Safranbolu : Winding down amidst the timber frames

Coming to the very end of my nearly two months in Turkey, quiet, quaint little Safranbolu will also have to be a victim of my need for blogging speed at this time.  Not every single moment and destination of this journey can be caught up in the overwhelming dragnet of this beastly sized blog so I shall leave with only a few snaps and words.

Safranbolu sitting some ways North East of Ankara is my final stop ahead of my return to Istanbul.  It is most renowned as an UNESCO World Heritage Site noted for its preservation of a fabulous Old Town populated by classic Mugal era residential housing.  Beautiful exposed wood timber and plaster facade buildings that call to mind a little Tudor England and my strolls around Stratford Upon Avon.

It's a pretty little spot.

  Inevitably a tourist pleasing air-brush effect has been taken to its very heart but the town remains unspoilt and - at this time in the season - very unhurried.  I stay in the wonderful Backpackers or 'Efe' Guest House for 15TL (£6 inc. breakfast) where the wonderful hostess Yasmin cooks great food and impresses all with her polyglot skills.  She speaks Turkish, English, French, Farsi, Old Arabic (Turkey's now 'dead' former language), Japanese and passable Korean.  All this whilst running a guest house named after her energetic little boy Efe!  "Phewf!".

Safranbolu offers little to do but lots and lots of ease and relaxation.  It comes as a vital mental and physical 'warm down' for me after a hectic circuit of Turkey and ahead of my return to the bustle and busyness of Istanbul.