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PART 7: Travel Ordu to Unye, Turkey

From Şebinkarahisar you may retrace your steps back to Giresun or make the panoramic inland loop via Koyulhisar and Mesudiye back down to Ordu. Ordu, the ancient Cotyora, is a fairly drab city where the only sight of interest is the elegant Pa¬şaoglu Residence, a fine example of 19th century Ottoman architecture. Now restored as a museum, the mansion was originally built for a leader of the Muslim Georgian immigrant community who arrived in large numbers as refugees from the Caucasus during the 1870s.The old Greek church dating from 1856 is located at the western outskirts of the town. It was used for a while as a prison and now stands aban-doned.
The big spur of mountainous land between the pleasant fishing town of Perşembe and the cozier village of Bolaman is easily the most scenic part of the whole coastal drive. The narrow seaside plain disappears here completely and the road rises and dives in hairpin turns skirting pretty bays surrounded by a riot of hazelnut bushes.

At the tip, Cape Yasun harkens back to ancient times when a temple of Jason stood at the edge of the sea, protecting the sailors of these treacherous waters. A church later replaced the temple with a similar mission. It now sits in total solitude in an overgrown cornfield next to a lighthouse overloking the roaring waves of the Black Sea.
The picturesque village of Bolaman derives its name from Polemon, the aristocrat from Laodicaea (modern Denizli) who was appointed King of Pontus and central Anatolia by Emperor Augustus. It is notable mainly for the imposing Haznedaroglu Castle which dominates its harbor. The castle appears to sit on an original fortress of medieval vintage, to which a wooden superstructure was added in the 18th century to serve as living quarters for the redoubtable lords of the Haznedaroglu dynasty. These gentlemen effectively ruled the district during the decrepitude of the Ottoman Empire in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. sometimes under the barely
convincing title of "governor of Trabzon". Their descendants are still influential in local politics. In the 1960s the ancestral castle was split between two heirs, one of whom simply tore down his half and replaced it with an apartment building. The other half continues to decay in the hands of a family of caretakers who inhabit the top floor of the creaking ghost house.
Most residents of Bolaman adhere to the Alevi sect of Islam. The same is true of Fatsa, which came to international attention in the late 70s by electing a Marxist mayor. After a year of political turmoil, the army moved in, creating one of the milestones leading to the coup of 1980. The town has not fully recovered from the psychological scars of the ensuing years. Ünye, by contrast, is palpably richer, more pragmatic, "bourgeois". Its jolly ambience is due in part to being a favorite weekend resort for the moneyed classes of Samsun thanks to the superb crescent-shaped beach which skirts the heart of the town. A large number of shoddy but pleasant hotels line the coast to the west. They are noted for their "discreet" service. Hotel Çamlık, at the edge of a cliff with its own small beach, is most people's choice.
The Fortress of Çaleoglu, five kilometers inland, offers a broad panorama of the town and the hazelnut covered mountains. An unusual rock tomb located near its entrance is surprisingly similar in style to the Lycian tombs of southern Turkey. It dates from the Pontic kingdom in the 2nd century BC, and announces the traveler's arrival to the borders of a different historical region.