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Early Payment Discount !
Early Payment Discount on Daily Rental Rates on all products!
If you book and pay in full by 10th September 2010
Only Available for bookings valued over $1,000
(Offer only applies if you pay by Bank Transfer, Cheque or Cash)
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* Terms & Conditions apply, please contact us for details.
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Turkey Information
Turkey is a fascinating country with a rich culture and a history spanning millenia. It has 73 million people. Turkey is located on the Mediterranean, in the Anatolian region of West Asia, with a small section in Mediterranean Europe separated by the Turkish Straits (Bosphorus, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles). With the Black Sea to the north and the Aegean Sea in the west and Mediterranean Sea to the southwest, Turkey is surrounded by Bulgaria and Greece to the west, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia to the northeast, Syria, Iraq and Iran to the southeast.
Instanbul
Instanbul (formerly Constantinople) is Turkey's largest city, with over 12 million people. Part of Instanbul lies in Asia, the rest in Europe across the Bosphorus Strait. Most people in Instanbul work on the European side and live on the Asian side.
The Hagia Sophia was constructed in the 6th century by the Emperor Justinian. The 30m wide dome was an engineering masterpiece in its day, and is a must-see for the visitor.
The Topkapi Palace was the official home of Ottoman emperors for three centuries, and is now open to visitors.
The Grand Bazaar is said to be the world's oldest shopping mall. It contains 4400 shops and covers several blocks.
Other attractions in Instanbul include the Sultanahmet Mosque, Basilica Cistern, Hippodrome, Galata Whirling Dervish Hall, the Ortakoy neighbourhood, the Museum Of Archaeology, Museum Of Modern Art, Dolmabahce Palace, Galata Tower, Chora Church, Beylerbeyi Palace, Camlica Hill and The Princes Islands.
Also recommended is a visit to a Turkish bath (or hamam), and smoking a hooka, or Turkish water pipe.
Other areas of Turkey
Ankara is the capital and second largest city. It has 3.5 million people. The city has a number of archaeological sites, including the Citadel, the Roman Theatre, the Temple of Augustus and the Roman Bath. Ankara offers a good selection of cinemas both in Kavaklidere and Cankaya (including Atakule) and several concert halls for classical music and opera. Many Universities promote concerts and spring festivals but these are sometimes open to their students only. Folk and traditional music is very alive, from small bars and restaurants to big concert halls where you can find local stars like Musa Eroglu. Depending on your interests, you can find trekking in local parks and in the surroundings, visiting the museums or hunting for the Ottoman or Selçuk remains walking in the ancient castle. Upscale shopping centers like Armada on the Eskisehir road offer also cinemas and quality restaurants. Ankara's Castle (Kale) has been a trade center for centuries, and its sellers of carpets, leather and antiquities are slowly moving upwards hoping to attract the tourist trade. It's still a delicious place for walking and browsing, and there are family firms where you can buy, for a price, excellent carpets and kilims. Walking down from the Castle you can walk through the covered market, an iron structure reminiscent of places like Les Halles in Paris, where you can buy very cheap and excellent produce.
Antayla is very popular with tourists due to its Mediterranean beach resorts. It also boasts a large number of historic buildings, particularly in Kaleici, the old quarter, with its ancient city walls and narrow, winding streets. Although there are other entrances, it is best to enter and exit the old quarter from charming Hadrianus Gate, built by the Roman emperor Hadrianus as the entrance arch to the city. There's a great archaeology museum and plenty of historic buildings and ancient ruins nearby. Highlights include the Yivli Minaret, Hidirlik Tower, Karatay Medresesi, Ahi Yusuf Mescidi and the Hadrian Arch.
Bursa is Turkey's fourth largest city. As it is first capital of the Ottoman Empire, it has a lot of historical places to see. Foremost among these is the Ulu Camii or Great Mosque, a grand structure that dates back to the 14th century, and features twenty domes, two minarets and 192 wall inscriptions by famous calligraphers.Furthermore, Uludag - one of the highest mountains in the Turkey, lies in the middle of Bursa which is the winter sports center of Turkey. While there, try the Iskender kebap, a dish originating from Bursa. Iskender consists of roasted, sliced lamb spread atop diced bread pieces, topped with tomato sauce, served with yoghurt.
