From the nomadic steppes of Kazakhstan to the frenetic streets of Hanoi, Asia is a continent so full of intrigue, adventure, solace, and spirituality that it has fixated and confounded travelers for centuries.
We drove from Trabzon to the Georgian border, roads in Turkey are perfect, but these two days were challenging for us and our truck. On the first day, we left Uzungöl lake in the afternoon and drove in the rain on good roads through Kaçkar Mountains with steep rocky peaks (the highest...
A one-hour drive from Trabzon to the south, in Kaçkars Mountains, you will find a lakeside mosque and forested mountains that recall Switzerland. The “hidden valley” of Uzungöl is not idyllic anymore. The tourist boom of recent years and the growing number of visitors from the Gulf States...
We drove to the parking of the Greek Orthodox monastery dedicated to the Theotokos located near Trabzon in the Karadağ Mountains, part of the Pontic Mountains. From there is mandatory to take the minibus to the monastery (🚌 18 TRY/return, 🎫125 TRY). Sümela Monastery, founded by Greeks in...
Trabzon lies on a wide bay of the Black Sea, backed by high ranges of the Pontic Mountains. Trapezus, one of the most easterly of ancient Greek settlements, was probably founded in 756 BC by traders from Miletus. It has been handballed down the years between Cimmerians, Medes, Hellenes...