Swapping strict Dubai for the natural wonders of northeastern Turkey

With lush national parks, the impressive Uzungol Lake and a plum Black Sea location, Trabzon makes for an ideal Turkish retreat, writes Rebecca Holland

A tea plantation in northeast Turkey (Getty/iStock)

We were rounding a bend to a view of steep pines and jagged peaks when I first noticed the rain, which sent me into a fizz of excitement that would embarrass and confuse anyone who encounters precipitation on a regular basis. “Is it raining? It’s raining! Oh my God, look, it’s raining!”  

I rolled down the car window. “And it’s chilly! When was the last time you felt cold?”  

My fiance and I were driving toward Uzungol Lake in northeastern Turkey. It was early August and about 22C with drizzle, a drastic change from the 43C and humidity we’d experienced for months on end in Dubai, where we live – and which had one of the world’s strictest coronavirus lockdowns.