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| The Commonwealth Overland Expedition - Cambridge coach 1968 |
Flashback 1968 Comex or Commonwealth Overland Expedition to India, a convoy of eleven coaches travelling from England to India (and back), was greeted in the Turkish mountain countryside, en route to Mt Ararat and Iran, by young kids throwing stones – I was a member of that Expedition - we lost six windscreens on the way out and five on the way back. Made one a bit wary of the type of reception to expect when we stopped! The people were unused to strangers in large coaches crossing their rough mountainous terrain on roads which were at times just rough tracks and where many overturned lorries lay by the roadside.
I shall have to write an article on this wonderful 10 week expedition when we travelled from England across to the continent, crossing the Bosphurus and then onto Asia, covering nearly 700 kms across the width of Iran's corrugated desert roads and finally into Afghanistan. The Indians gave the Pakistanis in our group a visa to visit India but Pakistan did not return the favour, so we flew from Kabul to Delhi and back for the return journey.
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| Faralya - mist on the mountains |
Fast forward – summer 2010 driving from Denizli via Fethiye, Faralya,
Antalya and Konya to Goreme, a distance of over 1,600 kms. That Comex trip was
on my mind but the country has undergone a metamorphosis. Excellent roads, clean rest
stops and people were incredibly friendly - they still love Indians – Bollywood
having created an impact like no other, even in the remote countryside.
Now desperate to be part of the EU, Turkey is more
European than Asian – shop owners quote to you in Euros, though the official currency
is the Turkish pound/lire, to which your purchase is then converted, so you suffer
a double whammy! The Turks introduced coffee to Europe and gave the
Dutch their famous tulips.
It is the only country with a
capital straddling two continents - Istanbul
was named by the European Union as the European Capital of Culture in
2010. Turkey is full of history – the Gordian knot was tied
here; the Trojan wars and King Midas were here; St. Nicholas (known as Santa
Claus) was born in Patara
and became the Bishop of Demre
on Turkey’s Mediterranean
Coast. Turkey
is noted for having one of the three most famous and distinctive traditional cuisines in the
world.
A week of sightseeing in Istanbul and prior detailed study
of the distances and modes of transport revealed that
· The train system is not as developed as
India’s – they take a long time for a short distance. The State Railways online
ticket reservation and purchase system is designed for Turks living in Turkey. To
buy the ticket, you need a travel agent and an routing which may not be what
you want.
· Planes are frequent and not that expensive but
rotate around the hubs of Istanbul or Ankara –to get anywhere in between, one
has to return to the nearest hub. This is tiresome when going to many places as
you waste at least half a day.
· Bus / coach travel is fast and many
companies offer services, but terminals are not centrally located. Shuttle buses
take pax to Caglayan (European) terminal or Atasehir (Asian) terminal in
Istanbul. If you are staying in Istanbul’s Sultanahmet district – downtown with
all the sights, none of these are convenient – the main Buyuk Otogar is 10 kms away.
With 168 ticket offices and gates, a Metro station, shops, mosque and police
station etc., it’s a small village on its own. Large coach companies also have
their own terminals making life more complicated. Generally, the coaches have
AC, entertainment, snacks etc. Rest stops are made routinely.
· You can take excursions from Istanbul by
coach to any city but that means returning to home base.
· Car hire is the best – it’s not expensive and
the car companies offer services of their agents across the country in case of
difficulty / accidents. The only problem I faced is that most pumps and hotels don’t
accept AMEX cards – so carry Visa or Mastercard as alternatives or cash. Car companies are many so
bargain hard for a good deal.
Turkey’s main regions, each with its own sights and
historical significance, are
·
The
Mediterranean region
·
Central
Anatolia
·
The Black
Sea Coast
·
Eastern
Anatolia
·
Central
Anatolia and the Aegean coast
·
The Black
Sea Coast with Eastern Anatolia
There is so much to see, in a way like India, that we
prioritized – to drive from Denizli to Goreme touching spots along the
Mediterranean but essentially driving inland, and if we had time to see Amasya’s caravanserais. We avoided the
west coast and flew to Denizli, as crossing the Sea of Marmara from Istanbul to
Bursa and then southwards would take another two days.
Whilst the Indian international driving license made it
easy to rent a car, most Turks outside Istanbul, do not speak fluent English so
hiring the car can be a challenge in itself - remember the essentials – check
what’s offered, see it matches to the contract, ensure you take complete photos
of the car before leaving the car rental company (to show in case of false claims when returning it –
this proved providential for me in Italy), get the list of emergency contacts,
and avoid a hefty deposit or drop fee if the car is left in
another city.
A medium car (4 door, 5 seater, 2 large+2 small bags)
unlimited mileage, collision damage waiver, theft insurance, local taxes -
V.A.T. 18 %, 24 hours road assistance costs between Stg Pds 250 to Stg Pds 500
for 12 days, depending upon the car rental firm you choose. We preferred to
pick up the car from outside Istanbul and drop it off elsewhere rather than
return to Istanbul – thereby not wasting time. It’s also cheaper to rent a car
outside Istanbul. GPS, additional headlights and car insurance are extra –
latter depends upon your age and experience. Rental with a driver is more
expensive: an English speaking driver costs around 40.00 EUR/day and you may
not get a fluent English speaker! Outside Istanbul, his accommodation and meals
are paid by you - a basic 'pension' or bunk room for him costs approximately 20-25 EUR/night and
another 15 EUR/day for meals.
We rented our car at Denizli airport from a charming couple
who spoke no English but were keen on renting. After the formalities (conducted
in sign language and English on my part with them speaking Turkish and often on
cell phone through their principals in Istanbul who translated our requirements
to them) they escorted us in the right direction, gifted us a whole bag of
different breads for the journey and wished us well.
