Final thoughts on Turkey

I believe that it is impossible to see much of a country in a couple of weeks. You can visit some cities, see some interesting sight, eat some good food, and in general have a nice vacation. But in a country as big as, and with a culture as diverse as, and a terrain as variable as Turkey enjoys, it would be hubris to say that we did anything but scratch the surface of the country. I can say that I went in reluctantly (much like I did a year or so ago to Cambodia) and my expectations were wildly exceeded.

There were certainly some things that really annoyed me. The relentless touting in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul, the obvious price gouging of westerners, the bonhomie that had to be forced in various places.

And because there were not really too many Americans visiting Turkey these days, I was often approached in Dutch, German, or French. Usually in that order.

But on the good side, we did meet up with some genuinely nice, friendly, and generous people. We ate some outstanding food. And we saw some remnants of a history that is important to everyone in the world.


The Hagia Sofia in Istanbul was started in the 5th or 6th century. It is tired and worn out, but it is also something of a miracle that it is still standing. It has seen horrible things happen within its walls, and in the nearby neighborhoods. Read anything about The Fourth Crusade, or read Baudolino by Umberto Eco. All of mankind's history is here.


The painted churches of Cappidocia. One could argue that Christianity found its first widespread acceptance in Turkey. You can see the result of this in any one of the 600 or so painted rock churches here. (I think we saw 580 of those 600 churches)

When we were leaving Cappidocia, we talked with one of the owners of our hotel. I said we would tell our friends how much we liked being there, and said we would talk to our friends about visiting. She said that she would look for the. I replied that many of our friends are adventuresome enough to make a trip to Cappidocia. She laughed and said "Cappadocia is adventurous?" and from her standpoint, I guess it is not.

To her, it is just home.


The ancient ruins. Some say the first city in the world is Çatalhöyük in south central Anatolia. Cities are what made people people. So as I said above, the history of Turkey is all of our history.


and oddly enough, the animal life. We saw all these storks, we saw several Hoopoes, foxes, and also plenty of local dogs and cats.

During this trip I read Birds without Wings, a book by Louis de Bernieres. I could not have picked a better book for the last part of the trip. It really helped me to understand the sad recent history of the country.

In every city we visited, the muezzin called from the mosques the required five times a day. It always caught me up a little bit when I heard it. When we were in Istanbul, we were close enough to the Blue Mosque to hear their call to prayer. From a smaller, closer mosque, we heard another. It was like a call and response. Neither one stepped on the other. It was very exotic, and delightful to listen to.

While in Sirince, the call to prayer was inevitably greeted by the howl of all the street dogs. I am not sure if they just did not like that particular muezzin, or if they were raising their voices to God, but it was an interesting sound. Unforgettable, and it reminded you that we are not alone in this world.

It was an excellent trip. I would recommend a trip to Turkey for anyone ambulatory enough to do so. And for anyone interested in history, rugs, food, architecture, religion, or people.