, myself, and Em rented bikes. We rode the bikes up and down the trail a bit to get exercise and for fun. It was the first time I had ridden a bike in at least 6 years. But as the saying goes...it was just like riding a bike and I quickly remembered how to do it.
We rode down to where the waterfall was and took a nice picture there and then turned around and began walking back towards the town. Upon returning to the main part of town around the lake, we stopped to have lunch at one of the local restaurants. At the restaurant, we ate fresh alabalik (trout) from the lake. The way it was prepared was quite unique. It was in a communal dish and had all sorts of seasonings on it. It melted in my mouth when I had eaten it. I still remember it as one of the better meals I ate during my time in Turkey.
After our meal we walked outside again and decided to head towards the car for our second stop. During our time in the restaurant, the clouds had rolled in. We were high enough in elevation so that the clouds were very low in the sky and covered about 2/3 of the way down the mountain. It had also gotten chilly. With the dense fog and chilly weather, it was pretty hard to believe I was in Turkey. In fact, the scenery (especially the scenery in and around Sumela) made me feel like I was in Northern California around the San Francisco area. In addition to jagged mountains, very tall green trees also dotted the landscape.
We drove down the mountains and then back up again in another location to head towards Sumela. The road was steeper towards Sumela and I felt that we went quite a bit higher in elevation. The ride was equally as uncomfortable as before. I remember when we got there I was so excited because the pain of having my legs twisted and unable to move for an hour was absolutely excruciating. The pain was worth it since there is no way we would ever have been able to see these sites without the help of Zafer, Halis, and Hüsniye.
By the time we had reached the top of the mountain where the monastery was located, the clouds had continued rolling in and the fog was incredibly dense. We could not drive all the way to the top and were forced to walk for the last 3 quarters of a mile or so. I actually did not mind this because the scenery was beautiful, even despite the fog.
The Greek Orthodox Monastery of the Virgin Mary at Sumela also known as the Sumela Monastery was an amazing structure. It was built directly into the side of the mountain. Founded in Byzantine times, it was abandoned in 1923 after the new Turkish Republic was created. The frescoes range from the 9th Century to the 19th Century.
At the main entrance of the monastery, you could see the aqueduct where water was diverted for the people living there. To enter the main part of the structure, we had to climb a long flight of stairs. Upon entering the courtyard, there were several rooms we could examine. Most were empty with dirt on the bottom and had nice views of the surrounding mountains. The best room was the main chapel, which contained frescoes both on the inside and outside of the structure. The frescoes featured images from the Bible and were all in all quite beautiful despite the abuse some of them had taken. We walked through the rest of the monastery, admiring how the priests used to live in this place.
After exiting the structure, we walked back towards the car and took some pictures of the mountains and the fog. You can see how dense it was from the pictures I snapped. The whole area was beautifully shrouded in mist, giving it an almost mystical feeling.
On the way down the mountain, we stopped at a village for some food. I don't remember much about what we ate (one of the consequences of writing this post a year later) but I do remember enjoying the company of everyone I was with. Halis actually went inside a store and got everyone a present. He got me a traditional Trabzon hat. Although I will probably never wear it outside, it was still a nice gesture. I think the girl's presents were better...but that's to be expected since guys are so difficult to shop for. Oh well.
When we got back to Trabzon, we ended up driving to Böztepe, which is the name of the park at the top of the hill that overlooks the entire city of Trabzon. The place featured a nice tea restaurant and inside contained backgammon boards. I told Zafer via Hüsniye that I could play backgammon and he wanted to challenge me to a match. By this time I had gotten pretty good and accepted the challenge. I swept Zafer 5 games to 0 games. He couldn't believe it! Now every time he hears my name, he always say "tavla, tavla, tavla." I think he wants a rematch to gain his dignity back...
After we enjoyed sitting and chatting at the top of Böztepe, they took us back to the square and we retired to the hotel room for the evening. Em began packing as she had to take an early flight that morning. We were so lucky to see both Uzungöl AND Sumela. Other than the cramped car riding, it was a perfect day!
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