‘The Turkey that most tourists do not know about’
Based on journeys by plane, train, ferry, coach, dolmus, taksi, camel (once) and on foot, with my Turkish partner throughout the 1990s into the early 2000s, this is a first-hand account of independent travel through Turkey before mass tourism spread eastwards along the south coast.
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Genre: Travel writing for readers interested in independent travel in areas presently remote from package holidays and also in the culture and lives of ordinary Turkish people.
Length: 77,200 words.
Style: Reflective, observational, real, light, philosophical.
Topicality: Growing as Turkey gains more popularity as a tourist and travel destination and also moves toward joining the European Community.
Outline
Seeing the sights
Arrival at Istanbul and the coach journey through the mountains to Ankara.
From Ankara through Afyon and Antalya to Side.
Trips to Manavgat and a surprising afternoon in Alanya.
West along the south coast to Kas. Visits to Patara and Kalkan.
A stay in Marmaris.
Inland to Pamukkale and Denizli.
Return to Ankara, the train to Hyderpasha, ferry across the Bosporus to Istanbul, a boat trip to the Black Sea.
Meeting the family
Ankara to see my new partner’s family (and let them see me). Manisa to see more family. Izmir and even more family.
The coast route through: Selcuk, Efes, Kusadasi, Gumbet, Bodrum, inland to Köycegiz, south to Turtle beach at Dalyan, east through Fethiya to Antalya and even more family.
Alanya in a heat wave and escape to the mountains.
Ankara for a rest, quiet domesticity, visiting the parks, shopping centers, friends, sampling the culture.
Kapadokya
Ilhara valley and countless old churches carved in the rock.
Fighting our way into an old and very famous restaurant.
Monk’s cells and homes carved out of ‘fairy chimneys’.
Underground cities, a vineyard, a shrine.
Underground night-club and pockets of boiled eggs.
Year end in Ankara
Peace quiet, sub-zero temperatures, walks around Dikmen Park in the snow.
Journey to the North coast
An educating tour around Safranbolu and the Otel Turing, lokum, helva, saffron.
Amasra on the Black Sea coast, the old churches, the ruins, the history, the view from the mountains, fish restaurants, the harbor, the citadel, the climb to the silk route with the Greek temple.
Bartin and the caravanseri, the hotel, a short illness.
Remote and isolated Yoruk village with timber-framed houses, the communal bath-house, the communal wash-house, the open house, the meal cooked for us over an open fire by the women of the village.
Glossary: A glossary of Turkish words used in the text.
Pronunciation Guide: A guide to help the reader with Turkish words in the text.
Map: A map of Turkey with major cities marked.
About the Author
About the Book TS
Genesis of the book typescript
The Author’s Books
Images
Images from the trips in Turkey are not available in the book. However, you can see a selection of color images with explanatory texts on the Travels in Turkey images page.
Free downloads
You can also download a free Glossary of Turkish Words used in the book and a free Pronunciation Guide to help with the Turkish words in the text and get also a map of Turkey so that you can follow our routes.
