March 2004 -- Turkey sticks its "toe" in Europe, with 97% of the country lying in Asia, between the Mediterranean and the Black Seas. As a fence-straddling nation between the Western countries and the exotic east, Turkey is both traditional and modern. The only secular Muslim country on the planet, it also bills itself as the Cradle of Western Civilization. A bit of a boast or not, it shelters more Roman archaeological sites than Italy and more Grecian ruins than Greece itself. The art and culture of its Byzantine reign and of its Ottoman Empire are also plentiful.
The best times to visit are April to mid-June, although the early spring can be a bit rainy, and mid-September to October, when Turkey enjoys mild weather. November to March is likely to be chilly and rainy, and summers are very hot, humid and uncomfortable if you're not in air-conditioned climes.
Unfortunately, you may not want to visit here in any season if you're traveling by train because the country's rail system is pretty disappointing: it's uncomfortable, inefficient, and not particularly modern. If you stick to one or two major routes you should be ok, but otherwise, rail travelers should skip it.
Your Pass to Exotic Countries
A trail of ancient cities, mosques, and natural wonders can be made most affordable through a Balkan Flexipass, granting you unlimited travel through Bulgaria, Greece, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey, and Serbia/Montenegro. There are 3 options to choose from: any 5 days in 1 month for $189; and 10 days in 1 month for $330; and any 15 days in one month for $397. Travel is in First Class only, and there are special fares for passengers under 26 or more than 60 years of age. The Balkan Flexipass is available through Rail Europe (tel. 877/257-2887272-RAIL on U.S., 800/361-RAIL in Canada; www.raileurope.com) and most travel agents.
Practical Train Information
There is perhaps no other country with as antiquated and inefficient a train system as Turkey. "First class" in Turkey might be designated third class if such a category existed; virtually all a first-class fare gets you is a padded seat (often in an old-style carriage car). For overnight travel, couchettes or sleepers are available and must be reserved in advance. We recommend getting sleeper, which holds from 1 to 2 people, are inexpensive (about $40 for two people on the Ankara Express), and may have air-conditioning and other decent amenities.
Trains are better than the bus for overnight journeys, but in all other circumstances, Turkish buses are faster than the rail -- in some cases twice as fast. Train reservations are generally made a few hours in advance at the train departure terminal; except for sleepers, they aren't necessary, but we recommend that you always get them to be on the safe side.
Take only trains marked ekspres, including the super-express Mavi (or Blue) trains, and avoid the snail-like trains called posta or yolcu.
From the west, one train daily, the Bosfor Ekspresi, travels from Bucharest to Istanbul in 27 hours. If you're on mainland Greece, there is a Thessaloniki-to-Istanbul train that takes 16 to 18 hours.
Within Turkey, the most comfortable train ride is the 6 1/2- to 9-hour trip (depending on the train) between Istanbul and Ankara, especially on the overnight sleeper Ankara Express. The trains are as fast as the bus, and, in this case, are more comfortable. Otherwise, expect ratty, deteriorating, and slow-moving -- but quite inexpensive -- regional travel by rail.
Safety is also an issue in traveling the trains in Turkey. Women, in particular, have been the target from muggings or robberies. Pickpocketing and purse snatching are commonplace.
For information, search the TCDD (Turkish State Railways) website at www.tcdd.gov.tr. Information about European rail links can be obtained in Istanbul at the station, Sirkeci Gari (tel. 0212/527-0050), at Eminön¨l, which lies downhill from the Sultanahmet moving toward the famous "Golden Horn."
Highlights of Turkey
The capital of Istanbul is one of the world's most intriguing cities to visit. Allow at least three days, if your schedule permits, just to skim the surface of its many attractions, which include Topkapi Palace (Topkap Sarayi), Sultanahmet, rising from a hill at the tip of the old city and hidden behind 39-foot walls. The nerve center of the Ottoman Empire from the 15th to the 19th centuries, today this complex is filled with museums, including a Treasury and a Harem.
Also at the Palace of the Ottoman Sultans is another complex, with such attractions as the Istanbul Archaeology Museum (Arkeoloji M¨lzesi), with some of the world's rarest museum treasures, such as the Treaty of Kadesh (the world's oldest known written treaty) from the 13th-century B.C., and stone artifacts from Mesopotamia, Egypt and other lands dating from the 1st and 2nd millennia B.C.
A dazzling array of other attractions await you, including Asasofya, Sultanahmet, which until the 16th century was the largest Christian church in the world, and The Blue Mosque (Sultan Ahmet Camiii), Sultanahmet, built between 1609 and 1617 by a sultan who wanted to construct a mosque to rival that of Ayasofya.
You can also wander for hours through the Grand Bazaar, entered through Beyazit Gateor and explore on foot the old walled city of Stamboul across the Golden Horn, which divides the European part of the city. Boats depart from Galata Bridge for 3-hour cruises between Europe and Asia.
Since 1923, Ankara has been the capital of the new Turkish Republic. In Turkey's largest city, you can visit attractions such as the Citadel (Hisar), Ullus, believed to have been erected by the Galatians; and the Museum of Anatolian Civilization, near the Citadel entrance, the greatest archeological collection in the country and reason enough to visit Ankara, which can be quite dull. The museum is a treasure trove with such delights as the celebrated relief of the God of War from the Great Hittite Empire.
The star of the Aegean Coast is Ephesus, one of the best preserved of the ancient cities of the Mediterranean. It also played a big role in the creation of Christianity. You can spend at least a half-day here wandering through its archaeological gardens. Efes, the archaeological site, is in fact second in importance only to Pompeii in Italy. In all of Turkey, you'll have no greater introduction to Roman civilization. Ephesus is visited from a base in Selcuk, which is only 1 3/4 miles (3km) away. To reach Selcuk by train, go first from Istanbul to Izmir, and from here take one of the 7 daily trains to Selcuk (trip time: 1 1/2 hr.).
For More Information
On the Web, seek information at www.turkey.org or www.tourismturkey.org. Cultural information is found at www.kultur.gov.tr.
In Istanbul a convenient tourist office is at Sultanahmet Meydani (tel. 0212/518-1802); in Ankara, at Gazi Mustafa Kemal Bulv 121, Tandogan (tel. 0312/229-2631).