Jim's Junket » ottoman empire

The Black sea is just ahead

admin — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:25:50 +0000

I’m on my way north east to the city of Samsun on the coast of the inland sea. I was destined to head east to Sivas and then on to Erzurum before heading for the Iraqi border, but it seemed to me that with the Black Sea so close, it would be wrong not to visit. This whole area has been fought over so many times by so many people. There are only a few possible routes I could take, which is likely to be even more restricted as I head east. The roads so far have been very good, and not as congested as I would find in the UK, or any other part of western Europe, which has been my main experience.

En route I pulled into Corum, a city in the Corum province in northern Turkey.

Manti is a similar to a ravioli.

Leblebi is a chickpeas snack.

When in Rome, do as the Romans do, they say, so I ventured into the centre to see what great Turkish food I could find. Çorum Mantısı is a dish that is very well known in this region. ‘Manti’ means dumpling, and is a similar dish to pasta, but Turkish. It is baked in a brick oven, or steamed in a broth. Leblebi is a snack made of chickpeas and baked in spices or salt. This is very common to this area, so make sure you get a taste if you are nearby.

After the defeat of the Ottoman empire during World War One, Turkey entered a period of civil war until 1923. Corum was very much a part of that with one of the highest number of casualties and over 1500 medals of independence being awarded.

Lunch in Edirne

admin — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 13:43:04 +0000

Despite leaving a little late this morning I made good progress across the border into Turkey and onto Edirne, the first main city on route. The temperature today is a balmy 8c, but the wind reduces this from time to time to about 4 or 5.

Edirne is an ancient city and originally named Hadrianopolis after the same Hadrian that had the wall built in Northern England. Edirne is the recorded site of 16 major historical battles and was once the capital of the Ottoman empire.

There is a noticeable difference in architecture, much the same as I have found when you drive from France into Italy. If you ever get the chance, drive the Mont Blanc tunnel and experience the change in both climate and environment.

Edirne shopping and bazaars.

The Justice Tower.

The road to Budapest

admin — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 08:45:41 +0000

Have to leave early this morning to get a move on. Today I travel from Prague to Budapest, which takes me through Vienna. I would like to stop off in Vienna for a couple of hours, but the weather was so bad I am not sure that is going to be possible. The snow is thick and it is very cold. -14 the last time I looked. The heater in the camper is great though. I got on the internet and ‘booked’ a hotel near the river called the Hotel Mediterran. It has parking, which is great, because that’s been hard to find in some cases.

The area I am driving through was central to the Ottoman Empire. One of the longest reigning empires in world history. Check it out. It’s all good stuff.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ottoman_Empire