Photos from Turkey, March 2010

I’ve just returned from a 2.5 week vacation around Western Turkey and here are some very quickly selected unprocessed photos from the trip.

I already knew that Istanbul is one of the most interesting cities in Europe but I was surprised how much there is to see in Turkey. My general impression of the country was also much more positive than what I got from several Eastern European countries in 2001. Although Turkey certainly has Middle-Eastern feel, it is much more “European” than Egypt, Syria or Jordan.

Turkey has an impressive number of historical sites like Troy, Ephesus, Pergamon to name just a few. Many of them have big theaters like this one from Hierapolis.

The most interesting pieces from the sites are naturally in museums – many outside of Turkey.

You can fly above the surreal Cappadocian scenery…

…or descend to one of the underground cities that people used when enemies approached. Here at Derinkuyu 10 000-20 000 people were able to hide in its eight floors for a few months.

Traveling in March meant that it was snowing in central Turkey…

…while it was already warm on the Southern coast…

…and one day it even felt like it was autumn.

Kayakoy might have been deserted since 1923 when Greek people were moved from Turkey to Greece (and vice versa)…

…but Istanbul’s very long pedestrian street Istiklal Caddesi can be really crowded.

There were surprisingly little international fastfood and coffee chains but lots of people were out drinking Turkish tea.

Turkey is a secular country although 98% are Muslims. It was very common to see women with and without head scarves together…

…but I wouldn’t call this a typical sight in the places that I visited.

As a tourist you can’t know what the locals are really thinking and saying. To understand a country you need to live there. For us who can’t, there are at least some good books like New Turkey by Chris Morris or Crescent and Star by Stephen Kinzer.

Unfortunately group travel and photography don’t mix very well. These light shafts might have developed into something interesting but I needed to leave the place in a few minutes.

The use of colors was often quite different to what I’m used to. This mosque is from Konya…

…and here we are inside the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Its almost 1500 years old neighbour Hagia Sophia is actually more impressive but I didn’t go there during this trip.

The food in Turkey is among the best I’ve ever tasted. Meze (appetizers) are really good, often better than the main course, so it’s a good idea to order several plates of them…

…and there are always dogs and cats who are happy to help you with the leftovers. At least when eating outdoors.

Seeing all this means that you need to spend a lot of time in a car which can be tiring…

…but the views can be sometimes pretty amazing!

All this covers only a part of the Turkey that I saw. I’ll post more photos once I’ve been able to process them properly. That will take weeks if not months.

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