4 September, Samsun
to Amasya by train
Aydin Hotel 40TL (shared bathroom)
Amasya, inhabited continuously since
5500BC, is a city you can easily fall in love with. It lies along the Yeşilirmak
River in a narrow valley between craggy mountains. On the north shore of the
river, Ottoman-era houses cling to the embankment. Above them, Pontic tombs dating
from the 4th century BC are carved into the cliffs. Above them, at the crest of
Mt Harşena, looms the citadel. In 1984 I met a man on a bus outside Trabzon who
invited me to visit his family in Amasya. I subsequently spent two days with
them, and exchanged letters with Mustafa’s 12 year old daughter for three years
thereafter. I had added Amasya to our Turkey itinerary in the romantic hope I
could track down the family and pay them a surprise visit. By the time we
arrived here today I had devised numerous alternatives to finding them, the
internet having failed me. As soon as we had located a hotel, therefore, Charl
and I headed for the belediye (municipality). We stepped into the first office
we came to and showed a woman there our typed enquiries, already translated by
Google Translate and stored on Charl’s Samsung. She turned to a man who entered
the office as she was reading, showed him our question, and they both told us
Mustafa had moved and that they would give me his phone number. I could not
believe how easy it was to locate the family; and was, of course, horribly
disappointed that they now live in northwestern Turkey. Plan B?
Amasya
Amasya
Amasya
Amasya
Amasya