First Visit to Bulgaria (Part One): The Botanical Garden of Balchik

Bulgaria has long been on my list of 'must-see' destinations, but I did not manage to visit this country until 2011 (!), when I saw this irresistable last-minute offer for flight+hotel from a certain Swiss airport to Burgas for less than the price of a Furla handbag (!), so I decided the time is right and off I go ...

Once you are in Burgas or nearby Nesebar, it is fairly easy to find a tour agency that can book you on a day-trip from your hotel to Varna and Balchik. The Botanical Garden of Balchik, with its extensive cactus collection and beautiful landscaped garden, is the top attraction of this pretty little seaside town.

Mozart at Aspendos: Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Turkey

I have always wanted to attend an opera performance at the Aspendos International Festival, which takes place every year in the ancient Roman ampitheatre of Aspendos near Antalya in the summer. For two weeks from mid-June to early July, the Turkish State Opera and Ballet organizes a series of opera, ballet and other music performances in the beautiful Aspendos ampitheatre, sometimes even featuring world-renown philharmonic orchestras such as the Wiener Philharmoniker. Programmes change from year to year, and further information can be obtained from Turkish State Opera and Ballets' (Devlet Opera ve Balesi) official website www.dobgm.gov.tr

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 Because of the winding route and the outdated railtracks, the speed of the train often could not exceed 60km/h, which means it would take more than twice the time required by bus to travel from Sivas to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.

Churches of Diyarbakir:Surp Giragos Armenian Orthodox Church

The Surp Giragos Armenian Orthodox Church in Diyarbakir is a remarkable building with a turbulent past.  Built in the late 14th century, the church was the only Armenian church in the world to have seven altars. The building was used by the Germans as their military headquarters in Diyarbakir during the First World War. In the aftermath of the deportation of most of Diyarbakir's Armenian residents, the church property was seized by the state and became a storage warehouse of various state enterprise.

Churches of Diyarbakir: Mar Petyun Chalean Catholic Church

Nowadays when people talk about Southeast Anatolia and the city of Diyarbakir, the first thing that comes to their mind is the very well-publicised ongoing political and armed struggles between Turkey's Kurdish minorities and the Turkish government. The 'Kurdish Question' has been such a dominant issue in the last 50 years that when it comes to Diyarbakir, it seems people simply cannot come to think of the city in any other way apart from its association with Kurdish miitants and its reputation as the hotbed of Kurdish nationalism. 

The fact that most people would equate Diyarbakir right away with Kurds and Kurdish conflicts reflects just how successful the Turkish state's efforts to erase the past from the present have been. How many of us still remember that Diyarbakir was once home to a sizeable Christian popuation prior to the genocide in the late 19th and early 20th century, and that a quarter of all civil populations in today's eastern Anatolian provinces of Erzurum, Elazig (formerly Harput), Erzincan, Diyarbakir, Bingol, Bitlis, Sivas, Tunceli etc. was Christians of various ethnic groups and denominations?

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.

Zeugma Museum, Gaziantep: State of the Art Display of Roman Mosaics

A few months ago, I happened to come across an article in the inflight magazine of one of Turkey's airlines about the newly opened state-of-the-art museum in Gaziantep which housed the mosaics salvaged from the Roman villas of Zeugma, an ancient town on the west bank of the Euphrates which was submerged in the waters of the Birecik Dam in the early 21st century. The article aroused my curiosity about this brand new purpose-built mueseum, and I decided to take a look at it during my next visit to southeastern parts of Turkey.

The mosaics rescued from Zeugma used to be displayed in the much smaller Archaeological Museum in the city centre of Antep; but due to lack of space in the museum, only a small fraction of the mosaics can be shown to the public. As part of the grand scheme to raise the international profiles of Antep as a tourist destination for cultural visitors from all over the world, the city government of Gaziantep decided to invest in building this modern museum on a piece of land just a short drive outside the city centre, which is big enough to exhibit all the mosaic panels salvaged from the large-scale rescue operations at the site of Zeugma by a team of archaeologists from both Turkey and abroad.

