| Turkey
is a land of striking contrasts, a country
that is embracing the new without casting
off the old. It is a country of big bustling
cities and vast open countryside; a country
of warm sandy beaches and towering snow-capped
mountains. It’s climate varies from
the warm Mediterranean coastline, where
the sun shines for ten months of the year
and the sea is inviting to swimmers even
in December, to the far east region where
in winter the temperature plunges below
zero and the snow lies thick enough to
entice adventurous skiers looking for
untouched slopes. |
The
country’s most popular resorts lie
in a 500 kilometre arc that stretches
from Izmir on the Aegean west coast to
Antalya on the Mediterranean south coast.Here
are to be found towns like Bodrum, Marmaris,
Fethiye and Kalkan. Once small fishing
villages, they have spread out from their
original harbours to become sophisticated
holiday resorts with a range of hotels
–stretching from the four star with
every conceivable facility to the small
‘pension’. run by its owner
and providing wonderful value for money.
|
Each
of the region’s resorts has its
own character. Bodrum’s buildings
are no more than two-stories high, all
of them whitewashed and spattered with
bougainvillea and olive trees. Marmaris
is in the most spectacular location, a
bay enclosed by pine covered mountains
famous for the honey produced by the local
bees. Fethiye is the town nearest to Olu
Deniz (the ‘Dead Sea’), a
lagoon edged with soft sandy beaches that
is a favourite picnic spot for tourists
and locals alike. Whilst Kalkan is smaller
and further south, close to the spectacular
seven-mile beach and sand covered ruins
of Patara.At all these resorts there is
a variety of boats for hire and water-sports
facilities. |
|
After
a day at sea there is plenty to do on
shore. The region’s bars and restaurants
serve European food and drink as well
as the favourite local tipple - raki -
which is flavoured with aniseed and well
worth a try. All the towns have known
haunts where people gather for cocktails
and to watch the sun set. The bigger towns,
Bodrum and Marmaris, also have a number
of bars and nightclubs where the sun never
sets and the music plays till dawn.
There
is a variety of international cuisine on
offer, but when in Turkey we recommend you
eat as the Turks do. Turkish cuisine is
exceptionally varied, making use of the
wonderful array of fruit and vegetables
that grow in one corner of the country or
another. It’s an easy place to be
a vegetarian, but excellent lamb, fish and
cheeses are available everywhere.
| The
citrus fruits are a local speciality,
but the cherries, peaches, apricots
and figs are unlike anything you have
ever tasted at home. There are hitherto
unseen delights to try the small plums
called maltepe, for example, or pistachio
nuts freshly roasted that day. |
 |
All
the resorts have a variety of fascinating
little shops filled with curios that can
keep you happily browsing for hours. There
are some first-class carpet shops scattered
around the area where colourful floor
coverings of many different styles and
prices can be found.
Wherever you choose to stay, there are
plenty of opportunities for a day’s
outing. Ephesus, with its magnificent
Roman library and baths, is one of the
best preserved ruins in the area. Bodrum’s
superbly restored Crusader Castle tells
the fascinating story of a less well-known
period of history. Or go to Dalyan and
see the ancient rock tombs carved out
of the sheer cliffs, then head down the
river to the sea in a little boat that
passes through high reeds where colourful
kingfishers dart in and out and turtles
swim beneath your hull.
Alternatively,you can hire a Gulet,one
of the familiar local flat-bottomed boats,some
of them as comfortable as your hotel,and
take a few day away from it all.The crew
will pamper you and you will wake to the
tinkle of goats’ bells and the smell
of wild thyme growing on the shore.
Finally, it’s a shame to be in Turkey
and not take a trip to Istanbul for a
few days. The commercial and historical
heart of the country, the city sits astride
the Bosphorus, one of the busiest and
most varied waterways in the world. Its
modern skyscrapers contrast with the teeming
streets of its famous covered bazaar and
the glorious old wooden houses beside
the Bosphorus. Hurrying through its street
are people whose ancestors came from modern-day
Kazakhstan, Hungary or Egypt, people as
varied as the country they have created.
On
any visit to Turkey, there’s never
a dull moment. |
