If all of Turkish history were on this bus, I’d be sitting next to sultans, whirling dervishes, Silk Road caravanners, Greek shopkeepers, apostles and olive growers.
Instead, I’m sitting next to a guy from New York and a couple from Toronto. We’re coming up on a bathroom break at a rest stop in central Turkey.
“Fifteen minutes!” our guide says as the bus doors swing open. “Do not be late.”
I join the crowd hurrying to the ladies’ room, passing shopkeepers’ shelves of merchandise — ooh, look at those cute tapestry bags and fresh pistachios! — amazingly similar to the wares at other stops. At least five other giant tour buses are here, dislodging their dozens of tourists, same as ours. Drivers grab a quick tea break or a smoke. Tourists stretch their legs, knowing there are many miles to go before tonight’s hotel.
Then it’s back on the bus. More of Turkey to see.
Bargain tour and tradeoffs
I will be the first to admit that traveling with 42 people for 13 days in a giant bus (the preferred term is “motor coach”) with a Turkish guide is not the most relaxing way to go.
But it is efficient. And cheap. And surprisingly comprehensive.
Turkey is full of these bus tours, with a circuit every week of comfortable vehicles trundling from swirling Istanbul to the magnificent Greco-Roman ruins of Ephesus, to the natural wonders of Pamukkale, the beach city of Antalya and the artists’ enclave of Cappadocia.
What everyone on the bus has in common is this: a desire to see Turkey inexpensively. I chose a trip called Essential Turkey for $1,900 through the company Gate 1. It included Turkey’s main attractions plus nice hotels, tours, most meals, flights from the U.S. and one flight in the country. We even stopped in a village to have lunch with local people, a surprise perk for such a large group.
The trade-off? A rigid schedule. Lines for meals. Lines for the bathroom. Lines for your hotel key. Guides with little flags to make sure you don’t get lost. At least a couple of complainers in the group. Buffet food.
Still, the logistics mean that you can see all of Turkey’s highlights in a very short time.
Although Turkey has been in the news lately because of the war raging just over the border in Syria, Canada’s department of Foreign Affairs has no nationwide advisory for Turkey. It does, however, advise against travel within 10 kilometres of the border with Syria.
Honestly? The most dangerous thing our tour group experienced was the lure of the souvenir stands and rug weavers.
Ruins and pretty pools
Generally speaking, Turkey has five must-see-before-you-die sights. They are scattered across western and central Turkey, with a lot of miles between them.
• Istanbul’s old city: You hear people rave about this historic city. They are not exaggerating. Topkapi Palace, where Ottoman sultans and their harems lived until 1853, is a sensual spot perched on a cliffside. Nearby, the towering Hagia Sophia museum (once a cathedral, then a mosque) dwarfs all mankind. Next door to that, the Blue Mosque is every square inch a piece of art, blue mosaic tiles on every surface.
• Troy: You’ve heard of Helen of Troy, right? Or, certainly you’ve heard of the Trojan horse — the gift from the Greeks to the Trojans to end a war, except the Greeks were hiding inside and sprang out to conquer their enemies. This place in western Turkey is believed to be where Troy existed 4,000 years ago. A botched 19th-century archaeological expedition has left this place a bit torn up, but there is a dandy “replica” wooden Trojan horse to climb at the entrance.
• Ephesus: This highbrow, beautiful city dating from the 1st century, is beloved by tourists and known for its early Christian converts (the apostle John lived here, and some believe Jesus’ mother, Mary, also). You can still view Ephesus’ cobblestone main street, the facade of its massive library and its stadium to get a glimpse of everyday life 1,000 years ago. The city’s now-vanished Temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.
• Pamukkale: My personal highlight. Fantastic natural hot springs site where mineral pools spread calcium carbonate on rocky cliffs, turning it into what looks like puffy cotton — and transmuting it into elegant travertine limestone.
• Cappadocia: The Sedona of Turkey, it’s full of unworldly rocky spires, rock formations where ancient people made their homes and churches. Today, it’s home to artists, rug makers and balloonists. In the still of a morning when hot air balloons drift above this ancient, funky town, it’s quite a sight.
SURPRISE ON SILK ROAD
Yes, I reached all of these places on a claustrophobic giant bus with 42 companions. It was completely opposite of the way I usually travel. Yet when I think back on it, I don’t remember the miles, but the moments: the wood-smoke smell of Cappadocia at night, the sharp scent of roasted chestnuts in Istanbul’s old city, the softness of Pamukkale’s white cottony surface on my feet.
One other highlight? The lesser-known, mysterious Caravanserai of Sultanhan. It is an ancient caravan inn along the Silk Road in central Turkey. The 13th-century equivalent of the Holiday Inn still has its original soaring wood door, intricate carving and a nave with thick walls. Travelers of old spent the nights there with their animals and worldly goods while journeying the Silk Road.
Yes, there were dangers on the way, and exotic surprises and too much togetherness and likely hardships. But just like today, the trip was worth it.
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IF YOU GO
Getting there: There are many tours to Turkey. If you do not mind a large group, try Gate1 Travel or Collette. Smaller group tours cover the same itinerary but are more intimate — and costly.
Visa: Required; you now can get it online in advance (www.evisa.gov/tr/en/).
Money: $1 is equal to 2.2 Turkish lira; easy to withdraw cash from ATMs in Turkey.
5 tourist splurges in Turkey
1. Take a balloon ride in Cappadocia. If you are lucky, the weather will cooperate.
2. Take a Turkish bath; you will never feel so clean. www.freep.com/story/travel/2014/10/21/turkey-tourism-turkish-bath-canakkale/17629543/
3. See a whirling dervish: It’s not dancing; it’s a demonstration of the trance-like whirling done by members of the mystical Sufi sect.
