Turkey
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Turkey off the beaten track: An itinerary for Southeast Turkey and Istanbul
In this article ‘Turkey off the beaten track’, I write an itinerary focused on Istanbul and the Fertile Crescent part of southeastern Turkey. Straddling the continents of Asia and Europe, Turkey is a country which has nurtured civilizations from millennia. Humans first settled in the Fertile Crescent region that covers parts of modern day Egypt, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Israel, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. P.S – For Youtube videos please click here . Is this itinerary for offbeat Turkey right for you? This itinerary is meant for history and food enthusiasts who are interested in exploring the underrated places in Turkey. If you are interested in history, culture, archeology, ruins…
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Things to do in Istanbul: History Hunting in Turkey
I cannot believe I am finally here, in the Historic Areas of Istanbul — a UNESCO protected site. On the cobblestoned Sultanahmet Square in Istanbul, I am out with a list scribbled “Things to do in Istanbul”. Vehicles are not allowed here. Thankfully, the warm June day is cloudy and breezy. The road is moderately crowded with tourists. My plan is to explore the Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Misir Bazar and the Galata Tower. Istanbul, a transcontinental city in Eurasia, is the cultural capital of Turkey. Established by people of Greek ethnicity in 660 BCE as Byzantium, it aligned with the Roman Empire…
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Bosphorus dinner cruise with live performance
Docked on the pier, the boats bobble gently in the water. The sky is streaked by mellow rays of the setting Sun. I find my boat— the Orient Bosphorus. I have arrived a bit too early for the Bosphorus dinner cruise with live performance. The waiters greet me and find me a suitable table. I am about to cruise on one of the planet’s busiest water highways here in Istanbul, Turkey. There can be no other city like Istanbul and no other waterway like the Bosphorus. Established in around 660 BCE by Greek settlers as Byzantium, the city later aligned with the Roman Empire. When the Roman Empire was divided,…
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A Turkish Breakfast in Gaziantep
My first morning in Turkey starts with a double breakfast— what a befitting way to begin my Turkish journey in Gaziantep! Once I am over with the complimentary one in Hotel Tugcan, my guide informs me about the best breakfast place in Gaziantep city, Orkide Patisserie. I don’t risk keeping it for another day and set off immediately. The southeastern Turkish city of Gaziantep was added to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy in 2015. Armed with a cuisine museum and an array of delectable dishes, it is no wonder that breakfast in Gaziantep is no less than a ritual. Being the Pistachio haven of Turkey most of its…
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Balikli Gol in Sanliurfa: The faith legends of Urfa in Turkey
Dressed in traditional outfits, a crowd of men, women and kids sprinkle something into the water of a clean pool. Schools of fish cluster around the long but crowded southern promenade of the pool. The fish jostle for space with their tails, burbling on the sheet of water. I am at Balikli Gol lake —the most popular of all the sights in Sanliurfa city, in the Sanliurfa province of Turkey. On the northern edge of the pool, behind a series of beautiful arches, is a visitor & arts’ centre and the Rizvaniye Mosque. Halil-Ur-Rahman Mosque borders the pool’s west and Doseme Mosque occupies half of its southern promenade. Some sources…
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Sira Night, Sanliurfa: A piece of Turkish culture
As soon as I step under the series of stone arches, I feel like I am riding on a musical wave. Deep voices hum on a rhythmic interval. String instruments strike the high and low notes. On both walls hang photo-frames. Illuminated by the chandelier, a mini model of the beehive houses of Harran grace the walkway. I walk into the heart of the restaurant Cevahir Han or Cevahir Inn — nerve-centre of a musical Sira Night in Sanliurfa city of south-eastern Turkey. Sanliurfa is an ancient Mesopotamian city, one of the oldest settlement of the world, continuously inhabited by the Elbans, Akkadians, Babylonians, Hitites, Arameans, Assyrians, Persians, Macedonians, Romans,…
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Travelling to Harran, Turkey: Cults, myths, beehive houses and ruins
A small flock of woolly sheep is bleating nearby. I see them grazing on the handfuls of grass that grace the edge of the plateau. Seeing me, the flock scurries back but before the shy shepherdess could leave, I fire a quick question in English to her. I am unsure if a local of Harran in Turkey would understand English, but she replies me back with a smile, “My name is Hatije, yes I live here.” The plains of Harran in upper Mesopotamia is a cradle of civilization. Continuously inhabited since the last 8000 years, it is around here that humans first settled and started cultivating crops. Harran is extremely…
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World’s first religious hotspot: In Turkey’s Gobeklitepe theories run galore
In 9600 BC, before the agricultural revolution, before the wheel was invented, pre-dating pottery and metalwork, on a plateau in the eastern part of Germus Mountain chain of modern Turkey, a site existed, which is now considered to be the oldest temple of the World. Unearthed by archaeologist Klaus Schmidt, Gobeklitepe raised alarming questions against the prevalent theories of human evolution. Merely 20 kilometres from the city of Sanliurfa, I am here at Gobeklitepe, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2018. On the arid land, from the parking point a walkway has been constructed which take tourists towards the site. The walkway ends midway and the rest of the journey…
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Mount Nemrut Sunrise Tour: In God’s kingdom when the Sun is young
There is nothing to see outside. It is 3AM here in Anatolian Turkey and I am in a car. It rolls on the streets of Adiyaman. A few minutes later, I am going to hike in the dark, to catch the sunrise from the zenith of Mount Nemrut — a UNESCO World Heritage Site from 1987 where ancient statues await my arrival. I have read it in so many blogs, “If you are visiting Mount Nemrut, sunrise is the time to go.” It is not the Egyptians, Greeks or Romans who built these series of statues but the obscure Commagenes— a tiny kingdom in around 2nd century BCE to 1st…
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Halfeti, Turkey : In Mesopotamia on the Euphrates
Half asleep, from the window of the car, I notice a non-descript river. Just when I am falling asleep again, my guide, Sehzat announces, “Now, we are entering Mesopotamia. This is river Euphrates that you are crossing.” The ring of the familiar names, Mesopotamia and Euphrates, wake me up. I must be nearing my destination – Halfeti, Turkey. The vehicle has been whizzing from Gaziantep, through the twists and turns of the gentle hills of Anatolia, for sometimes now. Scores of Pistachio trees, a fruit widely cultivated in both Gaziantep and Sanliurfa provinces, blur past my eyes. A few more turns later, the car halts. I get off. From the…
