Turkey has been a favorite destination for European travelers since the days of the Grand Tour, but especially during the past three decades, as the country has emerged from a sleepy past to a vibrant, modern culture. And where else can you find a friendly nation so full of exotic marvels, with elements of antiquity and relative comfort combined with stories of our own more familiar traditions? Turkey encompasses the origins of Christianity, the glories of the Greek Empire and the tales of Moslem heroes and crusaders. The country is safe, too, from all reports, and has long been one of my favorite destinations.
Here's a brief report on splendiferous deals available from just two of the many tour operators offering packages to the former Byzantium:
Bookinturkey.com, which we wrote about a month ago, has a site filled with good-value deals. A seven-day package tour of Western and Central Turkey runs from just $380 per person, the first starting on November 10, 2002. A guide accompanies you throughout, and the program is all-inclusive, meaning for $380 you get a five-night hotel stay, transfers, entrance fees to all attractions, and all meals.
Airfare, however, is not included with these offers, but after a little searching we've found fares from under $500 out of the east coast on British Airways, Austrian Air and Lufthansa; around $525 out of Chicago on most national European airlines, and around $650 from the west coast. Fares were good for travel from mid-September through the end of December.
There's a nine-day Central Turkey tour, covering much of Anatolia, from just $397 per person, first departure October 6, 2002 with the same room, transfers, admissions and meals included.
The area of Turkey most closely associated with the Greek and Christian tradition is the West, which is where the firm operates a nine-day tour starting from just $595 per person, first departure on September 22, 2002. It's guided throughout and is all-inclusive, departing from Ankara, ending up in Istanbul. As with all the company's tours, prices are per person sharing a double room.
A similar seven-day trip covers Eastern Turkey, the largely undiscovered portion of the country, with rates starting at $690 per person.
If you want to forego a full package and explore on your own, the firm offers up a wide range of options. For hotels in Istanbul, try the Yenisehir Palas Hotel, in the heart of town for $48 for a double room including breakfast, ditto in the Nippon Hotel in the Taksim district at $69 (with breakfast), and in the ritzier Pera Palas for $130, with breakfast buffet. Out in Cappadocia, land of the fairytale earth dwellings, you can stay in a cave hotel (the Burcu Kaya) in a double room for just $36, breakfast included. And after you have a room, note that daily tours in Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya start from as low as $17, if you change your mind.
Bookinturkey.com is proud of their corporate background, being a subsidiary of Koc Holding, Turkey's largest conglomerate (think factories producing supplies for Ford, Fiat and Avis, among other entities), with 39,000 employees and an annual turnover exceeding $10 billion. The parent tour operator company of the Web site has been going for 39 years and has a staff of 478. They even own seven marinas along the western and southern shores of Turkey! Once again, their Web site is www.bookinturkey.com/en. In Istanbul itself, phone them at 454-0000. The country code is 90, the city code 216.
Add a Little Greece
Should you want to combine a trip to Turkey with one to Greece, an ideal pursuit is taking a tour with Homeric, specializing in both countries, and offering a really good-value package starting from just $1,919. It's an 11-day journey that includes three nights in Athens, five nights in Istanbul and one night in Izmir, as well as airfare from JFK to Athens, then on to Istanbul, and return to New York. Prices vary from the aforementioned $1,919 for November to $2,659 in late August, the height of tourist season. In Athens, your hotels are the Divani Acropolis, the Park or the St. George Lycabettus. In Istanbul, it's the Taksim. Hotels with higher ratings can be had in either city, too.
Within Turkey, you'll visit Ephesus (Archeological Museum, House of the Virgin Mary and Basilica of St. John), Pergamum (the Asklepium Sanctuary) and Istanbul (Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, St. Sophia Museum, Topkapi Palace, a Bosphorus tour, and the Grand Bazaar). Prices include daily breakfast, hotel taxes and service charges, porterage, and more. Departures through November, 2002. Visit them online at www.homerictours.com or call 800/223-5570.