Product Description

This fully revised and thoroughly updated sixth edition of the Rough Guide to Turkey is your ultimate handbook to this fascinating country.A full colour section introduces Turkey's highlights, from the markets of Istanbul to the rock churches of Cappadocia. There are informed accounts of the country's wide-ranging sights and incisive reviews of the best places to eat, sleep and drink in every price range. Throughout the guide there is practical advice on everything from bazaar shopping to chartering a yacht. The authors also provide expert background on Turkish history, literature, music and film and the guide comes complete with easy-to-read maps for every region. The Rough Guide to Turkey is your ultimate handbook to this fascinating country.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #150825 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 1072 pages

From the Author
Fourth edition of Turkey, with many new features.
The fourth edition of "Rough Turkey" is now available, with many new features that once again give it the edge over the competition. This time around we've recruited Kate Clow and Terry Richardson, two of the most knowlegable folk on the local hiking scene: the result is expanded, unique coverage on trekking in the Toros mountains, and exclusive inclusion of the Lycian Way, Turkey's first GR-style trail along the stunning Turquoise Coast. David O'Byrne, resident in Istanbul, has given us the benefit of his long residence in that complicated city. In the well-loved back matter or "Contexts" section, musicologist and saz player Martin Stokes has completely overhauled the music article, and of course the unsurpassed history synopsis has been brought up to date (March 2000). And for the first time, some of the leading photographers of Turkey - including Izzet Keribar and Yusuf Tuvi - have contributed to our new picture section. These are just a few of the highlights for a guide which has won critical acclaim from a disparate group including ordinary Turks, Tourism Concern, and prestigious holiday companies such as Cachet and Tapestry. The authors and updaters of the Rough Guide between them have collectively about 35 years of experience in and around the country. So find out about Turkey as it really is at all levels - the window of a Fez Bus isn't the definitive viewpoint on the country!