First stop - Pamukkale, a World Heritage site, famous
for its white dazzling Travertines – a rock formation caused by hard and semi
crystalline and forms terraced pools and small waterfalls - it’s an impressive
sight from near or afar – rising like a vast cotton castle. It is Turkey’s most
famous mineral spa. The thermal water is transported to the travertines by a
320 m long channel and deposits itself on a section 65 – 75 m long covering an
expanse of over 300 m. The stratified stone grows depositing calcium carbonate
around 3 to 5 cms per annum.
The hot springs are full of Russian tourists
swimming or taking the cures – water temp is an average 35 degrees.
Often you will find local men chasing you on a motorbike
gesturing you to stop. There is nothing wrong with your vehicle – these guys
just want to sell you something or earn some money from selling you a service –
hotel, restaurant etc. We moved on to Fethiye, on the Mediterranean Sea. The
ancient name of the city is Telmessos where you can see a fortress on the hill
overlooking the city which was built by Knights of Rhodes.
Today the majority
of ancient ruins are elaborately carved rock-tombs in the cliff faces,
Lycian-type sarcophagi, the fortress and the Roman Theatre. The 4thC
BC Amnytas tomb is built in Doric architecturalstyle. The beach and the Sovalye Island are perfect destinations for beach
lovers. The bay forms the dreamlike Belcegiz - Ölüdeniz or Blue Lagoon, three
kms of natural beach and crystal blue waters. The nearby Kelebekler (Butterfly)
Valley at the foot of a steep and deep valley where thousands of butterflies
exhibit tremendous shades of colors, fly amongst the pine forest
bordering the lovely beach.
Whilst driving around in this region, we came across a Turkish wedding and were invited to the Henna ceremony. It was evening and past sunset and we were all seated around in a large circle in the open playground. It was slightly chilly. Being foreigners,our hotel owner had managed to get us good seats so we could watch the ceremony. The couple arrived
to the sound of a blaring band and fireworks. After greeting the main
family members, they danced western style.
After a while, a group of
ladies brought many diyas on a silver salver and danced in a circle.
Then when seated, various family members came and gave them gifts. The
couple sat with the traditional red head cloth covering their heads and whilst
giving a gift, each lady would whisper marital advice to the bride...
sounds familiar as its so similar to our weddings.
Whilst driving around in this region, we came across a Turkish wedding and were invited to the Henna ceremony. It was evening and past sunset and we were all seated around in a large circle in the open playground. It was slightly chilly. Being foreigners,our hotel owner had managed to get us good seats so we could watch the ceremony. The couple arrived
to the sound of a blaring band and fireworks. After greeting the main
family members, they danced western style. After a while, a group of
ladies brought many diyas on a silver salver and danced in a circle.
Then when seated, various family members came and gave them gifts. The
couple sat with the traditional red head cloth covering their heads and whilst
giving a gift, each lady would whisper marital advice to the bride...
sounds familiar as its so similar to our weddings. 
One of my favourite cities was Antalya - it has an old town which is really interesting to walk in. We stayed there a few days and walked and walked everywhere. One did not need the car as its a comfortable walking zone.
The Mediterranean coast road is a beautiful drive – not
unlike the Sorrento – Amalfi route in its beauty but far more natural and less commercialized.
Actually driving on Turkish roads is a pleasure as there are excellent highways
which are generally two lane motorways each way, even in the mountains, and
drivers are not reckless. Rumi's tomb was a wonderful experience. Serence and calm. No photography inside. At the back were various tombstones with typical Turkish caps made of stone mounted on columns. The minaret has an incredible cerulean greeny blue colour.There is a large garden and we were lucky to find a good English speaking guide whose real job was selling carpets.
One takes the normal precautions when driving but there are surprises – driving along the road to Konya to see Rumi’s tomb, the speedometer read 107 km / hr. In the distance, a policeman stepped onto the road and waved me to lay-by where a cop car waited.
I apologized in Turkish (my guide book was excellent), hoping to be
forgiven but very politely, my documents were taken, checked, noted and I was
issued a ticket – the speed limit is 100 kms and I was only doing 7 kms excess, so my fine was proportional – only Rs 5,160 which I could not pay to the
cops. It has to be deposited within one month in a bank – a great way to stop
corruption. So beware of cops with radar on Turkish highways as the roads invite
you to drive fast and the fine is steep. The Turkish police stopped me the very
next day again, a surprise as I was well within the speed limit, but this time
I found they were recording all hire cars travelling in this area – as a security
check.
The "moonscape" area around the towns
of Ürgüp,
Göreme,
Uçhisar,
and Avanos,
where volcanic eruptions and erosion have formed caves, clefts, "fairy chimneys" and sensuous
folds in the soft volcanic rock.
The volcanic landscape appears inhospitable but it’s mineral-rich soil makes Cappadocia a
rich agricultural region famous for vineyards
and wineries.
For an excellent excursion, drive to the underground cities at Derinkuyu or Kaymakli...............
........(the largest of the 37 underground cities used by Byzantine Christians to take
refuge from Arab and Persian armies – not unlike the Cu-Chi tunnels near Saigon)
and the former Ottoman-Greek
mountain town of Güzelyurt
before taking a fascinating hike of several hours in the Ihlara
Valley.
For an excellent excursion, drive to the underground cities at Derinkuyu or Kaymakli...............
Returning the car on time is important – whilst I had
checked four times that the agent would be present, when we reached the airport
there was no one. So Denizli Rentals told us to leave the car with the local
police – they agreed as we did and the process was fast and simple. But you may
not be so lucky !
Text and photographs copyright of the author. No part of this article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com
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Text and photographs are copyright of the author. No part of any article or photographs maybe transmitted or reproduced by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Do contact the author on email -- helpthesun@gmail.com