Having found a small, quiet harbour in a very sleepy village as our over night stop last night, we were surprised to be awoken this morning by gunfire?? It is Saturday, perhaps there is a shooting club or hunting party? But the quick succession of shots sounds more automatic?? Have we awoken to a revolution? We quickly dismiss this idea on the basis that no one has texted us to see if we are ok, so assume it must be fireworks. Strange time of day to let them off?? The village must be celebrating something. On the drive out we notice that the villagers have dressed smartly, then we see a cow being butchered. Ah, it must be some sort of party.
Once back into town, we witness a bovine massacre! Everywhere we look some poor beast is having its throat cut. We have never seen so many fresh carcasses. Is this national cow killing day? At one site we see what can only be described as, like a giant car boot sale except that instead of secondhand tat, every single pitch is slaughtering a cow!
Such sights continue throughout the whole day! We must have seen hundreds and hundreds. However many cattle reach their demise today if we times what we have seen across the whole country?
I scour the guide book for some sort of clue. Nothing in the pages about month by month festivals, nothing in the pages about food, nothing in the pages about about customs. Finally tucked away in the religious section, is a small paragraph briefly mentioning the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice. So we weren't far wrong after all!
Due to all the killing, the roads are clear so we make excellent progress and by 2.30 pm are in Trabzon. Since leaving Camping Ant we have not found a single campsite open but now we are on the tourist route to the Sumela Monastery we find one still occupied. It has it's own fish farm. Richard says he is desperate for a shower so we pay their grossly inflated price and stay the night. For what they have here, I wouldn't have offered a quarter of what they are charging. The internet is intermittent, the professed hot water is barely Luke warm, the shower discharges directly into the squatter and the sit upon is missing its seat! This is all too Pakistan for me!!
The only positive of this place, was that a woman came and gave Richard a plate of cooked beef from their earlier sacrifice, shame the bread with it was mouldy but the thought was there.
Sun 5th Oct
We leave early, before anyone is about and reach the Sumela Monastery by 8.30am. This ancient place is built high up into the mountainside. It is incredible to think how it was built. The monastery is famous for its fresco paintings and rightly so, they are very impressive, shame about earlier graffiti but they are protected now. Having been immersed in Islam for so long, with the calls for prayer ringing in our ears five times a day, there is something rather comforting in being momentarily surrounded by Christian icons.
Despite being out of season, visitors and coach parties soon start piling in. We were glad of our early arrival. Having looked at the guide book, we decide our next destination should be a fortresses town with nearby underground cities dating back to Byzantium.
En route we spot some castle ruins, high up on a hilltop. Time for another leg stretch!
We arrive in Bayburt later than expected, due to a diversion. With fading light we camp at the back of a park.
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