The New High Speed Train in Turkey: From Ankara to Konya in One and a Half Hour

To travel by train in Turkey was sometimes a pain in the ass. Because of the winding route and the outdated railtracks, the speed of the train often could not exceed 60km/h, which means it would take more than twice the time required by bus to travel from Sivas to Ankara. A few years ago, a series of fatal rail accidents tarnished the already shaky reputation of Turkey's state-owned railways even further. A while ago, when I decided to take an overnight sleeper train when travelling from Ankara to Adana, all friends who heard about that shook their head in disbelief, as most Turks consider travelling by train far too slow and inefficient than going by bus or by car. To make it more complicated, in the last few years many sections of the Turkish rail systems were closed due to rail upgrading works, which makes rail travel even more inconvenient and unappealing to the general public. Granted, train fares in Turkey are much cheaper than bus fares, but given the amount of time required and the frequent delay, unless one has a lot of free time on hand and does not need to be in a particular place at a particular time, it is better to go by bus or air.

Well aware of the fact that the Turkish rail system is seriously out of date and under-invested, the Turkish government approved an ambitious scheme to connect virtually all important cities in Turkey with modern high-speed rail networks. The first high-speed line to be built is the Istanbul-Eskisehir-Ankara line, but for whatever reasons, the construction of the line takes ages and is still going on at the time of writing (January 2012). Hence only the high-speed section between Ankara and Eskisehir has entered into full-time service, operated by real high speed trains. Istanbul-bound passengers have to get off the high speed train in Eskisehir and change onto conventional trains in order to continue their journey to Istanbul.

Catalhoyuk: Neolithic Site outside of Konya

In addition to Mevlana Museum, Sema the Whirling Dervishes, and the beautiful medieval mosques in the city centre, there is another world-class tourist attraction in Konya that is worthy of visit for those interested in history and archaeology. Catalhoyuk, about an hour by car south of Konya, is the site of a very large Neolithic and Chalcolithic settlement dated from about 7500BC to 5700BC. The site, first excavated in 1958 by well-known British archaeologist James Mellaart, is currently being excavated by a team of leading archaeologists from all over the world under the direction of the renown archaeologist Ian Hodder who taught at Cambridge and now at Stanford.

The Great Mosque of Divrigi: the One and Only 'Gothic' Mosque in Anatolia

During my first visit to Sivas, I came across a tourism booklet detailing some of the major tourist attractions in and around the region. As a dog lover, Kangal the home town of the famous giant turkish shepherd dog is the obvious priority, but the beautiful stone carvings and masonary works of the medieval mosque at Divrigi, a village about 3 hours by bus southeast of Sivas, caught my attention. Due to the distance involved and lack of time, I did not visit Divrigi at the end.

This time round I was travelling westwards from the direction of Erzurum; thanks to the presence of a direct rail link between Erzuzum and Divrigi, I was able to visit this mosque without having to make a big detour via Sivas.

It was a cold November day when I arrived at the front entrance of this splendid medieval religious building. The sky was grey as snow was forecasted - and it did snow shortly after I arrived - hence I was unable to take really optimal photos of the building and all its magnificent carvings and decorative masonary works.

Kayseri: Portrait of an Anatolian Tiger Town

I am not sure if it is appropriate to call Kayseri a metropole. Why? Because in spite of Kayseri's 900,000 strong population and its undisputed status as one of the most important industrial cities in Central Anatolia, the whole place still feels and behaves like a provincial town at best. This deep-seated feeling of provincialism is evident as soon as you get off the bus or the tram in downtown Kayseri. There are no trendy cafes and bars, no designer shops, no art galleries, no international restaurants, no elegant boutique hotels, but plenty of uninspiring grey concrete apartment blocks and dusty-looking shop houses. To be brutally honest, this city does not appear attractive at the very first sight.

It is hardly surprising there is a lack of cosmopolitan trendy buildings in Kayseri, as the city is very well-known in Turkey for its social and religious conservatism. In other words, it is the place to visit if you are into mosques and other Muslim religious sites. Just hold your breathe and don't expect to come across any avant-garde or revolutionary architectures while you are there.

Kutahya: the City of Tiles

Those who have been to Istanbul will not fail to be impressed by the beautiful tiles which adorn the walls of the mosques and some important public buildings. While most people would have heard of the famous Iznik tiles, and the town of Iznik does continue to produce smaller decorative items such as vase, plates, bowls etc., to this day, yet as a matter of fact, most of the beautiful decorative pieces one gets to see in the tourist shops all over Turkey are actually produced in Kutahya, a town some 70km away from Eskisehir.

As if to make a point, everywhere in Kutahya you get to see the city's most famous product. The main square  in the centre of the town is adorned with a giant vase with traditional Ottoman tulip design.

The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Ankara

For those who are interested in the history of early civilizations in Anatolia, especially those from the Bronze Age such as the Hitties, a visit to Ankara's Museum of Anatolian Civilizations is a must. Although the entrance fee is a whooping 16TL, but considering the thousands of years of history behind each and every artifacts on display, it is really worth it.

The Museum has a pleasant courtyard, which is dotted with some exhibits.

Bogazkale/Hattusa: The Anceint Capital of the Hittite Kingdom

Of all the UNESCO World Heritage sites in Turkey, the ruins of the capital of the the Bronze Age Hittite Kingdom at Hattusa, near the modern turkish village of Bogazkale in Turkey's Corum Province, is the one which really merits a visit.

As the site of Hattusa is a bit off the beaten tourist track, there are only two or three hotels in the village of Bogazkale, and all of them are closed in winter. Temperatures in winter could drop to as low as -20 degrees Celsius, which means water pipes would freeze and burst, while the roads leading out of Bogazkale would be rendered unpassable due to heavy snow.

Amasya: Possibly the Prettiest City in Anatolia

Amasya is a pretty town, whose beauty will impress any foreign visitors at the very first sight. I instantly fell in love with the town as soon as I set my eyes on it. With its numerous well-preserved Ottoman timber houses, the ancient tombs of the Pontus kings and a castle which overlooks the town, and the serene Yesilirmak river that flows through the town's Old Quarters, Amasya is a real gem and by all means a city not to be missed. 

Amasya' beauty is all the more evident in the night, when the whole town was lighted up. It is very romantic to walk along the river bank or wander around in the cobblestone streets of the old town lined with traditional Ottoman houses.

Sivas: the Highest City of the Central Anatolian Plateau

After Elazig, next stop of my Grand Tour through the Anatolian Highlands is Sivas. Located at the junction of two important medieval caravan trade routes from Persia and Baghdad respectively, Sivas has been an important trade centre since the Middle Ages. It is also an important centre of learning during the Selcuk rules, and several medrese have been built in the 13th century, including the Gok Medrese, the most famous of them in Sivas.

Too bad the Gok Medrese was undergoing major restoration while I was there, hence only the photo of its two beautiful minarets.

Elazig / Harput: Ancient City on the Euphrates

Elazig - this name has long fascinated me. The name sounds nice (at least in comparison to the name of many other Turkish cities) and it is located near the confluence of the two rivers (the Murat and the Karasu) that join to form the mighty Euphrates, one of the most prominent and historically significant rivers in the history of humanity. Hence I decided to stay overnight in Elazig while on the way from Van to Sivas and Amasya, and have a look how this city looks like.

The city of Elazig is, as usual for any Turkish city located near big bodies of water, a dusty one. But it is also a thriving city with a very ancient pedigree and a sizeable student population, thanks to the presence of  the Euphrates University in the city.