The bazaars of Istanbul are an endless source of wonder for me. They are so popular with tourists and it’s fascinating to watch them interacting with the stallholders who are trying to make a living from the reduced visitor numbers in 2009. The stallholders can all speak good English and usually have a great sense of humour; unfortunately not all visitors

Situated in the Galata district of Istanbul, the pastry shop called Karakoy Gulluglu is probably the best place to buy baklava in the city. Situated just over the Golden Horn from Eminonu, the nearest tram stop is Karakoy. Customers can buy at least 20 different types of baklava either in kilograms or in portions. A teller on one side of the shop takes your

Wherever I travel in the world, I love to find out about and to taste local food. If said food consists of fish or seafood, so much the better. My trip to Istanbul was no exception. I asked all my Turkish friends, which specialty I should try there. They all came up with the same reply, “You haven’t really been to Istanbul if you haven’t had a

Returning from drinking a sage tea in a cafe near some tombs I get off the tram; the cars screech to a halt at the red light as I dodge by the man selling dancing mutant zebras. People are buying clothes from a pile on the pavement as a salesman calls out the prices. The humidity is high. A stallholder is pressing fresh orange juice and the restaurant is still

This is just a word of warning to anyone who sees a shoe shine man in either the Fener District or Taksim Square. They have a trick to engage you in conversation. They will walk towards you and then accidentally on purpose their brush will fall close to you. Your natural reaction will be to pick it up or indicate they have dropped something. Do not do either of

Whenever I come back to visit my tiny place in Didim, I never fail to make my first trip to the beautiful port town of Kusadasi on Turkey’s Aegean coast. Not only is it one of the ports of call for cruise ships sailing the Mediterranean, but it’s also a starting point for an excursion to Ephesus, boasts an impressive castle and a very lively bazaar.

In Istanbul travellers can use individual travel tokens called “jetons” to get through the turnstiles to use the wonderful Tram system, the ferries, the metro, and the funiculars. Each jeton costs 1.5 Turkish Lira and can be bought at most stops usually from a stall but sometimes from a dedicated window in an official booth. There is always a sign to

I didn’t really expect to find a Maritime Museum in the imposing Knights of Malta Castle, towering over Bodrum Harbor, but that’s exactly what I found this extraordinary place. The castle has many dark and cool rooms as well as arched walkways, which have been made good use of as exhibition places for the museum pieces. The Maritime Museum is very

A rare colony of endangered Loggerhead Sea Turtles nearly fell victim to construction. Fortunately, wild life preservation and ecological awareness prevailed over entrepreneurial greed and thankfully, today you can watch the turtles in Dalyan, Turkey. Dalyan is located on Turkey’s southwest coast in the province of Mugla and borders the Dalyan Cayi River.

I always wanted to watch the great Sufi Festival in Konya/Turkey where the Islam sect originated. But, as it takes place in December, it never coincided with my stay in Turkey. However, when I recently visited Istanbul, I was delighted to see adverts for the Whirling Dervishes, performing on a daily basis in the Cultural Center of Istanbul. The dancers are

The sound of the word “Istanbul” conjures up a plethora of images, like mosques, palaces, sultans, culture, gold, luxury and of course, the Orient Express of Agatha Christie fame. When staying in Sultanahmed, I was delighted to discover, that Sirkeci Gare, the once upon a time last stop for the Orient Express was nearby. I set out on foot from the

Once I set foot in the Sultanahmed district of Istanbul, I couldn’t help but imagining the sultans and the people at the times of the Ottoman Empire’s height of power and glory. The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sofia, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazar caught my eye wherever I turned. And of course these monuments of the past lead to dreams about which life

I am banished from the ceramics store. Not by the Turkish shopkeeper, who’s accurately reading desire in my facial expressions and body language, but by Adam, my dear life partner and traveling companion. As consummate poker face and world-class haggler, Adam knows I’m dragging down his game, and he’s having none of it. “Do you want the plate or not?”

As far as historic importance is concerned, the title of this story is incorrect. It rather refers to the amount of tourists and visitors who bother to dispense with the trodden tourist path, neglect the ‘must see’ of Turkish historical sites and make judgments of their own. Just as I have done and was rewarded with a fantastic experience. Miletos is

Turkey is paradise for ancient history fans. It’s packed with historical sites, but some of them, like Ephesus and Troy, are vast and often overrun with tourist groups, which makes it difficult to enjoy the place and get that particular thrill which comes when imagination runs riot and you feel like following the footsteps of Greek or Roman heroes. A