Before leaving for a solo trip to Turkey in spring 2019, I had been to Istanbul already twice and this city had literally stolen my heart. I will never understand people who don't travel to the same place ever again. I think going back to places you love helps you to understand them better, get to know people, culture, traditions, music, way of living, food, streets, markets, political climate, atmosphere and anything related to that place in a way that you'll never grasp by visiting only once, shortly and randomly. This time, I had more time on my side to organize my way around Turkey and what I had in mind was to visit, after stopping by in Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus.
First stop: Magic Istanbul
I stopped in Istanbul for a week. I rented a room thru Airbnb and stayed at the place of a very nice guy, soft-spoken, very direct, half Turkish-half Zaza (an ethnic group which might have its origins in Persia), ex-architect, now musician and photographer. His apartment was located in a local area near Taksim square, convenient and yet far enough from mass tourism, where you could enjoy local markets, local tea-houses with their typical small chairs and tables and where the majority of Syrian refugees found shelter, in this difficult historical time. Uygar, this is the name of my host, met me at the main door of his building with a big smile under his long, black beard - he was a bit late for the check-in, so I started hand-speaking with an old lady that was resting on a small step in front of the building - and the first thing he told me while running towards me was a sort of apologetic: "Welcome to the fucking Middle-East!". Starting from that moment, I knew that I was in the right place, I LOVE Middle-East so freaking much!***
***some weeks after I started writing this article I did a DNA test to discover my ethnic origins and, of course, I am almost 3% Middle-Eastern! Now it is clear why I keep on traveling to this part of the world and feel home every time I do :)
During my week in Istanbul, thanks to Uygar's precious advises, I visited areas of the city where I had never been before, and my favorite neighborhood became, above all, Balat, in the Jewish area of Istanbul, with his cute Vodina Caddesi (in Turkish, "caddesi" means "street") full of nice bars and restaurants where to take a break and simply chill. I was also introduced to cool - kind of hipster - bars, where they host live music jazz concerts. One evening I went out with a Kurdish guy, a friend of Uygar, who made Raki for living (the typical anise-flavored liquor) and was visiting Istanbul for a couple of nights. Although he didn't speak one word of English and we communicated all evening thru Google Translate, we had the best time at BOVA, listening to a Turkish jazz band. I was also surprised by the fact that Uygar spoke Kurdish fluently and that his friend spoke Turkish fluently, and that their group of friends was all mixed, despite the fact that media want us to believe that they hate each other - actually, once again, it's all a matter of politics, as people just want to live in peace and make good friends, regardless their ethnic origins.
***some weeks after I started writing this article I did a DNA test to discover my ethnic origins and, of course, I am almost 3% Middle-Eastern! Now it is clear why I keep on traveling to this part of the world and feel home every time I do :)
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| Süleymaniye Mosque |
On a Saturday night, I went out with Uygar to a farewell party of a dear friend of him, who was moving from Istanbul to...Brussels!!! The very same city I had lived in for 7 years! So I found myself giving advises on places to visit and stuff to do, once she would get there. That same evening, I went from a bar to another, passed by a very entertaining gay show, met a guy whose dad had left Turkey 3 years ago to travel around the world on his motorbike, putting the entire business in the hands of his son, who still didn't know when his dad would get back, and finally managed to be back home around 4am thinking: what a nice, regular, made in Istanbul night! Uygar also taught me how to prepare Turkish coffee, introduced me to the best, pleasant, calm Turkish music every morning and prepared for me a very nice Turkish dinner, when both of us and one of his friends were home. After this experience, I believe that Airbnb in a shared apartment with someone local is the best way to experience how life goes on in a specific place and to make friends that will stay in your life, in a way or another. Also, going out with these guys made me realize once more how human beings are all the same and how we just want the same things in life: living in peace, having a good time, loving and been loved. Right as I write I hear speaking about Turkey attacking Kurdish territories...when I was in Istanbul people were just friends to each other, loved each other and would never make war against each other. People want peace, politicians maybe not. Sorry if I am repeating myself.
