Howdy y'all :) So more adventures in Turkey and I think they will keep piling up as the weather becomes more and more gorgeous everyday! (and the friends keep visiting!) But let's tackle one at a time...today--Sinop and our third RCAC study trip. As you might recall from earlier posts, the RCAC study trips are when we fellows vote on a place to visit as a group to get expertly-guided tours, elite access to archaeological sites, amazing food, and of course at least a day of walking around trying to date walls and read inscriptions!
I love walls, but I love photos even more!
Breaking into a gated area to read inscriptions
For our third trip, we chose a short hop over to Sinop. A modern town of some 35,000 people situated on a peninsula stretching into the Black Sea and famous for its stable harbor. In fact, the saying goes that the Black Sea has three harbors: July, August, and Sinop. And that kind of hilarious observational humor really became the defining characteristic of the trip; let's just say that Sinop is a bit quirky :D
view of the waterfront in Sinop
the tiniest airport I have ever been to! One flight a day: to/from Istanbul.
The ideal positioning of Sinop led to its pivotal role as a port for many millennia and empires. As the king of Zalpa, our very own Carlo, will attest there was Hittite presence in the region early on. The site became a Greek colony in the 7th century BC and was later subsumed under Persian control. It was a major city in the Pontic Kingdom of Mithridates until its conquest by the Romans (Go Rome!) in the 1st century BCE. In fact, it is rumored that Mithridates is buried on the hill overlooking the city, but unfortunately, a US military satellite is mounted there so archaeologists aren't really welcome :)
The city boasts that it was the home of Diogenes, the originator of cynic philosophy. As the story is told, he would walk around Athens in the daylight carrying a lantern saying that he was looking for an honest man.
Diogenes and his lantern
Sinop is also famous for fishing
And for its clay--for pottery!
replica of kiln found in excavations along the coast
After the Romans, it was the Byzantines that had control until the Seljuks took over in 1214 and then the Ottomans in 1458. The most obvious marks on the landscape of Sinop are the impressive fortifications that encircle the city. Various parts and elements were added at various moments in the city's history, but it can be said unequivocally that at least part of the fortifications date to the Hellenistic period...after that, I think the whole structure is pretty much up for debate.
total Inception moment as the walls fall into the sea
These kids did not want me to take their picture
Cannonball!
In it's more recent history, Sinop is famous for being the site of a Russian invasion that opened the door to the Crimean War in 1853. The Fountain of Martyrs was dedicated to those who died during this invasion and it was paid for by money gathered from the pockets of the fallen soldiers.
Other major tourist sites include historic mosques, an ethnographic museum, an archaeology museum (complete with basically a petting zoo--so I loved it--and of course the famous prison of Sinop. This prison--the Sinop Fortress Prison--is built into the ancient citadel walls of the city and its dungeon dates back to the 16th century! We got exclusive access to climb the walls and walk around just like bad*ss prison guards! The prison, opened in 1887, was closed in 1997 and has since been a popular tourist destination for Turks. It is infamous for housing hundreds of political prisoners and intellectual dissidents. The walls are 18 m high and 3 meters wide. There are 11 guard towers at 22 meters high. There's even a creepy rehabilitation center for children (abandoned of course).. This setting made you think of one thing--awesome horror movie! I am still working on the screen play for the detective thriller (a la DaVinci Code) that I am writing to be set in Istanbul, but the next script will have to be for some sort of summer murder mystery and haunting in Sinop...it basically just writes itself.
Courtyard of mosque
Oh ethnographic museums, you are so funny!
Awesome sarcophagus from the archaeology museum
Jesus Christ!
Pigeon pants at the museum
Ducks!
Of course a museum has bunnies! What else do you expect?!?
Overview of the prison
creepy abandoned prison bus
it was bound to happen
Creepy prison tree
guard tower and walkways
I'm such an awesome prison guard
So now I have officially been in a Turkish prison
Other sites around the city are more restricted and only us super cool fellows had access to them, such as the Roman baths (later reused as a church) currently being excavated.
Again--something about fowl and archaeology, but Sinop is all about it!
Negative graffiti cracks me up :)
But Sinop is also a relaxing tourist town--there are beaches, water front restaurants and great touristy shops! Sinop is famous for its Manti (think Turkish ravioli), fish, and model boats!
Me in the Blacks Sea!
How Efes was meant to be drank :)
Mmmmm...walnut Manti
The fish is so good that even the cats love it!
My model boat later got taken over by pirates...
I probably wasn't helping the matter
There's even a bar in the tower walls!
And of course it's a regular town...A regular Turkish town. So there is inevitably questionable construction taking place that always has more people than necessary, run down houses that are great to photograph, plenty of tea to drink, kids running around posing for the camera, random restaurant combinations, and creepy mannequins!
Turkish hipster surveyor. Swoon.
practicing my uber macro :)
For all your pizza and hamburger needs!
Crazy enough, Sinop is much more about the dogs than cats. Go figure
And of course, no Turkish coastal city would be complete without a random dolphin emblem!
And as part of the RCAC treatment, we always stay in super nice places and get awesome food. The super crazy extra special treat this time around was that our hotel had just rescued a baby owl!!! Supy. He was about 20 days old and the instant highlight of the trip. We spent most of our time hanging out in the lobby watching him yawn, scratch, or hop around. He was adorable and I got to pet him!!!
Me at my tiny tea set!
Awesome gypsy band playing at dinner!
So cute!
And here's some video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6STissrgec&list=UUo0nephk3wN_kLijnNAx0XA&index=3&feature=plcp
Overall, an amazing trip. Then it was back to the tiny airport with its crazy signs and a short flight across the mountainous Black Sea coast back to Istanbul.
Somebody please explain this to me!!!
Y'all come back now, ya hear!
Special thanks to Frouke, Emma, and Efthymis for letting me pilfer their awesome photographs :)
