Although Sinop seems to be such a far flung and isolated place to reach from Western Anatolia, the town is actually quite well served by buses heading east along the Black Sea Coast towards Samsun, Ordu, Giresun and Trabzon.
After spending two leisurely days in Sinop, I jumped on the bus again and head towards Giresun, the Black Sea port city famous for its hazelnuts. As there are no daily direct bus between Sinop and Giresun, I first travelled by a mid-size bus to Samsun, before continuing my journey along the Black Sea coast to Giresun.
Between Sinop and Samsun, there were again several road works sites, but at least this time the bus's air-conditioning system was working properly, and the whole carriage was not filled with dust and fumes from outside. It was easy to realise when exactly the bus had entered the city limit of Samsun, as all of a sudden, roads and schools and public buildings begin to appear which bear the name '19 Mayis' (19th of May), a date which is central to the national consciousness of the modern Turkish republic. The date commemorates the landing of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at Samsun on 19th May, 1919 and marked the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence (May 19, 1919 - October 29, 1923).
As soon as the bus arrived at Samsun's main bus station outside the city centre, the bus to Giresun was waiting and I bought a ticket on board the bus. En route to Giresun the bus passed by Ordu and Unye, a beautiful seaside resort town with one of the most attractive stretches of sandy beach in the whole of Turkey. The atmosphere of Unye reminds me a bit of San Sebastian in Spain. It was a pity I did not anticipate Unye to be such an appealing place, otherwise I would certainly have stayed at least a night there and enjoy the beautiful views of the Black Sea from one of Unye's numerous seaside tea gardens.
Between Ordu and Giresun is Turkey's famous hazelnut plantation region, which produce some 625,000 tons of hazelnuts annually, accounting for 75% of the world's hazelnut production. The bus journey from Samsun to Giresun took about four hours. By the time I arrived at Giresun's town centre, it was already getting dark. Fortunately the bus stopped right in the middle of Giresun's town centre, near the harbour and the hotel I intended to stay at.
Founded by colonists from Sinop in 2nd century B.C., there aren't really much to see in Giresun. in spite of the long history. The town has one main shopping street leading all the way up a steep hill, in addition to the main road along the coast which links Giresun to Ordu and Samsun in the west and Trazbon in the east. From my hotel room, one can see the Giresun Castle and part of the campus of recently founded Giresun University.
The climate in Giresun is typical of that of the Black Sea: it rained a lot and the sky was grey most of the time. Nowadays, Giresun is one of Turkey's most important hazelnut production centre, and the town also has a thriving harbour.
As soon as the bus arrived at Samsun's main bus station outside the city centre, the bus to Giresun was waiting and I bought a ticket on board the bus. En route to Giresun the bus passed by Ordu and Unye, a beautiful seaside resort town with one of the most attractive stretches of sandy beach in the whole of Turkey. The atmosphere of Unye reminds me a bit of San Sebastian in Spain. It was a pity I did not anticipate Unye to be such an appealing place, otherwise I would certainly have stayed at least a night there and enjoy the beautiful views of the Black Sea from one of Unye's numerous seaside tea gardens.
Between Ordu and Giresun is Turkey's famous hazelnut plantation region, which produce some 625,000 tons of hazelnuts annually, accounting for 75% of the world's hazelnut production. The bus journey from Samsun to Giresun took about four hours. By the time I arrived at Giresun's town centre, it was already getting dark. Fortunately the bus stopped right in the middle of Giresun's town centre, near the harbour and the hotel I intended to stay at.
Founded by colonists from Sinop in 2nd century B.C., there aren't really much to see in Giresun. in spite of the long history. The town has one main shopping street leading all the way up a steep hill, in addition to the main road along the coast which links Giresun to Ordu and Samsun in the west and Trazbon in the east. From my hotel room, one can see the Giresun Castle and part of the campus of recently founded Giresun University.
The climate in Giresun is typical of that of the Black Sea: it rained a lot and the sky was grey most of the time. Nowadays, Giresun is one of Turkey's most important hazelnut production centre, and the town also has a thriving harbour.
Thanks to the recently established university (formerly a teachers' training college), Giresun has one of the youngest population among the cities along Turkey's Black Sea coast. Prices are also comparatively cheap in Giresun, compared to other parts of Turkey. Young people and university students grace the centre, and every corner one finds good eateries offering delicious local cuisines at very reasonable prices. Although there are very few sights in Giresun itself, it is nevertheless a good place to stay overnight if en route from the western Black Sea to Trabzon or Rize.
Copyrights@2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
Copyrights@2010. All Rights Reserved. All text and photos by YC Cheng.
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