In Which We Visit Turkey

We spent the last three weeks in Turkey. Most of that time we were in Istanbul, staying at the fantastic Grand Ant Hotel, and taking language classes at the EF Institute; we figured that if regular travel to Turkey was on the roster for the foreseeable future, we should get to know the language. We had some very nice meals and visits with my family in Istanbul, and with my father's school friends across the country.

We saw a lot of the usual tourist things, as well. I have photos (there are also photos on my Flickr page with decent captions, if you are impatient). But mostly I wanted to write some about the experience of visiting Turkey as an American, what the country is like and how to get around. The sort of stuff that's harder to find on everybody's Flickr pages or travelogues.

For one thing, everybody shows you this. It's the Blue Mosque. It's beautiful. You really can't appreciate how beautiful in a photograph. The scale of things in Turkey was unbelievable. I'm used to the American scale of beauty, which is also unbelievable, but I expected Turkey to be more like Europe, where you see a cathedral and instead of being this massive huge thing it's kind of tucked into a corner surrounded by lottery ticket sellers and show stores, and the scale is, well, sometimes a bit of a letdown.

Turkey was none of that.

In our last week there, we took a driving trip around the country. Our first real stop was Efes (commonly known as Ephesus by Europeans). This is the small amphitheater, which has the most amazing views out over the hills and down through the valley, just impossible to take in in one gulp. This was when I really regretted leaving my big wide lens at home, because this was where 180 degrees of view would have been amazing.

I spent a few minutes just sitting and experiencing the size of the big amphitheater. It was amazing. In the way that a huge sports complex can't be amazing because the scale is a little too large and perfect to be believable. Do you see me there? Can you see the people on the very top row, standing by the brown grass?

Likewise, the next day we visited Pamukkale (literally "Cotton Castle"), where there are hot springs.

That red arrow points out people hiking up the rocks to visit the pools.

Turkey is a very big place.

Also, Turkey is full of cats. None of the guidebooks ever mention this, but the place is crazy with them, especially Istanbul.

I'm not sure whether Turks are the most cat-crazy nation on earth or whether they are just big suckers, because they let those cats get into everything and everywhere.

This one was curled up in a yarn shop. I can't even imagine that working out in the US. But for the most part the cats are also well-behaved, and don't get into too much trouble. They also don't really get fed or cared for, and I never once saw a cat who was easily handled or for that matter had been fixed, but the deal seems to work out OK for both sides.

These are things you don't find in a series of photos or most travel guides. So over the next couple of posts I thought I would write a bit about people and places in Turkey, and what it's like to visit there on a more general note. And I hope you enjoy it more than just a guided tour of photos.