This morning the GF and I went to Agva for a delayed Easter break. This seemed one of the few plausible places to visit during a pandemic: in Istanbul though outside the city proper, no need to take public transport, with small bed and breakfasts instead of the gigantic hotels in many of the areas near the city, and with all activities outdoors. It was a couple of hours away, on the shore of the Black Sea, so it is quite cold, but also very green, with a strange mix of heath-y and semi-Mediterranean vegetation. It is also full of spring flowers everywhere – the trees are just starting to blossom, and every field and patch of grass is covered in wildflowers. All this greenery is such a pleasure, soothing to the eyes after being in a beautiful but stony city for so many months.
The town of Agva sits between two small rivers and our hotel is on one of them, a very green, quiet river overhung with willows. After depositing our bags we went for a stroll and to look for some lunch, first along the river (mostly barred off by houses and bed and breakfasts), and then onto the beach. Everywhere was quite, quite empty. Agva is a bit weekend getaway for Istanbul but there are not weekend getaways these days, so all the infrastructure – vast parking spaces for tour buses etc, the countless bed and breakfasts – were quiet. At the end of the beach was the other river, which runs along a white cliff which itself ends with three lighthouses in the Black Sea: one modern and rocket-like, one listing to one side and about to fall into the sea, and one somewhere in between in terms of decrepitude. We bought lunch, a ghastly pizza, and then turned a corner to find a cluster of little cafes which seemed to be serving perfectly decent Turkish food, and felt foolish for not looking further. Maybe tomorrow.
Anyway, off we went along the second river, which has a nice walk along until it ends abruptly to become one of the usual large roads without a pavement and with those metal barriers so unwelcoming to pedestrians. From here we walked towards a wooded hill, passing a house guarded by geese and what I guessed was a charcoal burner. At any rate, there were a lot of logs stacked on the side of the path.
There were a few very new and very empty looking houses, all seeming to me signs of encroaching and unethical development, but perhaps I am prejudiced. In any case we eventually left the road and walked through the forest, with some views over green fields.
On our return we had an excellent coffee, read for a bit, and then went over to the sister hotel for dinner. This was an unexpected delight as the hotel is on the other side of the river and to get across you take a small barge, something between a ferry and a cablecar. It made me think of King Arthur, but with a grilled fish at the end of it instead of three queens.
The book I am reading is Orhan Pamuk’s The museum of innocence. Aside from a slight loss of momentum about a third of the way in, it is very good indeed and I look forward to visiting the museum when it opens.