We joined the Batuk family for Saturday breakfast atop a hotel in the city center of Ordu. The views were wonderful and the food was pretty delicious too. This included Randy's favorite Black Sea specialty - muhlama - a kind of super rich, super thick fondue. There were more than a few calories consumed at this meal.
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| View from our hotel in Ordu in the morning - too bad we did not have a few more hours to enjoy this setting! Of course, Mehmet got up early and had a first breakfast at the hotel before second breakfast at the restaurant. |
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| Cevahir and Huriye have some tea at brunch |
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| Ismail (the only brother among four sisters) with Ayse (the youngest sibling). Very sadly, Ismail passed away suddenly a few months after we enjoyed his company here. Rest in peace. |
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| The main attraction - muhlama |
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| Randy fully enjoyed the muhlama he has been dreaming about for several years |
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| Always fun to be with the Batuk clan in Ordu |
Then, we took the teleferik to the top of Boztepe (gray hill) which stands guard over the city of Ordu. This popular destination was even more crowded on this lovely Saturday. We walked around and even watched some daring sightseers taking off for paragliding down from the mountain to the city on small parachutes. Not for me!
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| The teleferik from central Ordu to Boztepe |
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| Trying to stroll off a few of the calories consumed at breakfast |
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| Along the Ordu boardwalk |
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| It seems that Ataturk is tipping his top hat to the Ordu teleferik |
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| The four adventurers |
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| On board the cable car to the top |
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| So much fun! |
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| The lovely sisters! |
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| Selfie on Boztepe with all of Ordu spread beneath |
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| The place |
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| One of the fearless (or foolish) para gliders |
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| Panoramic of the Black Sea from Boztepe |
After enjoying what Ordu had to offer on Boztepe were glided back to the city on the Teleferik and visited some historic churches in the city center. These are no longer active as churches but have been repurposed for the community.
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| We visited this church in Ordu city center, now used as a community gathering place, mainly for the arts |
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| The simple interior |
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| The restored exterior |
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| A typical Otoman building in Ordu |
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| A second church was not available for entry and is now a theater |
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| Its exterior with the Mediterranean style roof tiles and architecture |
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| The Christians are long gone but their carvings remain |
We say goodbye to the Batuks around noon after a too short visit. We need to get on to Unye, an hour or so west along the coast. Along the way, we stopped at the well known Jason Church which is a Greek Church (now a museum) from the late 1800's. It is located on a peninsula named after Jason because he supposedly stopped there on his quest for the Golden Fleece. It is a lovely spot (I had been there before in 2013 when I visited Ordu/Unye) and on this Saturday there were a few brides and grooms getting their photos done in the outdoor setting.
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| Sea birds off the Jason Cape |
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| This tells the legend and history of Cape Jason - the Rums mentioned are Byzantines and / or Georgians and / or other Christians, called Rums because they originally had connections to Rome |
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| More about the church which is properly called Saint Nicholas Church and was built in 1868 |
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| A small stained glass window |
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| The restored church with the bride being photographed |
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| The carving was very simple compared to those we saw in the Georgian region a few days earlier |
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| The lovely Cape Jason |
We arrived in Unye to Casa Guven, home of our good friend in Auburn, Sadel Guven. This is prime hazelnut country and Sadel's house includes quite a few hazelnut groves. It was still nearly a month off from harvest but the hazelnuts were in evidence everywhere.
Casa Guven is very comfortable (designed by Sadel's late husband Aktay) and commands a wonderful sea view. Also staying there was Zerrin Erensoy, Aktay's sister. We settled in our rooms and were fed a really delicious lunch by Sadel and Zerrin.
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| Lunch preparations at Casa Guven |
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| What a healthy and delicious feast. Sadel was so thoughtful she brought chocolate chips all the way from the U.S. to make chocolate chip cookies for Randy! |
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| View from Casa Guven |
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| The best place to stay on the Black Sea! |
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| Land around Casa Guven |
We then took a tour of the hazelnut grounds including those on the neighboring estates. They are called hazelnut trees but they are really large bushes. The Guvens are a venerable landowning family and there are many contiguous Guven estates in this part of Unye (just to the west of the town). After our small hike, we drank some wine and beer and nibbled as our Saturday evening Happy Hour outside of Casa Guven. So relaxing and convivial!
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| Enjoying the amazing weather and splendid location |
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| Sadel explains the land and complex process of growing and harvesting hazel nuts |
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| The prized crop of this part of the Black Sea |
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| Mehmet samples a not totally ripe hazelnut direct from the source |
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| A magnolia tree found its way from the U.S. to Unye and is thriving |
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| Figs grow in this verdant land |
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| So awesome to be back in Unye |
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| That first Efes beer of the day always tastes good |
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| Nuts, wine and beer - perfect Saturday evening pre-party party |
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| Saturday Happy Hour Unye style |
That evening, another Guven, this time Cagatay, Aktay's younger brother, hosted us to dinner on the seaside at the Kucuk Ev (little house) Restaurant. He ordered a specialty of the area - a fish on a huge metal platter in a sauce - and it was great. We watched the sun set over the Black Sea and it was pure magic!
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| Cagatay holds court in one of the prettiest restaurant setting imaginable |
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| Guven hospitality is the best |
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| The boys enjoyed some raki as is fitting with the fish and the setting |
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| The sun sets over the Black Sea |
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| The dinner party (Alejandro must have taken this photo) |
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| Another shot of the nearly set sun |
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| Really delicious vegetables and salads |
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| Local fish expertly and uniquely prepared |
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| A bad photo but it does tell the restaurant name |
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| From the first photo on this blog post (sunrise) to the last (sunset), the theme is the timeless beauty of the Black Sea |
