I can’t tell you precisely where I am. This isn’t a matter of secrecy. It’s a consequence of my overall unfamiliarity with the local geography and the fact that most of the road signs are in Turkish. I don’t know if they’re hoping to direct me to the next town or a golf course. We’re somewhere in Anatolia, but I never knew that referred to the entire Asiatic part of Turkey; about 97%. The only major resistance met when crossing the border was the requirement to queue for a visa at the airport. The woman behind the counter grimaced at New Turkish Lire and said she’d much prefer fifteen euros. We then overwhelmed passport control, found the troop transporter waiting in the car park and penetrated as far as a virtual place called Belek. As far as I understand it, the Mediterranean coast is a couple of miles south, the Taurus Mountains are shrouded in cloud to the north, and Cyprus is some distance east.

Our orders came in brochures, and one referred to Belek as a small village. As the place had never existed, this was somewhat misleading. Belek is both more virtual and larger than any village beyond the realms of complete fiction. It comes from the architects of incomplete fiction, and building work continues apace.

About fifteen years ago, the government decided mass tourism sounded like a good idea, and officially established the Turkish Riviera. An area starting around fifteen miles east of the city of Antalya was then predominantly an empty space on the map, and thus the perfect place to build forty or so large hotels. They added five golf courses and a gap in the middle was duly termed a village. That area began to attract various buildings and now declares itself to be the City Center.

Human settlements traditionally grow as a consequence of the available resources and needs of the local residents. I suppose Belek has done this too, if you appreciate that both the primary resources and the residents are in the hotels. In the modern world, people need to buy the essentials to sustain life, so shops were opened to sell leatherwear, jewellery and golf clubs. Restaurants and car rental were high on the agenda as well. The lack of local heritage was a blessing. It meant ruins and relics could be built from scratch.

The remains of a one-mile-long Roman aqueduct, which have never met any water apart from occasional winter rain, line the roadside and provide ancient gateways to nowhere in particular. These ruins were completed recently. The same is true for the one-eighth of an amphitheatre, which gives you somewhere to sit and admire the tasteful never-Greek non-temple to your left. On the right is a brand new limestone grotto, fitted with cascading waterfalls and containing public toilets. This is very convenient for the traditional-looking mosque behind; a building redolent with visual interest which has attracted faithful camera-clickers for perhaps a decade. Belek is generously endowed with historical architecture, none of which has had the opportunity to suffer from the ravages of much time at all. Every last moulded stone has been lovingly faked. And the same applies to the branded goods in most of the shops.

Much of the impetus behind the Turkish Riviera was provided by miles of Mediterranean beach backed by woods, forests and mountains. Personally, I’m not much of a fan of beaches unless they come with en-suite fossils. None are available here and, if it were otherwise, removing them from the country without a licence would be a crime punishable with imprisonment. Nevertheless, I forced myself onto a shady sun chair and even dared a dip into the warm water. This beach lacks other features besides fossils. You’d have to bring your own ice-cream, and seagulls and pigeons are conspicuous by their absence.

One unusual attraction is provided by the local police. When it comes to the beach, their main duty seems to be their discreet presence. Only unusually curious observers and wannabe terrorists are likely to notice them. On the first occasion, two officers were spotted strolling along the seafront. They then disappeared into the woods and returned a few minutes later armed with plastic chairs. After these were placed in the strategic shadow of a eucalyptus bush, the custodians of law sat down for a pleasant couple of hours. They were still contentedly chatting when we left.

On the next afternoon, which was a Sunday, only one officer was observed. He’d obviously learned from experience, as he walked along the front carrying a chair at the ready. Once it was correctly positioned, the policeman broke cover to attend to some pressing business on the beach. This involved drinking a quick cup of tea with some friends. Much refreshed, he returned to his seat with two bottles of mineral water and resumed work. Security is an important issue on the Turkish Riviera, and it’s best maintained while keeping out of the afternoon sun.

Author: Trevor Dykes

T D Dykes: putting the in before sanity.

Dr Trevor Dykes, aged 42.09, is a starving humorist slaving away to almost universal indifference in the comedy mines of Franconia. Born in Bournemouth, he emigrated to Germany in 1992 to loud cries of Bon Voyage, relief and good riddance. He earned his Doctorate in Humour from the University Collage of Dipwytch, Dorset by paying fifty pounds. His special areas of study include: sleeping, West African e-mail fraud, mammals and near-mammals of the Mesozoic and the virtual village of Dipwytch. More on those themes can be learned later, so you have been warned.

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Ever-new theme hotels in Las Vegas lead you to believe that you no longer need to embark on a long-haul flight to explore the Occident and Orient. It can all be found within a square mile on the strip of Las Vegas, room service and gambling included. But America’s theme hotels are but a poor copy of the real cultural, historical and architectural monuments which need half a lifetime to explore and the other half to comprehend. And I have yet to find in Las Vegas the old man in the coffee-house, his facial contours drawn by the hardships of rural life, who will tell me legends about places and people, heroes and villains. Stories carried over from generation to generation throughout the centuries, not those myths created in a month’s multimillion dollar marketing campaign.

The Real Thing

Throughout my travels I have always sought authentic and original experiences. And I pride myself on having found what could be one of the most historic hotels in the whole wide world: a five hundred-year-old caravanserai, the Hotel Kervansaray in the city of Diyarbakir, Turkey.