During my previous visits in Istanbul, I had never visited the Asian part of the city, which, surprisingly enough, is also the most organized and less crowded one, full of restaurants and bars that serve European food and Western vibes. Oh Istanbul, I love all your contradictions! Hold-on - let me take a step back just for a sec: during my stay in Brussels, somewhere in 2011, I met a lovely girl from Istanbul, who became, quickly enough, a dear friend of mine. She left Brussels one year before I did and relocated to Istanbul, after more than 15 years living abroad. Of course, the first thing I did before traveling to Turkey was to contact her and after almost 6 years we finally managed to meet again, in the magic city of Istanbul. She took me to Kadikoy, the part of Istanbul where she lives, and where the majority of educated, "upper-class" expats relocate. This area is super nice, you can reach it via bus and also via ferry from Eminonu. In this area - the Asian one, indeed - you can find fancy shops, bars and restaurants where all tastes are satisfied, from typical local Turkish food to international and more sophisticated choices. With my friend we spoke a lot about the way of living in Turkey, how relationships between men and women work - pretty much same as in Europe, as human beings are all the same, after all, with the same desires and wishes - and, although it is a Muslim country, I discovered that Tinder is widely used for dating and that people divorce and have affairs and struggle as in any other part of the world. She mentioned that sometimes it is hard to be back in a more conservative country, after so many years spent in Northern Europe. The political and economical situation of the country doesn't help, with an inflation that is never under control and people that can't afford leaving the country, not even for holidays, in the majority of the cases. Not to speak about freedom of expression, that sometimes is just non-existing. On the other side, she seemed also quite happy to be back home, close to her family and old friends, being able to go to the beach house for the weekend, eating great food for little money, working for an international company and yet being in her own country. I believe that there are always good sides and bad sides in any choices we make, the important is to understand what counts the most for us in a specific moment of our lives. Meeting with her, wandering around the city and getting good insights from her on the place I was discovering and living in that moment, was one of the most pleasant things that I have done during my trip. Thank you so much!
Another place I visited for the first time was Ortakoy with its cute little mosque and the typical potatoes based dish, Kumpir. If you get the chance, go there for a nice afternoon facing the Bosporus!
Another thing that you shouldn't miss, of course, is the Turkish Hammam. I went to the Cagaloglu Hamami, in the city center, a bit pricey but you won't regret. Total relax. Also the public ones are quite good, if you are in for cheaper options!
Istanbul is an amazing city with lots of things to see, from bazaars, to mosques, from spice shops to rooftop bars and restaurants, from fresh juices kiosks to hipsters bars, from gay friendly spaces to Turkish baths and much much more...just get lost among its streets, people and smells and enjoy the city to the fullest! You can really find everything and its contrary in Istanbul and that's the beauty of this city.
Cool places where to hang out in Istanbul:
Live Jazz Concert:
- BOVA
- NARDIS JAZZ CLUB
- THE BADAU
Eating:
Kuçe Yemek Kolektifi
Helvetia
Felafel Tyros
Second stop: from Istanbul to Cappadocia
There are different options to get to Cappadocia: either by bus or by plane. At first, I had chosen to take a night bus and while I was trying to book my ticket online (quite difficult if you're not Turkish, as they ask for your national ID number), I discovered that there are assigned places for men and women! Meaning that you can't book a seat next to a man, but only next to another woman. Consequence was that all seats for women were taken on the bus I wanted to take and my only option was to book a flight, which was not that bad, at the end :)
Usually Turkish Airlines has fixed prices for all locations within Turkey and buying the ticket 2 days in advance was rather cheap so, at the end, I recommend traveling by plane.
I arrived in Cappadocia in the evening and was picked-up by a collective bus which I had arranged with my guest-house beforehand and that brought me and another bunch of guys straight to Goreme. I highly advise you to liaise with the place you're staying for the transfer from the airport, as there is no public service for that, and especially in the evening can be rather challenging to find transportation.
