Waking up in Trabzon I was hit with the urge to get into the countryside as soon as possible, after two eventful, interesting, fun and crazy days in Istanbul spending another day in a city did not fill me with much joy. Wanting to get my moneys worth and experience Turkey away from the cities I toyed with the idea of heading straight to the Kackar mountains. I decided, however, to head on a day trip to Sumela monastery.
A mere 45km south of Trabzon nestled high in the mountains it is well worth the trip. The fact I went in winter maybe added to the enjoyment. Driving there the road snakes it's way up and up, villages and mosques scattered around the snowy mountain sides.
On arrival I realised it really is off season, the place was devoid of tourists bar me and maybe four or five Arab and Turkish visitors. Without the crowds the erie quietness, coupled with the perfect winters day of sun blue skies and snow on the ground, made the trek well worth while.
You walk up through the forest for about half and hour, the pathway thick with snow and ice, thankful for the odd handrail or two to grab a hold of as your feet struggle for grip. The views as you climb of the surrounding mountains become more impressive the higher you get.
All of a sudden up above the monastery appears, hewn into the sheer cliff face, spectacular. I couldn t help thinking surely at least one monk said;
"hey, how's about we build in down there, you do realise this is a cliff" well at least they had a room with a view or two I guess.
The Byzantine paintings on the chapel walls and ceiling although scarred by graffiti are still impressive. The chapel itself is cut out of the cliff face rather spectacularly.
On return to Trabzon I greedily ate my tasty last meal in the city square, an array of lamb and vegetables in a rich sauce, accompanied with the obligatory huge basket of bread, and made my way via the trusty local dolmus taxi to the bus station jumping on a bus bound for Artvin.
There is not much of note to see or the first few hours, the roads hugs the shoreline of the Black Sea, the sea to your left and a mishmash of unappealing towns on your right. Until you near Hopa.
The Mountains suddenly appear in the distance snow capped, dominating the skyline.
We turned right at Hopa into the mountains, the road to Artvin is definitely one to remember. Climbing fast and hugging the mountain, the drops are breathtaking. As far as the eye can see snow capped mountains and in the distance the Black Sea provides the perfect backdrop to mountain range.
I did not stay long in Artvin, a town which is built on the most improbable steep mountain face, sadly as the lonely planet points out, the valley below is scarred by the building works for the dam project.
The road all the way to Yusafeli from Artvin goes side by side this huge project. Everywhere you look the mountains are being blown up and reshaped, new roads, tunnels, bridges under construction to make way for the rising water level once the dam opens.
Even with all this it is still a stunning drive and the widened river snakes stunningly below as the road hugs the cliff side.
I arrived in Yusafeli and decided to spend Christmas Eve and day here. A place sadly ear marked to go under water in a few years when they fully open the dam. For now though at least a town camped in a stunning valley by the mighty river barhal surrounded by impressive mountains every where you look.
As it was Christmas I decided to treat myself and booked myself into hotel almatur, on the forth floor with bedroom views of the town and valley :) seeing as its off season I think I m the only one here so I got a discounted rate on a double room, result. A mere 50 lira (£15ish pounds) Finding that The hotel comes complete with sauna and Turkish bath, I knew it was going to be a good Christmas as I watched the sun set over the Kackars.
As it was Christmas Eve I treatedmyself to my first cut throat razor, beard and head shave, done expertly by a friendly local barber, who not understanding English I figured it easiest with sign language to just point and say,
"All, off, gone!" And with that he got to work.
I awoke today on Christmas Day and wanted an adventure! After looking at the map I realised the road to Erzurum is littered with spectacular scenery, so I jumped on a bus with no intention of ending up in Erzurum, merely a sight seeing tour. Boy was it worth it. Perfect day again, blue skies and sunshine. The road starts off snaking through a gorge with sheer vertical mountain sides reaching high into the sky, the rock face changing pattern and colour every corner you turn.
The road climbs and opens up and suddenly your faced with an amazing lake surrounded on all sides by snow capped mountains, the road perched on a cliff face that plunges some 30-40metres straight down to the emerald green water.
We rounded the lake, the scenery continuing to amaze me, but, after an hour I decided it was time to head back and explore more of Yusafeli.
With the driver and no one speaking English I had to explain I didn t actually want to go to Erzurum today, I was sight seeing and taking pictures, I wanted to go back to Yusafeli!
The driver didn t quite get my point, so eventually I told a white lie. The easiest way I figured to help him understand was to say,
"My passport" and longed back down the road "Is in Yusafeli!" "I need to go back" pointing again back down the road.
"Ah" he said, and with the magic use of the word passport, he told me with sign language to wait here and in 10 mins someone would drive me back to town!
On The drive back I was in the front seat and the road was probably more breathtaking heading to Yusafeli as the sun was behind us making for better views and pictures. We were also on the cliff side of the road most of the way. Exhausting my camera battery I sat back and drank in a Christmas Day drive I ll remember for a while. I would come back here and rent a car without a second thought!
Arriving back in Yusafeli I walked down to the river and followed it out of town. The town itself is not amazingly aesthetically pleasing, a mixture of concrete block buildings, its the setting that makes it. If you take the time to walk just half a km down the river the town is hidden and all you can see are the surrounding mountains in the valley.
The frost by the river is thick on the ground, I have never seem anything like it before, almost like a sea of snowflakes frozen as soon as they touched the ground, looking jagged and sharp about 1-2 cm think all around.
With no one around I had the sound of the river and the surrounding mountain views to myself as the sun set over blue skies. With the sun gone the cold sets in and I headed back to the hotel for a much needed sauna!
As far as I can see I am the only tourist in town, each restaurant or tea house I go to, they ask in broken English, "why do you come here now, very cold" I try to explain how beautiful and quiet the place is, but I guess to them it's nothing special as its their home, they ve seen it everyday all their life.
Everyone again is amazingly hospitable. The food in Yusafeli is the best I have had in turkey so far, from fish to lamb to chicken, all cooked over a roaring fire, accompanied by rice and what I would describe as the best salads I have hadin a long while.
If you ever make it to Yusafeli, the salad is a must...And the chicken and the fish!
So onto Kars tomorrow via Erzurum, the eastern most destination on my travels. Before Heading back west. Weather permitting, hopefully not too much snow, a visit to the ancient town of Ani awaits
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