Once frequented by caravans transporting precious silk from China to mediæval Europe, it is now a scenic hotel for initiated adventure seekers and a few business travellers alike.

A Reminiscence of the Silk Road

Diyarbakir is situated in the most southeastern spot of Anatolia, Turkey, only a stone’s throw away from the Syrian border and a few miles from Iraq. Throughout the centuries, Diyarbakir was an important station on the Silk Road, the land route which connected the markets of the Far East and Central Asia with the metropolitan centres of Western Europe. Silk, jewels, carpets and spices have travelled on the Silk Road, and so have stories and legends. And long before that, around 4000 BC, this region was at the centre of the ancient Mesopotamia, the mysterious civilisation between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris, home to the legends of 1001 Nights.

Try to imagine this load of history packed into one hotel room, and you might just gain a glimpse of what I was lucky to see at the Hotel Kervansaray.

Nowadays, thanks to the collapse of the Soviet empire which bordered with Turkey in the east, Diyarbakir is once more a commercial centre for East-West trade. Which was the reason for my visit. I travelled the region in October 2000 as part of an incentive tour for our Turkish business partners. Since the end of terrorist atrocities in this predominantly Kurdish region in 1999, travel to Southeastern Anatolia is now mostly safe. But the region is yet to be discovered by most Turks, let alone by foreign tourists.

A Hotel-Oasis in the Anatolian Desert

The Hotel Kervansaray is beautifully built around a garden court. Palm trees rise high into the sky, and a fountain spends fresh water at the centre of the court. Around this oasis, the hotel is built like a fortress in square shape. Arched galleries surround the court on two levels, from which heavy wooden doors lead into the rooms. And the thick stone walls not only used to pose an insurmountable barrier to the attacks of bandits and rebels, but have also withstood the tooth of time.

The hotel’s restaurant and bar are hidden deep in the fundaments of these mediæval walls. The huge stone columns which support the arched ceiling somewhat resemble a prehistoric cave dwelling. But the heavy structure is eased by the frivolous ongoings in the cellar bar, which is a popular meeting place for locals and hotel guests alike. The typical Turkish brew, Efes lager, flows in gallons and is accompanied by servings of raki, the local spirit.

The oasis and garden court theme reappears in the pool and bar complex at the rear end of the Hotel Kervansaray. This area was added to the hotel a few years ago and is open only in the summer season. The pool lies surrounded by palm trees and a bar pavilion. It is a fine place to lean back in your sun chair and glance at the endless Anatolian desert over an ice-cold Pina Colada. You have reached your oasis, and onward travel will be met with mixed feelings of reluctance and melancholy.

1001 Nights in my Hotel Room

My company had been kind enough to book me into a suite. But the two rooms would hardly qualify as such in any other four or five star hotel. Blank, white painted stone walls and scanty furniture, only consisting of a sofa, table and fridge in the lounge room, and a king-size bed, desk and wardrobe in the bedroom – these surroundings create a reminiscence of the simplicities endured by caravan travellers centuries ago.

The bathroom and shower were clean and spacious, but required two calls to the reception front desk for the hot water to run. No minibar could be found in the room, and the television didn’t have either cable, satellite or Pay-TV. Thus I had to resort to one of the handful of local channels until I fell asleep.

I woke up in the middle of the night from the gentle kisses of two oriental beauties. I noticed the mild scent of spices and exotic oils which the girls had filled into small golden cups on my bedside. The floor was covered with yellow roses, and an oil lamp had been lit on the corner table. What had resembled a bare prison cell a few hours ago, had been turned into a royal suite of an oriental harem.

Sephika, the girl to my left, gently removed the bed sheet and covered my legs with Kashmir fleeces and silk towels, the rare kind of Atlas Silk only to be found in Usbekistan’s Ferghana Valley. Rana, her equally beautiful and skilled sister, lifted my head over a silver bowl and washed my hair with holy water from Abraham’s Pool in Sanliurfa, the city of prophets.

We were abruptly disrupted by a hammering noise from the door. Before I had even fully recollected my senses, I heard the door lock breaking, and within seconds the room was filled with a bunch of men with dark faces, bronzed by the same unforgiving sun which burns all life in Turkey’s Cukurova plains. They exuded the smell of a herd of Anatolian cattle, and their ripped clothes and marked bodies were witnesses of many battles fought.

Out of their middle, a tall man approached my bed. Unlike his comrades, he was dressed in splendid silk, and his fingers were decorated with gold rings and jewels from the finest goldsmiths in Adana. In his belt rested a sword with enamel inlays and silver engravings. “My name is Ali Baba. I have come to take possession of your wives and your belongings,” the stranger said.

In a moment of anger and wounded pride, I stood in my bed and raised my fist against the intruder. But before my punch could reach him, his sword had hit me right through the heart. In the few seconds I had left to live, I didn’t feel pain, only the warmth of my own blood running down my chest.

I didn’t die. I woke up before that, awakened from what was only a dream. A dream inspired equally by the legends of 1001 Nights, the novels of the early Yasar Kemal, and the unique scenery of this hotel. The TV was still on, and showed an Anatolian folk dance festival. I switched it off and slept peacefully through the rest of the night, assured that the caravanserai’s thick walls would protect me from Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves.