I chose to stay in Goreme as it is the most lively and central village of Cappadocia, and from there you can easily move to all locations you'd like to visit in the area. In Cappadocia, you can easily move by public buses, for 4 liras- the equivalent of 0,60 cents of euro - you can go from point A to point B and they are well organized and quite on time!
In Cappadocia I visited Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve Open Air Museum, The Love Valley, The Fairy-Tales Chimneys, Derinkuyo Underground City (on a very cold and snowy day, staying underground was indeed the only option), Avanos, which is the city of ceramics, Cavusin, with its nice mosque, the Rose Valley, the Red Valley. I have to say that Cappadocia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to: it seems like being on a parallel planet, made of strange rocks with the weirdest shapes, colored valleys, cute tiny villages, amazing art-craft products, among which colorful carpets, ceramics, pillows, good luck objects for the interiors of the house and so many more nice things that you can bring back with you or get shipped for little money. I love filling my house with objects I collect during my trips, it makes it so colorful and always gives me something to speak about when I have guests over ;-)
While you're busy wandering around, I advise you to stop and rest in few of the different tea-houses to drink some hot, delicious çay. Generally speaking, and maybe I already said that, I loved the food in Turkey so much! Lentils soup with lemon drops and pancakes with potatoes, spinach and cheese were part of my daily diet <3
And now, let's speak about the MUST DO in Cappadocia: the HOT AIR BALLOON!
Did I do it? Yes
Was it worth it? Oh Yes!
Would I recommend it? Triple yes!
Did I book it in advance? Nope.
Do I advise to book it in advance? Not really.
Actually, before going to Cappadocia I wasn't really sure that I wanted to go on a hot air balloon...In my eyes it was a kind of touristic trap, and I wanted to see how it looked like once I was there. Once I arrived in Cappadocia, I realized that it is the best place to have that kind of experience, if you really want to. The territory is unique and seeing it from above was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever done.
To my big surprise, all people I met had booked their spot way in advance, in some cases months in advance, while for me was rather easy to arrange it directly with my guesthouse for a very reasonable price: 150 euro for 1 hour - please note that I was traveling off season, while in summer time or during official holidays the prices raise quite a bit. I was also lucky because the day I was booked it finally stopped snowing and the experience was amazing! Usually, the tours are made for sunrise, early in the morning. You can also watch the balloons go up from the viewpoints in Goreme or from one of the many hotel terraces - they charge a small fee - if you want to get into one. I did both things, meaning that I woke up at 5am for 2 days in a row ;-)
Third stop: from Cappadocia to Pamukkale on a 10 hours night bus - this was a true adventure and one of the scariest moments of my life!
With lots of sadness, after about a week in Cappadocia, I decided to leave this amazing place and move on to the next one: Pamukkale!
I took a night bus which left Cappadocia at 8pm and was supposed to arrive in Pamukkale at 6am the day after. I had also arranged my hotel right in front of the site, so that I would arrive, fall asleep for a couple of hours and then visit the pools and the Hierapolis. My plan was perfect and perfectly organized BUT, as we all know, things in life don't always go according to plans...
