Trends in Turkish Tourism: Expat Tours

By Elizabeth Gündoğdu
Ever dreamed of life abroad? Being able to enjoy a country as a non-native, but with all the benefits of local knowledge? Imagine visiting old friends who've relocated to an exotic place. They'd take you to all their favorite places off the beaten track, and guide you through the major attractions knowing just what you'd most like to see and do.

Worlds Apart, Together in Turkey

By Valerie Block*
I’d been dating Musa for several months when he told me he was going back home to Turkey. I figured it was goodbye boyfriend, but he surprised me by phoning often. Two months into his absence, I was on a plane to Istanbul!

Dangers of Turkish Travel

By Catherine Salter Bayar *
As a Californian clothing designer in my thirties, I’d traveled alone on business to at least 40 countries worldwide. When I announced that I intended to travel solo in Turkey in 1998, however, I was bombarded with warnings from concerned friends about the danger inherent in my plan.

A Weird American

By Nathan Redd
I’ve been called a lot of things in my life, but “weird American” has probably taken the top spot in recent years.  There are many reasons I’ve been called this, but my following the game of futbol (I refuse to call it “soccer”) is one of the major ones.

Cappadocia, A World of Caves in the Middle of Turkey

By Pat Yale
Stick a pin into the middle of a map of Turkey, and chances are that you will hit Cappadocia, that wild and wonderful part of the country where a combination of prehistoric volcanic activity and much more recent erosion have created a crazy, mixed-up landscape of soaring rock cones (‘fairy chimneys’) and deep gorges.

The Pearl of the Aegean

By Ayşe Önal Zamboğlu – San Francisco
There are a couple of cities in every country with distinct characters. When you visit such a city, it tells a fairly different story than the rest. If you are planning to visit wonderful Turkey, İzmir will show you a different side of Turkish culture and heritage very well.

Selcuk: Aegean Hot Spot

By Catherine Salter Bayar*
This historical valley on Turkey’s West Coast has more than its share of diverse cultural attractions – from centuries of wonders at Ephesus, a city founded by a mythical tribe of women warriors known as Amazons, embellished by King Croesus, liberated by Alexander the Great and nearly as important as Rome – to the tomb of Jesus’ favorite disciple and last home of the Virgin Mary, both sites of Christian pilgrimage, as well as a charming Ottoman village best known for its traditional pleasures of homemade wines and handmade lace.

Istanbul's Most Revealing Market

By Anastasia M. Ashman*
I’m bouncing along in a stream of shoppers at a neighborhood pazar, or weekly general street market. Tented for protection from the hot midday sun, this narrow Istanbul road in a residential district called Ulus is lined with merchandise that wasn’t here a few hours ago and will disappear in a few more: rows and rows of olives in plastic tubs, stands of feta cheese, and wooden carts packed with squash straight from the farm.
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