Try to beat that, Vegas.

Hotel Kervansaray ****
Ziya Gokalp Bulvari
Diyarbakir
Turkey
Tel: +90 (412) 228 8130

Istanbul is the unofficial capital of Turkey, and the only city that can claim to be part of two continents, Europe and Asia. At already over 15 million inhabitants, it still keeps growing at the speed of light, as you can see from the 600 new car registrations every day.

And yet Istanbul still has its quiet places, untouched by the hectic ongoings in the city, and undiscovered by the self-declared travel gurus of the Lonely Planet and Rough Guides. Be it a melancholic reminiscence of the old Constantinople in a silent spot on the Theodosian City Wall, or a moment of reflection in a small mosque on the Asian side, Istanbul provides plenty of space for inner and outer journeys – far more than could be covered in this article.

Follow me on a tour of Istanbul’s hotspots, but be sure to leave some time and space for your own detours, discoveries and encounters.

Sultanahmet District

Sultanahmet is where all sightseeing excursions start. Albeit extremely touristy, this district includes several architectural monuments which are not to be missed. At the centre of Sultanahmet is the historical triangle of the Blue Mosque, Saint Sophia’s Cathedral, and the Topkapi Palace.

The Hagia Sophia (Cathedral of St Sophia) represents the different periods of mediæval history in Istanbul like no other place. It was built in 537 as the centre of the Byzantine Church. In 1453 the inhabitants of what was then called Constantinople gathered in St Sophia’s, praying to God to save their city from Turkish occupation. After Constantinople nevertheless fell to Sultan Mehmet, St Sophia’s was used as a mosque for five centuries, until Kemal Atatürk turned it into a museum in 1934. The result is an interesting mixture of styles in St Sophia’s: you can still see the wonderful golden mosaics of the old Christian church, but all the sculptures and paintings of Christian saints have been removed and replaced by Muslim symbols.

Sultan Ahmet Camii (the Blue Mosque) stands just across the street from St Sophia’s. When this mosque was built in 1609, Sultan Ahmet wanted it to be even larger and more beautiful than St Sophia’s. This shows in the picturesque interior, which is decorated with blue and white enamel tiles with flower symbols. However, the Blue Mosque has never left the great impression on me that other travellers report. Maybe that’s because its size and the constant flow of visitors mean that it fails to inspire a reverential atmosphere. Nonetheless, the Blue Mosque is a fantastic piece of Ottoman architecture, both inside and outside.

The third and most beautiful monument in this area is Topkapi Sarayi (Topkapi Palace). This place is so rich and diverse in architecture and artwork that it is hard to put it into a few words for this article. The palace embraces an area of over 170 acres, which includes numerous courts, yards and gardens, two museums, and almost endless numbers of halls, saloons, libraries and harems. Gold and enamel decorations, mosaics, colourful carpets and breathtaking jewellery collections are among the many attractions to be discovered at Topkapi Palace. You should reserve at least half a day for an excursion to this place.

Off the beaten track: If the tourist bustle around the Blue Mosque is not your kind of thing, then Sultan Suleymaniye Camii may be more to your liking. This mosque, half a mile northwest of Sultanahmet in Beyazit district, is almost as beautiful as the Blue Mosque, but far less crowded. You may also like to explore the outer parts of Sultanahmet around the Hippodrome. Stroll around small old streets and markets, discover the remains of the Forum Romanum around the Constantine Column, or pay a visit to Cagaloglu Hamani, Istanbul’s oldest Turkish bath. And the Grand Bazaar is just a few steps away.

Advice: Throughout your excursion in Sultanahmet district, you may feel harassed by carpet dealers all over the place. You’d do better to ignore the ones on the street, but feel free to enter some of the carpet shops. You may have a look at some beautiful textiles over a cup of tea which is usually offered free (rejecting it is regarded as an insult) and you don’t have to feel obliged to buy anything.

Galata and Beyoglu

The Golden Horn bay separates Sultanahmet from Istanbul’s second historic centre, Galata and Beyoglu districts. Once you have crossed Galata Bridge, you enter a different world. No more great squares and splendid Ottoman architecture; instead there are small steep alleys, surrounded by mediæval houses and the remains of the old Genoese city walls. Indeed this quarter was built by Genoese salesmen in the 10th century and very much resembles a mediæval European town.

Halfway up the hill to Beyoglu stands Galata Tower. This is my favourite spot in Istanbul, for it provides one of the most beautiful views in the whole world: a panoramic round view of the Bosphorus, the Sea of Marmara, and the European and Asian parts of Istanbul. On a clear sunny day, you can see as far as the Princes’ Islands in the middle of the Sea of Marmara. The view is most beautiful just before sunset, and you can finish your visit with a meal in the top floor restaurant, although this is a tourist trap and rather expensive.

As you climb up the hill, you pass by Galatasaray College and enter Beyoglu, a modern district with shops, bazaars and bars. One of my favourite stops is the Flower Bazaar where, apparently, you can buy everything except flowers. Most of this market is occupied with food stalls which exude the scents of the oriental cuisine. One side-wing is filled with shops selling artwork, textiles and jewellery. Once at the Flower Bazaar, you should eat Istavrit, tiny fried fish which is eaten like crisps. Or try a glass of Turkish aphrodisiac which looks like honey, but is made from almonds and nuts.

