Money: Lira
Visa (Dutch passport): On arrival for 25 euros or fixed online beforehand for 15 euros
Daybudget: 30 euros (pp)
Transportation
Turkey is really well-developed and this is also the case for infrastructure and transportation possibilities. Getting around in Turkey is best done by buses. The bus transportation is perfectly organised from one city to the other which is definitely not only the case for short distance travels. It is safe, convenient and cheap, especially when it’s a ‘short’ busride of an average of 5-6 hours. But when it takes longer than that, you may wish for train transportation because of getting tired of having to sit the whole time, getting a stiff body, having to hold on when you have to go, hunger/thirst, etc! The train system is not really developed though since there are only couple of trainroutes in some certain regions which is a pity. Just to give an example; a bus ride of 22 hours is not really fun when it takes that long to get somewhere.
The big plus is though that there are several stops at big busstations for lunchbreaks or toiletvisits. Yet it was kind of stressful since they don’t speak English and it doesn’t get announced how long the pause will take which makes you rush to the toilet and buy some food quickly so you don’t miss the bus. There is no check, it’s your own responsibility to be back on time. Talking about the toilets, it costs 1 lira and most of the time you get a relatively clean (western) toilet. But make sure you have your own toilet paper or a sack of tissues since that’s something you will not always find in toilets of Muslim countries.
accommodation
There are several options for different kind of travelers’ budgets, from 5* hotels to midrange hotels/apartments or cheap hostels. Since there is two of us, it didn’t matter whether we slept in hostels or midrange hotels/apartments. Ofcourse we prefered having a private room and since the budget allowed us, we chose for having an apartment most of the time. Here is a list of accommodations we stayed at with a short review:
| Where | Name | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Bodrum | Rose Residence | Nice new apartment complex outside of the city centre with a great price-quality ratio ***** |
| Pamukkale | Bellamaritimo Hotel | Nice simple guesthouse for a one-night-sleep *** |
| Selcuk (Ephasus) | Nur pension | Not the most clean bathroom, simple room ** |
| Izmir | Olimpiyat Hotel | Not expensive, average location, clean but small room and a bit depressing without windows *** |
| Bursa | Bursa Park Apart | One of the priciest, but also one of the most modern and luxurious apartment we had. Great price-quality. ***** |
| Istanbul I | Holas apartments | Perfect location, completely new apartment complex for a good price-quality with great staff. **** |
| Istanbul II | Route 39 Guesthouse | Typical hostel, very simple and will do for one or few nights, don’t expect much ** |
| Safranbolu | Yildiz Backpacker pension | In an old typical Ottoman house with great beds and heating but simple bathroom **** |
| Goreme (Cappadocia) | Emre’s Stone house | nice location near busstation, staff kind of bored, but for the price the rooms will do *** |
Food
Turkish food is quite divers, varying from Turkish kebab to vegetarian curries, rice and dough dishes. At first you go all crazy about the different kebab dishes, but at a certain point you are really done with it craving for rice or curries (which we are personally used to as Afghans).
Our personal recommendation of things you HAVE to taste when you are in Turkey:
Keymak ( as breakfast), Kunefe (dessert) @ Mado, Tile kebab , Fresh Ayran (Yoghurt drink), Guzleme (pancake with several filling-options), Manti (dough dish with meat) and Eric (ghora for our Afghan readers) which is nothing else but extremely sour, unripe plums which can be addictive. You can find them in every fruit/vegetables market (only available in spring/summer though).
People
Turkish people are really friendly, welcoming and hospitable. They certainly remind me of Afghan people. Though their friendliness comes with a motive in touristic areas, it was still also visible in non-touristic places with no strings attached.
The diversity of the people on the streets is something that won’t stay unnoticed with women dressed traditionally or totally western instead. You may encounter not only differences in way of clothing but also how they actually look like, varying from dark hair, brown eyes and tanned skin colour to blond hair, green eyes and fair skin tone. In the big cities there are many people who speak English, but the majority doesn’t. In many touristic places, travel agencies and buses we have been using sign language to communicate.
Things we noticed during our stay in Turkey
1. Turkish culture is comparable to Afghan culture since most of the islamic countries share similarities in their customs and traditions.
2. Hearing the ‘azaan’ 5 times a day which meant it was prayertime for practicing muslims.
3. Popular smoking-culture. Lots of Turkish people smoke and it’s not easy to find for instance restaurants with non-smoking areas so you have to get used to the smell.
4. Strongly present man-culture on the streets. There were relatively far less women than men, especially in the evenings. Most terraces or tea houses are full of men, just relaxing and sipping on their cup of tea while playing games. Ofcourse this was different in cities like Istanbul or Izmir, but on the other hand those are the most developed and western cities of Turkey. I can imagine that in non-touristic places there will probably be more staring since you, especially as a woman, are a rare specie at that moment. Make sure you dress modestly in case you’re not sure whether it’s safe to walk around in modern clothing (especially in the evenings).
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