Travels in Turkey (Türkiye)
In 1993, while attending graduate school at UCLA for a degree in archaeology, I got a job offer to work in Turkey. The Institute of Nautical Archaeology, located in Bodrum (southwest Turkey) was looking for grad students to study and analyze the glass remains from an 11th century shipwreck. Since I’d always wanted to visit Turkey, I jumped at the chance to go. For the next four and a half months, I lived and worked in Bodrum with six other students. Though we didn’t get much time off, we managed to visit a few other places, like the ancient ruins at Ephesus, Hierapolis, and Aphrodisias, and the cities of Istanbul, Konya, and Selçuk.
In the years that passed, I often thought about returning to Turkey but was put off by the lengthy flight (12 hours from Chicago!). However, once I decided that Turkey would be the setting of my second Romancing the Ruins novel, it was only a matter of time before I went back.
Rather than wait until 2023 to schedule my trip, I decided to go in November. It’s an ideal time to visit, since the weather is fairly mild, and the crush of late summer/early fall tourists has died down. I booked a hotel in Sultanahmet, which is located in the older part of the city, where a lot of historic monuments are located. Upon arriving in Istanbul, I spent a few days getting familiar with the city. In 1993, I had a hard time navigating the twisty, narrow streets of Sultanahmet with just a paper map. But in 2022—thanks to Google Maps—I was able to walk for miles without getting lost. I also booked a couple of day tours to help me get a better feel for the city.
The first tour was a half-day walking tour around a few of the older areas of Istanbul, including the Fener and Balat neighborhoods with their steep, narrow hills and colorful houses. Thanks to our guide, Sahil, I got to explore parts of the city I’d never seen before. He had us using every form of public transportation available—bus, tram, ferry, and cable car! We ended the day by walking through an old cemetery until we reached the Pierre Loti café, which overlooked the city. As we sat in the shade, sipping apple tea (a big favorite in Turkey), I felt lucky to have come this far.
My second tour—and definitely my favorite—was a day-long foodie excursion, featuring delicacies from both the European and Asian sides of the city. I felt like I was on the Netflix show “Somebody Feed Phil” as we ate our way through Istanbul. We visited the Spice Bazaar, taste-tested all kinds of cheeses and olives, had a traditional Turkish breakfast, ate doner kebab, tried lots of street food, and had lunch at Çiya, a restaurant that was featured in an episode of the show “Chef’s Table.”
After a couple of days in Istanbul, it was time for me to take the bus to Çanakkale, a harbor town near the site of Troy. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of trying to leave the city when the Istanbul marathon was taking place (the only marathon to cross two continents!). Since no taxis were allowed into the older part of the city, I had to walk on foot, with all my bags, until I reached a tram station that was running. But that wasn’t the hardest part! Believe me when I say that Istanbul’s crowded, chaotic Esenler Otogar (bus station), is not for the faint at heart. There were so many people and so many buses that I’m lucky I caught the right one.
Once I reached Çanakkale, I checked into my hotel, which was advertised as having a lovely harbor view and a delicious Turkish breakfast. But that’s not the only reason I chose these lodgings. This hotel was where Heinrich Schliemann (notorious treasure-hunter & amateur archaeologist) stayed when he was excavating the site of Troy in the 1870s!
Since Troy is the setting of my next book, I dedicated a full day to visiting it. After spending a few hours at the brand-new Troy Museum (built in 2018), I took a guided tour of the ruins. The site of ancient Troy has so many different layers of history (from the Early Bronze Age to the Byzantine era) that I was grateful to my guide, Uran, for making sense of them! I definitely got a feel for the site, and I’m hoping my experiences will make for a richer story.
After returning to Istanbul, I flew to Kayseri, which served as a starting point for my two-day tour of Cappadocia. The region is known for its spectacular rock formations, which looked to me like a mix of the Grand Canyon, the national parks in Utah, and Middle Earth. The sights around us were so incredible that my photos don’t do them justice. Among the highlights of the tour were exploring an underground city and visiting the Ihlara Canyon, which contains more than 100 churches and approximately 10, 000 caves carved by the early Christian monks. Although a lot of visitors passing through this area opt to see the sights via hot-air balloon, I turned down the opportunity. My fear of heights far outweighed my desire for an amazing view!
My last day in Turkey was spent in Istanbul, walking through the city and indulging in a little more shopping and eating. I also took the ferry over to Kadiköy, to spend time on the Asian side of Istanbul. Though I wished I’d had time to get back to Bodrum, I figured I’d save that visit for the next time! For now, this 10-day trip was more than enough to provide me with plenty of stories, photos, and memories.
Fener neighborhood, Istanbul
Street cat in Kadiköy, Istanbul
Spice Bazaar, Eminönü, Istanbul
Love Valley, Cappadocia