Hello everyone, just wanted to add somethings about Trabzon and the people
The black sea region, especially the eastern parts are interestingly similar to the Scottish highlands.. Constant rain, greyish air, mountains and green all over, and unique people. I've been to both, and honestly I think the black sea region is much more beautiful than the highlands..
anyway Trabzon is a very different and interesting place both in positive and negative ways, it is not like many other Turkish cities. The people are usually the utmost friendly and utmost hospitable people. But they are also known for their temper. Trabzon is one of the conservative cities in Turkey, and you guys must keep in mind that right know where in the middle of the holy month of Ramadan. Personally, i'm not a big fan of these things and i do not follow any of the religious stuff but you must keep in mind that once you start heading east in Turkey, people will start to stare at you if you eat or drink something during daylight in this month. Also, people suddenly become more sensetive with the alcohol thing during Ramadan, which i also find completely illogical because alcohol is forbidden in Islam for all the time, not just in Ramadan or it's not a bigger sin to drink alcohol in Ramadan, but somehow people who are more conservative do not tend to consume any alcohol during Ramadan and do not exactly greet you with affection if you do so.. (Again let me say i'm not really a fan of all these.. people should do what they want, it's all a matter between you and what you believe in and it's not anybody else's business)
So here's the question, what will happen if you eat and drink beer in the middle of Trabzon ? Probably just nothing. Because as i said before, the black sea people are maybe the most hospitable people all around the world.. Everyone is going to know you are tourists, and people will fight each other to try to invite you to their houses and offer you some food or some tea. I don't believe eating will be an issue anyway, but please keep in mind that the alcohol issue might be a problem if it's done too public.. It's best to do it as private as possible, preferable in a restaurant where you see a EFES PILSEN sign or in the hotel.. I know Liverpool fans are maybe one of the most considerate and responsible fans in England, as I saw personally the night before the final in Istanbul. 60.000 fans in the heart of Istanbul, each holding at least a bottle of beer in their hand and not one single problem. That was seriously impossible, but it happened. I'm sure nobody is going to wipe their arses with a Turkish flag etc, if you guys can just stick to "not drinking too public" i believe everything's going to be allright..
It's just that we don't want to see anything similar to what happened in Istanbul with the Leeds fans 10 years ago. They drank too much, the Galatasaray fans over there tonight were not thinking straight and trajedy struck both sides in the end. Anyway I hope you guys will try to keep these in mind..
I hope you guys do not find these words insulting or intimidating in any kind, it's just that I personally want everyone coming to Turkey, to leave Turkey with the best of memories.
Anway enough of the serious stuff
for those of you who have a spare day or two, I definetly reccomend seeing the "Sumela manastry" and "Uzungol (means long lake)" these places are purely magical.. Also to the west of Trabzon, there's a small town called Akcaabat. Akcaabat is famous for its meatballs, which really are breathtakingly delicious. You can go to Akcaabat and just ask for "KOFTE" which you would pronounce as coff-teh
about football, Trabzon has really passionate fans. They are both nationalist and also they are a big fan of their cities. They can not be specified as a strong "ultras" group, for example they do not attend so much to the away games, and they are not very well organized compared to the Istanbul teams, but they are very strong crowd in home. And they are going to especially excited and strong since they got a "not so bad as expected" result back in Anfield. Be ready for a surprise on the 61th minute of the game, and try to figure out the meaning and the timing of this show ! (hint - check out the registration plates of the vehicles in Trabzon)
Keep in mind that up until last year, Trabzon was the only team to become champions outside of Istanbul, and they did it 6 times. They came really close once in 1996 and once 3-4 years ago. This is a really huge achievement, when you think that the three Istanbul teams are economically the strongest ones. Last year surprisingly another team outside of Istanbul, Bursaspor became the champions (really strong fans also, try to catch a Bursaspor home match on the Champions League). But Trabzon also won the cup, beating clear favorities fenerbahce 2-1, coming back from one goal down. Two weeks ago, they beat Bursa on the Turkish super cup 3-0, and last week they beat Ankaragücü 2-0. So they are on a good form.. let's see what they do tomorrow
Anymore questions and i'll be glad to answer..