About the Author
Various authors

Excerpted from The Rough Guide to Turkey by Rosie Ayliffe, Marc Dubin, John Gawthrop. Copyright © 2000. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved
WHERE TO GO Western Turkey is not only the more economically developed but also by far the more visited half of the country. Istanbul, straddling the straits linking the Black and Marmara seas, is touted as Turkish mystique par excellence, and understandably so: it would take months to even scratch the surface of the old imperial capital, still the cultural and commercial centre of the country. Flanking it on opposite sides of the Sea of Marmara are the two prior seats of the Ottoman Empire, Bursa and Edirne, each with their complement of attractions and regal atmosphere. The sea itself is flecked with tranquil, frequently overlooked islands, ideal havens when the cities get too much – and just beyond the Dardanelles and its World War I battlefields lie two larger Aegean islands, only opened to outsiders during the late 1980s. As you move south, the classical character of the Northeast Aegean comes to the fore in the olive-swathed country around Bergama and Ayvalik, perhaps the two most compelling points in the region. Just outside Izmir, the old Ottoman princely training ground of Manisa and the originally Lydian city of Sardis, lost in vineyards, make a fine pair, while Izmir itself is the functional introduction to the Central and Southern Aegean, a magnet for travellers since the eighteenth century. The archeological complex at Ephesus overshadows in visitors’ imaginations the equally deserving ancient Ionian sites of Priene and Didyma, and the ruins of Aphrodisias, Labranda and Alinda in old Caria. Be warned that the coast itself is heavily developed, though the star resorts – of which Cesme is perhaps the quietest and Bodrum the most characterful – make comfortable bases from which to tour the interior. Don’t overlook such evocative hill towns as Sirince, Birgi or Tire, which still exist in so! mething of an Ottoman time warp. Beyond the huge natural harbour of Marmaris, the Aegean becomes the Mediterranean; tourism levels drop slightly and the shore becomes more convoluted and piney. Yacht and schooner cruises are popular and easily arranged in brazen Marmaris or the more pleasant town of Fethiye, principal centre of the Turquoise Coast. Two of the finest and largest beaches in the country sprawl at Dalyan and Patara, close to the eerie tombs of the Lycians, the fiercely independent locals of old. Kas and Kalkan, further east, are small but busy resorts, both good places to rest up, and well-situated bases for explorations into the mountainous hinterland. Beyond the relatively untouched beaches around ancient Olympos, Antalya is Turkey’s fastest growing city, a sprawling place located at the beginning of the Mediterranean Coast proper. This is a lengthy shore, reaching as far as the Syrian border, with extensive sands and archeological sites – most notably at Perge, Side and Aspendos – though its w! estern parts get swamped in high season. Once past castle-topped Alanya, however, tourist numbers diminish, and the stretch between Silifke and Adana offers innumerable minor points of interest, particularly the Roman city of Uzuncaburc and the romantic offshore fortress at Kizkalesi. Further east, Arabic-flavoured Antakya is the heart of the Hatay, once part of Syria. There are spectacular attractions inland, in South Central Anatolia, where you’re confronted with the famous rock churches, subterranean cities and tufa-pinnacle landscapes of Cappadocia, in many ways the centrepiece of the region. The dry, bracing climate, excellent local wine, the artistic and architectural interest of the area, plus the chance to go horse-riding, could occupy you for as much as a week here, taking in the largest town in the area, Kayseri, with its bazaar and tombs, on the way north. You might also pause at Eqirdir or Beysehir – historic towns fronting two of the numerous lakes that spangle the region – or in Konya, which, for both its Selcuk architecture and associations with the Mevlevi dervishes, makes for an appealing stopover on the way to or from the coast. Ankara, hub of North Central Anatolia, is Turkey’s capital, a planned city whose contrived Western feel gives some concrete (in all senses) indication of the priorities of the Turkish Republic; it also has the outstanding Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Highlights of the region include the bizarre, isolated temple of Aezani, near Kutahya to the west; the Ottoman museum-town of Safranbolu; and the remarkable Hittite sites of Hattusas and Alacahoyuk. If you’re travelling north to the Black Sea, you should also look in on the Yesilirmak valley towns of Sivas, Tokat and Amasya, each with its quota of early Turkish monuments. The Black Sea shore itself is surprisingly devoid of architectural interest other than a chain of Byzantine-Genoese castles, but the beauty of the landscape and beaches goes some way to compensate. The oldest and most interesting towns between utilitarian Samsun and industrial Zonguldak are Sinop, the northernmost point of Anatolia, and Amasra, also easily! reached from Safranbolu. East of Samsun, the coast gets wilder and wetter until you reach fabled Trabzon, once a seat of empire and today a base for visits to the marvellous monasteries of Aya Sofya and Sumela. The Ankara–Sivas route also poises you for the trip along the Euphrates River and into the hitherto invisible back half of Turkey – the East. Your first stops in Northeastern Anatolia might be the outstanding early Turkish monumental ensembles at Divriqi and Tercan. You’ll inevitably end up in Erzurum, highest and bleakest major city of Turkey, from where you can head on to visit the temperate and church-studded valleys of southern medieval Georgia or go trekking in the Kackar mountains – Turkey’s most popular hiking area – walling off the area from the Black Sea. Dreary Kars is worth enduring for the sake of nearby Ani, the ruined medieval Armenian capital, and various other Armenian monuments in the area – though many of these require some ingenuity and resourcefulness to seek out. South of here, the Euphrates and Tigris Basin represents Turkey at its most Middle Eastern. Gaziantep, approached from points west, is the functional gateway to some centres of genuine interest. Urfa and nearby Harran are biblical in both appearance and history; Mardin, with its surrounding monasteries, is the homeland of Turkey’s Syrian Orthodox minority. The colossal heads of Nemrut Daqi, however, reproduced endlessly on brochures and travel posters, are the real attraction here, and mightily impressive despite heavy commercialization. Diyarbak?r, a swarming, vivid metropolis on the Tigris, is the last real urban centre before the largely Kurdish-populated areas around Lake Van, an unearthly blue alkaline expanse just beyond the canyon-flank town of Bitlis. After some years as a no-go area, it is again possible – with a judicious ear to the ground – to travel the main routes through this rewarding region. Urartian, Selcuk and Armenian monuments abound within sight of the w! ater, most notably at Cavustepe, Ahlat and Akdamar, though you almost certainly will have to stay in Van town, an oasis sprawling on the eastern shore behind its ancient, rock-hewn citadel. East of Van looms the fairy-tale Kurdish castle of Hosap, though excursions into the spectacular Cilo-Sat mountains beyond have long been limited by the prevailing political situation. A day’s journey north of Van, just outside of Dogubeyazit, you’ll find another isolated folly, the Isak Pasa Sarayi, staring across to Mount Ararat – the very end of Turkey.

