Two months and seven different cities made up our Turkey travel time. It was definitely different than I had been expecting; in some ways good and in other, not so good. But my overall feeling having left the country was a positive one and I have no doubt that I’d return to Turkey again in the future, if only because of some of the things on this list.
The Good
Friendly and generous people
I feel like a broken record mentioning this yet again, but yet again, I was blown away by the nature of the people. The extent of their generosity knew no bounds, with people even force-feeding us apples, nuts and chocolate biscuits on a bus journey during a Turkish holiday (even though we’d eaten plenty of food and hardly look as though we’re starving *sucks in stomach*). Most often than not, when people could tell that we were blatant tourists, such as in Amasya, they went out of their way to help us or on some occasions even gave us stuff for free. There is a big focus on family and traditions in Turkey, and it was great to see so many family-run businesses and hotels that we were able to help support.
Quality of bus travel
For the most part, the buses in Turkey were fantastic. Even better than those in Mexico, and they had surprised me greatly. Even on the shortest journeys, you will be served free tea or coffee and a snack. With one of the more expensive companies we travelled with for a long six hour journey, we were given free sandwiches, cakes, tea, coffee and water, as well as free wifi. We actually joked that the job of “bus assistant” (similar to but with much less responsibility than that of an air stewardess) seemed to be a very popular and attractive job for young men straight out of high school and college, so well-respected are the bus companies.
Amazingly diverse landscapes
Prior to this year, only one thing entered my mind when I thought about Turkey: beaches. Coming from England where Turkey is a summer all-inclusive beach destination for many, I naively assumed that there was little else to see in the country. After researching the towns and cities and then visiting them for myself, only now can I see how foolish I was. From huge, sprawling cosmopolitan cities to space-like landscapes and traditional villages, Turkey is just as diverse as it is large. And some of it really does have to be seen to be believed.
The Bad
Not as cheap as you would expect
Oddly, we had always assumed that Turkey would be a cheap destination to visit. Being outside the Euro zone, and regularly hailed as cheap by the beach-goers, I had assumed that we would find it on a par with Asia for price. How wrong I was.
We had been warned that Istanbul was expensive but that once you got outside of the city, prices lowered. This is true to some extent, but even the less touristed destinations still offered more expensive accommodation than we had expected.
The rumours about Istanbul are true – price-wise it is on a par with any major European city and accommodation does not come cheap, especially if, like us, you want to stay in a trendy neighbourhood like Cihangir. Certain food items are always cheap, no matter where in the country you visit (such as pide or donner kebab, see below) and bus travel varies dependent upon the company and length of travel. As a rule of thumb I’d say that the further away you get from Istanbul, the cheaper the prices get. But still don’t expect South East Asia prices, or you’ll get sticker shock.
Lack of diversity in food options
Unfortunately I was pretty underwhelmed by the food in Turkey. Having travelled to places like Malaysia and Mexico, which are a feast for the senses, Turkey was relatively boring. Most meals revolve around meat (usually lamb) and bread. The cheapest meals, such as pide (dough filled with egg, cheese and meat or vegetables) and lahmacun (a flat Turkish pizza topped with seasoned lamb) are filling and cheap but not very nutritious, so you wouldn’t want to exist on them alone. Also, if you are a vegetarian, you may struggle outside of the major cities. The food that was available was tasty and of a high quality, but there just wasn’t much diversity – as our Russian apartment owner said in Antalya: “In Turkey there are two options: donner kebab and kofte or kofte and donner kebab”. She was kind of right.
Entrance Visas
Upon arriving at the airport in Istanbul, we were shocked to be presented with having to buy a $20 USD visa to enter the country. The system was confusing, with most people ignoring or missing the signs and then being turned away to the visa counter at border patrol and having to push their way back through the queues. The visa is simply a sticker in your passport, valid for 90 days (multiple entry). You can only pay for the visa in Euros or Dollars, which annoyingly meant that we had to go and withdraw the exact amount in USD, incurring a high airport ATM fee. My advice would be to carry some spare Euros or dollars with you and head straight for the Visa counters – this should save you time and money.
Not as exotic as perceived
This is a silly one and relates more to my over-active imagination than anything else, but when I thought about Turkey, Istanbul in particular, I imagined cobbled streets filled with steam and delicious scents, shisha pipes and hidden doorways. Maybe I was confusing it with Morocco? Either way, it was NOTHING like I had imagined. Istanbul in particular is more Westernised and cosmpolitan than many cities I’ve seen in the UK and US. It is a great city, accented by the mosques and the Bosphorous, but when you walk down the street and see a Shake Shack, a Caffe Nero and a Topshop, you don’t exactly feel as though you’re in a previous Ottoman empire.
