Rize

August 28, 2023

A much more enjoyable ride than yesterday, for a number of reasons. By using what remains of the old road wherever we could we managed to stay off the D010 for about two thirds of the way - a major plus. For the first time since leaving Side we didn't have a headwind. In fact by the time we had reached Rize a gentle westerly had started to blow. And we were once again beneficiaries of some Turkish kindness.

Hazel nut trees on one of the back roads we found today.

I knew that Turks drink a lot of tea but I wasn't aware that Turkey was a tea producing country. The tea industry is centered around Rize.

Getting close to some tea bushes. While there are some large terraces of tea bushes we saw lots of small patches growing, often squeezed between melons and maize.

We even found a few kilometers of cycle path through a little village.

We had at least two tunnels today but only past through one of them. It was only 573 meters long and had a barrier between the road and the raised walkway so it was far less stressful than yesterday.

The second tunnel was about fourteen kilometers from Rize but we found the old road which took us up a small climb over a headland allowing us to skip the tunnel. At the top was a very nice picnic area so we stopped to eat some nuts and have a drink. At the table next to us was a Turkish couple with their two young daughters busy enjoying lunch. They must have taken pity on us when they saw we were only eating nuts because they brought us a meal that was almost too big for us to finish - three different types of cheeses, olives, two different types of bagels and an enormous bunch of grapes.

And passed this large house called the Yakupoğlu Memiş Ağa Mansion. It was built by Hacı Yakupoğlu Memiş Ağa in 1856 .

We have checked into a smart hotel called the Grand 464 Otel right in the middle of the chaotic city center of Rize. It is no more expensive than a few of the other hotels we have stayed at but is a helluva lot better.

Late this afternoon we strolled around, vaguely planning to climb up to the Rize Castle, the citadel of which was built in the 6th century. One glance at the climb convinced us that a distant view was best.

After bailing out of visiting the castle we strolled across to the Tea Conference Center, housed in a giant Turkish tea glass.

Finally we ended up at a restaurant on the eighth floor of a department store for a nice supper of Şiş kebap and köfte. The star of the meal was the bread baked in a wood fired oven.

Looking down on the street between our supper venue and our hotel.

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 778 km (483 miles)

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