WHEN TO GO Turkey has a wide variety of climates, and there’s a good chance that no matter when you want to go, somewhere in the country will be at least tolerable, if not ideal – although you should also pay attention to the basic seasonal patterns of tourist traffic. Of the coastal areas, Istanbul and the area around the Sea of Marmara have a relatively damp, Balkan climate, with muggy summers and cool, rainy (though seldom snowy) winters. Bear in mind that competition for facilities between June and August can be a drawback. Things are similarly busy during summer on the popular Aegean and Mediterranean coasts; climatic conditions, too, can be difficult during July and August, especially between Izmir and Antakya, where the heat is tempered only slightly by offshore breezes. Perhaps the best time to visit these coastal regions is in spring or autumn, when the weather is gentler and the holiday crowds a little thinner. Late October and early November sees the pastdirma yasi, or Indian summer, an idyllic time with the scarcity of charter flights and open facilities as the only drawbacks. Indeed, even during winter, the Turquoise and Mediterranean coasts are – except for brief rainy periods in January and February – still fairly pleasant, an! d beyond Alanya up to the Hatay winters can be positively balmy, though you may still not be able to brave the water. The Black Sea is something of an anomaly, with temperate summers and exceptionally mild winters for so far north, and rain likely during the nine coolest months of the year, lingering as mist and humidity during summer – but it does have the advantage of being less crowded than the Mediterranean or Aegean during the summer. Anatolia forms a natural fortress, its entire coast backed by mountains or hills, cutting off the interior from any moderating maritime influences. Central Anatolia is mostly semi-arid steppe, with a healthy, bracing climate – warm but not unpleasant in summer, cool and dry in the relatively short winters – though Ankara is exceptionally nasty during the central-heating season, when noxious soft coal is burnt (though this is being gradually phased out in favour of natural gas). Cappadocia in particular is a colourful, quiet treat throughout spring and autumn – indeed well into December, when its rock formations dusted with snow are especially beautiful. As you travel east, into Northeast Anatolia and around Lake Van, the altitude increases and conditions are deeply snowy between October and May, making high summer by far the best (in some cases the only) time to visit, when you’ll also find it more comfortable and less populated than on the teeming coast. As you move into the ! lower Euphrates and Tigris Basin, a more pronounced Middle Eastern influence exerts itself, with winters that are no worse than in central Anatolia but torrid summers – and without the compensation of a nearby beach.

Customer Reviews

Not the best
Not a bad guide, but not great either. There are only colour pictures in the introductory 'highlights' section - the rest of the images are black and white, and not very clear, which is a shame. There are colour insert sections on food, sports and architecture, but these would have been better used for a collection of a wider range of images.

The maps are not particularly easy to follow and miss off streets. The layout is the same as in other Rough Guides, which at least makes it familiar to those who've used other books from the series. The separation of practical information (in the front), and more academic information (e.g. history) (in the back), from the sections on regions and places can make it quite hard to follow and involves a lot of leafing through.

I didn't rely on it too much for factual information (e.g. prices), but I did notice that quite often the information pertaining to the sights e.g. buildings, or to history were at odds with the information given by my (highly qualified) Turkish guide. Later checks against other sources backed up the tour guide rather than this book.

Particularly frustrating is the language section, which lacks any phoenetic spellings for even the commonest words. This makes it useless for practical purposes. I suppose the aim is to make you buy the separate phrasebook - but that's not much use when you're backpacking and the brick-like size of the guide alone is weighing you down.

Overall, I didn't find this the most user friendly or helpful of guidebooks to the region.

Fantastic
I used this book on holiday in Turkey last year and I found it had all the vital information required to make my holiday a greater experience. Every detail beaches, restaurants, customs, food and what to watch out for were all explained very clearly. On the subject of food, I was advised NEVER to eat mussels sold by locals on the beach, but unfortunately I read the book 1 day too late! You can work the rest out for yourself!

Do yourself a favour choose another book
Having just returned from my first visit to Turkey I can only agree with the negative comments voiced by other reviewers. The general tone veers between sneering at the reality of turkish society and derision of anything that remotely relates to the general tourist. All this would be bad enough were the text not hopelessly out of date. Selecting a couple of examples at random from an extraordinary list of errors; Descriptions of the Bodrum penisula include references to sailing schools in Bitez. Guys! - all the schools moved further round the peninsua at least 3 years ago. For Ephesus the visitor is instructed to walk from the lower to upper gates (insane if you've ever been there), no warning of the extreme heat everyone will experience - even in Spring. Riddled with factual inaccuracies and so superficial as to be useless. I threw my copy away and just asked the locals, who are amazing people (not that you'd ever expect that if you read this book).