A Day in Sinop

I went to Sinop to visit friends and they showed us around. Sinop is a port city on the Black Sea in Northern Turkey. It is the Northern most point in Turkey. Walking by the sea in Sinop and looking at the view of town made me feel like I was on an island. Sinop is actually a peninsula. Even though Sinop is a small town, it is a unique area with a lot to offer.

For dinner, we went to eat mantı. Mantı is like Turkish dumplings. The dumpling Is wrapped around ground beef. On top of the dumplings is usually garlic and yogurt. As you can see in the pictures, the mantı is being rolled out and cut into small squares and filled with ground beef.

My friends took us to their favorite mantı restaurant in town called Teyzenin Yeri Mantı Salonu. Sinop is famous for their ceviz (walnut) mantı.  It sounds kind of strange at first, but it is actually really good. At the restaurant, I decided to order half regular mantı and half mantı with walnuts. It was delicious. The service was great. This restaurant is also across from the sea. I am already looking forward to going back to this restaurant and get their mantı again.

Before I left Sinop, I had to explore the castle. It is believed that immigrants from Miletus settled in Sinop in the 8th century BC and created this fortress. The city was once ruled and invaded many times by different groups. The city walls have been repaired multiple times but most of it is still standing. The castle wall surrounds the town of Sinop and since Sinop is small you can see the castle from most places in the city. I am fascinated by the history and old buildings and castles along the Black Sea, so I was excited to explore this castle. I was amazed at how much of the castle you could explore. There were many very small and narrow stairs. The view from the castle is great. There is even a café at the top. I was thankful for the opportunity to see and visit this piece of history in Sinop. Before I left to go back to Ordu, I got a treat from a local bakery.

Sinop may be small and a little out of the way, but a trip to Sinop is worth it to see the kind people, unique culture, food, and history. I cannot wait to go back  to explore more, especially the beach in the summer.

Stay tuned for more Black Sea Adventures