Kidnapping a Bride

A trip to the famous Sümela Monastery in Trabzon, Turkey, led us to a man named Mustafa. As we sat down for a meal overlooking a rushing river tucked into the North Anatolian Mountains, we were welcomed by a very friendly man with menus. He didn’t seem like the usual waiter, and we quickly found out he was actually the sous chef of the restaurant. When he told us he was from Istanbul, we had to ask, ‘How did you end up in Trabzon?’