Hercules, Argonauts, Amazons, so on and so forth… These are just a few of those that, supposedly, appeared around the Black Sea many millennia ago. Whether any one of them actually existed is irrelevant in the greater scheme of things, given how even these mere myths surrounding them are enough to give entire communities an identity to this day, or at least a name in this case. Karadeniz Ereğli means Ereğli of the Black Sea in Turkish, which is just a very Turkish way of saying Heraclea Pontica, the city dedicated to Hercules by the Black Sea. Read on to find out why this industrial Turkish port city has ties to one of the greatest heroes of the ancient world!
You can reach Karadeniz Ereğli with an hour-long minibus ride from Zonguldak’s center. For someone who used to live in Istanbul, that is shorter than it takes to reach a decent supermarket from my home… Well, moving on, there are two reasons why anyone should ever visit Karadeniz Ereğli unless they wish to work in its massive steel mills: exploring its caves and eating its pides. The three most important local caves are all grouped together in the northern end of the town. The most popular of them is, of course, the Cerberus Cave. A small underground lake welcomes as you make your way down through the slippery stairs that lead here.
The lake itself is pretty small, but it is somewhat deep at certain parts. This along with the fact that there are enough sources to dose it in light makes one wish that it was legal to at least dip one’s feet in its assumedly cold waters. It was an exceptionally hot and humid day when I visited Karadeniz Ereğli so I am sure you would want to do something similar if you were in my place…
In any case, funny enough, this lake has very little to do with what makes this cave so important. The reason why the cave and the whole area matters is because this was where Hercules apparently fought Hades’ three-headed dog Cerberus, and of course, defeated it. Given how small the cave is, one cannot help but think just how little Cerberus too had to be… I mean, I am not saying Hercules is overrated, but Cerberus certainly cannot be that much bigger than a normal dog, and having three brains cannot be good for any animal’s overall coordination in a battle to death.
If overthinking ancient myths is not for you, you may be relieved to hear that there is more to it to Karadeniz Ereğli than just that one cave. This area alone has three caves, one that has a bigger and poorly illuminated underground lake, and another with mosaics on its ground. This latter one was once used as a church by believers in late Roman times, when Christianity was still persecuted by the authorities. In many ways, it reminded me of the cave churches in Cappadocia, which were created in around the same time, and offered similar services. However, given how green the environment is in the Pontic coast, the cave churches here are certainly lusher and thus more interesting, at least to me. It was a nice change of pace to see some of these Byzantine mosaics being preserved to a certain degree as well.
Other than its caves, Karadeniz Ereğli offers little to its visitors, especially to foreign ones. It was a vital port during the Kemalist Revolution, so for those who are interested in that part of modern Turkish history it will offer something else in the form of this ship which was used to ferry goods from Soviet ports to Turkish ones during the Revolution. However, this will be hardly interesting to many. If I were not a historian, it would hardly be interesting to me as well.
What will certainly be interesting to many if not all is Meşhur Pideci Hasan Kuru, where you can eat some of the finest Turkish pides in existence. Some like them moist, some prefer them drier, some like their pide with cheese, some others with meat, but what we all can agree on is that if you like them crispy, you have to come and eat them in this fine establishment. Though it is a lot drier than how I prefer my pides, the quality of the dough here combined with its extreme crispiness means that the mere act of eating this delicacy is to die for, let alone the actual taste you get from it. Taste wise, mine was full of fresh goat cheese, eggs, and coriander, which is not the most flavourful combination, but this pide certainly tasted light, which was something I was going for on such a hot day.
At the end, Karadeniz Ereğli offers just about enough to justify a day trip from Zonguldak. You can see and eat all that I mention here in about 4 hours, which leaves you with plenty of time to get here and go back to your lodging in the city proper. If this does not sound right up your alley, come back next week to read about a nearby UNESCO heritage site that is known for its Ottoman architecture and saffron harvests, Safranbolu!