Inside Out In Istanbul

It's that time of year again when Turks hit the road to be with family as they celebrate Kurban Bayrami. With this years' Kurban being extended to a nine day holiday, you'll need to get cracking if you're planning a bus trip to parts further afield. You'll find everything you need to know in my intercity bus guide here (and I do mean everything, from bus seats to toilet seats along the route). Happy travels!

Practical Intercity bus travel in Turkey guide - Inside Out In Istanbul I’m a member of too many Facebook Turkey travel groups to count, and see questions about intercity bus travel in Turkey pop up all the time. I wondered why so

Travelling through Turkey vs living in Turkey are two very different things. Each new experience challenges you to assess what values you hold dear and won’t negotiate on and which you can. In Exploring Turkish Landscapes: Crossing Inner Boundaries journey with me as I set off on my travels throughout the country. Along the way I delve deeper into Turkish culture as a way to escape myself, only in the end to discover who I am.

İnsanın kendisinden, ayrılıkla sonlanan bir ilişkiden ya da kariyer şansı tanımayan işinden kaçmaya çalışması gezi yazıları geleneğinde uzun süredir işlenen konular arasında. Ardında bıraktığı şeyden daha iyisini bulma umuduyla evlerinden ayrılır bu insanlar. Bu seçkideki denemeleri yazmaya başlayana dek, kendimi nereye ait hissettiğimi pek de düşünmemiştim. Seyahat, hayatımın öyle büyük bir parçası ki, seyahat etmediğim, yeni bir seyahat için keşif yapmadığım ya da planlarımı hayata geçirmek için para biriktirmediğim bir zamanı hatırlamıyorum desem yeridir. Sıradanlıktan uzaklaşıp devamlı yeni ve egzotik mekânlar arayan, bilinmeyenin peşine düşen bir turist olmuşumdur hep.

Türkiye’ye ilk geldiğimde, Avrupa’ya ve diğer uzak diyarlara doğru o muazzam sefere çıkan Avustralyalılar kervanının bir üyesiydim. Okyanusyalılar epeydir yetişkinliğe adeta böyle adım atar. Yabancı ülkelerin manzaraları, sesleri, kokuları rengârenktir, serüven ve sınırlarımızı zorlama iştahımızı kabartır. Macera çok zahmetli hale geldiğindeyse, tek bir geri dönüş bileti yardımımıza koşuverir. Belli bir vakitten sonra biraz yaş almış, çokça olgunlaşmış halde eve dönmemiz beklenir. Bazılarımız bir yıllığına ayrılır, bazılarımız hiç dönmemek üzere.

The English and Turkish versions are available direct from me in Istanbul, at Mephisto, Minoa, the Turkish-German, Four Seasons Hotel and Homer bookshops also in Istanbul (if you don’t see them on the shelf, ask) as well as Envai in Bebek, on the Bosphorus. Or online in paperback and ebook via link in comments.

Now that I’m living between two cities the amount of stuff I need to travel with has grown (not that I’ve ever been what you could call a light packer). To help with this I looked into using private transfers and came across Melontaxi. I was really impressed with their services from the easy booking process, fixed price set beforehand, great communication on Whatsapp and the professionalism, punctuality and courtesy of my driver, Bilgehan. He drove really well, obeyed all the road rules (not a given here in Turkey) and ensured the highest level of comfort so I didn’t feel a single bump along the way, even over the speed humps.

Melontaxi operate in Istanbul, Bodrum, Dalaman and Antalya and I’ll definitely use them again and recommend them to friends travelling in groups or with family. They’re also ideal for solo travellers who want a safe and secure ride from the airport to their hotel.

Here’s the link to make your booking to start your travels in Turkey right.

https://www.melontaxi.com/en/?utm_source=insideoutistanbul&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=affiliate&utm_content=lisa

This smiling friendly chap is Fethiye's own Enerji Bakanı, an energy minister. One bite of his sweet syrupy tulumba or any of the other treats he sells from his mobile cart at the Çalis Sunday markets and you'll be charged up and ready to go for the day!

I don’t often have time to just wander aimlessly around Istanbul these days what with writing assignments, research, hospital appointments (nothing life threatening just a lot for me and Kim), shopping and seeing friends. That made passing Rumeli Hisari by chance and having the time to look around (more than 20 years after the first time I visited) even more wonderful.

Restoration work on Rumeli (Diyar-ı Rum) Hisari, an historic site dating from 1452, with a name that translates as the Fortress on the Land of the Romans, is ongoing. Visitors aren’t allowed to walk along the walls, but the views are pretty wonderful, don’t you think?