From Istanbul to Bodrum:
Highlights of Turkey

Mixing the ancient with the new, history with heritage and its connection to Australia, Turkey is one of the most fascinating countries to visit. Trisha Welsh reports

Mention Turkey to most people and they think immediately of Istanbul, the thriving ancient metropolis that straddles the Bosphorus River and connects the European and Asian continents. Sprinkled with fabulous mosques and towering elegant minarets, colourful bazaars and opulent palaces, it has much to offer the visitor but barely scratches the surface or indicates the region’s importance in the ancient world.

A trip south-west through Gallipoli, over the Dardanelles and heading further south along the west coast between Troy and Bodrum is a one-hit history and cultural lesson that is both highly educational and utterly inspirational.

There’s something about splashing around in water or holding a water pistol in your hand that brings out the big kid in everyone. Not that there’s much of an opportunity these days in drought-stricken Australia to play with water and shoot from the hip at unsuspecting victims. But I could live out the fantasy of making a big splash for a few days in Thailand.

This tiny section of the west coast of Turkey lays claim to the highest concentration of ancient Greek cities, more than in all of Greece – think Troy, Pergamum and Ephesus for starters. It also includes the sites of two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World – the Temple of Artemis between Ephesus and Selçuk and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus (now Bodrum). A third – the Colossus of Rhodes on the island of the same name, is but a speedy hydrofoil ride from Marmaris, while Istanbul, Troy and Pamukkale all have World Heritage listings.

Eight of us set off on our own private mini-bus tour from Istanbul, with a personal guide, Akin. The beauty of this is that we can stop where and when we like, and skip places that might not appeal. It’s about a five-hour drive to Gallipoli or Gelibolu on the local map, so we make an early start to beat the traffic and to spend more time en route.

With the clear blue water (the Sea of Marmaris) on the left and fields of sunflowers, olive groves and the occasional derelict stone house on the right we could be anywhere – Provence, Tuscany, Greece – but certainly in the Mediterranean.

Gentle fertile landscapes filled with large tracts of wheat, blossoming paddocks of eggplant, sun-ripening tomatoes, sweet corn, orchards of peach trees, meandering fig trees and small holdings of mixed crops attest to the fact that Turkey is one of just seven countries in the world that produces more than enough for its own needs, with a little left over for export.

Around Gallipoli in the lea of the battlefields, the Vegemite Bar, the Sydney Restaurant and the Boomerang Bar and Cafe appeal to the Aussie larrikin in us, but for exceptional food, we head for Maydos restaurant, a simple but stylish place right on the water at Eceabat. We lunch on mezze, tasty bay shrimps oven-baked with local cheese, fresh grilled baby bream, whole fish roasted with tomatoes, mushrooms and cream, finishing with still oven-warm cheese-based dessert pastries – a veritable feast.

Entrepreneurial restaurant owner Hanefi Bey also owns Anzac House which offers comfortable backpacker-style accommodation in nearby Çanakkale and is frequented by many Australians travelling to attend the 25 April dawn service. Naturally, the film Gallipoli gets much airplay for in-house guests.

There are 31 cemeteries around Anzac Cove – a visit to any of them is a time of quiet reflection whether it be for the Turks or the allies. A commemorative plaque at Anzac Cove quotes the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in an eye-moistening tribute that suggests: “There is no differences between the Johnnies and the Mehmets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries wipe away your tears. Your sons … having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.”

We board the car ferry from Kilitbahir and stay overnight at the waterfront Hotel Akol in Çanakkale, an attractive modern town with a typical Mediterranean waterfront of cafes and street markets. From our balconies, we can appreciate the narrowness and strategic importance of the Dardanelles, as a constant stream of freighters and laden container ships head north to the Black Sea and Russia.

Next morning, we realise Troy’s earlier strategic position overlooking the entrance to the Dardanelles just seven kilometres away. A reproduction Trojan horse marks the entrance.

Heading further south, we stop at roadside stalls for great local produce – sun-kissed peaches, perfumed figs, greengage plums, luscious apples and pears, pickled olives, hand-made olive oil soap, almonds, walnuts and divine Turkish delight. We savour them as we journey to the ancient hilltop acropolis of Pergamum – one of the most impenetrable ancient cities in the world.

Pergamum, at its peak around 197-159BC, was noted for its library of 200,000 books, which challenged the greatest library at the time in Alexandria. While only ruins remain today, the awesome vantage site fascinates with its marble-arched Sanctuary of Trajan and the 10,000-seat Greek amphitheatre which, at 45 degrees, is the steepest in the world. We also visit the Asclepion, an ancient medical centre where the stories of cures are weird and wonderful, and diagnosis was often done through dreams.

We spend a few days in Ku?adasi, a seaside town that attracts up to one million sunseekers each summer. Unfortunately, we choose the same day to visit Ephesus as passengers from several cruise ships in Ku?adasi but the crowd is orderly. Nothing has prepared us for the imposing facade of the Library of Celsus, which once housed 12,000 scrolls. Gazing over the Agora ruins, we imagine ancient market scenes and that the babble of today’s crowd belongs to a past era.

Pamukkale is a good day-trip away – and worth it for its extraordinary white cascading travertine terraces and thermal pools. We opt to enjoy the private facilities in one of the tourist hotel pools rather than join the masses at Hierapolis.

But a real highlight is nearby Didyma and the splendid ruins of an imposing, comparatively intact, Alexander the Great-built Temple of Apollo. Exquisite pedestal carvings, columns – some fallen like dominoes – and a detailed Medusa’s head are exceptional.

And then onto Bodrum, formerly Halicarnassus and site of the ancient mausoleum which stood intact until 1522 when crusaders broke it up for building material. Today this seaside resort pumps in summer with reputedly the world’s largest open-air disco. It is also a popular departure point for cruising the south-west coast in gulets – converted traditional Turkish fishing boats. But that’s another story.