Eski Halfeti: What Remains After the Day After

Eski Halfeti - previously Halfeti - is by all means a place worth a visit. Located on the east bank of the Euphrates, Eski Halfeti was founded by the Assyrians in 4th century BC and has been continuously inhabited since then. In the 1990s, parts of the village came to be submerged in the rising water levels of the recently constructed Birecik Dam, one of the controversial series of dams and infrastructure projects (known as the Southeast Anatolian Project) built by the Turkish government on the Euphrates and the Tigris. In the process, large number of villagers of Halfeti were resettled in another village about 10km away inland from the present site. The new settlement came to be known as Yeni Halfeti (the New Halfeti), while the partially submerged old village on the bank of the Euphrates is renamed Eski Halfeti (the Old Halfeti).

Although many of the other villages in the same valley were completely submerged under the waterline, parts of Eski Halfeti were allowed to remain dry as to provide a source of livelihood in the form of tourism incomes to the remaining villagers. Nowadays the village is best known as the place where regular boat tours depart for the 2-hour round trip upstreams along the scenic Euphrates valley to the ruins of Rumkale, an impressive hilltop fortress perched atop a rocky peninsula which was formed when the water of the Birecik Dam flooded the surrounding valley and changed the entire landscape.

Kızkulesi: the Most Scenic Landmark of Istanbul

Kizkulesi (Maiden's Tower) is among one of the most iconic landmarks of Istanbul. Although this beautiful tower is visible at close range on ferry rides across the Bosphorus between Kadikoy-Besiktas, Besiktas-Üsküdar, as well as Üsküdar-Eminonu, very few foreign tourists actually make the effort of going there because of the lack of direct ferry access from the tourist enclaves of Sultanahmet and Eminonu. 

Actually it is fairly straight forward to get to Kizkulesi from the European side of the city, it takes only some patience and a little bit of walking. The most direct way of arriving at Kizkulesi is to take a ferry to Üsküdar, then walk along the waterfront towards the direction of Harem and Kadikoy, until you see the tower and  a small kiosk selling tickets for the shuttle boat between Üsküdar and Kizkulesi. Price per person for a return ticket on a small shuttle boat costs 5 TL in 2011.

Karşıyaka: the Little-Known Side of Izmir

Unless you have local friends, usually the circumference of non-Turkish visitors to Izmir are limited to the southern half of the Gulf of Izmir only: namely the areas surrounding Konak Square, Alsancak, Basmane Station and the Izmir Expo and Trade Fairs ground. Few visitors venture northwards across the Gulf of Izmir to Mavisehir, Bostanci and Karşıyaka, although these neighbourhoods have a lot of interesting shops and good restaurants, where you can experience the authentic atmosphere of this beautiful coastal city first-hand and gain some personal insights into the lifestyle of upper middle-class Izmir.

Being an upper middle-class neighbourhood in Izmir, the promenade of Karşıyaka has no shortage of high-rise apartment buildings, each with its own seaview balcony or terrace, and equipped with sun decks or detachable window shutters to shield out the hot, burning sun in the summer months while keeping out the elements in the winter. Along the shore are spacious public parks with sports facilities, bicycle paths, playgrounds for children, and teahouses and restaurants for the adults.  

Regular ferries operated by the city of Izmir shuttle between both sides of the Gulf of Izmir, connecting Karşıyaka and Bostanci on the north with Konak, Alsancak and Pasaport on the southern side throughout the day. It is a must-do for any visitors to Izmir to take a ride on one of the ferries that cross the Gulf, as the journey offers spectacular views of Izmir's coastlines and the city centre. The scenery is even more impressive in the night, when the whole city is lighted up and sparkles under the smooth, silky night sky. The view of Izmir's south shore from Karşıyaka is on par with other famous night views of cities in Asia.

