Important issues out the way first: Food. We weren't disappointed when we thought Turkey would have a kebab shop around every corner, but with vendors competing against each other for prices, we found that quality was lacking sometimes (but then again, that's what you get when you economise!). There was this one place that serves koftas (near the tram stop in Sultanahmet); it was absolutely delicious! We did have to spend slightly over what we'd usually pay, but it was worth every lira. I have a video of us trying to describe the experience of eating there (which might not see the light of day since there are so many to go through). There were fish places next to the Bosphorous that served cheap but nice food, and we steered clear of the proper restaurants that tourists would visit, but overall I think we did get a well-rounded food experience. And being the budget-savvy travellers we were, we stocked up on breakfast food and snacks from supermarkets we passed. Turkish ice-cream is certainly unique with its consistency (which I can't quite remember because it's been so long), and every so often we'd bump into roasted sweetcorn stalls, which we did intend to eat at but couldn't find the opportunity to. Still, I'm sure I know what sweetcorn tastes like. I remember the first tram we took from the airport; once the doors opened at one stop, we knew we had to eat there sometime, with the smell of scrumptious food wafting in; we called it the kebab stop. What was slightly disturbing was when we heard that not all the meat served is halal (especially in tourist parts), and even more disturbing was that they used pig or donkey meat as a cheaper substitute for lamb! After that news we did take our precautions, but it is slightly difficult trying to believe people say the meat is halal when they're serving every different alcoholic beverage you could imagine.
The people were extremely friendly and welcoming; I've found that with other places I've visited, when a person starts a conversation with you, they either expect you to buy something from them, or to become your tour guide (a generously-paid tour guide that is), but not here. The people would go out of their way to help you, not expecting anything in return (the way it should normally be if you ask me!), taking their time out to direct hapless travellers who can't read a map. Now would be an opportunity to talk about our guide who was recommended to us by a friend; an extremely nice guy, who didn't have the best grasp of English, but any language barriers were overcome by simple hand movements. He took us on a cruise of the Bosphorous (not in his own boat, just using his citizen discount thing), then we went to various mosques with companions of the Prophet (pbuh) buried in them, as well as a cable car ride up to a place where we could see the whole of Istanbul. Oh yeah, I'm talking about Istanbul here; maybe I should've mentioned that at the start. We had our guide for the whole day, and I would recommend getting one if you wanted to see places not really frequented by tourists. He was even kind enough to introduce me to seven Turkish girls (yes, seven, all at once) whilst waiting in the queue for a cable car, saying that I was available for marriage. Let's just say that I've had less awkward cable car journeys in my life.
The places we visited were awesome, and I mean really awesome. There are the standard tourist haunts in Istanbul (the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace), which are breathtaking in themselves, but then there are the places almost hidden away that you have to trek through suburbs to get to. I felt somewhat special walking through the crowds of mosque tourists kept at bay by the wooden barrier, as if I had a VIP pass to go and pray. And what was especially magical was praying early every morning in the Blue Mosque, joining the single line in prayer before going back to bed in the hostel, avoiding the stray dogs on the way back. What I love about Istanbul is that there's a story behind every piece of architecture, with every Ottoman sultan wanting to leave their mark on the landscape. And it's also sad in a way, to see all of these beautiful buildings and wonder what could have been. But more on that later. One outstanding experience was when we were taken to an old mosque; the oldest mosque in Istanbul in fact, built in 717 with a companion of the Prophet (pbuh) buried there, and seemingly run by young students who memorised the Quran. We noticed that on the ceiling you could see a faint image of Mary painted, from when it temporarily became a church. The same with Hagia Sophia, the monstrosity of a building dominating the landscape, where inside it was adorned with both Islamic calligraphy and murals of angels and Jesus (pbuh); too much to take in if you ask me.
