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 8th century shipwreck. Since I’d always wanted to visit Turkey, I jumped at the chance. 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 intimidated by the lengthy flight (12 hours each way from Chicago!). However, once I decided that Turkey would be the setting of my second Romancing the Ruins novel, I knew 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. Upon arriving in Istanbul, I spent a few days getting familiar with the city. In 1993, I had a hard time finding my way around, especially since the older part of the city is filled with twisty, narrow streets. 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. Our guide 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.
After a couple of days in Istanbul, I took the bus to Çanakkale, a harbor town near the site of Troy. Believe me when I say the crowded, chaotic Esenler Otogar (bus station) in Istanbul, 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 in Çanakkale, I checked into my hotel, which featured a lovely harbor view. But that’s not the only reason I chose it. This hotel was where Heinrich Schliemann 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 (constructed in 2018), I took a guided tour of the ruins. The site of ancient Troy has so many different layers of history, ranging from 3000 BCE 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 I can do it justice in my story.
After returning to Istanbul, I flew to Kayseri, where I took a two-day tour of Cappadocia. The region is known for its spectacular rock formations, which were 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 it justice. 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. 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!
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, 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.”
