Sinop Fortress

Yes, you can believe your eyes: that house is really built inside the fortress walls. Later when I got inside of the walls through that small door people are coming out in the picture, I saw that the entire house is built on the old walls, and the builder wanted to have a better view of the sea so decided to cut the outer walls also to paste the front of the house in it.

Here comes the confusing part of the story: The more Western part of me, the part that is more aligned with the values of the intellectual, "civilized" and modern world, is absolutely horrified to see this sight.  How on Earth is it possible that someone dares to damage such a precious piece of history? I am talking about the shock here, but not about the part of me that judges it. Judging comes later, but for me the more interesting part is the initial shock of not being able to believe what I see. 

Not understanding how this can exist. This reminds me of a small story from my past: way back when I was living in Istanbul (and had not seen much of the Western world outside of Turkey), I had a small operation in a government hospital. An American friend came to visit and she was absolutely horrified to see some cigarette disposals on the floor. She was a highly successful scientist, but she could not understand how those cigarette disposals can be on a hospital floor. Back then, for me and for my other Turkish friends there was nothing abnormal about it: this is how things were in Turkey and we didn't even see it, let alone reacting against or wanting to change it. Growing up in Turkey taught us hopelessness for a vision of change. And now, here I find myself in the same situation where I can't understand how a Turk can cut a part of a wall that is at least 2,000 years old? Obviously, during the past 8 years I've lived in US, I have grown a foreign consciousness/brain that does not recognize the patterns of Turkey.

Another part of me, the Turk, has no problem with the fact that someone decided to damage a fortress that was first built by Hittites in 18-16th century BC. This Turkish side of me would never put herself in the same group with the people who has done this, regardless of having ever lived in US. Even before I left Turkey, I was one of the growing number of people who were the "inner exiles" of Turkey: the ones who didn't belong to, can't communicate to, don't think, feel or look alike the masses in Turkey. Still though, even if I don't feel there's much common in between me and the guy who built that house, I can understand it. Can't justify it because most things in Turkey can not be justified. It's not really defined here and that Turkish part of me understands this. She doesn't approve it, nor she likes it, but she accepts it as it is. She even enjoys seeing such an extreme ignorance because this is one of the things that defines Turkish identity. "Only in Turkey" we say and we mean much different than "Only in America." 

Obviously there is beauty in the way we current incarnates "embraced" the old and "mingled" with it. There is some magic, some beauty and awesomeness in the fact that, instead of emptying out the entire fortress and turning it into an empty museum, we decided to be the museum and built our current city in and on it. 

In this contemporary Sinop Museum nobody knows about, the precious old walls are drowning in the Black Sea, but so what, in any museum in Turkey some of the precious pieces are getting damaged in some way. In this live Sinop Museum, the fortress walls are being used as restaurant walls, cafe walls, home bases and parking lots. Not only that, but the inner castle was used as the most famous prison of Turkey. 

I'm leaving this foreign/Turkish dilemma in my psyche saying that the emergence of the ignorant "civil" who can't understand this country is new. The stark "emptiness" of this intelligence is highly contrasted with the Turkish self who sees the beauty and humor in decay and ugly. This last sentence, I will claim, also defines Turkish identity. 

Following the unending fortress walls I came to a beach where I finally put my feet into the Black Sea. The water was cool but crystal clear despite the waves, the view of the walls was gorgeous, there were dolphins playing not too far from the shore and I found new kinds of sea shells on the beach. During the short time I walked in the water, the Black Sea shot me quickly and unexpectedly and my skirt got all wet. This must be what they mean about this sea: wild and unruly. There was a warning sign at the beach that says even if you know how to swim you may drown here because of the strong currents.

Now following this narrow steps I'm going up to one of the main streets of Sinop. I must be right on the neck of the long peninsula because as soon I get to the street I can see the Black Sea right across on the other side. Right there, the famous Sinop Prison welcomes me :)