Swapping strict Dubai for the natural wonders of northeastern Turkey

We were rounding a bend to a view of steep pines and jagged peaks when I first noticed the rain, which sent me into a fizz of excitement that would embarrass and confuse anyone who encounters precipitation on a regular basis. “Is it raining? It’s raining! Oh my God, look, it’s raining!”  

I rolled down the car window. “And it’s chilly! When was the last time you felt cold?”  

My fiance and I were driving toward Uzungol Lake in northeastern Turkey. It was early August and about 22C with drizzle, a drastic change from the 43C and humidity we’d experienced for months on end in Dubai, where we live – and which had one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns.

The heat, oppressive alone but even more suffocating amid months of lockdown, was partly what drove us to Turkey in the first place. We had to get out – to somewhere green, somewhere different, somewhere not too densely populated, where social distancing would be feasible.  

Trabzon, a city at the edge of the Black Sea surrounded by national parks, seemed like a good bet.  

Greeks founded Trabzon back in 735 BC, and it became the Empire of Trebizond and an important stop on the Silk Road between Europe and Asia during the Byzantine period. When Trabzon became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1461, Sultan Mehmed II sent Turkish settlers to the region, but many Greek, Georgian, and Armenian people stayed. That influence is obvious today; Trabzon looks geographically and architecturally more like Georgia and Armenia than Istanbul or Anatolia, a reminder of how big and diverse Turkey is.  

Though trade is no longer big business, I spent hours stocking up on goods in the old bazaar, where the “clink, clink, clink” of copper followed me through cobblestone streets as men hammered intricate designs into copper plates and pitchers, and curious shopkeepers invited me to step into their old wooden stores for a peek at gold and silver bracelets and beautiful porcelain.  

“Look, please,” said the owner of Porselen Dünyası, as he pulled dishes with patterns of swirling turquoise and bright red flowers from the shelves for our admiration. “All hand painted.” At prices unheard of back home, the porcelain was too pretty and too good-value to pass up, so we drove around with a large box of carefully wrapped vases in the backseat for the remainder of the trip.  

And we did plenty of driving. The real highlights of the region lie in its several national parks, forests and lakes. Drive a few minutes outside the city and suddenly, everywhere you look, you either see greenery or water.  

On the day we saw rain for the first time in a year, we drove an hour and a half to Uzungol Lake. 

The drops let up along miles of lush, terraced tea plantations. Most of Turkey’s tea – and Turkey drinks more tea per capita than any nation in the world – comes from this region. You can buy it in any shop, or even on the side of the road, and you’ll find varieties not sold outside the country. 

Mountain roads curved to reveal sharp cliffs and endless pines, finally opening to the lake and the Uzungol mosque sitting regally at one end. I jumped out to take photos and shivered gratefully in the breeze. 

Uzungol is packed with restaurants. On this particular holiday weekend, it was bursting with people, so we made our way further into the forest, past waterfalls and fisherman along the river, waving to families barbecuing on the side of the road. We couldn’t get over how nice it was to see greenery after a year of the desert and a pandemic that prevented us from visiting family this summer.  

Another day, we drove to the Sumela monastery, which hangs about 1,200m high off the edge of the Pontic mountains in Altindere national park. The monastery was closed in 2015 due to falling rock, but reopened this summer and is now on Unesco’s tentative list. 

It’s an impressive window into Turkey’s ongoing battle for sectarianism – the monastery, built in 386 AD, is famous for a depiction of the Virgin Mary, said to have been painted by the apostle Luke. The painting is just one of many colourful frescoes and mosaics, but most of them have been defaced with scratch marks and graffiti. The monastery is an important pilgrimage site for Greek Orthodox Christians, some of whom say the destruction was sanctioned by the Turkish government. Muslim Turks point out graffiti in multiple languages, and say it has more to do with ignorant tourists than religious vandalism.  

Back in Trabzon, these tensions are on display in the city’s Hagia Sophia, a sister site to the one of the same name in Istanbul, which was built during the Byzantine period as a Greek Orthodox church and converted into a mosque during the Ottoman era. Today, it’s a small museum, but some are concerned that this could change, as it did just a few days before our trip for Istanbul’s famed landmark.  

One thing everyone in Trabzon can agree on is a love for Trabzonspor, the local football team, which has an outsized reputation for a city of less than a million people. It was the only Turkish team outside of Istanbul to win the Turkish Super Lig six times, and has also been a surprise star in European Cups. There’s a large mural for the team in the centre of town, and it seemed like every other person we passed was wearing Trabzonspor gear, including brand new coronavirus masks.  

After long days in the mountains, we feasted on doner and kebab; roasted chestnuts bought by the bag from street carts; fresh grilled fish; Trabzon pidesi, pide with bread, cheese and egg, very similar to adjarian khachapuri in neighboring Georgia; and the highlight for me, cig kofte – a mix of bulgar, almonds, salt, garlic, onion, vinegar, tomato puree, hazelnuts, and red pepper, served as a platter or in a wrap with lettuce and pomegranate molasses. For breakfast we had Trabzon bread – a naturally leavened sourdough cooked in a wood oven – with local honey, which you can buy by the jar at hundreds of roadside stands.  

We didn’t want to leave, and on our last morning lingered along the Black Sea walking path. But all good things must come to an end; we departed high on fresh mountain air, too much tea, and the feeling that comes from visiting somewhere new and even better than expected.  

Turkish Airlines, Pegasus Airlines and Lufthansa Airlines fly from London to Trabzon via Istanbul. The Trabzon airport is 7km from the town centre.  

A few minutes outside the city, the Ramada Plaza by Wyndham offers luxury lodging with a pool; doubles from £91. In the centre of town, the Ferah Luxury Suite offers rooms from £240 per night. For a budget option, the Cebeci Grand Hotel offers basic rooms in a central location from £30.  

Renting a car is advised. Trabzon’s biggest assets are the national parks and surrounding sights. Most major international car rental companies have offices at Trabzon Airport.  

Visit goturkey.com/destinations/trabzon