The pedestrian zone takes you all the way to Taksim Square, the centre of Turkish nightlife with loads of bars and clubs. And a bit further north follows Sisli district, home to all the posh international hotels like the Hyatt, the Hilton and the Inter-Continental.

Off the beaten track: Beyoglu has its own small Bosphorus harbour, Kabatas. Boats depart from here to the Virgin Tower, which stands on a rock in the middle of the Bosphorus. The Virgin Tower was only opened to visitors in Autumn 2000, and a museum will soon follow suit on this site. The view from the Virgin Tower is one of the most spectacular in Istanbul, and a prime insider tip. Although the Lonely Planet mentions it in its March 2001 online update, it is yet to appear in any printed travel guide, and thus completely tourist-free.

The Bosphorus Suburbs

North of Kabatas harbour stretches the Bosphorus with its splendid coastline on the European side. The slopes of the hills which form Besiktas district lead directly to the waterline of the Bosphorus. Situated in this beautiful setting are Istanbul’s two most magnificent city estates, the Dolmabahce Palace and the Ciragan Palace. The latter was transformed in the ’90s to house the Kempinski Hotel. This and the Swissôtel which also lies on the slopes of Besiktas are the two hotels in Istanbul which may call themselves members of “The Leading Hotels of the World” group.

North of Besiktas and directly underneath the first Bosphorus bridge lies Ortaköy, which locals call “The Village”. Ortaköy is comprised of small streets with several nice antique shops, but its centrepiece is the square right by the Bosphorus. This square always reminds me of what the main square at Montmartre in Paris must have been like before it was overcrowded by tourists: painters who capture the scene on canvas, young street performers, and children playing between the trees. The square is surrounded on one side by the Bosphorus and a mosque built close to the water, and old houses and fish restaurants on the other. The posh and expensive downtown gourmet temples aside, the small restaurants in Ortaköy are among the best places for fish in all of Istanbul.

Next comes Bebek. This district has two sides to it: uphill Bebek is home to Istanbul’s largest shopping centres, expensive restaurants and stylish bars – the en vogue place for young Turkish professionals. But down here by the Bosphorus Bebek is quieter, with nice small street cafés lined up along the seaside promenade. Bebek is also the preferred living quarter of Istanbul’s elites, as you can see from the beautiful Bosphorus villas and the four-wheel-drives parked in front of them.

The peninsula north of Bebek marks the narrowest part of the Bosphorus and is overlooked by the mighty castle of Rumeli Hisari. Below the castle is a small marina with some of Turkey’s finest yachts. From here on, you can drive another ten miles up the Bosphorus, almost all the way to the Black Sea, until you reach a military security zone north of Belgrade forest. One village on the way which deserves special mention is Sariyer. Even better than Ortaköy, Sariyer has some excellent fish restaurants, but in simple settings. You can be sure of being the only foreigner dining there, but so far out of town you are unlikely to find English-speaking waiters, so only go there in the company of Turkish friends.

If you have an extra day left, you may like to take a boat tour along the Bosphorus. It takes you on a zigzag course to all the small harbours up and down the European and Asian sides. This is a truly relaxing experience which lasts around four hours.

Off the beaten track: As you may have guessed from the description, all of the Bosphorus suburbs are “off the beaten track”. Not that they cannot be crowded at times, but those who stroll around here are all locals. Apart from a few tourists in the know in Ortaköy, you won’t find any foreigners in the Bosphorus suburbs. The same goes for the whole Asian side. And the further north you get on the European side, the more off the beaten track you will be.

Dining and Nightlife

Istanbul is a perfect place for fish eaters. A good choice of local fish would be sole, swordfish, sea trout or, in the spring, turbot. In Turkey fish is usually served grilled and without any sauces in order to keep the original taste, only with lemon, garlic and red onion. You should also try the octopus salad as a starter. The local Cankaya white wine goes well with the fish, and so does Rake spirit mixed with water (no ice!).

As for meat, of course you must try the typical kebab (lamb), which comes in dozens of varieties, grilled, baked or cooked. Once you get tired of Turkish food and want to try something completely different, check out Rejans, a Russian restaurant on Beyoglu pedestrian zone. Rejans serves one of the best borshch soups west of Moscow, plus a superb duck that feeds two, and the vodka is served by the bottle.

Read my article An Oasis of Luxury for recommendations on Istanbul’s arguably best (and most expensive) restaurants and hotels.

As for nightlife, you can choose between two areas: Bebek and Beyoglu.

Bebek is the party place for the young educated Turkish elite who usually speak English and are very friendly to open-minded foreigners (but you won’t find many foreigners here). The whole area is packed with European and American style bars. One of the current en vogue bars is the Barrio Latino which does excellent cocktails. You can also eat here, but I wouldn’t recommend it for that.

More typically Turkish choices are available in Beyoglu and around Taksim Square, although you will run into other tourists here. Next to the Flower Bazaar on the Beyoglu pedestrian zone, the Çiçek Pasajr (passage) includes a dozen of typical restaurants and bars. Just around the corner from the Flower Bazaar is Pano Sakophanensis, a Greek bar with excellent wines and small snacks, which is very popular with the local youth as well as with expats. The place is always packed at night and you might have to queue for a while before you get a table. But it’s well worth the wait.

