PART 2: The Main Square of Trabzon

Any exploration of Trabzon is likely to begin and end at Belediye Meydanı ("Municipal Square"). This is where the pulse of the city beats and where almost all hotels and eateries are located. There is a lively park and tea garden bedecked with colorful umbrellas, rococo lampposts and other paraphernalia of municipal kitsch: it is the place to have a first sample of the city's populace. There are the clusters of women identifiable by their costumes: the bright red keşans and peştemals from the countryside of Trabzon; orange-and¬indigo skirts of Rize; black silk "chadors" of Torul and Gümüşhane, brown coveralls from Bayburt; the grey scarves of "born again" Muslim teenagers. One sees far more women here than in most provincial towns in Turkey. Then there are the men: a
profusion of bearded men with surprisingly bright faces, chuckling at the sins of this world; grizzly villagers on market visit, looking suspicious and profound; harried bureaucrats catching up on gossip at lunchbreak; provincial dandies ogling tourist girls, white shoes glimmering and cigarettes dangling from the lips.

This is the center of city's communications: buses and dolmus (shared taxis) leave toward all destinations from here. The Information Bureau tries to cope with a bevy of confused tourists: at the row of public phones (the only in Trabzon), one can overhear declarations of secret amours mix with harsh negotiations on hazelnut credit.
At night, the melancholy of "arabesk" music from the nightclubs fill the air. The bank manager who cashed your travelers' checks during the day can be seen leaving the beer hall with unsteady gait. At the restaurant next door, the policeman whom you had asked for directions greets you with a slap on the back and insists that you join his friends to knock back that bottle of "lion's milk". Each restaurant has its own regional jealousies, if not regional specialties: The Karadeniz is run by folks from the Maçka district, and by your third visit you will have acquired a substantial list of pals to visit in the Maçka highlands. Güven Pastanesi, across from the quaint Erzurum Hotel off the northeast end of the Square, is the place to go for a hearty breakfast and (Çamlıhemsin connections. Ebullient Gündüz Akay, the boss, whips up the best pastry in town and is related to everyone in Hemşin.

 

PART 1: Imagined Empire
PART 2: The Main Square
PART 3: A Long Walk
PART 4: Atatürk House
PART 5: Bazaar District
PART 6: Hagia Sophia
PART 7: Boztepe
PART 8: Rising Above
PART 9: Lady of the Mountains
PART 10: Obscure Monasteries
PART 11: The Way to the Pass
PART 12: Gümüşhane