Trabzon - where east meets... the USSR (Trabzon)

Member Name: fizzywizzy

Product:	Trabzon
Date:	08/01/09 (207 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Several interesting sights, lively, has pubs

Disadvantages: Prostitution (to a degree), can be overwhelmingly busy

Having spent the previous few days in a succession of Turkish seaside towns, our arrival in the bustling and cosmopolitan trading centre of Trabzon was something of a culture shock. Trabzon is the largest Black Sea port in the east of Turkey and is a mere stone's throw (in terms of Turkish geography) from the border with Georgia, and our next destination.

We had come from the sleepy fishing town of Persembe and the three bus journey was an interesting and eventful one which warrants a brief mention. First we took a dolmus from Persembe to Ordu where the dolmus driver kindly found us a slightly bigger vehicle going to the town of Giresun (famed for its cherries but we hadn't enough time to linger there long). On this bus one of the passengers wanted to practise his English and was very interested in our travels. In spite of our strong protestations he insisted on paying our fare when we tried to pay the driver when we alighted. At Giresun we found three bus company offices side by side and booked two places to Trabzon with the company with the first departure. We had twenty minutes to kill and went in search of simits, those tasty rings of bread topped with sesame seeds. When we returned the bus was there and the two seats immediately behind the driver had been reserved for us. A friendly passenger pointed this out because we initially walked past the seats believing they were reserved for someone else.

This was a fun journey in which our new friend held court for the whole trip; he was accompanying his elderly father to a hospital appointment in Trabzon though he knew most of the other (all male) passengers on the bus. He asked if he might look at our Lonely Planet book then asked if he might show his father who, in spite of being rather elderly, had seen so little of his own country and was interested in seeing what sights were recommended to foreigners. After this the book was passed around the bus for the next hour as all the passengers admired the photographs of places they had never seen. Having made a friend was useful as he suggested we alight at a stop close to the centre of Trabzon rather than at the otogar (the bus station) which was some way from the centre and would entail a long walk or a dolmus to get back to the centre. When we got off, our new friends all bade us farewell and waved from the bus.

This was probably the better way to arrive in Trabzon because the red light district is between the town centre and the otogar and while it isn't the seediest of such areas, it would probably be a little off-putting to encounter this part of town first. It is also the place marked on our map as the "Russian bazaar" which may have been a thriving place of enterprise a few years ago when the USSR first broke up but these days it's a poor street market with just a small handful of stalls selling sub standard and counterfeit goods. As we glanced in the window of one bar and saw a group of fat, middle-aged peroxided Russian "natashas" (the name given to the prostitutes from the former Soviet Union) himself remarked that there was surely a misprint on the map which should have read "Russian bizarre".

Trabzon is built on a steep hill and the main road is the coastal/port road meaning a hard climb into town (especially with backpacks). Our first stop was tourist information to pick up a decent map. The tourist information centre is situated on Ataturk Alani, a square which is the noisy and traffic blighted centre of Trabzon. Not only do all the local buses leave from here but there are taxi ranks as well as simply being one of the main routes through town. The helpful assistant spoke good English and gave us the names of a few budget hotels that he said were not ones that rented rooms by the hour (as many of the lower end hotels in Trabzon do). He also told us where to go to book tickets to Sumela Monastery which was our main reason for stopping in Trabzon.

We found a hotel just a short walk from the square but far enough away to be a bit quieter though there was the constant dull drone of the cranes from the docks (situated just behind us) night and day. There are plenty to choose from in Trabzon but you should check online reviews of in your guidebook to make sure you're not in one that is full of prostitutes as it can be not only uncomfortable because of constant approaches from the women but also noisy as people arrive and leave with regularity in the night.

One of the first things you notice about Trabzon is that the range of people is much more diverse than in many Turkish towns (apart from Istanbul perhaps). This is due to the fact that Trabzon is a major trading centre and port and goods come across Asia to Trabzon and are then shipped to the eastern parts of the Black Sea and to Ukraine in the north. You'll hear lots of people talking Russian and Georgian and many signs are in Cyrillic script; I was very excited to see the first one above a shop front on Ataturk Alani because it meant Russia (and a long held dream) was drawing closer.