Club Tip: My favourite club in Istanbul is the Andon, 89 Siraselviler Caddesi, a side street of Taksim Square. Spread over four floors, it includes a disco, pub, wine bar and tavern. The best place for a drink and a light meal is the tavern on the top level, with a perfect view overlooking the Bosphorus.

Warning: This is addressed to males travelling without a spouse: Don’t let yourself be dragged into one of the belly-dancing bars around Taksim Square. They are experts at stripping your wallet and despite the promises by sweet-looking (mostly Russian) girls, you never get anything in return.

Shopping

Akmerkez is Turkey’s largest shopping mall, which was voted “Best Shopping Centre in Europe” in 1997. It is situated in the centre of Bebek and includes around 140 designer shops at regular prices similar to those in central Europe, but has special offers all year round. For more original Turkish products, you can buy anything everywhere at good quality and prices, as long as you stay away from the tourist areas and favour the small bazaars over the big ones. Popular souvenirs are carpets, textiles (be aware of pirate copies of big brands) and jewellery. You can also have your own suit handmade at many shops in Beyoglu.

Travel Literature

The international standard book on Istanbul is Strolling through Istanbul. A guide to the City, by Hilary Sumner-Boyd and John Freely. There are currently two editions on the market, from 1975 and 1987 respectively. At £25 it is rather expensive, but worth every penny. You might be able to obtain it from a second-hand book shop, I got mine for £6 (new edition). Although Boyd’s and Freely’s promenades through Istanbul date back to the 1970s and ’80s and are thus a bit outdated, they are still an indispensable guide for everyone seeking an insider’s view of Istanbul.

A very good tourist guide is Dorling Kindersley’s Eyewitness Travel Guide Istanbul, for £12.99 (latest edition: 1998). Its 3D technique provides a view of the monuments and city districts as they appear on the ground. But, as often with the DK, the practical tips such as restaurants and hotels are pretty useless.

South East Anatolia is part of the Kurdish territory, and has been barred to visitors for decades due to severe security threats. Security has however significantly improved since late 1999, and this part of “Kurdistan” is now open to visitors again. Yet South East Anatolia is still a prime insider tip. It has rarely been discovered by Turks themselves, let alone Western tourists. You may only have a few years to discover this region before the whole land is flooded by the gigantic GAP irrigation project.

Diyarbakir

Diyarbakir is the capital of the easternmost region within south-eastern Anatolia, with borders to Syria and Iraq, and is typically the starting point of any tour of the South East.

The main sight is the three-mile long Byzantine city wall, made of black basalt stone and perfectly preserved. The wall features sixteen stone towers and four gates (Kapi), named by the cities they are facing: Dag Kapi, Urfa Kapi, Mardin Kapi and Yeni Kapi. Diyarbakir’s city walls are said to be the best preserved ancient wall world-wide after the Great Wall of China.

Downtown, the old city centre is very picturesque with its original architecture and mosques. Hasan Pasha Ham, an old caravanserai, now serves as a bazaar and is an excellent place to purchase original textiles and carpets. On the whole, the old town of Diyarbakir is simply a nice place to stroll, shop and relax in coffee houses.

Diyarbakir’s absolute highlight is one of the world’s most historical hotels, the Kervansaray. This old caravanserai was built five hundred years ago around a garden court and fountain, and was once frequented by the caravans travelling the old Silk Road. Today, the hotel has been fully renovated and includes a large pool and bar complex in the back, but still perfectly recreates the historical atmosphere. Here I had what was probably my most exciting hotel stay ever.

Malabadi Bridge, Batman

The city of Batman is a hundred miles’ drive east of Diyarbakir. The road from Diyarbakir to Batman leads through endless plains and cotton fields. Like everywhere in South East Anatolia where you see plantations, these are only a few years old. There used to be nothing but dry mud before the GAP irrigation project was launched. After one hour of driving, the landscape gets rougher, and finally gets desert-like.

There isn’t much to see in Batman itself, but a little outside, the Malabadi bridge offers some very interesting views. The Malabadi bridge is a large ancient stone bridge which crosses the Batman river, from which the city takes its name. At this point, antiquity meets modern technology, for right behind the bridge spans a large dam, part of the GAP project.

Hasankeyf

Hasankeyf lies another fifty miles south-east of Batman. The road to Hasankeyf follows the Batman River which twenty miles below the city joins the Tigris. The landscape gets ever more spectacular: salt lakes, stone deserts, deep canyons, caves, and mountain slopes in white, yellow and ochre colours.

Finally, Hasankeyf. Scientists are unsure how old this town really is, but it may well date back to the ancient Mesopotamian empire. The caves and structures which can still be seen today are between 4,000 and 5,000 years old – so these could be the oldest buildings you get to see in your lifetime.

The scene: beside the Tigris, the mountains rise a sheer 90 degrees from the water, around 80 metres high. The top of the mountain is covered with the ruins of an ancient palace. The core of Hasankeyf lies in a narrow side canyon, and the surrounding mountains are filled with cave dwellings. Where the side canyon meets the river, the remains of an ancient stone bridge cross the Tigris and the minaret (tower) of an old mosque overlooks the scene. Part of the fascination of Hasankeyf comes from its extensive caves, which have been inhabited for over 4,000 years (and still are!). Here the cave people still live without electricity or water, and are living witnesses of history.

