Voyages in Kebabland, Part I

Istanbul --> Ankara --> Goreme / Cappadocia

Hello everyone, here goes for the first update from Turkey.

Getting here was easy in principle, exhausting in practice: I grabbed a bus ticket for the overnight bus between Athens and Istanbul. Unfortunately, the bus had just not quite enough leg room for me to fit in comfortably so I spent the best part of 17 hours (excluding rest stops) wedged into a small plastic chair.

So then we roll into Istanbul: after negotiating my way out of the massive bus station with some Spanish students and an impromptu Turkish guide I get to my hostel ... smack in the middle of all the action in Sultanahmet. Fantastic!

I did Istanbul last year so this time round a bit of R&R and planning. So what to do? First thing, most important thing, was to get to Ankara to get my Iran visa and then head to Goreme to see some strange and mysterious rocks. I ended up seeing a travel agent and worked out a loop which largely covers the Mediterranean / Aegean coast and takes in most of the key tourist sights ... about 5 - 6 days of tours included.

Off then to the capital of Kebabland! I had arranged to stay with a local (through Hospitality Club) called Alper - full service included: he turned up to meet me at the bus station, a visit to the pub and a bit of internet access too.

The visa process at the Iran embassy went incredibly smoothly - no interrogations or body searches (I had applied for pre-approval and Hamid sorted it all out, albeit for money). 24 hours later, visa was go. So what to do in my spare day? Sadly Ankara is the anti-Istanbul: no seaside (therefore no fish kebabs), no palaces, no famous boulevards and no famous mosques. Still, with a little wandering around I found an old castle / citadel in an area of Ankara which could best be described as on the wrong side of the tracks. ("That area can be a little dangerous." Alper told me later). It certainly looked a little run down and the kids were quite persistant in their demands for money (although they were unarmed).

With Ankara out of the way I head to Goreme - the cherry on Turkey's cake. It's very tourist-centric (as you'd expect) and stuffed full of backpackers, balloon companies (pickup at 5.30 am), tours around the region and kebab shops :).

All in all I spent 4 nights here - I leave today on an overnight bus to Antalya - and can thoroughly recommend it. The cave dorm where I stayed was less than €10 / night so you can spend your money on seeing an all manner of different rocks (I've never photographed so many rocks!), an underground city or walking around valleys in some pretty extraordinary landscape.

I'm not sure when I'll fire this page up again as I arrive in Antalya tomorrow morning and go straight onto a tour (don't expect good photos - I'll probably be half asleep).

Cheerio and keep well,

Stephen

PS Photos are in an album beside those from Greece, here's a slideshow: