Tony's EPIC Road Trip Across Europe Turkey (East)
Turkey
Istanbul - Ankara - Kayseri - Cappadocia - Selve - Malatya - Dyarbakir - Hasankeyf - Mydiat - Nusaybin - Mardin - Sanliurfa - Harran - Nemrut - Gaziantep - Adana - Bursa Text and Photos: Tony Steurer 3,000 km four weeks
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Tony is an ultra-experienced traveller who has been to over 110 countries. Having lived in Kuala Lumpur for many years, he is currently based in Munich.
During this 2015 trip, the Turkish Lira fell from 3.04 to to 3.45 EUR. Buses are the most common means of transport here, mostly modern Mercedes, clean and comfortable, with drinking water, coffee and biscuits always included. Prices are modest. Bus stations are all modern, mostly far outside of towns, some are huge, looking like airport buildings with 50+ platforms and lots of competing ticket stands inside. It is easy to get a ticket even 5 minutes before departure which is on time as a rule.
In more rural areas there are frequent collective taxi services (called Dolmush), plying predetermined routes, and stopping on request. In remote areas transport can be an issue, however. I also considered a rental car, but decided against it, given that we were covering about 3000 km on this roundtrip plus the sometimes immense heat in August, which on occasion felt as if someone had left open an oven door.
In more rural areas there are frequent collective taxi services (called Dolmush), plying predetermined routes, and stopping on request. In remote areas transport can be an issue, however. I also considered a rental car, but decided against it, given that we were covering about 3000 km on this roundtrip plus the sometimes immense heat in August, which on occasion felt as if someone had left open an oven door.
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Rough Guide to Turkey
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Kayseri
The journey starts in Istanbul, and I am taking a bus from the huge bus terminal, 7 hours straight to Ankara (40 TL, 450 km), six-lane highway all the way. It took three hours alone to reach Izmit on the outskirts of Istanbul.
Ankara, capital city, 5,2 million inhabitants, large areas with government institutions, 1000 m above sea level on the Anatolian plateau. Huge construction activities with lots of high rise residential units and a new skyline. The outer limits of the city stretch far and end abruptly into the steppe. Limited metro system. Not much left of the old town besides the temple of Augustus and the citadel which was built by the Hittites and sits on top of a hill. From above the best view over the proliferating city. The houses inside the ancient city wall are mostly in bad shape but I see many efforts to solidify the substance and to design an appealing area. Some nice cafes here and a wonderful shop specialising exclusively in old gramophones. Below the citadel hill lies a new area with houses in a traditional architectural style. A bit sterile, boutique shops, restaurants, many stand empty. The modern Kocatepe mosque is enormous and worth a visit.
Cappadocia
Another 4 hours bus ride south east (35 TL) lies Kayseri (1.3 million inhabitants). Since my last visit here in 1982 the population has tripled, I hardly recognise anything. Citadel and several mosques in Seljuk style, the massive snow covered volcano Ercyas (3,916 m, Turkey’s 6th highest mountain) is towering over the town.
Cappadocia
Nearby Cappadocia, created many millennia ago by an eruption of Ercyas, then sculpted by erosion. Early Christians on the run discovered the soft rock formations and carved out places like churches, caves, and even underground cities. Impossible for me to recognise villages again as tourism has completely altered the configuration in places like Ürgüp, Göreme, Avanos, or Ortasihar; only the beautiful rock formations distinguish them a bit. Lots of cave hotels.Great hiking through Rose canyon and Red canyon, deserted, beautiful, colourful with amazing tuff scenery. Some vine growing, thistles and thorny plants. Mass tourism is focused on the rock churches (Göreme open air park, UNESCO site), no photos allowed, thick jostling.
Magical Selve, one of the most mysterious and alluring places that I visited 33 years ago, is still relatively quiet but the outer valley part with its morel-shaped rock formations has been transformed into an amusement park. Back then I was seemingly the only soul out here and was able to climb the six-storey high rock dwellings. Now they are cordoned off.In areas not served by public transport, we occasionally resort to thumbing a lift which in the past has worked quite well in Turkey. This time a friendly nappy agent stops, I am squeezed between packs of nappies on the back seat, making conversation in a mix of Turkish, Arabic and English.Balloon rides are very popular here to discover the landscape from above, 150 EUR per hour, including breakfast and champagne. Other tours go into Love valley where erosion has developed phallic-like rock structures.
Rock Dwellings, Selve
Further east to Malatya (580K inhabitants), 5 hours bus (30 TL); very modern and lively city. From here on to Konya I have counted only 6 western tourists in about 10 days. The scenery here consists of craggy mountains, dry canyons, vast views. Corn and grain. Cypress trees and small oases which resemble places I have seen in Central Asia.
Food is not very diverse, but delicious: Döner, Kebab, coming with grilled tomatoes and salad. Also Shish Tavuk, a snack with grilled chicken, vegetable, salad, and spices, rolled up in a flat cake, enough given the heat and really cheap at 1,50 EUR. Also Mediterranean type salads with onions, gherkins, olives, and mint, lots of fruits, melons, grapes, figs, apricots (locals say the best are from Malatya province). Dry red wine from the region costs 5 – 10 EUR per bottle, no foreign competition here, and must be bought in special shops, same with beer. Alcohol is not sold in some of the big supermarkets (Carrefour, Migros, Metro etc). Lots of smokers though but only outdoors these days.
The infrastructure is amazing as roads are either new or are just being built. On to Dyarbakir (1.3 million inhabitants), 38 degrees Celsius at midnight, the heat is on. Endless residential tower blocks, bus station far from the town centre. The ancient city wall, built from basalt, is the third longest in the world, and has just been declared an UNESCO site. The black and white Hasan Pascha caravanserai is full of cafes and restaurants. The great mosque, formerly a church, has been converted in 639 AD, and is one of the oldest in the country. Now fully restored (was a building site during my last visit in 2012); amazing place, full of various architectural styles.
Deeper into Kurdistan via Batman. Hasankeyf. Last chance to visit: after 16 years of planning and construction, the Tigris dam will flood this ancient town in autumn. It has been a human settlement for thousands of years, the town clinging to a rock above the river, very scenic with cave dwellings, 2 old mosques, a mausoleum in Turkmen style, dry canyon in the vicinity. No night life to speak of.
Hasankeyf
South to Mydiat (390K inhabitants), neglected old city. Starting point for Mor Gabriel, about 1,500 years old, a splendid Aramaic monastery near the Syrian border. Impressive cupola of layered bricks. 1,400 years ago about 1000 monks lived here, the crypta holds the bones of 12,000 monks.Scenic drive between Mydiat and Nusaybin through a river canyon with canals and oasis cultures. Lots of hotels in shady grounds. Low slung villages built in Syrian style. Nusaybin is a border town and features the oldest university in the world (7000 years old).
We buy Turkish coffee, mixed with cardamom, locally produced. A pound costs 5 EUR. Between Nusaybin and Mardin the road runs parallel to the Syrian border. Every 500 metres or so, a watchtower, tanks facing south and garrisons. Border crossings are all closed.
View towards Syrian Border, Mardin
Mardin (486K inhabitants) is a marvellous place. Sitting on a steep mountain slope 1,000 m above sea level, the old city is full of mosques and madrasas. Houses and alleys are built from the local stone material and appear very curated. The citadel on top is used by the military, the views stretch far into the Mesopotamian plain. Desert-like escarpment. Nearby in the middle of nowhere the Syrian-orthodox monastery Dayrulzafaran, Remains of a 2,500 year old sun temple and a 640 year patriarchal throne. Interesting site but already quite commercialised.A friendly Kurdish garbage truck driver gives us a lift. He talks about driving this monster to Istanbul and even Baghdad. Large sleeper cabin in the back. We meet the same guy again 2 days later, small world …
Mardin, Old Town
Modern and clean Sanliurfa (1 million inhabitants) daily hoses down its streets with water. Citadel on a rock with 25 m deep ditches. Nearby is Halil Rahman mosque (the fifth holiest site in Islam). This is the birthplace of Abraham, who is highly revered here, lots of pilgrims and domestic tourists. In the grounds are the famous fishpond of Abraham, there must be thousands of fish, they are considered holy and fed by the countless visitors.
Abraham's Fish Pond, Sanliurfa
About 15 km outside Göbleki Tepe (UNESCO site), a Neolithic place on a lonesome plateau, called the Stonehenge of Anatolia, 9300 years BC. Round buildings with T-beams, decorated with animal reliefs. Only parts of the place are yet unearthed. Hardly any traffic out here, hitch hiking works again with a friendly Kurd even making a detour for us.
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Sanliurfa
Harran, a 2000 year old town, remains of the old 4 km long city wall, a high lone minaret, and the mighty Aleppo gate. Locals have used the place as a quarry and build villages with beehive-like houses nearby. Camels and goats.
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Beehive Villages near Harran
Near Kahta we are crossing the Atatürk lake/dam on a new bridge, shortening the drive by 90 minutes. Along the way, the statues of Karakus and a 120 long Roman bridge from the 2nd century; high above a canyon the citadel of Yeni Kale. Along a narrow and steep road high up to Nemrut Dagi (2153 m, UNESCO site).
Nemrut was the centre of the kingdom of Komagene, a burial place and cult site, erected around 50 BC. The mountain top is a 45 m high tumulus with 150 m diameter, about 300 000 cubic metres of rock were moved. 9 metre high statues were hewn from rock, depicting Zeus, Apollon, and other gods. Their heads fell down and are lined up on the ground. Big animal watchers on the sides (eagles, lions). The eastern terrace features a 9 by 9 metre immolation square. This is an outstanding, very remote location, wide views in all directions, bare and treeless.
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near Göbleki Tepe
Gaziantep (1.4 million inhabitants) features the modern Zeugma museum of mosaics, worth the visit alone. The antique city of nearby Zeugma provided the large scale mosaics that cover 10 000 square metres, most of them in amazing condition. The ‘gypsy girl’ with her haunting look is arguably the most prominent piece and advertised everywhere in town. The mosaics date mostly between 2nd and 3rd century AD. I regard it as one of the best museums in the world!
Police check points and passport controls near the military airport of Incirlik. Everything was peaceful so far, the friendliness and helpfulness of people in Kurdistan, which is noticeably rougher than western Turkey, is remarkable.
Zeugma Museum of Mosaics, Gaziantep
25 TL bus to Adana. The great mosque was built in 1999, its proportions and size make it another highlight. Half a day sightseeing in the old town, a 450 m long Roman bridge, a smallish bazar, and a mosque from the 12th century. Konya (1027 m altitude, 1.1 million inhabitants), the bus station is a long, 45 minute ride outside of town! Capital of the Dervish, a Sufi fraternity. The large Mevlana complex (mosque, mausoleum, diverse rooms formerly the living quarters of the dervish) is the focus of the community. The bazar is newly built in ancient style with some 800 year old mosques in between. Heavy rainfall, the first in 3 weeks, the air is 10 degrees cooler after that.
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Mevlana Complex, Konya
Bus to Bursa (55 TL), 4th biggest city with 3.1 million people. The Ulu Dag (‘mighty mountain’, 2,500 m) towering over it. The old town sits pretty on its slopes; the mosques are UNESCO sites and a real visual treat: aesthetically overwhelming, especially the Ulu Camii (built in 1399) with 20 cupolas, as well as the Yesil Türbe and Yesil mosques from 1421. The Irgandi bridge from 1442 is built up (similar to Florence or Erfurt in Germany), with tea houses and craftsmen shops. Two large caravanserais, very lively, countless street cafes in every street. This big city has a metro system and stretches out towards the horizon.
From here we take a speedboat ferry from nearby Mudaya harbour back to Istanbul Yenikapi (2 hours).