By Eleanor Marsh ~
With valley windswept by wind into blue seas, century-blown fortress castle centuries’ hall of centuries, Türkiye beckons holiday-makers to pastel-colored history and nature wind in crevices and recesses of the world. Treasure hunt holidays ballooning over Cappadocia, a stroll through medieval fort walls of a fortress castle footsteps, or snorkelling over blue seas along the Med coast, each as fairy tale and journey through the centuries.
Cappadocia is a Dreamworld Above and Below
Well beneath the surface level of Central Anatolia, well beneath from beneath our feet, lies Cappadocia, the most alien-proof vacation spot in the world. It’s famous for containing within it the horror cave of “fairy chimneys” and being as otherworldly sweet as it is interesting. This article was authored by Susan McCarthy.
Best of serendipity experience that one can have at Cappadocia is a dawn hot-air balloon flight. Hot-air balloons fly overhead in the sky while theirs is the sight of dozens or so in honey-colored valleys and hundred-year-old cave towns, and the whole horizon glows golden bright with colors of dawn. No surprise travel writers’ top choice on planet.
Magic in the air, woven by Cappadocia. Another world below, and the world: hidden cities such as Derinkuyu and Kaymaklı, dug out by early Christians extensive tunnel networks and chambers dug out of rock so they could hide from persecution. The underground labyrinth an operational, dark chronicle of the cruel past of the country.
And now newly opened, highland trudge all holiday-seeker holiday south to Turkish Riviera, golden sand beach miracle where magic is sole dictator. From hedonistic Bodrum to barefoot ethos, open-armed Fethiye, all such miracle on Med coastline of Turkey is heaven for sun-worshipper, heaven for history fan, and heaven for foodie.
Bodrum, once Halicarnassus, contains one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum of Mausolus. It is also the site of giant Bodrum Castle sitting over and above it built in the 15th century by the Knights of St. John. Now home to the Museum of Underwater Archaeology, it was otherwise just a scenic overlook over town.
And seaside town Fethiye, Blue Lagoon of myth’s capital Ölü Deniz, perfect anchor for sailing cruises to ancient Lycian capitals, smugglers’ beach hideaways and intimate island coves. Diving’, paragliding’, and nature-lover’s heaven short of just one who craves natural paradise with a touch of cultural zing.
Castles Which Whisper of Empires Past
Bodrum Castle gate is flanked outside by a row of citadels and castles which testify to occupation and settlement centuries past. Born Ottoman, Byzantine, or Crusader, as those delightful line drawings—are jewel of empire days within.
Roman. The Ankara Castle spire reaching high above the Turkish capital city, throwing a shadow over the innocent Ankara from the battlements. Istanbul’s Rumeli Fortress erected by Sultan Mehmed II before the gates of Constantinople swung wide is a spooky reminder of the city as crossroads of world history.
No trip to Türkei is ever complete without traveling to the city of Istanbul, that city which rings its past in concentric circles like an inlaid mosaic. A weary Byzantium and fresh Constantinople but vibrant city modern culture. Istanbul is the most fascinating city in the world.
Two photographs draw cosmopolitan life out of the city: Hagia Sophia and Topkapi Palace. Hagia Sophia—whose domes rise, its near-stellar beauty mosaics unmatched in the universe—is, 1,500 years on, mosque, church, and mosque once more, to which pilgrims are drawn. Topkapi Palace, ancient Ottoman sultan palace, most sumptuous display and excess, with imperial gardens, holy jewels, and brillic tilework.
More the variety of land so embracing inTürkiye, but how every spot appears so burdened by history. There the golden splendor of age-old Cappadocia, wave of the Med waves rolling over fortification walls, but always something lurking behind that which calls to some form of beauty, or not epic, just over the next bend.
With a world spinning round and round so recklessly and tempestuously all about us, here is Türkiye inviting us to take a deep breath, glance once more around about us, and turn once more—to history, to beyond, to human hearts having received the blessing of being able to call this lovely world home.