As soon as I got on the bus I fell asleep and was awaken at around 1am, when we stopped for a break in a huge and extremely crowded bus hub, somewhere in Western Turkey. I quickly went to the toilet and when I returned to the platform where the bus had stopped I discovered that my bus was not there anymore, puff, gone, vanished! PANIC ATTACK! I went back and forth checking all platforms but nothing, my bus wasn't there. I had left on it my laptop, my tablet and, of course, my luggage with all my stuff! Thankfully, I had on me my passport, my cards, my phone and my bus ticket, which I started to show to a couple of bus drivers, hoping that they could help me in understanding what the heck had just happened! But nothing, nobody spoke one single word of English. However, my terrified face said it all: I didn't even know where I was and if I would ever see my belongings again, all this in the middle of the night, in a bus station, in Turkey, which might not exactly be the safest country for a girl traveling alone. A guy who must have realized my panic, indicated me the police office, so off I went and showed my ticket to an officer. He brought me to the stand of the bus company - which was open, thanks God! - and, after google translating what had happened to me that night, they just told me that the bus had gone to put fuel and would be back soon. I shall wait on the platform 32 - I will never forget that number. I literally kidnapped the police officer, who I am sure had better things to do that night, and had him wait together with me. He was super kind, reassuring me that they would come back to pick me up. And they did, 30 minutes later, the longest 30 minutes of my life. I think they had just forgotten me there! Lesson learnt from this experience: I have to leave the bus always with someone else, or tell other passengers to look for me before the bus leaves, when I am traveling alone, always! So, at 6.30am, I finally arrived in Pamukkale, with a couple of additional grey hair but super happy to be there. As originally planned, I slept for a couple of hours and then got to the site, still quite early. The place is amazing, with its pools - where I also managed to take a bath - the Roman ruins, the Amphitheater. I advise to get there early in the morning, as this place gets overcrowded by tourists quite quickly. One night stay in the village is enough, it's just one street and apart from the travertines (terraces), there is nothing much to see. You can, however, take an hot air balloon here too, but I can't really say how it is and how much does it cost.
So, the day after, I catch a public bus from Pamukkale till the city of Denizli and from there a super modern and comfortable train till the city of Selçuk, where the ancient ruins of Ephesus are. The city itself is super nice, and it's worth to spend there a couple of days. The ruins are also quite amazing, however I advise you to get a guide in order to understand better what you are looking at and what it represented in the past.
Once in Selçuk, I also visited the village of Sirince, an ancient Greek village where they produce the best fruity wine and make the tastiest Turkish coffee. It is a small village up in the mountains, you get there by public bus from Selcuk, which leaves each 20 minutes.
After Sirince, I jumped onto another night bus and got back to Istanbul to spend additional two nights in my favorite city. This time, I booked a room thru Airbnb with 2 Pakistani guys who were working in a hair transplant clinic - Turkey is very famous for this kind of surgery, and I discovered that many people, from all over the world, go there to get a hair transplant. On the plane back home, I saw many guys with their red dotted heads and black bands on their forehead to keep anesthesia from going down, they seemed quite in pain, having their hair removed from their chest or beard, but also satisfied for having finally their hair back, in a couple of months ;-)
The place where I was staying was located in a very conservative area of the city, where women would wear black burquas and you'd find a mosque each 5 meters. I enjoyed this change from the modern Taksim Square, where I was previously staying, and especially enjoyed the very spicy Pakistani dinners these lovely guys cooked for me. We sat on the floor around a round table, ate with our hands, and discussed about life, relationships, work, families, the very same way I would discuss with anyone. Traveling makes me realize every time that human beings are more similar than what they want us to believe and that good people are the majority, in this amazing world. It was almost Ramadan, so we went off to markets to buy any kind of food and get ready to celebrate! But for me, unfortunately, it was already time to leave this amazing country. My hearth was full of memories, adventures, people, smells, colors, tastes and emotions. Alhamdulillah!
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| Turkish Chai |
Another place I visited for the first time was Ortakoy with its cute little mosque and the typical potatoes based dish, Kumpir. If you get the chance, go there for a nice afternoon facing the Bosporus!
Another thing that you shouldn't miss, of course, is the Turkish Hammam. I went to the Cagaloglu Hamami, in the city center, a bit pricey but you won't regret. Total relax. Also the public ones are quite good, if you are in for cheaper options!
Istanbul is an amazing city with lots of things to see, from bazaars, to mosques, from spice shops to rooftop bars and restaurants, from fresh juices kiosks to hipsters bars, from gay friendly spaces to Turkish baths and much much more...just get lost among its streets, people and smells and enjoy the city to the fullest! You can really find everything and its contrary in Istanbul and that's the beauty of this city.
