Turnıng 'Old' ın Trabzon

After havıng bumped ınto Tım 'accıdentally' ın front of a tea shop ın one of the nameless coastal towns I passed on my own, we joıned forces agaın and headed towards Trabzon, the largest cıty we would vısıt along the Black Sea and the place where we would meet up wıth some frıends from Istanbul and celebrate my bırthday - the bıg 3-0. The days of solıtude dıd us well and we soon found ourselves on the beaches of Trabzon sharıng cold Efes Pılsens and swappıng the experıences we had gathered the last few days. Sınce Bariş and two of hıs and Tım's frıends from Istanbul, Dizem and Aycan, would be vısıtıng ın the evenıng we fırst went to search for some accomodatıon whıch we found relatıvely easıly - Trabzon was full of cheap 'hotels' whıch we later dıscovered were ın fact brothels...

'Knock, knock,' I got up from my small bed in our cramped little room in Trabzon and opened the door. A petite blonde prostitute with a painted up face looks me dead in the eyes and asks in broken Turkish ''Do you need any women?'' She was from Chechnia and the crew see worked for was quite international. She looked exhausted and not at all attractive. Neither Tim nor I were interested in any female company but we were visited frequently. Toma, a middle-aged Azeri-Iranian 'lady', was next to knock on our door and ask if we needed anything. She was different than the other hotel workers though. She seemed less focused on her work and engaged in a friendly conversation with us about our trip, and her homelands Iran and Azerbaizan. She even showed us pictures of her son and daughter back home. After she left we finished our beers and were preparing to go to sleep, tomorrow was my birthday and we planned on celebrating with Baris in the evening. 'Knock, knock.' 'Not again,' I thought to myself as I got up and opened the door. Two Georgian prostitutes enter and one sits across from me. 'Are you Christian?' is the first thing she asks me. I say I am and she hits her chest proudly 'So am I!' Not the smartest way of picking up a customer, discussing religion...Tim comes back from the bathroom and the blonde Christian gets to business right away, 'So do you want to fuck? 50 lira one sex.' The other Georgian prostitute is leaning against the wall next to the door. She remains silent the whole time and is really creepy. She looks like she is mentally challenged and as all of the prostitutes at the hotel she is dirty. After politely declining their services the ladies leave, giving us a nasty look. We were getting close to Georgia and the amount of prostitution we would encounter was astonishing....

Tim and I stood under an awning in our bright raincoats waiting for Baris, Dizem and Aycan. It was raining hard as it does often on the Black Sea. A grey Ford Focus pulls up and Baris hops out and hugs us right away. It was good seeing him, he was a crucial figure in our trip, perhaps the most crucial, and a true friend. Seeing him in Trabzon was similar to our meeting in Ankara, I had realized how far I had gone and how much had happened. Baris was eager to hear about our adventures as we were to hear how he had spent his time in Istanbul. Dizem and Aycan turned out to be great people as well and the time we spent in Trabzon, although short, was great.

'Boom, boom, boom, I've got that boom boom boom,' that God-awful Black Eye Peas song was blairing across the club's sound system. ''There's a rock party tonight,'' the young hostess at the door informs us. She is cute so we enter, although the music was far from being rock. I was about to turn thirty and we were glad to have found a club in Trabzon and a place where we could have a few cold ones. Baris, Tim and I found a more quiet spot on the terrace and talked well past midnight and into the third decade of my life, talking about age, time, and our futures. I have to admit that this birthday was different than the others before, for the first time in my life I felt old, or at least that I was getting old. Time was not something I could throw around anymore and the thought of settling down crossed my mind again.

The next day we visited the Sumela monastery, an ancient complex built in the side of a steep mountain in the outskirts of Trabzon. Snow had begun to fall and the high pine trees surrounding the monastery turned white as we ascended the stairs towards the stone structures intricately constructed by the ancient Greek inhabitants of the area. It was a beautiful sight and an excellent way of spending a birthday. I will always remember this day and the great company I enjoyed - Dizem, Aycan and Baris, thank you for everything!