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Day 05 Wednesday
July 28, 2004
Georgian Border , Artvin
Submitted by
Ruth
Haney
larry.haney@usps.gov
Meli took
a taxi to the hospital in Rize to complete some paperwork for Joanne and
Nelson. She sent us on to the BIZIM ELLER weaving shop. We were
invited to the workroom downstairs. There were 9 weavers who were working
on the most beautiful silk and linen weavings. We watched as these women
worked their looms and our questions were answered by a very helpful young
girl who spoke a little english. It was then upstairs for our “shopping
extravaganza”. The selections were beautiful and it was hard to choose.
Meli met us at the shop and joined in on the shopping fun. Back on the
bus, Meli read the news of the day to us. It was interesting to hear the
Turkish view of subjects such as the Democratic Convention. We stopped at
the Tea Factory, but since the manager was not available, we were unable
to visit.  So
we headed over to the open air market for a short visit before lunch.Lunch
was at the Husruv Restaurant where their specialty is “Beans”. Who knew
you could make a whole meal of beans! Our lunch consisted of beans with
lamb, rice, salad and pickles. (Also, an interesting fruit that was
neither cherries nor grapes. When we asked the waiter what it was called
he said “Food to Eat”.) We had our first taste of ayran (yogurt drink).
Our dessert was a delicious “shredded wheat” with honey. It was
fabulous…Jack finished everyone’s dessert!Onward to Artvin. We stopped at the Turkish-Georgian border for a photo-op. Meli gave a history lesson on the religious differences between Georgian and Armenian Orthodox, and the Turkish-Russian socio-political history. Beautiful vistas on the road to Artvin. |
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Unfortunately, the construction of the Dam will change this gorge
forever. What a wonderful day!
Ruth Haney |
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Stopped
at an old wooden suspension bridge where a few brave souls (including
Hussein) walked out onto the bridge for photos. Arrived in Artvin at
5:30. Artvin’s population is 99% high school educated but has the highest
rate of unemployment in Turkey. We were greeted by a family as we stopped
to take photos of a 15th century fort in Artvin. After a
buffet dinner at the Otel Karahan, Meli gave us the schedule for
tomorrow. The women decided to visit the Hamam in town (since we were
told it was women’s day) but after walking up the steep stairs, we
realized this was not the case. It was only a sauna not a real Turkish
bath. Many of us took a brief walk around the town. It was a beautiful
evening.