Edirne’s former name is Adrianople, i.e. “City of Hadrianus”, named after the Roman emperor who founded the city on the site of Thracian village of Uskudama. Edirne was once Europe’s fourth biggest city (in 1600s). It also served Ottoman Empire as its capital city before Constantinople was captured. All these make up for city’s historical outlook, from huge Ottoman imperial complexes to neo-classical architecture of downtown shops, although at first sight, all you’ll see will be concrete apartment blocks when entering the city (and Selimiye Mosque right in front of you). Selimiye Mosque dominates the skyline of the city. A grandiose piece of art by Sinan, the Ottoman architect of 16th century. Sinan himself considered this building as his best work. The dome of the building had the largest diameter of all domes in the world for several centuries. If you have admired Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) of Istanbul, you’ll sure adore this one, since Blue Mosque is quite a copy of Selimiye. While at Edime, watch an oil-wrestling (yagli güres) competition, the national sport of Turks. Edime hosts the most prestigous wrestling tournament in Turkey and the winner is titled baspehlivan (“chief of all wrestlers”) of the year.
Bergama is close to the ancient city of Pergamon, which today lies in ruins. Bergama merits at least three days. The Akropol, the Temple of Serapis, the Asklepion, The Allianoi, the Red Basilica (Kizil Avlu), the mosques, the archaeology museum, and inns should not be rushed. If you take the time to wander the cobbled streets you'll feel that every old home has a unique story to tell.
Bozcaada is an island in the Aegean Sea, close to the site of ancient Troy. The castle there served for Byzantines, Venetians and Genoans, although there is no evidence indicating who exactly built the castle. The old streets and districts in the center of the town maintain their traditional architecture. Although you can swim even in the small harbor, the beaches are located on the southern part of the island, namely Ayazma and Habbele where you can find some beach cafes around. Nearby Troy is an archaeological site and a UNESCO World Heritage Site as well. It was also recently declared a national park. Climbing up the ladders of (fake) Trojan horse in the entrance of the site is an inevitable part of the Troy experience. Better do it on weekdays as the ladders (and the interior of the horse itself) may be crowded at weekends by schoolchildren on a schooltrip (a situation which makes climbing up and down those steep stairs rather unpleasent).
Selcuk is close to the ancient city of Ephesus. One of the columns of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World, still stands. Other features include the Cave Of The Seven Sleepers, the House of Mary (where Mary the mother of Jesus is said to have spent her last days) and the Museum of Ephesus.
The city of Izmir dates back to 3000 BC, when it was founded by the Trojans. Once the ancient city of Smyrna, it is now a modern, developed, and busy commercial center, set around a huge bay and surrounded by mountains. The broad boulevards, glass-fronted buildings and modern shopping centers are dotted with traditional red-tiled roofs, the 18th century market, and old mosques and churches, although the city has an atmosphere more of Mediterranean Europe than traditional Turkey.
Goreme is known for its natural rock formations, including the legendary Love Valley.
Olympos is popular with visitors. It features ancient Greek ruins, beach resorts and flames that mysteriously burn from the side of the mountain. The "town" area is a collection of backpacker guesthouses and hostels, particularly popular are the treehouse style bungalows. Follow the dusty road down past the end of the guesthouses and it leads to an ancient winding path, past the remains of ancient Greek ruins and down to the sparkling water. It's a pebble beach with absolutely no shade, so it's blisteringly hot to sit on and not very comfortable without thick padding, but the scenery is spectacular. The ruins themselves are quite impressive, not as much so as Ephesus but still worth seeing. The relative lack of tourist traffic compared to Ephesus means the site is largely overgrown, you have to do some hiking to get to some of the remains. When it's fully dark you can take a bus up to Mount Olympos, with a 45 minute hike up to the Eternal Flames of the Chimera. These flames issue from natural gas jets in the side of the hill, which will self ignite if put out. These are the flames that inspired the Greek myth of Bellarophon and the Chimera. Ranging in size from small flickers to decent size campfires, they're quite interesting when you consider they've been burning for thousands of years.
Safranbolu is famous for its Ottoman houses, which are World Heritage listed.