4. Buy a rug or textiles. One woman in my group bought a gigantic Turkish-made wool and silk rug for $6,000. I bought a light blue textile bag for $25.
5. Get some evil eye protection. You see the blue eyes all over Turkey. It’s ancient superstition. The eye is not an “evil eye.” It’s an all-seeing protector from malicious spirits, and boy, don’t we all need that.
On the foodie trail in Istanbul
IAt a cramped little shop on the edges of the Grand Bazaar, I balance a small white plate and fork in my hand. Rain pours outside while people keep pushing in the front door, a mass of humid, damp bodies all waiting for caramel custard called trilice. Men shout sharp orders. Money is exchanged. Forks clink on the white counters.
I manage two bites. Delicious.
“Now we go to another favourite place for sage tea,” says Senem Pastoressa. She opens the door to the rain, then speeds off down the winding cobblestone alley, five tourists hurrying after her under their insufficient umbrellas. We turn the corner to a covered open-air tea shop. Men smoke hookah water pipes along one wall. A middle-age couple kisses in a far corner. We sit on red sofas under an awning and drink sage tea with lemon out of tulip-shaped cups.
Whew. After 51⁄2 hours and 11 stops on the streets of Istanbul, it is a quiet coda to the culinary walk offered by Istanbul-based Culinary Backstreets.
The company was started by Americans Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer five years ago as a food blog, Istanbul Eats (istanbuleats.com), to find authentic, tasty local restaurants and share them with visitors. Now, its culinary walks have spread to Barcelona, Spain; Athens, Greece; Rio de Janiero, Brazil; Mexico City, and Shanghai.
Appealing to younger travellers and foodies, walks take you to hidden spots in one of the most culturally rich cities in the world. Along the way, you absorb Turkey’s many influences from the Mediterranean, Asia, the Black Sea and the Middle East.
Although Turkey’s tourism industry is growing quickly, with a record 30 million visitors between January and September (an amazing number considering the instability of its regional neighbours), Pastoressa says culinary tourism to Turkey is still in its infancy.
“It’s becoming a thing, but tourism here is mostly cultural,” she says. “People want to come to Turkey because it is a place that is different but not difficult.”
Culinary Backstreets offers several different food tours of Istanbul. I took the one focusing on hidden dining spots near the Grand Bazaar. The Bazaar dates from 1461 and is a warren of 5,000 shops. Some describe it as the world’s oldest mall. On its red tile rooftops was filmed the opening sequence of the 2102 James Bond movie Skyfall.
So what do we eat? Everything.
We climb curving flights of stairs, go through secret tunnels, cut through little shops and meander through backstreet courtyards called hans. We crowd into restaurants so small they have only three tables. We even eat breakfast with a group of porters — men who cart and carry most of the goods into the winding bazaar lanes too small for vehicles.
At one street stand, we eat grilled meat made of sweetbreads — tasty. Another restaurant serves us flaky borek — phillo dough pastries with meat, spinach or cheese.
At the restaurant Guvenc Konyali, it’s beef and baby okra soup, a recipe from central Turkey. Then it’s on to another spot for hummus and for manti, a white dumpling-like ravioli in a yogurt sauce. We eat pak pide, a type of Turkish pizza, covered with minced meat and Turkish cheese. At another place we have kadayif, a dessert of sugar, lemon and shredded phyllo. Some tourists try Turkish coffee, thick with grounds in the bottom of the cup.
Along the way, we see the back streets of the Grand Bazaar, the historic wholesale gold district, bridal district, silver district and leather district.
We stop at a copper pot-making shop, Soy Turkiye, which is so famous it even makes pots of pure silver for royalty and billionaires.
Turkey is a grower of apricots and figs, hazelnuts, pistachios and olives. These and fresh vegetables — tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini — are featured in many dishes. Spices commonly used are red sumac, red pepper, oregano and cinnamon, but spices will not overwhelm you in Turkish food.
Just one thing: This tour is not for vegetarians, vegans or people with food allergies. It is a sampler, so there is some meat — lamb or beef; many dishes use meat-based liquids, and many desserts include every sweet thing and wheat and dairy. But the tour is offered up with a happy stream of conversation from Pastoressa, who has been a guide for many years. She grew up in Turkey and has seen the food scene change a lot.
You can get anything in Turkey these days, she says. The world is changing.
The only thing her husband brought with him from Italy? His cappuccino maker.
If you go
Culinary Backstreets tours, Istanbul, offers group tours of about five to seven people. Culinary Backstreets of the Bazaar Quarter is $125 per person; other tours are similarly priced
• Read: Istanbul Eats: Exploring the Culinary Backstreets by Ansel Mullins and Yigal Schleifer (Boyut) has a brand new 2014 edition.
Tourist eats on the streets
Tourists walking around Istanbul can be forgiven if they come away thinking that Turkey’s main foods are Turkish Delight, roasted chestnuts and corn-on-the-cob.
Chestnuts and corn are common street-vendor snacks, while Turkish Delight — a sugary, chewy confection — is sold everywhere from fancy bakeries to airport gift shops.
Doner kebab shops are common, with spit-grilled meat like the Greek meat kebabs called souvlaki.
Tourists near the Old City also may see restaurants where women are preparing food right in the front window. It’s a successful marketing tool, not a common practice.
Besides the Grand Bazaar, Istanbul has an elaborate public Spice Market, selling everything from Iranian saffron to live parakeets.
Istanbul has an estimated 13 million to 15 million people and spreads out for mile. Each district has its own cuisine. A short visit will barely give you a taste of the place. But you have to start somewhere.