The Ugly
Cat country
Cats rule and dogs drool in Turkey. Cats are everywhere. People leave food and water out on the streets for them, along with pillows and cushions for them to sleep on. The cats never seem to belong to anyone in particular (although I’m sure some do), but they are always well-fed and turning up in the most unlikely of places.
As someone who is allergic to cats (and much more of a dog lover) this only got annoying when, in one coffee shop in Istanbul, a neighbourhood cat insisted on sitting on my lap while I was trying to work and then proceeded to dig its claws into my legs, hiss and bite at me and anyone else who tried to move it from its new comfy spot, including one of the waiters.
The coffee
Before I visited Turkey, I had grand visions of sipping on thick Turkish coffee every day. Which was silly, because I guess I should have remembered that I had disliked Bosnian coffee, which is extremely similar. But I needn’t have worried, because real, authentic coffee was sold in few places. If you order a coffee in Turkey it will more than likely be powdered Nescafe (it is usually even listed as Nescafe on the menu). Luckily I like tea and that is plentiful, strong and cheap EVERYWHERE in the country.
Crazy bus stations / bus station locations
This one doesn’t apply to everywhere in Turkey, but to several we encountered. In Istanbul, the bus station is so huge and chaotic that we almost missed our bus to Goreme, despite having scouted the place out the day before. Often, the number of the bus will be printed on your ticket and you’ll have to go and hunt it down at the station, sometimes with terrible consequences if there are many buses scheduled to leave all at the same time – and particularly if your bus isn’t parked where it should be, as was the case with ours.
Also, several of the bus stations around the country were located outside of the city centres. Some places offered a free shuttle service to get you in to the centre, but on other occasions we had to pay for a bus or shuttle to get us to where we needed to be. It’s best to double check when you buy the tickets exactly where you’ll be dropped off and how to get to exactly where you you want to go.
Other Turkey Posts:
Hot Air Balloon Ride Over Cappadocia: Part 1 and Part 2
I really love these little round-ups you do! Turkey is a country I would love to visit and after nearly 2 years in Asia, the thought of kebab and kofta doesn’t fill me with dread… for now. But I know I would get bored of a monotonous dining scene, no matter how good pretty quickly and after about 2 weeks I’d probably be over it.
I’m glad to hear the people were so friendly and welcoming, however! For us, the two dealbreakers for any place are bad food and inhospitable locals. I can manage one but not both and generally friendly people trumps all else.
Thanks Steph, I’m glad someone gets some use out of them! And yes, the people definitely made our time there, especially those in the smaller towns.
As a Turkish,i would like to fix some mistakes made by Julia.Great blog btw.
-Turkey used to be quite cheap before(i can remember it and im only 28 years old) until this new political party sort of destroyed farming,imported animals from outside the country etc.Since im working abroad and come to turkey only periodically,i can easily say that especially Istanbul is more or less expensive like western european cities.
If you go to small towns(i live in one),things become ridicilously cheap and also east/southeast side of the country.
-You must be really really joking about the food right? Turkish cuisine is considered 2nd/3rd best cuisine in the world by many western chefs.Its currently competing with the french.The reason why mexican food is so diverse is because of the lebanese diaspora in the country(about 300.000,had to go there because of civil war).I never eaten malaysian food before,so i cant really comment on that.
I would agree with what you said about lack of options for vegetarians,but you cant do much since its the culture.
Oh and Im in Thailand right now and sadly it cant even come close with the food.Putting sugar and red pepper on rice,really?
-Visas:Every traveler has to check visa requirements of the country that she/he will go.You cant blame the country for it.
If i want to go to the UK,i have to take appointment from the embassy 3 weeks before,give documents(weights about half a kilo,yes),pay outrageous amounts of visa fee(800 pounds for 10 year valid and they might not give you 10 years even if you pay,usually people pay about 120 pounds for 6 months) and *maybe* my visa application will be accepted.
Oh and im working on a british cruise company with british seaman’s book.I dont even wanna think what others have to do.
-What kind of exoticness(new word for you 🙂 ) you expected? Turkey isnt that oriental place that westerners see it every day on news(girls with burka and that sort of stuff).I dont know if you are aware but ottoman empire has collapsed 100 years ago and the founder of Turkey westernised the county.
If you truly wanna see *exotic* Turkey,go to east and southeast side.
Oh and what you imagined about istanbul is still there,you just have to find it.
-Cats are loved by most(i have 2),sorry about your experience but you can try to love them.Greece is also in similar when it comes to cats.
-You are right about coffee.We know how to make turkish coffee,but the coffee you are talking about can be found in istanbul,albeit a bit hard.
Turkish people drink more tea per person than any other country(yes surpasses UK,they made a research),so cant do much about tea.
-You are right about bus stations,sadly you guys are just ripped off as tourists.Shame but happens in every country.
Good post tho,have fun with your travels!