There aren’t any official guides available in Hasankeyf, so you have to follow the kids who will show you around. Since there aren’t many schools around here, the kids make their living as guides instead of learning to read and write. The illiteracy rate in this part of Turkey is around 30%.

Below the palace at the mountain top, a cave has been fitted to host a small restaurant where you should try the shish from the grill outside. For some rest and a Turkish coffee, go down to the river, where small improvised bars are fitted outside on the river shore.

You may be among the first as well as the last Western visitors to Hasankeyf, as the city is marked for destruction. The huge Ilisu Dam currently being built further down on the Tigris, will flood Hasankeyf in a few years, submerging thousands of years of history. This truly is a barbarian act, only to be compared to the flooding of the Yangtse river in China and the destruction of ancient Buddhist monuments in Afghanistan by the Taliban regime. Maybe the Egyptians can teach them a lesson on how to build a dam while at the same time preserving ancient monuments (Aswan).

Mardin

Around 90 miles south of Diyarbakir, best suited for a day trip, the city of Mardin overlooks the whole region from the top of a mountain. The drive to Mardin is very picturesque, through fields, slight mountain slopes and spots of pine forests, one of the milder landscapes of Anatolia. Mardin is a wonderful site to discover old Islamic architecture and stonework. Take your time to promenade through the narrow old streets and squares with beautiful houses.

The main attractions in Mardin are Turkey’s oldest Koran schools, the Kasim Pasa Medresse and the Sultan Isa Medresse, both with wonderful stonework dating back to the 14th Century. From the roof of the latter you can enjoy a breathtaking view: to the north the city of Mardin with its arched windows and gates, to the south the endless plains of Syria. Mardin is only 10 miles away from the Syrian border, and on a clear day you can see the Syrian town of Al Qamishli.

Five miles east of Mardin lies Deyrulzaferan Monastery. Syrian Orthodox, it represents one of the smallest Christian communions on earth, which still holds worship services in Aramaic, the language spoken by Jesus. There are some very old scriptures and relics to be found in this monastery. Instead of taking an official tour, speak to the abbot, Father Jacob. He is a very nice man who speaks perfect English and German and will be most pleased to explain to you in detail Syrian Orthodoxy and the history of the monastery.

If you have the time, he will lead you through a theological discourse of the various branches of Orthodoxy and the history of Christianity. I had a fascinating and uplifting discussion with him. However, pay him the respect he deserves and don’t raise too many controversial issues, as he and his community are extremely conservative.

Sanliurfa

Sanliurfa (or simply Urfa) lies 150 miles west of Diyarbakir, around a three-hour drive. Urfa is a green spot in Southeast Anatolia, with its many pistachio trees and spice plantations. It is also called the “City of the Prophets” because several biblical and Islamic prophets are said to have lived here.

The main sight is the Pool of Abraham, a system of pools and channels with thousands of carp. The carp are not to be touched or caught as they are sacred. There is a legend behind this: when Urfa was attacked by the Mongols, the inhabitants prayed to Allah and the attackers were turned to carp in an instant.

Next to the pool lies the beautiful Al Rahman mosque, and the old bazaar. The bazaar of Urfa is one of the most beautiful in all of Turkey and a perfect place for carpets, textiles and handmade jewellery, but also for food. Urfa is famous for its many sorts of red and black pepper, which I really recommend you try. Some are so mild that you can eat them without anything else, but there are also the extremely hot varieties. You should also buy fresh pistachios here, they taste a lot better and different from the roasted or salted kinds we can buy in Europe.

Urfa is also the city of pigeons, which are decorated with coloured rings. Hopping and flying around the town in masses, they are pampered and fed by the inhabitants.

On a wooded hill overlooking the town lies a small castle which offers a spectacular view, especially at sunrise or sunset. And after sunset, I would recommend the Edessa Hotel for your overnight stay; in traditional style, it blends in nicely with the old city.

Harran

Thirty miles south of Urfa, the ancient site of Harran is a town of houses – completely made of mud – looking like an apiary. They are evidence of the 4,000-year-old Hittite culture. Legend has it that the prophet Abraham spent many years of his life here. The mud houses are still inhabited and the people will be glad to show you around. A little outside are the ruins of the ancient Harran Islamic University, a huge stone structure looking pretty much like a castle. The culture in Harran here is more Arab than Turkish, so if you require guidance, the only foreign language spoken is French.

Atatürk Dam

The huge Atatürk Dam is the centrepiece of the GAP irrigation project, 30 miles northwest of Urfa. The road to the dam is a dead end, so you will have to go back to Urfa for your onward travel.

The dam has flooded the Euphrates, and brought fertility to the whole region, but it has also started a political struggle with Syria over who gets how much water. The dam is a spectacular site to visit, but one should bear in mind the ecological effects. It is a two-sided coin: on the one hand it provides water to the poorest part of Turkey and thus creates new prospects for economic development, but the dam projects also flood ancient historical sites and destroy the original landscape.

There is an information centre which shows all the dams and irrigation projects currently planned in Turkey. Eventually, they want to flood 32% (thirty-two percent) of the whole surface of Turkey!

Gaziantep

Gaziantep (or simply Antep), is a 120-mile drive west from Urfa. Halfway along, the road crosses the Euphrates. There is a small resort area on the riverside which is very inviting for a short break.

