On the 18th day of the Silk Road, we will drive from Suşehri to the beautiful coastal town of Trabzon on the Black Sea coast. We leave the city north and drive around the Çamlıca lake and dam to the west. We drive on a partly asphalted provincial road through a beautiful green hilly landscape that is characterized by beautiful cypress trees.

The first stop is planned in Şebinkarahisar, here you can have a coffee at the Ataturk Park coffee house. In the village you can also visit the Sebinkarahisar Ataturk House Museum. The museum is one of the traditional Şebinkarahisar houses where the great leader Mustafa Kemal Atatürk stayed for one night during his visit to Şebinkarahisar on October 11, 1924.
The real owner of the house is Tüfekçizade Mustafa Ertem. The house in the center of the district is made of wood and is a simple two-storey building. There is a pavilion room under the sloping roof of the house, the front of the house has a triangular pediment, local building materials have been used and a two-leaf wooden door is entered from the main entrance by 10 stone steps.
On a mezzanine floor there is a penthouse which is accessed by a revolving wooden staircase from the second floor. As a result of various works carried out on the house in 1932, the house has been furnished to the original of those dates. It was opened to visitors as "Atatürk House and Museum" on the 58th anniversary of Atatürk's arrival in Şebinkarahisar on October 11, 1982.

In the museum, several local ethnographic works are displayed in the room where Atatürk and his assistant stayed, which includes the beds, desk, armchairs and chairs, sofas, the piano, and some items with other historical qualities. Şebinkarahisar's Atatürk House and Museum also has an Atatürk Library with 500 books and the Atatürk Corner with photographs. The museum, which does not have technical and expert staff, is opened to visitors on important days and at the request of officials designated by the municipality.
Just outside the town you can visit the ruins of the Şebinkarahisar castle. For this you have to take into account extra time of about 1½ hours for this day in connection with the ascent of the hill, from where you have a beautiful view over the region. Well worth a visit if you like ancient ruins and beautiful panoramas.

The next short stop is at the small Behremşah Mosque, the first Turkish structure on the Black Sea in Anatolian Turkish history. The mosque was built by the Seljuk Turks and survived many earthquakes in this area. Well worth a short stop.

We continue on a beautiful winding road through the Pontic Mountains to the town of Şiran, where we stop for lunch in one of the many restaurants in the center of the town. After lunch we drive through the valleys north to Aşağı Övündü where we drive a short stretch of highway towards Köprübaşı where we leave the highway again to drive the legendary “Zigana Pass”. Make sure you have a full tank of petrol and enough provisions before you take the pass, for this you can stop at the gas station along the highway.

The “Zigana Pass” is a high mountain pass at an altitude of 2,032 m above sea level, located in the Pontic Mountains. The road that is covered with snow for five months a year is therefore one of the “Dangerous Roads” in the world. The “Zigana Pass” is part of the historic Silk Road, connecting the Eastern Black Sea with the Middle East. The pass is bypassed by the Zigana tunnel, which is located below the pass, at an elevation of 1,795 m above sea level. The tunnel is 1,702 meters long. The weather in this part of the Pontic Mountains is harsh and very unpredictable. So keep that in mind and if necessary take the highway E97/D885 north.

The “Zigana Pass” is a beautiful pass to drive with many curves, ascents, descents and beautiful views. Beyond the pass the landscape changes dramatically, it is a mix of beautiful green valleys and barren, steep hills. There are several small parking areas along the route where you can stop briefly to take in the beautiful landscape.

The next stop is planned in the small village of Hamsiköy, here we stop briefly to stretch our legs and have something to drink and eat. One of the most famous restaurants is Niyazi Usta Restaurant, especially for its beautiful and delicious desserts.

After this short stop we drive until just before Kirimitli where we take the highway E97/D885 again in the direction of Trabzon. At Kutlugün we leave the highway to drive the last 10 kilometers on narrow winding country roads to the end point Trabzon. Optionally, you can also continue to follow the highway.
Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the northeast coast of Turkey. It is also the capital district of the province of the same name. The city is located in a fertile coastal region on the Black Sea, with a temperate maritime climate. High mountains separate the city from the interior of Anatolia. Trabzon was a prominent place on the Silk Road and became very important for international trade between Europe and Asia in the first half of the 19th century. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 brought an end to intensive international trade in the city. Nevertheless, it has remained an important port on the Black Sea for transport to the Caucasus and Iran. Trabzon is also culturally, historically and sportingly the most important city on the south coast of the Black Sea and is therefore considered the unofficial capital of the Pontus (Turkish Black Sea region Karadeniz). The city is nicknamed Little Istanbul or Little Constantinople, because of its imperial history (Greek Empire Trebizond). Since the local elections of 2014, the city has expanded into a 'metropolitan region' with more than 800,000 inhabitants.

Trabzon has many beautiful, good hotels and places of interest, so it is certainly an option to plan a longer stay here to explore the city and the beautiful surroundings