Samsun
Locations in this report:
- Samsun - Show on the map
- Samsun - Show on the map Show complete route
Written: 23.02.2012 09:49:16
Wow finally the next report! :D
But wait! Why is it in english? Where is the report from Izmir and Antalya? And where are the pictures?
The last two questions have one answer: I have trouble with my computer and can't access my files (including pictures and the already written report of Izmir) at the moment. And the first question is fairly simple too: A lot of people I met and who would be interested in reading my reports can't speak German, but (((nearly))) everyone I know can speak at least that much English to understand these reports.
Whatsoever here the next report; pictures and the Izmir- and Antalya-report coming (insch allah) soon.
P.S.: To all the only-english-speakers: I will do my best to translate the website ASAP. I think you can guess our use Google Tranlator ® meanwhile.
-().-.().-.().-.().-.()-
In Samsun I actually had two hosts. One Turkish guy who was studying there and one French girl who did some work and studies there too.
He was a really nice and interesting guy but didn't had too much time (but when he did, he did something with me). She hated her language and liked German better (though every language sounded a little like French), so the two of us spoke German most of the time.
Samsun as it is not really interesting, and even the sea (the black one :P) is not really warm this time a year (approx 8?C which is actually fuin* cold - and yes I swom in it!). That's why I will only tell two stories of Samsun.
First I was told to go to [Amasya] for a day-trip, what I did (because, as I told you, Samsun as it is not really interesting). When I arrived there I couldn't find the city centre (sehir markesi), so I asked someone, who turned out to be a policemen and insisted to take me by car. After all the time in turkey I managed it to stop my usual behaviour to close my seatbelt (nobody does it here) in the moment I enter a car, but I was with a policemen and sitting in the front, so I though it would be a good idea to close it. The moment it snapped in the policemen looked at me and said: "What are you doing? You don't need that here.". So much for that...
[Amasya] is a nice little place in the mountains. Firstly it has the famous graves of kings, which are quite impressing, if you think about how old those are and with which precision they're caved into the stone. Then it has a beautiful city centre with a river crossing through and lastly but actually most importantly (for me) it had a nice castle on the mountaintop. The way to it was hard to find, and until I made it up there the sun was gone. Still enough light to see the castle (it is quite impressive how much work the turks put into restaurating this castle - partly rebuilding whole walls), but not to take good pictures (unfortunately).
In this big castle I found some really adventures looking stairs - no sign in sight, so I had to climb them. So I found a closed entry into a cave with a big sign saying (what I didn't know at that time): "Entering is dangerous and forbidden". It also was quite closed (see picture). So I decided to carry on. But with the time it bothered me and I returned in the cover of total dark to slip my way into the cave.
With the torch in my new phone I started to walk down adventurous looking and unbelievable slippery stairs into the pitch dark. They seemed not to end, and with every step caved into the stone - the deep impression I felt when I saw the graved grew and grew. I guess it was at least one or two hundred metres underneath the castle, when the entrance was not visible any more, though it was going straight down in 45?. But still the stairs went on. Finally I came to a little lake. But still the steps went on, just under the water (I couldn't see how far) - I realized this was the [Brunnen] of the castle.
After a short break I made my way up again. Risky but totally worth it :)
(Click on the first photo and go through the gallery (little arrows left and right) to see all pictures.)
The second story is how I met the guy who is important for the next chapter of my travels. We (that means the both of my hosts, a few friends of them and me) went out on a beer but announced that as a CS-Meeting, so a few more ppls came too. One of them was Danny. He was a british guy who is cycling around the world. Because I was playing with the thought to cycle in the last days of my solo-time in turkey a few days before but already dismissed it because of reasons I can't remember right now, I asked him what he would think when I'd buy me a bike and we hit the road the day after. He agreed straight away. Even when I told him that I'd have no chance to make ore than 100km a day (regarding my training condition (I havn't been seriously cycling for month) and the to-expect-quality of my bike) he seemed to look forward to not cycle alone for a while.
The evening went on and because the turkish host wanted to go to bed early the frensh girl and me went over to the place where Danny was staying and had an interessting evening over there. Next morning, after short sleep and the slight after-effects of alcohol we made our way back "home" and I organised with the turk host myself a bike. The next day we hit the road together...