One Winter in Thessaloniki: Nice little cafe on the corner of Via Egnatia

One of my favourite cities in the world is Thessaloniki. I kind of became smitten by this 'big village' - as some locals affectionately call it - in the summer of 2007, when I was here for just a few days while in transit from the island of Limnos in northern Aegean to southern Germany. The city attracts me because of its vibrant atmosphere, its elegant neo-classical buildings, and the presence of dozens charismatic cafes of all shapes and sizes in all parts of the city. Availability of good coffee at reasonable prices at almost every turn of the corner makes Thessaloniki so irresistable to me :)

Grocery Shopping in Kadikoy: Feast of Colours

With the opening of Istanbul's Sabiha Gokcen airport and the arrival of numerous budget carriers to Istanbul from various parts of Europe, Kadikoy, which has long escaped the radar of millions of tourists that visit Istanbul every year, is gradually becoming one of the must-see places in this metropole with more than 20 million inhabitants. During my latest visit I notice a lot of hotels - some of them recently opened while others have been tastefully refurnished to cater to a more discerning clientee - have sprung up in the district right across the Kadikoy-Eminonu ferry pier and the airport bus terminal. And one now frequently encounters foreigners with cameras and guidebooks in their hand around the streets of Kadikoy, exploring this part of Istanbul.     

But the nice thing about Kadikoy is, in spite of its rising popularity amongst foreign visitors, it is still by a large a place where locals live, shop, dine, wine, chill out and enjoy themselves. And for whatsoever reasons, shops and restaurants and cafes stay open in Kadikoy much longer in the evenings than in Sultanahmet or Eminonu, which makes Kadikoy a much more fun and enjoyable place to stay in while on a visit to Istanbul. One can still find something to eat at 1am in the morning along the busy waterfront and the cafe and bar zone in the district of Moda.

Sunday Service in the Language of Jesus: Virgin Mary Ancient Assyrian Church in Diyarbakir

No matter how much I have read about Diyarbakir before the trip, what actually turns up once I am there still caught me by surprise. It was not exaggeration at all when I said that what had happened during my visit to this ancient Mesopotamian city on the Tigris is truly beyond my imagination.

After a prolonged stay in Gaziantep, finally I decided to move out of my comfort zone and board the bus from Antep to Diyarbakir. The bus was almost 2 hours late, and after another 5 hours on the road, I arrived at the inter-city bus station of Diyarbakir, a few kilometers outside the city centre. It was another 20-30 minutes of ride - depending on the traffic en route - on one of the mini-buses before I reached Dagkapi, formerly called the Harput Gate (the gate was located on the main road leading out from Diyarbakir to Elazig, hence the name) when the city of Elazig was still known by the name of Harput. Most of the budget and mid-range hotels of Diyarbakir are located around Dagkapi, as it is considered the starting point of the older parts of the city centre, therefore of great interest to both tourists and some price-conscious business travellers.

Haydarpasa Gar: Beautiful Train Station on the Shore of the Bosphorus

Anyone who is a fan of rail travel in Turkey would certainly be impressed by the beautiful trains stations of Istanbul - Sirkeci on the European side and Haydarpasa on the Asian side. Haydarpasa is the terminal from which trains from Istanbul to Iran, Syria, Southeast Anatolia, Central Anatolia and Eastern Turkey departs. It is easily accessible by ferry from Eminonu and Karakoy on the European side of the city.

The current station building of Haydarpasa Terminal was designed by two German architects in neo-classical style and was open to rail traffics in 1909. Since then it has been one of the busiest train stations in Eastern Europe and Turkey.

Take a Stroll along the Bagdat Caddesi: Suadiye / Kadikoy's Premier Shopping Mile

One thing which suprised me somewhat is that prices in the posh suburbs around Kadikoy are sometimes more expensive than the supposedly more touristic areas of Eminonu, Sirkeci or even Taksim. Most people not familiar with the city would think that prices are lower across the Bosphorus, but on more than one occassions I found out by personal experience that this is not necessarily so. If anything, going out for a meal at a up-market restaurant in a trendy parts of Istanbul's Asian side, where the presence of foreign tourists is definitely not the norm, can cost more than a dinner at some decent restaurants in Istanbul's tourist areas.

