Sivas, Turkey

 

 Sivas lies in eastern of Anatolia and is the heartland Turkey - staunchly nationalistic, conservative and incredibly hospitable. This region was one of the first settled by Turks after the defeat of the Byzantines at the battle of Mazikert in 1071 and has a number of historic buildings predating the Ottomans.

At 1200 metres it is surprisingly cool after Iraq with a climate similar to Central Otago - warm days, but surprisingly cool nights.The area attracts very few foreign tourists, so the people are genuinely friendly and everyone wants to practice their English.

So what am I doing here in Sivas instead of much more famous destinations? I was invited here by a friend Mirzeki, who I met through my friends in Bursa and after several years of urging me to come, I finally made the trip.

Mirzeki is a teacher and I was met at the airport by two carloads of teachers from his school and then whisked off to the school where I was welcomed by the headmasters and all the other teachers. In addition to being entertained with traditional music (which included a song about Gallipoli), I of course had to drink tea. And the tea drinking has not stopped. One of the things I really love about Turkey are the tea gardens - they are a fantastic institution that underpins the Turks innate sociability.

Ney

After school we headed off to one of the ancient medrese, now turned into a tea garden, for yet more tea drinking and when the evening turned cool, the staff thoughtfully provided blanket wraps. 

From left to right: Ali, Bilal, Imre, Madjit, Murat, Mirzeki