Konya is a city in Central Anatolia in Turkey, known as the city of whirling dervishes and for its outstanding Seljuk architecture. The Mevlana Museum is a must see tourist destination of Konya, is the tomb of the famous mystic/sufi/thinker Rumi (known shortly as Mevlana in Turkish, or with the full name Mawlana Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi-Rumi in English literature), as well as the neighboring museum that displays relics of his life and his time. The items on display in the museum range from old manuscripts, hand written copies of the Koran, musical instruments used at Rumi's time, as well as numerous art works dating from the Seljuk era.
Sinop is a charming Black Sea port town with excellent views. You can easily spend a day here wandering around the town, restaurants and sea front, although you could also easily see everything in half a day. Sinop has impressive fortifications running through much of the town. The walls stand at 3 meters thick and up to 30 meters high, with 7 large towers.
Trabzon contains the Aya Sofya Museum. A beautiful and picturesque church converted into a mosque that still has stunning frescoes within. There is a peacful open-air tea garden on the grounds. Sumela monastery is 50 km south of Trabzon. It was built on the mountainside in the 6th century.
Bodrum is the site of the ancient city of Halikarnassus, the location of the famous Mausoleum of Halikarnassus (built after 353 BCE) - one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Unfortunately, the ancient monument was destroyed by earthquakes in the Middle Ages - some of the remnants can be seen in London's British Museum. Bodrum is a fascinating place as it has a pleasing contrast between the Ancient city - where there are discernable fragments everywhere in the town, and a playground for rich Turks and an array of foreign visitors. It is one of the centres of the Turkish Tourist industry and is the market town for the Bodrum Peninsula which consists of a number of towns and villages nestling on the edge of the Coast. Until the 1960's the town was a fishing village which changed when a number of Turkish intellectuals gathered and wrote about Bodrum. Most notable of the these was Cevat Sekir 'The Fisherman of Hallikarnassus', an Oxford Educated Turk who devoted his time to writing and planting numerous plants and trees which continue to dot the landscape of the Town. His book the 'Blue Voyage' describing gulet trips around the Turkish coast, and his descriptions of the astoundingly clear Blue Seas of the Aegean and the delights of a trip around the coasts adjacent to Bodrum inspired a whole generation who have come to emulate his trips. Bodrum has therefore grown as a sailing destination and thanks to it's warm but not humid climate has become a top destination for visitors who enjoy the combination of the ancient past together with all the usual tourist paraphernalia. There are large numbers of shops and restaurants - from humble cafe's to exquisite Turkish cuisine served by an array of waiting staff.
Modern Bodrum strangely seems to have two contrasting sides to it.
The east half of the town has a long thin but reasonable beach, which has been added in the last few years, with the Authorities trying and largely succeeding in creating a good beach. Behind the beach lay all the bars restaurants and night clubs that are typical of Mediterranean resort towns. This means open fronted bars that do not come alive until 10pm when everybody goes out. As well as some nice beach fronted bars (e.g. cafe del mar being a reasonably chilled out and attractive bar, with attractive staff so that helps) it also has some terrible ones, if you do not like the hard drinking culture of some Tourists. It does have some reasonable clubs. Halikarnas being the obvious one as it is huge (4000 people). It also is mostly outdoors and hosts foam parties on regular occasions.
The other half of the town is the west side. This manly revolves around the Marina and Yacht Club. Here life is a little more sedate with shops catering mainly to those who have stepped of their boats. Expensive supermarkets with proper wine and olive oil as well as the obligatory Helley Hanson to be able to purchase your new jacket. There are a number of nice restaurants if you look hard enough and some good clothes shops. Like all resorts being directly on the sea front increases the prices. During the evenings there is a wonderful atmosphere as the locals and tourists all seem to promenade along the sea front.
There are many cultural events - notably the Ballet Festival in August, a wide range of pop concerts at the Castle or in the Amphitheatre which has been restored in the last few years, having been built some 2,000 years ago.
Hasankeyf is a small village located along the banks of the Tigris River in southeastern Turkey.It has been settled for perhaps as long as three millennia, though most cliff dwellings are around 2,000 years old. It was perhaps inhabited first by Assyrians and/or Urartians, and then most certainly by successive Roman, Byzantine, Turkic, and Arabic dynasties. The unforunate thing about Hasankeyf is that it is slated to be inundated upon the completion of a dam project that has been in the works for a couple decades now. There isn't much else to do in Hasankeyf but see the ruins. But considering how extensive these ruins are, an entire day (or two) could easily be spent exploring old shepherd paths through narrow side canyons and along the tops of towering limestone cliffs. Until the 1970s many families still lived in the ancient cliff dwellings along the river, but now there aren't more than a few inhabitants. The great thing about Hasankeyf is that the lack of Western tourists- and pretty much anyone at all- really makes you feel that you're pretty off-the-beaten track.