If you spend a few hours strolling down Suadiye's premier shopping street, the Bagdat Caddesi that stretches all the way from Kadikoy to Kartal, you get a glimpse of the purchasing power of the rich and affluent Istanbulites living in this part of the city. Along the main boulevard of Bagdat Caddesi are expensive designer boutiques such as Burberry, Vakko, Louis Vuitton, Escaa, DKNY and other global brands. In the side streets you will find plenty of expensive-looking jewellery shops, bistos, cafes, restaurants and more shops catering to the upper class.

Illy Caffe @ Cafe de I'ill, Strasbourg

It has been almost 10 years since my previous visit to Strasbourg. While still living in southern Baden, I sometimes went to Strasbourg on weekends for shopping, as the French supermarkets are the 8th Wonders of the World and truly worthy of being considered as an invisible UNESCO World Heritage institution. 

Kizkalesi, Mersin: Castle in the Sea

About 40 minutes away by bus west of Mersin is the Kizkalesi, not to be confused with the Kizkulesi in Istanbul. Meaning 'Maiden's Castle' in Turkish, this little seaside town is slowly catching on to the tourism boom that has spreaded like wild fire all the way between Marmaris and Alanya on Turkey's Aegean and Mediterranean coast since the early 21st century. Although signs of building boom have already started to appear in this part of the Turkish Riviera, things are not as ridiculous as in parts of Antalya and Alanya. At least one can still see the sea on the way instead of endless of rows of expensive-looking high-rise apartment blocks for the rich and the famous. 

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.

Tahmis Kahvesi, Gaziantep: Authentic Ottoman Cafe in the heart of a Colourful City

I must say Gaziantep is much more interesting and colourful than I had expected. Instead of 2-3 days originally planned, I ended up staying more than a week in this fascinating city. There are plenty of things to do both in and around Antep, and, unlike what some people claimed, this city of more than one million inhabitants is not dull at all.

Most visitors to Antep would head straight to the newly completed Zeugma Museum located on the side of the highway leading into downtown Antep, but being a fan of coffee culture all over the world, I decided to have a look at the Tahmis Kahvesi, a very well-known traditional turkish coffee house dated from the Ottoman era.

This beautiful Ottoman-style coffee house is located right next to the city's Dervish Lodge, within walking distance of Antep's busy coppersmith bazaar, ideal for those who need a rest and some good turkish tea after heavy-duty shoppings. 

According to the sign board outside the coffee house, this cafe was founded as early as1638, but was burnt down in a fire in 1901 and 1903, which means the current building dated from the early 20th century. I had seen photos of this cafe taken a few years ago by a local photographer friend, the interior was older , the decors were more basic and of a different colour tone than what it is now.

Along the Upper Streams of the Euphrates: From Erzincan to Divrigi on Board the Dogu Express

It was actually not too easy to get to Divrigi from Erzincan. At first I thought there would be bus connections between these two places, but too bad the only bus connection available to Divrigi is from Sivas. It makes no sense that I had to travel first by bus to Sivas then backtrack to Divrigi, especially when this would take at least one whole day and I had already been to Sivas before and do not intend to stay another night there. So I decided to go by train instead.

Although Divrigi is located on the direct train route between Erzincan and Sivas, there is only a daily communter train from Erzincan at 4pm in the afternoon, arriving at Divrigi shortly after 7pm. As it was winter and it gets dark very early, if I took this afternoon train it would have been virtually impossible to see any scenery on the way. To make things more complicated, there is - as far as I know - only one hotel in Divrigi and as the last bus to Sivas leaves as early as 4.30pm, I would be obliged to stay overnight in the town.

Fortunately, I found out there is also a train 'Dogu Express' from Kars to Istanbul every Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and the train stops en route at Erzincan and Divrigi. The best thing about it is, the train departs from Erzincan's train station at 09:55 in the morning, arriving at Divrigi at about 13:15. Which means I can enjoy the stunning sceneries of the upper Euphrates valley and the surrounding mountains in the morning, have ample time to visit the UNESCO-inscripted Ulu Camii of Divrigi in the afternoon, and am still able to catch the last bus to Sivas, have dinner there before getting on the night train from Sivas to Ankara at 23:05. The idea that I can accomplish all of these in just one day makes the option of going by train to Divrigi even more attractive.