I'm almost embarrassed to say this but first port of call was the Efes Pub; for over a week I had been yearning for a beer and though w had bought some at a kiosk and drank them in our hotel room, I was pleased to have arrived somewhere I could enjoy a beer and not be frowned at, even if we were directed to a room where women are permitted. Trabzon is a university city and, for eastern Turkey, quite liberal and modern-thinking so there are a few places where women can go and drink alcohol or just socialise with young men. Another popular 'pub' is Beer Time also on Ataturk Alani which is a huge place that gets very busy in the evenings. Curiously, several of the people who were on our bus trip to Sumela the next day were also in Beer Time on our first evening there.

Trabzon's bazaar district is huge and once you go in you become lost in a labyrinthine collection of covered and street markets selling everything from old mens' slippers and giant cotton knickers to giant tea pots and elaborate rugs. I wanted to buy a headscarf (in spite of Trabzon being a very liberal city I saw more young women wearing headscarves here than anywhere else in Turkey) and the young women on the stall showed me how I should wear it to make sure my hair was covered for going into the mosques.

There are three main tourist attractions in Trabzon. Alas we missed the one that interested me most because we were anxious to get into Georgia but we did see the other two. I have already reviewed for this website the Greek Orthodox monastery at Sumela which is built high into the cliff and requires a long trek to view it. This is a wonderful place to visit and even the bus journey there takes in some fabulous scenery.

The other one we had time to see was the Aya Sofya Museum which was originally the Haghia Sophia (the Church of the Divine Wisdom) not to be confused with the one of the same name in Istanbul (they also have the same floor plan but the one in Trabzon is much smaller). It was built in the thirteenth century and the designed is very much Seljuk influenced although the highlight are the Constantinople-style mosaics and frescoes which are painted in vivid colours. I also loved the little hint of Georgian church architecture in the round tower. In 1461 the church became a mosque and for a short time during the First World War it was turned into a military hospital by the Russians. In the 1960s it became a museum. Entrance is about 1 Euro 50 and you can catch a dolmus to the museum from Ataturk Alani.

Unfortunately we didn't have enough time to visit the Ataturk Villa which is situated about five Kilometres from the centre. The house is now a museum which displays lots of memorabilia relating to the founder of the Turkish Republic although the gardens are reputedly the main attraction. Although I was disappointed not to visit I did see lots of similar house as it is built in the late nineteenth century in the popular Crimean style which we were able to appreciate when we hit the Ukraine and the Crimea itself.

I think your opinion of Trabzon will be dependent on where you have come from. We found it a little alarming at first having spent the previous few days in little fishing towns where we were the centre of attention and we felt immediately swallowed up into the noise and grime. It's not a dirty place as such but there is a lot of traffic which makes your face grimy, especially in hot weather.

It was interesting to see the effect of another culture on a Turkish town; for so long we had been immersed in only Turkish culture which we had quickly adjusted to and were comfortable with. Trabzon may be more culturally diverse but it's still kebaps and pide all the way. You would have to go along way to find anything other than Turkish food and you shouldn't be fooled by the openness of pubs and bars, Trabzon is still a fairly conservative city in spite of appearances.

Whether you arrive from western Turkey or Georgia you'll still hit the industrial area and the docks first and this can give a poor impression of Trabzon. However, it's worth sticking with the city because there are some interesting things to do and see.

When we were just embarking on our Black Sea trip we met an elderly gentleman at breakfast in our hotel in Ankara. He spoke no English but we chatted in French as he spoke a little. He asked us where we were going and nodded here and there to express approval. When I mentioned Trabzon he thought for a second or two before saying "Trabzon jolie". I wouldn't say Trabzon is particularly pretty but I would certainly be able to tell him now "Trabzon interessant".

Summary: A Turkish city with a Russian tinge