Marmaris is a town in Turkey, along the Agean coast in the province of Mugla. It has around 28 000 inhabitants, however the population can be up to 250,000 during the height of the tourist-season. There's plenty to do in Marmaris. Busy beaches, lots of bars and restaurants, plenty of shopping with fabulous bargains if you dont mind wearing fake designer labels. Marmaris has a busy nightlife with a street devoted to dance mucic and all the high tech clubbing scene. Bar Street is opposite the busy bazzar and will satisfy the most discerning clubbers with it's huge outdoor dance venues and all of the latest tunes. Maramris has lots for families too. Great inexpesive boat excursions can take you out round the bay and to neighbouring towns like Icemeler and Turnc with all inclusive food and dirnks all day for as little as 25YTL. Marmaris also has two water parks and local travel agents offer a range of trips to Dalyan, Feteye, Pamukkele. Effisis and other popular locations in Western Turkey.
Driving in Turkey
Like all of its neighbours (except Cyprus off the southern coast of Turkey), driving is on the right side of the road in Turkey. Though it is legal to drive a vehicle with driver positioned on the right (which were designed for countries driving on the left) it is not very comfortable and is risky indeed (the driver cannot see the coming traffic and so on…).
It is illegal to use a mobile phone while driving. Maximum permitted amount of alcohol in blood for drivers is 0.05 grams per litre (g/1000 mL), that is roughly equal to two cups (a cup=500 ml) of beer or two glasses (a wine glass=330 ml) of wine. The use of seat belts both at the front and back line is obligatory.
Turkish signboards are almost identical to the ones used in Europe, with very insignificant differences. The place names written on green background lead to motorways (which you should pay a toll, unless it is a ring road around or within a city); on blue background means other highways; on white background means rural roads (or a road inside a city under the responsibility of city councils); and on brown background indicates the road leads to a historical place, an antique city, a place of tourist interest or a city out of Turkey (these signboards used to be on yellow background till a few years ago, so still there is a chance of un-replaced yellow signboards existing here and there). Also keep in mind that these signboards are not always standardized; for instance, some of the blue ones may be leading into the rural roads.
As Turkey uses the metric system, all distances on the signboards are in kilometers, unless otherwise stated (such as meters, but never in miles).
Fuel
Despite bordering some of the countries which have the richest oil resources, fuel in Turkey is ridiculously expensive, in fact one of the most expensive in the world because of the very heavy taxes. For example, a litre of unleaded gasoline costs more than 3.10 YTL (~€ 1.63/~US$ 2.60, that makes ~US$ 10.40 per gallon!). Diesel and LPG is less damaging to your wallet (and to the environment in case of LPG), but not that drastically.
Petrol stations (benzin istasyonu) are frequently lined along the highways, most (if not all) serving round the clock and accepting credit cards (you have to get out of the car and enter the station building to enter your PIN code if you are using credit card). In all of them you can find unleaded gasoline (kursunsuz), diesel (dizel or motorin), and LPG (liquid petroleum gas, LPG). In many (if not most) of them you can also find CNG (compressed natural gas, CNG). Though, petrol stations in the villages off the beaten track are exception, all they offer is often limited to only diesel, which is used for running the agricultural machinery. It is advised to keep the gas tank full if you are going to stray away from main roads. Also petrol stations along the motorways (toll-ways) are rarer than other highways, usually once every 40-50 kms. Make sure to fill your tank in the first station you’ll pass by (there are signs indicating you are soon going to pass by one) if your “tank is getting empty” alert signal is on.
Biofuels are not common. What most resembles a biofuel available to a casual driver is sold in some of the stations affiliated with national chain Petrol Ofisi under the name biyobenzin. But still it is not mostly biofuel at all – it consists of a little bioethanol (2% of the total volume) stirred into pure gasoline which makes up the rest (98%). Biodiesel is in an experimental stage yet, not available in the market. |
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