Like Urfa, Antep is a very green town, with nut, pistachio and olive trees. With fewer sights to visit than the previous destinations, Antep is a pleasant town to get some nice views and relax at the end of a journey through Southeast Anatolia.

The town is overlooked by Kale Castle, which was built in Byzantine times, and restored by the Seljuks in the 13th Century. To learn about the Hittite and Commagene empires and their remains in Antep, visit the Archaeological Museum and/or the Hasan Suser Ethnographical Museum. End the tour with a stroll through the picturesque labyrinth of small streets.

Antep is also the home of Turkey’s most famous sweet dessert – baklava – which is a must-try, much better than the version you get in Istanbul.

Onward Travel

If you want to stay in the region, there are three main options to continue your travel from Antep. I haven’t included them in my tour plan because they aren’t part of Southeast Anatolia any more:

• North towards Nemrud Dag (centre of the ancient Commagene Kingdom), the Taurus Mountains, and Central Anatolia, the cities of Kayseri, Nevsehir and Konya, and finally Ankara
• West towards the holiday resorts around Antakya, the biblical Antioch, and the city of Adana. Return flight from Adana
• South, across the Syrian border to the city of Aleppo and through Syria, return flight from Aleppo or Damascus

A Note on Safety

Although terrorist activities by Kurdish radicals have almost completely stopped since the arrest of Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in 1999, there still remains a small safety risk in Southeast Anatolia. Journeys should only be undertaken in the company of Turkish guides, friends or colleagues. Because there are frequent road checks by Turkish military and police, always have your passport with you.

Getting There and Around

Turkish Airlines operate two daily flights each from Istanbul and Ankara to Diyarbakir and Gaziantep respectively. If you want to cut the tour in the middle, there is also one daily flight from Istanbul to Sanliurfa. Return fares are around £120 from Istanbul and £100 from Ankara. For further information consult the Turkish Airlines official website.

Travel in South East Anatolia is only possible by car and bus. Turkey’s largest car rental firm, Decar, has branches in Diyarbakir, Sanliurfa, and Gaziantep. There aren’t any motorways in the South East, so travel is quite slow. Calculate one hour for every 50 miles. Traffic in the South East is very light, not to be compared with the jams and mad drivers in and around Istanbul, so driving can be recommended to Westerners.

Travel Literature

South-eastern Anatolia is hardly covered by any of the common travel guidebooks. I have recently bought an old second-hand APA Guide (now Insight Guides) which has eight pages on this region, including some very good photographs. If the new edition still includes this section, this would be the only guide to Turkey with coverage of the far South East, at least to my knowledge.

I was rather disappointed by Tim Kelsey’s Dervish – The Invention of Modern Turkey (1995), an account of his journeys through “Kurdistan”. Too political and thus terribly outdated, and lacking both inspiration and insight. But because it’s the only English book about the Turkish South East, you may want to pick up a cheap second-hand copy if you come across it on your journey. It’s currently out of print and not listed by any of the internet bookstores. Kelsey is also co-author of the Nelles Guide to Turkey.

A much more thrilling read are the novels by Anatolian author Yasar Kemal. His Anatolia Trilogy and Memed Trilogy will give you a vivid picture of myth, adventure and nature in this part of the world.

I have been lucky to work for a company which provided for very decent dinners and hotels, yet even this one did not pay for what must be the ultimate sleeping and dining experience in Istanbul, the Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski, and its own gourmet temple, the Tugra Restaurant. Should you wish to try it for yourself, here is the address:

Ciragan Palace Hotel Kempinski
84 Ciragan Caddesi
Besiktas District
Tel: +90 (212) 231 4650
www.kempinski.com

Tugra Restaurant
84 Ciragan Caddesi
Besiktas District
Tel: +90 (212) 258 3377

Another prestigious hotel choice I haven’t been able to test myself so far is the Four Seasons in Sultanahmet District (just too far from the business centres) – a former prison turned into a luxury hotel, some say the best in Istanbul, with only 54 rooms and eleven suites.

Four Seasons Hotel
1 Tevkifhane Sokak
Sultanahmet District
Tel: +90 (212) 638 8200
www.fourseasons.com

Before you start doubting that I have ever been to Istanbul myself, we shall come to my own choices of hotels and restaurants. Choices for business travellers that is, selected close to the commercial centres of Taksim, Sisli, Besiktas and Levent.

Restaurants

Le Vogue
13th Floor
BJK Plaza
Blok A Spor Caddesi
Besiktas District
Tel: +90 (212) 227 4404

On top of the BJK Business Centre, Le Vogue offers not only excellent cuisine, but also a fantastic view of the Bosphorus. This venue includes a restaurant, a sushi bar (one of only two in town), a regular bar, and three terraces which are open in summer. The restaurant serves both Turkish and international cuisine and is best tried for grilled fish and meat. The bar comes with the best margaritas in town. Le Vogue is extremely popular with the young Turkish elite and absolutely packed late at night. THE place to experience modern Turkish urban lifestyle over a good dinner. Valet parking available. Reservation required.

The Downtown Restaurant & Bar
Abdi Ipekci Cad 7/2
Nisantasi
Tel: +90 (212) 224 3915

Directions: follow Cumhurriyet Caddesi half a mile north from Taksim Square, until – behind the Hilton Hotel – it splits in two streets. Take the right street (Valikonagi Caddesi). The Downtown Restaurant is situated in the second side street to the right, on the left-hand side of the street.

