14 September, Samsun
to Alaçam, 79km
Öğretmenevi 75TL
Today, en route Alaçam, we took a break in
the city of Bafra. Thirty years ago I spent one night in Bafra, then a small
town. In search of dinner, I found I was the only foreigner in town and the
only woman on the streets after dark. The first restaurant I came to proved to
be large, well-lit and extremely popular and I was somewhat daunted when nearly
100 pairs of male eyes swivelled my way. Backing out, I opted instead for a
tiny empty lokanta (restaurant) just across the road. I sat at the back at one
of only six tables and there, over my dinner, caught up my diary and wrote a
long letter to friends. When I looked up I discovered that the window of the
place across the road had been wiped dry of its condensation and many men were
clustered together where they could see into the lokanta, and that all the
other tables at ‘my’ lokanta were fully occupied by men obviously come to look
me over. As they had also all ordered a meal, I had a little chuckle to myself,
thinking that I could hire myself out as an improver of business. The lokanta proprietor
seemed to agree with me. When it came time to pay, he refused to take any money
from me, acknowledging with a grin our shared but non-verbal understanding of
what had happened on this memorable night! On the seafront west of Samsun’s
town centre we came across the statue of an Amazon, that warrior woman from
Greek mythology. Did you know the Amazons were thought to have lived on the
Black Sea coast? I did not.
Samsun - Amazon warrior
Samsun - Amazon warrior
Between Samsun and Alaçam
Between Samsun and Alaçam
Between Samsun and Alaçam