Day 30 - Don Curry and the Beautiful Cities

Don Curry has been enjoying scenic beauties and admiring individual buildings in magnificent surroundings in the past few days. Only the city of Erzurum could be considered an exception. On this day, Don Curry's attention should be focused on cities, while the landscape in between was quite monotonous.

Like a string of pearls, the cities of Sivas, Tokat, and Amasya are lined up with a distance of about 100 km between each. They have not yet been discovered by international tourists and mostly attract local travelers. However, all three of them have a lot to offer.

In the early morning, Don Curry first noticed that the buffet in his extremely affordable hotel didn't have much to offer (which was totally fine considering the price of the accommodation). He chose some pieces of cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers, a hard-boiled egg, and some fresh bread. All of that was enough to start the day well-satisfied. Just 30 meters away from the hotel stood the Sitte-Melek-Türbe, the most beautiful of its kind in Divrigi; Don Curry took a look at it before continuing westwards.

Sivas is known as the city of madrasahs, or Quranic schools. Several fantastically decorated examples from the Seljuk period have been preserved. Don Curry planned to visit the three madrasahs in the main square first and then drive to the particularly beautiful Gök Madrasah on the outskirts of the old town. However, Don Curry thinks, and Google directs: on his way to the city center, he passed the Gök Madrasah directly, immediately parked, and admired the masterpiece in full sunlight. Unfortunately, it couldn't be visited on Monday, but Don Curry was completely enamored by its external beauty alone.

Near the main square, Don Curry had to "Turkish park" once again, but it seems that there are no traffic wardens in Turkey. As long as other cars can still pass somehow, the sidewalks are used for parking. Once stood the fortress of Sivas right next to the main square, but it was so thoroughly destroyed in the Mongol invasion that literally no stone was left on top of another. The central open space was then used in the 14th century for the construction of large madrasahs, two of which are still very well preserved, while only the front side of the third one remains. However, it is precisely this third madrasah that displays the most elaborate decoration on its front side; hardly an inch is left unadorned. After visiting these old school buildings, Don Curry went to the even older Great Mosque, which, however, abstained from any decoration inside and out.

Impressed, Don Curry left the city of madrasahs to head for yet another madrasah, this time in the city of Tokat. This time, Google Maps didn't guide him so well, but led him through winding streets right in the middle of the old town, until he could park his car in a parking lot. To his dismay, he found that the local Gök Madrasah is now only a ruin and being worked on as a fenced construction site. After taking a brief look inside the main mosque, Don Curry visited a kebab stand in the central square of the city, ordered a large chicken wrap with ayran, and paid €1.90 for the satisfying meal.

Next stop was the city of Amasya, the former capital of the ancient Kingdom of Pontus. Don Curry chose his hotel right by the river and reserved a room with a view of the river. This way, he could always admire the old Ottoman half-timbered houses on the opposite bank and high above them, on a mighty rock face, 5 tombs of ancient kings of Pontus. Don Curry climbed up numerous steps to reach them, but then he was told by the cashier that the visit to the tombs must end in 15 minutes. Don Curry hurried and visited at least two of the royal tombs, also enjoying the magnificent view of Amasya and the surrounding landscape. After an extensive walk on both sides of the river, Don Curry returned to his hotel, had lentil soup and a really good İskender kebab at the restaurant. Afterwards, he admired the magnificent illumination of the tombs, the fortresses on the summit of the rocks, and the Ottoman houses on the riverside - all bathed in a vivid blue light.

Don Curry was enchanted by this sight and was certain that he was spending the night in the most beautiful of the three cities...