Of Tea and Sympathy

One of the appealing things for me about not being on a large organized tour is that you get to experience special, personalize, moments that would rarely, if ever, happen in those circumstances.  When I was planning this road trip with Ata, I told him I was interested in visiting what is known as the High Lands as I thought the tea harvest would be taking place.  Little did I know at the time, that his father was from this part of Turkey and Ata has relatives here, lots of them as it turns out, and they own land that is used for growing tea.  It suited him fine to be able to take me there as it gave him an opportunity to see his relatives.  

Before getting to the High Lands, however, after we left Ordu we drove to the town of Trabzon where we stayed overnight.  Our first destination on the way there was the Sumela Monastery near Trabzon.  Again, we drove along the coat for the most part but the fantastic scenery from a few days ago is pretty much gone.  We passed through town and after town all looking much the same.  We got to the monastery around 12:30 and you have to take a shuttle up the mountain to it.  That part was okay but then the hike up from the bus stop to the monastery was really too much for me.  We went up and up uneven stairs and finally got to a place where we could look down on the monastery.  However, then there were lots and lots of uneven steps going down to it which, of course, I would have to hike back up if we went there.  I had heard the interior of the monastery wasn’t that great and, while I felt somewhat defeated, I just wasn’t into doing it as I was feeling a bit light headed from the long and sometimes winding car ride.  Also, the weather was hot and muggy which didn't help.  So, I took some photos and another video of Ata and then we headed back.  The entrance fee to the monastery was around $22 so that was a bit of a waste of money but I did get to see the exterior which was what I’d wanted anyway.

Ata had told me as we went east, it would become more and more conservative.  He suggested I wear clothes that covered my shoulders and mentioned that we might end up in places where no alcohol would be served.  Sinop and Ordu didn't appear to be that way but, when we got to Trabzon, that all changed. Once we'd checked into our hotel, we walked into the town centre.  Much of it reminded me a lot of the narrow streets and alleyways of the old part of Jerusalem with small shops and stalls selling everything from spice to housewares to sequined dresses.  The women, for the most part, were in more typical conservative Muslim garb, with their heads covered and wearing long robes or skirts.  Few, however, were in the black abayas covering their faces, however.  Interestingly, as we reached what I think was the main town square, we saw lots of younger women wearing mini-skirts, crop tops, and jeans.  Clearly, there is a generational difference.

When Ata asked the hotel owner if he knew of any restaurants which sold wine or beer, the answer was no.  So, we had dinner in a restaurant on the main square when Ata happily ordered a traditional cheese dish famous in this area called muhlama which, for all intents and purposes, is like cheese fondue - melted cheese served with bread.  He also ordered cabbage rolls stuffed with lamb, again typical of the region.  What does seem to be typical everywhere we go is French fries; they are even often served at breakfast.  I am trying to avoid them!  We also had a yummy sauteed lamb dish but, I have to say, that lamb with Pepsi rather than white or red wine just doesn't do it for me!  

The next morning, our journey took us further east toward Rize but, before we reached that town, we headed up into the hills (High Lands) where his relatives as well as he own property.  Ata lives in Izmir so being in the mountains with the fresh air and all that green space is very special to him.  At times for me, however, it felt a bit like home; that is, until we reached the terraced hills with tea growing everywhere.  It was lovely to meet his second cousins - although I can speak no Turkish except for "thank you", "good bye" and "cheers" and they certainly didn't speak English.  However, it was a great visit and I got to sip tea in a tea plantation.  On the hills, we could see workers harvesting the leaves.  

From there, we drove back down to the coast and then, again headed inland up and up and up to Ayder.  The “not so happy” surprise when we got there was we then had to go up and up again, this time on foot!  Thankfully, Ata was patient and sympathetic to the situation  - many would have been irritated. I have made a couple of strategic mistakes when I booked the accommodation for the trip.  One was that I didn't check to see if the hotels had a lift or parking.  That has been a bit of an issue, particularly as I am not able because of my recent surgery to lift anything heavy so you can guess on whom that responsibility falls (except when the hotel owners take pity on us).  The biggest mistake I have made, however, was failing to note the hotel I booked in Ayder indicated that it was unsuitable for seniors, the handicapped or people with difficulty walking.  Now, I can generally manage things but looking way up from the parking lots to where our hotel was didn't make me a happy camper.  We started the climb - the good news was there was some sort of a bucket/basket lift system to haul our bags up.  We actually starting giggling as we struggled (okay me, not Ata) up the hill.  At times it felt he was almost hauling me up there.  As with many things, however, the effort was worth it as the views were spectacular.  Because we were spending two nights there, I was concerned about going up and down and the owner heard me expressing that concern.  To provide an incentive for us to stay (I was muttering about staying down the hill the second night) he upgraded us to balcony rooms.  The obvious solution was to stay in the second day - and I needed the rest anyway,  While there was no hotel bar and it wasn't possible to drink openly in the restaurant, Ata sorted out drinks for us - not sure how but I think it involved paying some young guy to scamper down the hill and pick us up bottles of wine for me and a bottle of Raki for him.  Later, as if  magically, he had organized snacks and drinks on his balcony and booze appeared at dinner as well.  The views were amazing and the changing cloud ceiling was interesting to watch.    

The red car parked between the two white
vehicles is Ata’s, to give you some idea of the hike up

We ate dinner in the breakfast room where no one else was eating so drinking openly seemed okay.  We could have eaten in the restaurant but that would have involved surreptitiously drinking our wine and Raki from coffee mugs which, quite frankly, didn't appeal.

I spent the next day working on catching up on my blog, journal and emails.  Besides, it was raining. Although we are way up in the mountains, the WiFi here is good and, thankfully, the restaurant has a very wide selection of food to choose from so there was no need to go down that hill - at least not yet.  Right now, I am ignoring the fact I will need to make my way back down the "goat trail" of a path back to the car in the morning and be thankful for the view and that I am not out in the rain, the first we have seen on the trip.