Black Sea experience

Hi....just doing research for an upcoming two month trip to Turkey. Towards the end of the trip I would like to spend some time by the Black Sea. I am not looking for sunny beach time in November but would like to visit a town or two along the Black Sea coast that are interesting to walk around and observe life.....religious or historic sites would make it even better. I would probably head there after visiting Ankara although it could be after Goreme and then eventually need to head back to Istanbul. I am mulling over the idea of going along the whole coast to spend a few days in Georgia as well. This is my first time to Turkey so have no idea what is in this area that I should be visiting so would appreciate any suggestions or thoughts on this area. Thanks in advance.
I live on a tropical island by a beach with coconut trees.....the Black Sea sounds very exotic to me. :o)

"....I live on a tropical island by a beach with coconut trees.....the Black Sea sounds very exotic to me. :o) ..."

Well I live on the Black Sea coast and coconut trees sound very exotic to me haa haa!
By November the weather will be starting to get a bit murky so it's good you aren't looking for beach time here but we can still get some dry,mild nice days even then.
Possible places you might like to visit include UNESCO-listed Safranbolu.If this takes you too far off your main route then head to Kastamönü or Amasya.Both have the wonderful wooden Ottoman houses of Safranbolu but without the crowds.Amasya in particular is in a lovely natural setting and has some great history attached to it.A defo place to hit.
Also consider Boğazkale in Çorum Province;this is the location of Hattuşa,the ancient Hittite capital and is an extensive and interesting site to visit.
Sadly you'll be too late to enjoy the famous Karadeniz yayla festivals,the high plateau festivals but further along the coast Trabzon and Rize are both important points to see.In Trabzon is Sumela Monastery and Aya Sofya Church.In Rize is the beautiful and much photographed Üzüngöl lake.In addition there is the Rize Tea Institute(this is Turkey's tea heartland!)where they offer visitors and interesting and entertaining tour.
Hopefully the weather will still be decent enough for you to maybe take the local bus up to Ayder Yaylası or to Çamlihemşin too so you can breath in that oxygen rich clean mountain air.
The latter forms the start of the northern side of the Kaçkar National Park but by that time the upper reaches may have snow and be inaccessible to all but experienced mountaineers.

If you decide to go into Georgia then there are regular buses several times daily from Trabzon,Rize and Hopa.
You would then have a huge haul back to Istanbul so perhaps consider either flying back from Georgia or crosssing back into Turkey and fly from Trabzon.
If you haven't seen it,this web site is wonderful for info on all things Karadeniz,not just the towns but about the history,culture,food and people of the region!
http://www.karalahana.com/english.html

If you've done some research regarding Sarikinarya's excellent suggestions you'll notice that very little of what she mentioned in the Karadeniz (Black Sea region) is not on the coast.

The region has fantastic scenery, great history and some stunning architecture but little of these are found in the coastal towns and cities. The cities and towns along the coast are generally industrialized, modern, working places. The sea itself is often rough, foreboding and shrouded in mist.

If it's possible to juggle your itinerary, consider visiting this region at the beginning of your visit instead of the end. I've visited the region a number of times in September/October and even by then long lasting (days) of rainy/dreary weather become fairly common. By November it gets worse as the storms sweep in across the Black Sea from Russia.

I spent nearly two weeks moving along the Black Sea coast from Georgia to Samsun back in August. I really enjoyed it and found the region much different from other places in Turkey. The smaller towns/cities - Hopa, Rize, Giresun, Unye, Ordu - are all very pleasant, but somewhat similar (Trabzon is different though, very interesting and has a lot of historical interest).

But like Swampeastmike says, the real value of the region is somewhat inland where the little villages and hamlets are still rural and traditional. The terrain starts going up into the hills almost immediately from the coast (south) and I did a lot of really interesting walking away from the cities into the hills, it was really cool.

Like Sarikanarya says, if you do visit that region then you're a long way from Istanbul, but a flight home will easily fix that. Alternatively you could fly to Trabzon first and work your way back overland at whatever speed you can afford.

It's definitely an area worth exploring. No palm trees and exotic tropical jungle though!

• Andrew

thank you for thoughts and ideas shared.......it has given me some ideas of where I should go and what to expect there. We will see how things go when I get there......I think it will depend on how much time I have left of my trip when I get to that area but I definitely will spend at least a few days along the coast. I much prefer daylight trips by land rather than flights or night buses even if it means all day on the bus in a boring landscape......then I know what is there when I look at a map of a country.

Not on the Black Sea, but close enough to that area, is Divrigi, which has a wonderful mosque and hospital complex, dating from the 13th century. It's a UNESCO heritage site and is truly wonderful. The people are interesting too.
, though not much English - you get by with smiles and gestures, and the odd person, like the caretaker of the site who is only too happy to entertain you with chai.
The town is small-ish, but there's accommodation and restaurants for the traveller - not too expensive I think. I went there about four years ago and stayed in the government hotel on the outskirts (price was double what wikitravel then said) but saw better-looking places in town.

Thank you motherC . Not a town on my radar at all but after a google I will now keep it on my list of possibles.

This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you.