But wait! Why is it in english? Where is the report from Izmir and Antalya? And where are the pictures?
The last two questions have one answer: I have trouble with my computer and can't access my files (including pictures and the already written report of Izmir) at the moment. And the first question is fairly simple too: A lot of people I met and who would be interested in reading my reports can't speak German, but (((nearly))) everyone I know can speak at least that much English to understand these reports.
Whatsoever here the next report; pictures and the Izmir- and Antalya-report coming (insch allah) soon.
P.S.: To all the only-english-speakers: I will do my best to translate the website ASAP. I think you can guess our use Google Tranlator ® meanwhile.
-().-.().-.().-.().-.()-
In Samsun I actually had two hosts. One Turkish guy who was studying there and one French girl who did some work and studies there too.
He was a really nice and interesting guy but didn't had too much time (but when he did, he did something with me). She hated her language and liked German better (though every language sounded a little like French), so the two of us spoke German most of the time.
Samsun as it is not really interesting, and even the sea (the black one :P) is not really warm this time a year (approx 8?C which is actually fuin* cold - and yes I swom in it!). That's why I will only tell two stories of Samsun.
First I was told to go to [Amasya] for a day-trip, what I did (because, as I told you, Samsun as it is not really interesting). When I arrived there I couldn't find the city centre (sehir markesi), so I asked someone, who turned out to be a policemen and insisted to take me by car. After all the time in turkey I managed it to stop my usual behaviour to close my seatbelt (nobody does it here) in the moment I enter a car, but I was with a policemen and sitting in the front, so I though it would be a good idea to close it. The moment it snapped in the policemen looked at me and said: "What are you doing? You don't need that here.". So much for that...
[Amasya] is a nice little place in the mountains. Firstly it has the famous graves of kings, which are quite impressing, if you think about how old those are and with which precision they're caved into the stone. Then it has a beautiful city centre with a river crossing through and lastly but actually most importantly (for me) it had a nice castle on the mountaintop. The way to it was hard to find, and until I made it up there the sun was gone. Still enough light to see the castle (it is quite impressive how much work the turks put into restaurating this castle - partly rebuilding whole walls), but not to take good pictures (unfortunately).
In this big castle I found some really adventures looking stairs - no sign in sight, so I had to climb them. So I found a closed entry into a cave with a big sign saying (what I didn't know at that time): "Entering is dangerous and forbidden". It also was quite closed (see picture). So I decided to carry on. But with the time it bothered me and I returned in the cover of total dark to slip my way into the cave.
With the torch in my new phone I started to walk down adventurous looking and unbelievable slippery stairs into the pitch dark. They seemed not to end, and with every step caved into the stone - the deep impression I felt when I saw the graved grew and grew. I guess it was at least one or two hundred metres underneath the castle, when the entrance was not visible any more, though it was going straight down in 45?. But still the stairs went on. Finally I came to a little lake. But still the steps went on, just under the water (I couldn't see how far) - I realized this was the [Brunnen] of the castle.
After a short break I made my way up again. Risky but totally worth it :)
(Click on the first photo and go through the gallery (little arrows left and right) to see all pictures.)
The second story is how I met the guy who is important for the next chapter of my travels. We (that means the both of my hosts, a few friends of them and me) went out on a beer but announced that as a CS-Meeting, so a few more ppls came too. One of them was Danny. He was a british guy who is cycling around the world. Because I was playing with the thought to cycle in the last days of my solo-time in turkey a few days before but already dismissed it because of reasons I can't remember right now, I asked him what he would think when I'd buy me a bike and we hit the road the day after. He agreed straight away. Even when I told him that I'd have no chance to make ore than 100km a day (regarding my training condition (I havn't been seriously cycling for month) and the to-expect-quality of my bike) he seemed to look forward to not cycle alone for a while.
The evening went on and because the turkish host wanted to go to bed early the frensh girl and me went over to the place where Danny was staying and had an interessting evening over there. Next morning, after short sleep and the slight after-effects of alcohol we made our way back "home" and I organised with the turk host myself a bike. The next day we hit the road together...