Tuz Gölü, Ankara and Hattuşa
Quite a few things have happened since my last blog post and I was admittedly a bit lazy in staying up to date with editing the photos and writing blog entries. But in my defense, I cound’t know that Svenja would be run over by Apollo at the Tuz Gölü salt lake (Tuz means pink, due to the characteristic color of the salt at the shores of the dried up lake) near Ankara… Unfortunately, this happened in the evening so we could go to the nearest hospital in Ankara only on the next day. We cooled the twisted ankle as well as we could and went to the excellent (private) Memorial hospital in Ankara first thing in the morning. An X-ray and a support bandage later we are relieved to know that the foot is not broken and the bandage easens Svenja’s pain significantly.
However, because of this unfortunate event, we only spend two more days in Ankara, because Svenja needs to rest her foot. To be frank, there is not much to see in Ankara anyway, so we spend the time shopping stuff we know we’re most likely to get only here, as well as visiting the Atatürk Mausuleum and the Museum of Anatolian Civilization.
Afterwards, we drive to Hattuşa, the former capital of the ancient Hetite empire, which was one of the first high cultures in Anatolia and a on of the super powers in the 2nd century BC, on par with the Ancient Assyrians and Egyptians. We marvel at the few remains of the city that have survived until today. Luckily, the archaeological site, which is huge, can be visited by car, which comes in handy, given Svenja’s state of health. We also find a wonderful camping spot in the surrounding nature and given that also the temperatures have cooled down a bit, we rest for a couple of days there for Svenja’s ankle to rest and recover.
To the Black Sea
From Hattuşa, we drive about 3 hours to Samsun and therefore, for the first time in our lives, see the Black Sea! Although there is not a ton to see in the city, which is mostly of economical significance to the region, we have come here to visit some guys which we had incidentily met at Pergamon, who had invited us to visit them, if ever we come to the Black Sea coast, and whom we have stayed in touch with. We had the most wonderful evening and were so happy to have made this chance encounter and for these wonderful people to invite us to the home, even cook for us and philosophize about religion, science and life in general. Truely a highlight of our journey so far!
After one night at a camping site in Samsun, we drive a few kilometers west to a nature reserve area at the coast near Balık Gölü. The area is extremly lush and teaming with wildlife. Here, we relax for another day at the beach and view many storks with their young (some pairs have two to three young!) and buffalos and hear chakals at night. What a wonderful start to this part of our trip along the eastern Black Sea!