A Taste Of Turkey
Sun Herald
Saturday October 18, 1997
Driving in Turkey Daniel Dasey gets a chance to meet the locals (including the traffic police).
THE idea behind behind a driving holiday in Turkey was to meet the people, but with a sweaty Istanbul taxi driver shouting 5cm from my face I'm starting to have second thoughts.
Behind us on the road splinters of his side mirrors are sparkling next to my dented hire car - both victims of my first hour on the roads of Turkey's sprawling capital.
It takes a crisp 5,000,000 lire note ($50) - and the threat of an arduous insurance settlement - before he allows me to drive away, still cursing.
Later when the car is carted off from a mildly illegal park by a commission-hungry tow truck driver I'm just about ready to cut my losses and ditch the keys in the city's Bosphorus River.
Driving in Istanbul for the uninitiated can be a nightmarish experience, complete with confusing street signs and Turkish drivers determined to defy road rules and challenge even tram drivers at breakneck speeds.
Add to the general traffic chaos the challenge of navigating a left-hand drive through sometimes medieval-sized streets paved with slippery cobble stones.
A far better option is use taxis to explore the city's many attractions and pick up a rental car before heading out of town.
Be sure to check out the city's majestic Blue Mosque - with its whacky sound and light show at dusk - and spend at least half a day strolling through Topkapi palace - the former home of Turkey's Sultan rulers.
The Egyptian and Covered Markets are must-sees and the nearby Sultanahmet Prison made famous by the film Midnight Express is also worth a look.
After being decommissioned in the 1970s and laying derelict until two years ago it has now been transformed into a 65-room Four Season hotel, attracting $300-a-night tourists - and the inevitable jokes.
Outside Istanbul driving is bliss: a sprawling network of clearly posted sealed roads that make motoring one of the best ways of seeing the country.
Unrestricted by public transport timetables and set down points a hire-car lets you discover deserted beaches and beautiful small towns.
After forking out a $15 release fee and retrieving the car from where it was impounded we head to Gallipoli - unfortunately in the wrong direction.
It does not matter.
Our route which winds around the beautiful blue Sea of Marmaris - instead of cutting straight across it - gives us our first taste of rural Turkey and the smaller towns.
Every town in Turkey boasts a statue of Ataturk - the father of Turkish democracy - but the differences between villages can be immense.
Obedience to Islam, Turkey's dominant religion, varies widely from small rural communities where women keep strictly to full body cloaking to western-style seaside resorts where bikinis are streetwear.
Also widely varying are the menus on offer and regional specialties offer a great alternative to the Turkish staples of kebabs, goats cheese and bread.
One constant is the fact that outside the big towns Turks are laid-back and curious about strangers - particularly Australians, a legacy of the fact that they beat us so convincingly in World War I.
Thousands of Australians make the pilgrimage to Gallipoli each year and the small fishing town itself is a pleasant surprise. Still an active port, its cute harbour is home to Byzantine ruins and a good selection of restaurants and hotels.
The battlefields themselves are a strange mix of stunning coastline and chilling history, marked by monuments to Turkish and ANZAC soldiers.
Temperatures can soar in the high 30s in summer, but swimming is discouraged at the beautiful ANZAC landing sites out of respect for the dead. We hop in the car and swim a few kilometres down the road.
Further south down Turkey's Aegean coast is the town of Assos - well worth a side trip despite its treacherous cliff approach road.
Nestled into the rocks along a sheltered harbour the town is a haven for Euro-chic yachtie types and features stone Ottoman buildings and cute narrow streets.
With its guesthouses perched on the rocks the town has the look of Italy's Positano, but with Turkey's cheaper prices and friendlier feel.
Touts are a feature of any travel experience in Turkey and it seems the further south you go the more daring they become.
At Ephesus - the seat of some of Turkey's best classical ruins - the touts are persistent and rude. Listen for the involved story about Turks with relatives in Australia - repeated with suspicious regularity - who then have hotel rooms to offer.
Ignore them and head to the ruins, about 3km out of town where the cobbled streets, crumbling arches and stadia offer excellent cues for your imagination to conjure up images of life 2,000 years ago.
Further down the coast Bodrum is an excellent and picturesque base for day yacht cruises and side trips to nearby Greek Islands.
Backpackers come here to indulge themselves after roughing it around the country and the town boasts street after street of rip-off designer clothes, trinkets and leather goods - as well as the world's largest outdoor disco.
A far better option is to take one of the day cruises, costing about $20, operating from the harbour each morning to a series of idyllic local coves and inlets.
From the coast we head inland to Pamukkale, the home of ancient ruins and Turkey's famous calcium springs. Solid white mineral cascades coat the side of a sweeping mountain, which, from afar, looks like a ski-field.
While bathing in the natural mineral pools has recently been banned to stop the area being ruined by tourism, hotels at the top of the cascades offer a chance to swim in the springs and escape the near-desert heat.
The Palmiye Motel is an abomination built in the 50s which steals the prime views of the springs from the general public. But if you're staying in the hotel yourself who cares.
The motel-style block, which has the best valley views in town, is slated for demolition but while it lasts lolling around in the pool, watching the sunset and downing a cold beer is a magical experience. Well worth the $100-a-night room rate.
Further inland Cappadocia is one of Turkey's most popular tourist region - and with good reason. It's truly magical.
The area's soft tufa rock has been used by locals for thousands of years to escape the temperature extremes - up to 50C in summer and below freezing in winter.
Hillsides are burrowed out like rabbit warrens with many of their interiors decorated in beautiful Byzantine art.
At Goreme guest houses and hotels are made the same way allowing visitors - mostly Australian from what I saw - to spend their visit Coober Pedy style.
Car rental firms are abundant in Istanbul and most of the major companies are represented.
We pre-booked through a travel agent before leaving Australia and ended up paying around $70 a day for 10 days, including insurance and unlimited kilometres. Petrol prices are comparable to Australia.
One hazard to watch for are speed traps. I was caught doing 80km/h in a 50 zone in Cappadocia. The surprisingly good humoured police issued a $30 fine - payable on the spot.
CHECK IN
GETTING THERE: Egyptair flies to Istanbul via Cairo twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays and offers one of the cheapest connections to Turkey.
Prices for economy start from $1,580 with business class fares from $2,470.
Day tours and stopovers can be arranged out of Cairo.
For details ring: 02) 9232 6677
Trans Turk Travel Services in Surry Hills can arrange car hire in Turkey, telephone 9281 3500. Our 1.6 litre Fiat was $585 for seven days. If necessary additional days can be added in Turkey for a small surcharge.
© 1997 Sun Herald
