Sinop, Turkey, Wednesday May 14th

We had a very lazy start to the day, with breakfast running into lunch. Our room looked out over the little harbour, albeit with some rooftops in between. Many shops sell a wide range of delicately made model ships. Sinop is a really charming town, with parks along the foreshore and lengthy tea gardens that are well patronised. We strolled past sections of city wall and boat yards, ending up on the main road near the old otogar. It is derelict, now although a couple of buses were parked there, so perhaps their drivers are extremely unobservant. The huge and crumbling city gate nearby matches the otogar and they seem to be competing at giving the city a down at heel air.
Not so the brown statue of the philosopher Diogenes, a resident of Sinop from 412 to 404, with the thinker standing on top of a barrel. An enigmatic quotation made us wonder about the translator, or about Diogenes. He said “Don’t overshadow, I don’t want anything else.” What could he have meant? Later we saw a different translation which said “Don’t shade me, I want nothing more.” It left us none the wiser. Eventually we heard this story about the quote. Alexander the Great was very impressed with Diogenes. Diogenese was having a bath in a barrel outside while chatting with the Emperor, as one would. Alexander wanted to honour the great philosopher and so asked him what he could do for him (as in riches, favours etc). Diogenese was a bit cold and cranky because the sun was being blocked so he said, in effect, “Nothing, get out of the way and just stop blocking the sun.” It seems that the city is celebrating a joke – the great thinker asks for the simplest thing. I suggested that Alexander was going around defeating people and taking over, in a way blocking other people’s light, so maybe the statement is deeper than it seems. Keith thinks that that is drawing a long bow. We will have to find out more.
We came upon some men weeding the dome roof of an old bath house which is still in operation. They invited us in, much to the surprise of the young man in the towel who had thought he was safe going there at the designated men’s time. The first room was very hot, the second room was stifling and there was still the sauna section to come. I felt really overwhelmed by the heat. In the outer section there were open cubicles for massages. We have not had a Turkish bath. People we have spoken to have enjoyed it, although they said to leave your modesty outside.
The city of Sinop is on a promontory and lies at the narrowest part. It is possible to walk for a couple of streets north or south of the city centre and reach the sea. The name came from Sinope, the daughter of the River God, Asopus. Zeus was after her but she was intent on not being seduced. He offered her anything and she asked for everlasting virginity. A bit miffed, but honourable for once, he let her live at the tip of the peninsula that the city of Sinop is now on. Over time Sinop became a trading centre and the capital for the Pontic kings. In 1853 a Russian armada attacked Sinop and defeated the local garrison. Many people were killed and this event helped bring on the Crimean war. The Ottomans, British and French banded together to fight Russia which was showing an interest in taking territories in the Near East.
We wandered the streets and saw many beautiful old wooden houses. Built by the Ottomans, they had several storeys with the upper ones jutting out over the lowest one. Sadly they were mostly rotting and falling apart, a renovator’s nightmare, but in two streets they are heritage listed and will be restored. I selected a large mansion in extensive grounds for a holiday house. Sinop has it all – beaches, wild areas, city centre, small community and history laid on.
Some girls helped us find the museum – Keith did ask them for help but they were friendly and confident in talking with us. We rarely get to speak with girls and women. The museum is beautifully set up and features Diogenese. Other highlights were the Roman head of Sinope and many grave stellae, with one which would suit me very well – it shows a woman reading, obviously not at the end of a chapter when death overtook her. The garden is open for pleasure and the museum guards were watering while we were there. Anchors, columns, mosaics, stone proclamations and a whole excavation site of the Temple of Serapis are set amongst trees, flowers and picnic tables. To one side some students had an art display and they seemed to be speaking about their work to some assessors.
As we left the museum, we were greeted by a student in his last year of secondary school where he was studying languages. Gökhan offered to be our volunteer guide to practise his English. He led us to the Ethnographic Museum and waited while we went in. This Ottoman house is decorated to the hilt with carved wood and folk art style painting. Each room was set out with mannequins showing daily life in a wealthy home. In one room a bride is having her hands ritually painted with red henna. Her face is covered and she sits in the centre while other women play musical instruments, two of them playing the spoons. They all seem to be suffering from depression and to be a set of quads – there is obviously a niche market available for someone who can make cheerful mannequins. Downstairs a simpler life style was depicted. It was an excellent display and showed that such homes included a prayer room and a craft room.
Gökhan has excellent English and a very wide vocabulary. He took us to the bus company where we discovered that our intended next destination was fairly impossible to reach in a reasonable way, despite the description in the Lonely Planet Guide. We went with Gökhan to the foreshore tea gardens where we met some of his friends. They were a very friendly group and we enjoyed talking to them. They were all in the midst of studying for the university entrance exam. They suggested a shop where I could replace my lost hat, so Gökhan took us there. Gökhan recommended a spot to have a panoramic view over the city, so we farewelled him and set off. What an amazingly polite and friendly young man he was. He managed to interpret with his friends in a way that made us all feel part of the conversation and he was endlessly willing to help.
On the way we stopped at a tomb of a wife and daughter built in 1425. It is still maintained with perfect green satin drapes over the tombs and the door always open for devotions. Further up the hillside gardens we entered the 1896 Ali Pasha Mosque built beside the Tomb of Seyitbilal, which was built in 1297. I wear a head scarf when we enter mosques and tombs. Inside, other visitors were praying with hands cupped at waist level, visibly moved by being there.
A young couple, Yildirim and Fulden, had approached us for a chat when we were about to go into the tombs, and afterwards Keith asked them for some directions. We were looking for the road to the panoramic view. With little Turkish on their side and virtually no Turkish on ours, the dictionary proved its worth when they offered to take us for a tour in their car. First we drove to the top of the hill and looked down over the city. We were also interested in looking down into people’s gardens and up to the wires that would light up as a picture of Ataturk at night.
Statues, pictures and other memorabilia relating to Ataturk are everywhere in Sinop. From the café we ate pide in, to our hotel reception room, to every public and commercial place, there he is in all his moods and moments. A formally attired Ataturk appears to mask his excitement with his hat in the park and a more casual Ataturk with tie blown back and in the waves, stands in the main square. That statue symbolises the meeting and overcoming of many difficulties, also his connection to this area. If I recall correctly, Ataturk landed in Sinop and then went to Samsun, where he started the independence fight.
After our viewing and photographic session, Yildirim drove around the peninsula to where we could imagine that we were looking out at Russia. Actually the horizon had a grey smudge sitting above it that looked like smog. Along the way Yildirim stopped to show us the spot where he had rolled the car over the side of a very steep hill and nearly been killed. His girlfriend had rescued him. This young couple were clearly in love and at times we felt a little anxious about how much attention was being paid to the road. We asked ourselves why they would have wanted to give up so much time to taking us about, and can only suppose that our novelty value added to the occasion and their many declarations of love for each other. They were very kind and drove us all the way back to our pension. The trip has shown us the wilder side of Sinop and would have made an excellent walk on a cool day.
After tea we typed and planned, with the new destination of Safronbolu being selected.
Ataturk is normally depicted in a heroic pose, such as riding a rearing horse, but what on earth was this sculptor thinking?

The mosques in Sinop have unusually short minarets. Keith's theory is that a low minaret enables the Imam to position the loudspeakers closer to human ear level, making the call to prayer even more ear piercing than other mosques can manage.
Some old Ottoman period houses have some cladding that appears to be made of sheet steel. We don't know if this is part of a renovation attempt, but naturally it goes rusty after some time.