The ancient city of Trabzon

I have been thinking about writing this for a long time.

I only just found the opportunity.

Recently, I went to the city where I was born, raised, and which I left after finishing university.

When my cousin insisted that I attend his son's wedding, I decided to both see my relatives and travel around.

For academic purposes, I have traveled to dozens of countries and hundreds of cities.

The Americas and Europe, the Arab world, and the Far East.

They were all very beautiful.

From their sidewalks to their churches, from their parks to their temples, from their restaurants to their narrow streets, they are all cities planned with care.

However, if you ask me if any of these cities, whose names I even struggle to remember, have stayed in my mind, they are Edinburgh, Salzburg, and Guimarães.

The texture of Guimarães, in particular, is still in my mind.

It is a true medieval town north of Porto.

It was registered as a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 2001.

It is a fascinating historical attraction.

Its story dates back to the 1100s.

A city of kings, priests, and conquests.

As someone who has traveled across Turkey from end to end, it would not be an exaggeration to say that Trabzon is the only city that resembles this one.

Of course, let us not overlook Sinop, which still reflects the character of the Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Late Ottoman, and Early Republican periods, but Trabzon is a city where you can feel the historical breath from Atapark all the way to Değirmendere.

There are not many cities whose center, namely Ortahisar, smells so much of history.

Let us also send a greeting from here to my neighbor from the neighborhood, Mayor Ahmet Kaya.

As you enter the city walls from the Zağnos bridge, you can see Yavuz, or while walking in Sotka, you can see Suleiman the Magnificent.

Let us not skip the women's market in Pazarkapı either.

Do not fall into the trap of the Trabzon women selling their own products in the bazaar, where I just stopped by to remember the old days.

Knowing that expatriate Trabzonites have their guard down against the local people, that they feel longing, and that they have soft hearts, they deploy their most effective sales techniques and their highest quality products as soon as they see you.

Then, like me, you find yourself carrying 15 kilos of their legendary butter on your back.

They also thrust corn flour, beans, and oven-dried corn into your hands.

They add Isabel, or fragrant grapes, as a gift.

Since our cash will naturally not be enough, they easily confirm the IBAN transfer from your smartphone.