Traveling in Turkey
One of our favorite places to travel is Turkey. This came as somewhat a surprise to us. I guess we were expecting it to be very interesting, but it turned out to be enjoyable even above and beyond the exotic feel and historical interest. We found the people to be VERY friendly (apologies to the Greeks, but by comparison with the Turks the Greeks were quite unfriendly). It is true that the Turks are CONSTANTLY trying to sell you things, but we expected that. Turkey is also very cheap, both for food and accomodations.
We were quite adventurous since we wanted to see some very out of the way archaeological sites. So we rented a car and Joy very bravely drove us around. I do not really recommend this! Turks are insane drivers--everyone drives like New York taxi drivers, as Joy observed. But it did mean we got to see alot. We did not get to visit the Ionian coast or Cappadocia, both places that are supposed to be spectacular and that we want to visit someday. Instead we headed inland to see some places on the central plains (near Ankara and Konya). We also visited Istanbul and Troy. For a good reference that links travel in and history of Turkey, try Ancient Turkey: A Traveller's History.
If you want to see some pictures from our trip, CLICK HERE
PLACES WE VISITED:
Istanbul: Istanbul, of course, has a long and important history. Originally a Greek city called Byzantium, it became the Eastern capital of the Roman Empire under the emperor Constantine, who refounded the city as Constantinople. Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453 (I think) and became the capital of the Turkish Empire. Later it lost this status to the more modern city of Ankara. In all this means that Istanbul has many layers of history and archaeology and is a wonderful place to visit. The main covered market (shouk) is a fascinating place to browse and shop, although you can NEVER browse in peace. If someone sees you looking at something, he immediately comes up to try and sell it to you. I think this actually scares people away, but it's how they do business. Food wise the city is great if you like kebobs, kofte and the like (which I do!). We found a great place called Cennet which had some interesting and unusual food (all very good!) and had friendly service. Occasionally there was also live Turkish music. Sites that are particularly interesting are all clustered in one area. The Blue Mosque is fabulous and is right across from Haiga Sophia. The latter was originally a church and, according to one source I've seen, was even briefly a pagan temple for the Roman pantheon before it was a mosque. Now it is museum. Very impressive, though quite dark and a bit gloomy inside. The style is Byzantine in contrast to the brighter, more stylized Islamic style of the Blue Mosque. Close by is also the Topkapi Palace which is spectacular. A large, rambling collection of buildings that used to be the residence of the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire. The Harem area (which were private living quarters, not the brothel-like/orgy image Westerners might have) is particularly luxurious and dazzling. For more information on Istanbul, CLICK HERE
Canakkale: This is a little city that is close to two things--the Gallipoli peninsula where there was a major World War I battle involving Australian and New Zealand troops (ANZAC) and is a major mecca for people from these two countries. We didn't get a chance to pay our respects to this area. What interested us was the nearby site of ancient Troy. This is where the Trojan war happened around 1300 BC. It is a site that has been dug up rather irresponsibly at various times, so it is somewhat ruined as an archaeological site, however, it is still fascinating to see. The actual ruins range from a very old site that greatly predates the Troy of the Trojan war up to a Roman-era site complete with a theater. The Trojan war level, is either Troy VI or Troy VII, depending on who you ask. For details on the Troy VII theory, CLICK HERE. An excellent presentation of the Troy VI theory, as well as a history of the search for and discovery of Troy is the book In Search of the Trojan War. This book is the ultimate reference book for anyone interested in the historical events behind the Iliad.
Ankara/Hattusas: Ankara is the capital of Turkey today and is a nice, modern city. We stayed in the Dedeman hotel and liked it very much. We unfortunately didn't get much of a chance to see the city itself much, but it has some museums that are supposed to be great. Many of the famous Hittite and pre-Hittite artifacts from Turkey are found in these museums. I plan on going back to Ankara to see them. Some distance from Ankara is the spectacular archaeological site of Hattusas, the city that was the capital of the Hittite Empire until about 1200 BC. We drover to Hattusas as a day trip from Ankara, but you can also find tours going to there and there are also hotels in the adjacent town of Bogaskale. The Hittites were a powerful, though mostly local, empire that during some periods was able to expand into the Middle East, becoming the main rival of Egypt. One of the first battles in history to be written about in detail (mainly from the Egyptian point of view) was the battle of Kaddesh fought between the Hittites and the Egyptian Pharaoh, Rameses II (who is also probably the Pharaoh of the Exodus). Also, the first known peace treaty in history was also made between Rameses II and the Hittite King. The site of Hattusas is very large and impressive. If you don't go as part of a tour, there will almost certainly be someone around to guide you around the place. Unlike our other experiences with guides in Turkey, the person who guided us through Hattusas and the adjacent site of Yazilikaya was knowledgeable and really excellent. He was also free, but the one drawback is whoever guides you will probably try to sell you carpets. Well, I will say that if you do buy carpets in Turkey, the best deals we saw were here at Hattusas/Bogaskale. There is a local cooperative that controls the whole process from sheep to carpets to sales and so keeps costs down. The carpets are among the best I've seen and the prices are among the best I've seen. Two excellent new carpets, one very nice antique carpet and a small, thrown-in-for-free kilm can be had for about $1000. Haggle a bit, of course. You also will have to figure out how to get them home. We had some trouble finding a way to mail them back and schlepped them back ourselves. Hattusas and Yazilikaya (an outdoor temple with impressive carvings) are my two favorite archaeological sites. I notice that there are few books available on the Hittites. Try The Hittites or The Hittites and Their Contemporaries in Asia Minor.
Konya/Catal Huyuk: Konya itself is small and, for a tourist, not so interesting, though there is one museum that is supposed to be good. It was closed when we were there, so we don't know. It is a pleasant city, though, and is the closest city to Catal Huyuk. Catal Huyuk is one of the earliest known urban sites in the world. Only Jericho is know to have been founded earlier. As a part of history (or, really, archaeology) it is very interesting. It represents the earliest city as well as telling us about the earliest known organized religion of man (one similar to that found in Jericho, as well). However, as an archaeological site to visit as a tourist it is not so interesting, at least when we went there in 1999. There are only a couple of spots where excavations are active and an embryonic visitor's center. However, we met people there who were working on improving the site for tourism. They had considerable plans for turning it into a site more worth visiting and in a few years I am sure it will be better. I did find it interesting just being there at such an ancient site, but for anyone who is less of a history buff, it might be boring. I predict, though, that by 2005 it will be worth seeing. For more information on the site, CLICK HERE.
Some Turkey Related Sites
Runner Tourism and Travel
All About Turkey
The Kurdish View (to be fair)
Turkish Food