Cool places where to hang out in Istanbul:
Live Jazz Concert:
- BOVA
- NARDIS JAZZ CLUB
- THE BADAU
Eating:
Kuçe Yemek Kolektifi
Helvetia
Felafel Tyros
Second stop: from Istanbul to Cappadocia
There are different options to get to Cappadocia: either by bus or by plane. At first, I had chosen to take a night bus and while I was trying to book my ticket online (quite difficult if you're not Turkish, as they ask for your national ID number), I discovered that there are assigned places for men and women! Meaning that you can't book a seat next to a man, but only next to another woman. Consequence was that all seats for women were taken on the bus I wanted to take and my only option was to book a flight, which was not that bad, at the end :)
Usually Turkish Airlines has fixed prices for all locations within Turkey and buying the ticket 2 days in advance was rather cheap so, at the end, I recommend traveling by plane.
I arrived in Cappadocia in the evening and was picked-up by a collective bus which I had arranged with my guest-house beforehand and that brought me and another bunch of guys straight to Goreme. I highly advise you to liaise with the place you're staying for the transfer from the airport, as there is no public service for that, and especially in the evening can be rather challenging to find transportation.
I chose to stay in Goreme as it is the most lively and central village of Cappadocia, and from there you can easily move to all locations you'd like to visit in the area. In Cappadocia, you can easily move by public buses, for 4 liras- the equivalent of 0,60 cents of euro - you can go from point A to point B and they are well organized and quite on time!
In Cappadocia I visited Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve Open Air Museum, The Love Valley, The Fairy-Tales Chimneys, Derinkuyo Underground City (on a very cold and snowy day, staying underground was indeed the only option), Avanos, which is the city of ceramics, Cavusin, with its nice mosque, the Rose Valley, the Red Valley. I have to say that Cappadocia is one of the most beautiful places I have ever been to: it seems like being on a parallel planet, made of strange rocks with the weirdest shapes, colored valleys, cute tiny villages, amazing art-craft products, among which colorful carpets, ceramics, pillows, good luck objects for the interiors of the house and so many more nice things that you can bring back with you or get shipped for little money. I love filling my house with objects I collect during my trips, it makes it so colorful and always gives me something to speak about when I have guests over ;-)
While you're busy wandering around, I advise you to stop and rest in few of the different tea-houses to drink some hot, delicious çay. Generally speaking, and maybe I already said that, I loved the food in Turkey so much! Lentils soup with lemon drops and pancakes with potatoes, spinach and cheese were part of my daily diet <3
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| Zelve |
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| Goreme |
Did I do it? Yes
Was it worth it? Oh Yes!
Would I recommend it? Triple yes!
Did I book it in advance? Nope.
Do I advise to book it in advance? Not really.
Actually, before going to Cappadocia I wasn't really sure that I wanted to go on a hot air balloon...In my eyes it was a kind of touristic trap, and I wanted to see how it looked like once I was there. Once I arrived in Cappadocia, I realized that it is the best place to have that kind of experience, if you really want to. The territory is unique and seeing it from above was one of the most beautiful things that I have ever done.
To my big surprise, all people I met had booked their spot way in advance, in some cases months in advance, while for me was rather easy to arrange it directly with my guesthouse for a very reasonable price: 150 euro for 1 hour - please note that I was traveling off season, while in summer time or during official holidays the prices raise quite a bit. I was also lucky because the day I was booked it finally stopped snowing and the experience was amazing! Usually, the tours are made for sunrise, early in the morning. You can also watch the balloons go up from the viewpoints in Goreme or from one of the many hotel terraces - they charge a small fee - if you want to get into one. I did both things, meaning that I woke up at 5am for 2 days in a row ;-)
Third stop: from Cappadocia to Pamukkale on a 10 hours night bus - this was a true adventure and one of the scariest moments of my life!
