First night bus: OK! Buses from Metro Bus are new and modern, but not really comfortable! But it was fine…we slept all night anyways!
Arriving in Safranbolu at 6 AM on a Sunday was interesting…everything was completely silent and empty….I guess we should expect that considering that the city has around 30.000 habitants! Safranbolu is a city that has hosted many civilizations such as Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman. Nowadays, its old town is famous for the Ottoman houses and it’s also a Unesco Heritage Centre.
Safranbolu and its Otoman Houses
The guy from the guesthouse didn’t show up to pick us up…so we walked. As we followed the directions on Google maps we ended up in a small street with really old houses and among them, there was only one house that could be our hostel, even if the street number didn’t match with the one we had! So….we rang the bell once…rang it twice….nobody showed!
Our backpacks started to get heavy and we didn’t know what to do…there was anyone on the streets! At a hotel close by, we asked for information and, as most of the Turkish people, the guy was really nice and called our hostel. Everything worked out!
View from our Ottoman Hostel room!
We got to the old town and it was so nice and cozy! The main square is full of handcrafts shops, restaurants, tea houses, Turkish baths and nice people!
Ottoman House
During our stay there we got to experience that Turkish Bath for the first time….it’s really cool and you fell really fresh and clean afterwards! So mainly, you gt into the sauna for a while, then a woman comes to scrub and massage you! great! We also did a tour to visit Bulak Cave, a really small village, where you can by Safran soaps, and Incekaya Su Kemeri (an old aqueduct).
The darkness of Bulak Cave!
Old aqueduct…Yeap, we walked throuth it!
The other day we went to Amasra, which is a village with less than 10.000 habitants that takes place by the Black Sea. Over there we could enjoy the heat by the beach! The place was full of turkish tourists, women swimming with their burques and a cold beer was something rare! Over there, when people asked where we’re from..they got really surprised when we said Brazil! They said they’ve never saw any brazilian people before! Cool!!
Amasra!
Relaxing day at beautiful Amasra!
In Safranbolu, we really liked a restaurant called Hanim Sultan, it’s run by a local couple and serve delicious local food. The owner was so nice and sat down to drink tea with us, and we tried to talk…even if he didn’t speak english…it was mainly signs and mimics! Fun! The other night, he asked to take a picture with us so we could hang on the wall together with his other great customers and said he would go to Brasil and meet us! Great! I guess that’s the kind of experience you get by visiting and staying longer in small towns!
Our new friend from Safranbolu!
So…our journey through Turkey is still begining…tonight is a bus night heading to Cappadocia!!!
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