By Margaret Ellis ~
Where they recall Türkiye, Istanbul cityscape silhouette or blue Aegean shores beach. But a different story of Turkey—where time slumbers, millennia hold the stones of tangle old worlds in awe, and gracious hosts are no obstacle to be overcome but an art to be savored. That is Anatolia, a history-shy and king-like nation with so much history, culture, and geography to burst the heart.
Hattusa: Impressions of the Hittite Empire
Hidden deep in north-central Turkey is the Hattusa, capital of the Hittite Empire. Ruins of Hattusa, rock-city gates, and walls all bear witness to the existence of competing Egypt and Mesopotamia of the Bronze Age. Amidst its ruins—the breathtaking Lion Gate and Great Temple—are moments the tourists can’t help but sympathize with the glory of their empire whose site gave the region its early history.
It is invaluable to historians, but an infinitely private signature that Anatolia was the center of human civilization. Surrounded by a belt of peaceful hills unvisited by tourists, Hattusa is a site where past and present meet and seem to share a breath together.
Göreme and the Magic of Cappadocia
At its base, tucked in below, is Göreme town, the wealthiest most clichéd fantasy of the bunch that Turkey has to share with you: Cappadocia. Volcanoes erupted and tunneled, wind and water whistled their way over the millennia the region’s fairy chimneys and cave towns into surrealfantasy.
But magic is found all over the world not only here. It’s constructed with hot air balloons early morning hours with balloons stunningly covering the sky as they softly drift above villages and valleys. Early morning balloon flight to most of their tourists is something that they will never be undertaking in a lifetime—a mix of magic, beauty, and silence.
Together with the world, 10th-century Göreme cave churches of frescoed walls of unusual Byzantine. Spiritual footnote of richness and beauty, it’s a come-hither, in-and-around town of Sufi living tradition and spirit.
Konya: The Spirit of Rumi and Living Sufi Traditions
We are guardians of 13th-century saint-poet Jalal ad-Din Rumi’s city of Mevlevi Sufi brotherhood founder. Pilgrim travelers’ world center of spirituality, Mevlana Museum welcomes human beings from the four corners of the world.
And one of them is Konya. The city itself is spacious and open countryside. Fabric and spice dominate in the bazaars, and sweets like etli ekmek—a pancake wafer but paper thin thickness with top meat and spices—find contentful niches in these light-hued eateries.
Another gem to visit is also the Ottoman-style Selimiye Mosque.
Ihlara Valley: Nature’s Cathedral
Ihlara Valley’s windows, oasis canyon no apology whatsoever for defiling landscape of nearby desert, are situated in center of southern Cappadocia. Melendiz River riverbank is greenery covered, and after hike travelers trudge 14 kilometers on valley floor, they will be amply rewarded by old churches dug out of face of rock, some centuries old with fuzzy frescoes on walls.
Where there are open Cappadocian villages, there’s an oasis called Ihlara. Shh between leaves, soft voice of water, and soft boom of bird call turn countryside into nature. It’s nature park to walk around and roam for nature enthusiasts who yearn for solitude.
Safranbolu and Amasya: Ottoman Heritage of Living
Ottoman heritage is in Ottoman land towns of Safranbolu and Amasya in our north.
Safranbolu, a World Heritage town, is characterized by white-painted wooden-planked front houses, saffron-scented bazaars, and cobblestone streets. Safranbolu town was the endpoint of the Silk Road but still exercises supremacy in antique Turkish handicrafts.
Amasya, its ancient past day ottoman-gorge-hill construction, is treating the off riverbank riverbeds-revelling traveller to ottoman-built palaces and cliff-rock hewn tombs off here an Ottoman princes’-school thinned today. Its quilted natural history today is so wide that it entertains even the brains-befogged enough to lose one’s way the tour-tread-brained sort.
Anatolia: The Beating Heart of an Ageless Land
By Aegean magic and sea and sun, however, it is again here in Anatolia that legends of Türkiye’s most fertile patrimony emerge. Off-the-bat wealth of this nation—holy sanctuaries and ancient cities, holy valleys and ancient capitals—are all the beginning one could ask for. They are there.
They are a Türkiye where past and present never unhappily ever after, where aboriginal culture pulsates, and where foreigners outstretch open arms for them.
Off the tourist trail, there is another alternative: experience of a nation beyond postcard.