The Downtown is a typical nouvelle cuisine restaurant with extremely small portions, but excellent quality. International cuisine, both fish and meat, and absolutely fantastic desserts. With around ten tables it is rather small and ideal for elegant private dinners. Good to be combined with a stay at the Downtown’s own bar, which is a typical after work meeting place for Istanbul’s business people.

Turkish Yachting Club
Mebusan Caddesi
Kabatas District (below Dolmabahçe Palace)

One of the best seafood restaurants in Istanbul, the Turkish Yachting Club is situated directly on the Bosphorus, on Kabatas seaside promenade. Dining is outside on the terrace in summer, only inches away from the water. The TYC can also accommodate larger groups, which makes it a popular venue for after work and business dinners. It’s hard to recommend any special meals here, because the catch of the day is usually the best. From the regular menu, sea bream and sea trout are worth trying. The TYC stands out for its very good wine selection, which is not common even for good Turkish restaurants. Very professional service. Valet parking available.

Hotels

Swissotel The Bosphorus
2 Bayildim Caddesi
Macka
Besiktas District
Tel: +90 (212) 326 1100
www.swissotel.com

Member of “The Leading Hotels of the World”; the only other one in Istanbul is the Ciragan Palace. The Swissotel is probably the most professional hotel in Istanbul, with a complete product and service range that leaves no wish unfulfilled.

The rooms are a spacious 25m², and nicely furnished in mahogany. Best suited for business travellers, the rooms come with a very large workspace with plugs for all kinds of PC & telecom connections. In addition to the extremely large beds, there is also a divan sofa. The bathrooms are the best fitted I have seen in any hotel. Both in the workspace and the bathroom, they have added all the accessories you could possibly think of and which in most hotels have to be ordered separately, if available at all. There is a remote control for all technical functions of the room. Most rooms have a Bosphorus view (northeast: Bosphorus bridge, southwest: Virgin Tower).

The Executive Level (floors 14 to 18 of the northeast tower) comes with extra amenities. Executive Rooms are fitted with a high-end multifunctional fax/copier/printer which connects to your laptop with the included drivers. There is also a personal butler service for Executive Level guests. The Executive Lounge offers an extensive breakfast, cakes and biscuits at teatime and cocktails at night, all for free and in a spacious lounge area with panoramic round view. However, due to the large size of the hotel and the Executive Level, you will miss the personal atmosphere and attention which you receive at the Hyatt (see below).

Having too often been disappointed by the cuisine even of luxury hotels, I was surprised by the high quality of the five restaurants in the Swissotel, which cater for every taste. The Swissotel has a perfect business centre with secretarial service, and provides extensive leisure facilities, including indoor and outdoor pools, two tennis courts on the roof, sauna, Turkish bath, gym and massage. In a city where parks and green spots are very rare, you will appreciate the Swissotel’s extensive park estate.

Agency rates for standard rooms start at $185 excluding breakfast, executive rooms come at $225 including breakfast. Off-season weekend specials are available from $165 excluding breakfast. Prices are per room per night. Don’t book the overpriced rack rates directly at the hotel, i.e. $370 for an executive room, always book through an agent.

Hyatt Regency Istanbul
Taskisla Caddesi
Taksim District
Tel: +90 (212) 225 7000
www.hyatt.com

Of the large international 5-star hotels in Istanbul – including the Hilton, Conrad, Swissotel and Inter-Continental – the Hyatt Regency offers by far the most friendly and personal service and the most comfortable atmosphere. There is a recognition effect among the staff already upon your second stay, which often results in a free room upgrade.

The rooms are around 22m² in size, decorated in light colours and teak fittings, with accessories resembling something like Versace style. There is no special work space, but a nice living-room table which can be used as such. The bathrooms are very, very nice, tempting you to make your shower last for an hour. Bosphorus views are only available from the Regency Club rooms on the 8th and 9th floors, as an old city palace blocks the view from the lower floors. Standard, Superior and Regency Club rooms don’t differ in layout or design, only in service.

On longer stays in Istanbul, I have made the Regency Club Lounge my living-room. This is a small, elegant and sunny lounge with its own library and bar, and it offers a nice view over the Hyatt’s park and sports area. Breakfast, snacks and biscuits at teatime, and cocktails at night are free, as usual on the executive floors of luxury hotels. Once you get to know the dedicated Regency Club staff, they will drop their artificial smiles and let you into their conversations. All of them are well-informed and very friendly.

The Mezzanine Level is filled with bars, restaurants, café, in addition to another lounge bar on the ground level. The Spazzo bar often features live jazz music. The whole Mezzanine Level exudes the atmosphere of a distinguished country club. At the rear of the hotel are the pool area, tennis courts and pool bar. The pool bar in particular is a very inviting place on mild summer evenings, I have often preferred it over going out to the nightlife quarters of Istanbul.

Agency rates start at $175 for standard rooms excluding breakfast. Regency Club comes at $215 including breakfast, but is often booked out. Considering the price of breakfast at around $25, the Regency Club is better value for money, but requires around a week’s advance notice. A real “bargain” are the suites, which start at $300, compared to $500 and more at other hotels in Istanbul.