Istanbul wasn't the only place we had the pleasure of visiting; after some meticulous planning and haggling for coach tickets, we decided that we wanted to go to Fethiye (on the partial advice of our guide, who kept changing his mind over how beautiful/expensive/pointless certain places were). Fethiye is a seaside town on the south-western coast of Turkey, a journey taking 14 hours by coach, and due to our intentional timing, it meant that we'd be travelling by night so we wouldn't have to fork out for a hostel. After we'd barely left Istanbul, the girl behind me in the coach threw up (and predictably the same happened on the journey back- but not the same girl), so with the smell of vomit wafting through the coach, I flicked through the Turkish-language TV channels on the screen in front of me and tried to get some shut-eye before we arrived.
Fethiye is an amazing place. Once we arrived we dropped our things off at the hostel we booked (which had a scenic view, friendly staff and guests, and where we caught some of the World Cup), and went for a lovely walk before taking a minibus down (through a village covered in England flags and full of what you'd call 'chavs') to Olu deniz, a beach renowned for its beauty. And we weren't disappointed; as if taken from a postcard, everything looked perfect. With the mountains towering over us, the sun shining and the water as clear as crystal, we hired a pedal boat in the Blue Lagoon and just took the whole atmosphere in. We had the option of paragliding off the highest mountain peak into the sea, but instead went the safer route and booked a cruise for the next day.
The boat cruise of the twelve islands around Fethiye was probably the highlight of the whole trip, where completely chilling was the idea. The weather couldn't have been better and although the boat was full of sun-searching tourists, that didn't stop us from having our fun. Every so often the boat would stop at an island, and we could dive off it into the lagoon, which I have to admit was a little unnerving once you got to the diving platform, but enjoyable when you'd done it. My swimming for the day was cut short when I decided to paddle my way over to a cliff and climb on a rock, and get pricked by a sea urchin, leaving me with some very painful and deep splinters on my foot, which would have to get looked at once we got home. The rest of the trip involved us getting off at a couple of the islands and having a walk around, having lunch on the boat, and towards the end, ride some cool waves whilst standing at the front; the boat swaying and rocking, rising and falling like we were in a storm. I would definitely recommend visiting Fethiye, as it's a place that could definitely get away with the title 'paradise'.
So with all of the great places, food and friendly locals Turkey offers, what are the downsides? Especially after visiting Topkapi Palace which housed jewel-encrusted hairbrushes belonging to the sultans and whatnot (as well as items belonging to various Prophets- some of which looked dubiously well-kept); extravagance to the extreme, you wouldn't need to read a history book to figure out what caused the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Looking at an exhibition of all of the robes various sultans wore, you could see that through the ages they went from very simple in design and look, to ridiculously over-decorated, reflecting the indulgent lifestyles they must've led. And then there came secularism after the fall of the Caliphate, in the form of complete separation between religion and life, and unfortunately the legacy Ataturk (the 'founder' of modern Turkey) left behind is seemingly still being upheld. I've heard that life in the countryside is different, but from what I saw, they almost worship Ataturk, building statues and naming architecture after him. I felt alot of the people out there were trying too hard to be Western, brushing aside their rich history, and thinking that being Muslim by name is enough (as demonstrated by the Turkish bath guy who said it was 'tradition' to go in practically naked). The modern shopping street (the Turkish equivalent of Oxford Street) is called 'Istiklaal' street, which means 'freedom'; hardly a name for a place full of overpriced brand-name shops. But the winds of change are slowly but surely blowing; just recently there was a fear-mongering news article on how Turkey is slowly becoming less
So there it is, Turkey in a nutshell, which has taken me ages to write out and then re-write as my posts don't like being saved. I feel bad for ending this review on the negatives of Turkey; really it is a wonderful and magical place, admittedly having many people who do their own random thing and call it 'Islam', as well as those kebab vendors who racially profile you (just because I was with two Asians, they assumed we were vegetarian!) but nevertheless definitely a place worth a visit (although it did rain four times when we were there, which doesn't usually happen). And if you have the time and the patience, you could go all the way to Fethiye and absorb as much of the breathtaking scenery as possible. I've probably forgotten a load of stuff that will come back to me once I've seen all my videos, but yeah, go Turkey! One of the better holiday destinations.
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