The Black Sea Region - Turkey with Your Family: From Bustling Bazaars to Historic Sites - page 186

also has mosques, Turkish baths,
the Cinci Han , (see p. 195), a
former commercial centre that is
now a hotel, and ancient shop-
ping mall-like walkways, once
used by cobblers and shoemakers,
to explore. Its bazaar, the Arasta
(see p. 194), is well worth visit-
ing to secure a bargain.

trace its history back to around
the year 4500 BC, and a few
remains can be seen at its castle
and on display at its small
museum in Okullar Caddesi
( b [phone] ). It has sev-
eral mosques to see as well as
beaches for your children to
enjoy, plus a couple of natural
parkland areas, Kustepe Forest
and Türkeli Pine Groves Forest.
While both have few amenities,
they do offer the chance to walk
in the countryside or cycle along
nature trails.

Sinop

Sinop, a pretty little natural har-
bour characterised by its rows of
fishing and leisure boats, is
famous for being the home of the
mythological Amazon women
warriors. Their leader, it is said,
was called Sinope. Stories abound
in the area of how they were
mighty warriors and it should
certainly capture your children's
imagination. The town is also
said to be the birthplace of the
philosopher Diyojen. Sinop can

Trabzon

If you make a base in the Black
Sea region it will probably be in
the large, cosmopolitan yet
hugely historic city of Trabzon.
It is arguably the most impor-
tant and historic city in the
Black Sea region, along with

Safranbolu

186