On Gokhan’s recommendation we were considering changing our plans and heading south to the warmer Mediterranean coast – and a more westernised part of the Turkey. However, it was still warm and sunny on the Black Sea coast and we finally decided to stick to our original plan and continue our journey east to Georgia, 800 miles along the Black Sea coast.
The roads were good and driving was easy. After three days’ travel we found ourselves in Samsun, a major port city on the Black Sea. We stopped for a couple of nights at a small camping park in the harbour. We walked to a restaurant at the port and feasted on fried red mullet followed by a butterflied sea bass cooked on charcoal and served with bread and salad. No alcohol, cost £25.
We took the Samsun Tram to the town centre, a journey of 15 minutes. We both needed a haircut but, being a Muslim country, there were very few ladies’ hairdressers, so we decided to visit one of many barber shops. The barber clippered Tony’s hair followed by a vigorous shampoo. Then he had a face, neck and shoulder massage. When it came to my turn the barber skilfully cut my hair with scissors and soon reduced my mop to a neat pineapple, followed by a hair wash and blow dry. I wasn’t offered a massage. Our hair cuts probably took 20 minutes each and cost a total of £18. We were both pleased with the results.
Alcohol was not normally available in restaurants outside tourist areas so we headed for the up-market Sheraton Hotel where we had two beautiful steaks and salad, accompanied by a glass of beer (£6) and a delicious glass of local red wine (£9). The total bill was £116, but worth it.
Everyone we met was very friendly and willing to help. Samsun was a university city and most of the women wore western style clothes. Some of the older women wore long skirts and a head scarf but we didn’t see women with their faces covered.
The tram was very crowded on our return journey, it was standing room only. After a few minutes I was shown to a vacant nearby seat (maybe they smelt the wine on my breath).