With lots of sadness, after about a week in Cappadocia, I decided to leave this amazing place and move on to the next one: Pamukkale!
I took a night bus which left Cappadocia at 8pm and was supposed to arrive in Pamukkale at 6am the day after. I had also arranged my hotel right in front of the site, so that I would arrive, fall asleep for a couple of hours and then visit the pools and the Hierapolis. My plan was perfect and perfectly organized BUT, as we all know, things in life don't always go according to plans...
As soon as I got on the bus I fell asleep and was awaken at around 1am, when we stopped for a break in a huge and extremely crowded bus hub, somewhere in Western Turkey. I quickly went to the toilet and when I returned to the platform where the bus had stopped I discovered that my bus was not there anymore, puff, gone, vanished! PANIC ATTACK! I went back and forth checking all platforms but nothing, my bus wasn't there. I had left on it my laptop, my tablet and, of course, my luggage with all my stuff! Thankfully, I had on me my passport, my cards, my phone and my bus ticket, which I started to show to a couple of bus drivers, hoping that they could help me in understanding what the heck had just happened! But nothing, nobody spoke one single word of English. However, my terrified face said it all: I didn't even know where I was and if I would ever see my belongings again, all this in the middle of the night, in a bus station, in Turkey, which might not exactly be the safest country for a girl traveling alone. A guy who must have realized my panic, indicated me the police office, so off I went and showed my ticket to an officer. He brought me to the stand of the bus company - which was open, thanks God! - and, after google translating what had happened to me that night, they just told me that the bus had gone to put fuel and would be back soon. I shall wait on the platform 32 - I will never forget that number. I literally kidnapped the police officer, who I am sure had better things to do that night, and had him wait together with me. He was super kind, reassuring me that they would come back to pick me up. And they did, 30 minutes later, the longest 30 minutes of my life. I think they had just forgotten me there! Lesson learnt from this experience: I have to leave the bus always with someone else, or tell other passengers to look for me before the bus leaves, when I am traveling alone, always! So, at 6.30am, I finally arrived in Pamukkale, with a couple of additional grey hair but super happy to be there. As originally planned, I slept for a couple of hours and then got to the site, still quite early. The place is amazing, with its pools - where I also managed to take a bath - the Roman ruins, the Amphitheater. I advise to get there early in the morning, as this place gets overcrowded by tourists quite quickly. One night stay in the village is enough, it's just one street and apart from the travertines (terraces), there is nothing much to see. You can, however, take an hot air balloon here too, but I can't really say how it is and how much does it cost.
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| Pamukkale |
So, the day after, I catch a public bus from Pamukkale till the city of Denizli and from there a super modern and comfortable train till the city of Selçuk, where the ancient ruins of Ephesus are. The city itself is super nice, and it's worth to spend there a couple of days. The ruins are also quite amazing, however I advise you to get a guide in order to understand better what you are looking at and what it represented in the past.
Once in Selçuk, I also visited the village of Sirince, an ancient Greek village where they produce the best fruity wine and make the tastiest Turkish coffee. It is a small village up in the mountains, you get there by public bus from Selcuk, which leaves each 20 minutes.
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| Ephesus |
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| Ephesus |
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| Sirince |
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| Turkish Coffee in Sirince |
The place where I was staying was located in a very conservative area of the city, where women would wear black burquas and you'd find a mosque each 5 meters. I enjoyed this change from the modern Taksim Square, where I was previously staying, and especially enjoyed the very spicy Pakistani dinners these lovely guys cooked for me. We sat on the floor around a round table, ate with our hands, and discussed about life, relationships, work, families, the very same way I would discuss with anyone. Traveling makes me realize every time that human beings are more similar than what they want us to believe and that good people are the majority, in this amazing world. It was almost Ramadan, so we went off to markets to buy any kind of food and get ready to celebrate! But for me, unfortunately, it was already time to leave this amazing country. My hearth was full of memories, adventures, people, smells, colors, tastes and emotions. Alhamdulillah!
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