Beyond Istanbul: More Turkish Delights
The Turkish adventures continue as Travel Edge Senior Copywriter Julie Xie journeys from the ancient city of Şanlıurfa to the film plateau of Bozdag.
Words & photos by: Julie Xie
To be awoken before the birds were even up while snuggled in the coziest hotel bed felt like a cruel form of punishment. But to be able to throw open the shades and witness the sun rising across the Bosphorus while morning fog rolled off the pool...well, that certainly made it more than bearable.
The reason for the early wakeup call this morning was that Turkish Airlines was whisking us out of Istanbul and flying us to the historically important city of Şanlıurfa. Şanlıurfa, or Urfa for short, is one of the oldest cities in the world and home to a very significant archaeological site, Göbeklitepe. It's considered the world's oldest known temple complex and dates back an astonishing 12,000 years. Today, Şanlıurfa is an agricultural city that harvests cotton, maize, wheat, and barley and produces over half of the pistachios in all of Türkiye.
The archaeological site of Göbeklitepe was scattered with ancient stones, some of which depicted animals in what appeared to be "attack mode", leading researchers to believe they were there to protect the temples. There were several large T-shaped stones, believed to resemble men, which showed that this was likely a patriarchal society. In fact, only one woman was depicted in the stone carvings, and she is seen giving birth. On the topic of childbearing, there is an ancient tree on site that was known for granting wishes, and in ancient times, it was common for women who wanted to fall pregnant to come and visit the Wish Tree.
The final excursion–and my favorite of the day–took us to Abraham's pool, a very special and sacred site for the Muslim community. It was there that Abraham was thrown into the fire by King Nimrod, but God protected Abraham by turning the fire into a pool and the logs into carp fish. The fish are still here to this day and enjoy a great life thanks to their sacred status and the fact that visitors are encouraged to purchase fish food for them all day long.
Apart from the pool, the park is a lovely respite where the city's residents come to gather and to connect. A short walk from the pool, you'll find the cave where Abraham was born. As I waited in the women's line to enter the cave, I felt a light tap on my shoulder and looked back to see a woman gesturing at her headscarf to remind me to don one as well inside. I nodded in understanding and gestured at the spare head scarves hanging just past the doorway to signal that I would be borrowing one as soon as I entered. We smiled at each other knowingly.
Inside the cave, I followed suit of what I observed others doing and kneeled before the stone wall, sitting silently and reverently for a few moments. Although I felt a little lost without our English-speaking guide there, it was still a beautiful experience to pay my respects to a holy place that holds such momentous meaning. I thoroughly enjoyed my time exploring Abraham's pool and would consider that to be my highlight of Şanlıurfa. I would say, however, that anyone not particularly interested in archaeology could probably give Göbeklitepe a miss.
Another beautiful dawn greeted us the next morning. Only this time, instead of racing towards the airport, we gingerly stepped onto the triple-decker cruise that awaited on our hotel dock. We enjoyed a marvelous view of the blue Bosphorus gleaming in the morning sun as the cruise glided towards the day's first stop: the Bozdag Film Plateau. The largest filming plateau in Europe (and the third largest worldwide), this intricate movie set is currently the filming location of a Turkish historical TV series. We were greeted by a cast of medieval-era characters, on horseback and in costume, as they led us to a hearty and traditional Turkish breakfast inside the main hall.
After we filled up on eggs, potatoes, veggies, yogurt, jam, and every conceivable type of cheese, we were free to roam the grounds of the vast plateau, popping our heads into tents that revealed intricately staged interiors. Soon after, we congregated inside the large tent where the cast treated us to a gripping performance of horseback riding stunts. That is, if you can call hanging upside down on a horse by your elbows "horseback riding". After the show, we were herded back to the buses like slow-moving, selfie-taking cattle while the actual livestock grazed languidly in the fields. "The goats here are TV stars", we were told, and we stopped to snap some more photos of the fuzzy celebrities.
Arriving back to the waterfront, we re-boarded our cruise and were immediately treated to an endless parade of hors d'oeuvres and desserts, as if breakfast hadn't just happened. Plates of mouthwatering food waltzed by, carrying everything from fried cheese spring rolls to sea bass and chocolate mousse to seven types of baklavas. For a few glorious hours, we sat back and basked in the sun-soaked views of Istanbul from the water, whipping our heads left and right as our MC regaled us with tales of the grand palaces and mansions that dotted the shores of the glittering Bosphorus.
The cruise made a singular stop towards the end, at the Maiden's Tower, a lighthouse with a lore that rivaled the story of Sleeping Beauty. Legend has it that the king once confined his daughter in the tower, floating all alone in the middle of the Bosphorus, after a prophecy predicted that she would one day die from a snake bite. In the end, the prophecy came true when the daughter discovered a snake hidden amongst a basket of fruit that had been sent up to her tower. We ascended the tower to the lookout point and were relieved to find no snakes or fruit baskets, only fairytale-like panoramic views.
Our last evening in Istanbul arrived much too soon, and as a farewell gesture, Turkish Airlines and GoTürkiye put together a cocktail reception and gala dinner for us at the Four Seasons Bosphorus Hotel. In keeping with the luxurious manner in which they had been spoiling us all trip, we were whisked off to the hotel by a sleek boat while a classical music trio played onboard. Arriving at the Four Seasons, I was delighted to find a display of traditional Turkish arts and crafts, with booths set up to demonstrate Turkish marbling, embroidery, calligraphy, glass blowing, and more. Each booth provided a tangible souvenir for us to take home and remember this evening by. Cocktail hour was followed by a scrumptious dinner of stuffed artichokes, herb and cheese tarts, eggplant parmesan, and a selection of traditional Turkish desserts. Speeches were made by the airline and tourism board executives, and a live band closed out the evening with everyone on their feet and dancing.
As we departed, feeling happy, full, and truly taken care of, we were handed a parting gift consisting of a set of Turkish coffee mugs and teacups. The note in the box explained that sharing a cup of coffee or tea is one way that the Turkish people loved to express their hospitality. This brings to mind a memory from our first afternoon in the Spice Market: as my travel companion busied herself inside a store selecting dried fruits to purchase, the store vendor tried to offer me some tea. Not wanting to appear like I was taking advantage when I did not intend to make a purchase, I declined. When he learned why, he shook his head and emphasized that this was their culture's way of welcoming us – no expectations or strings attached. A fitting end, then, that we should all come away with these teacups to remind us of the endless hospitality that had been shown to us by the wonderful people of Türkiye who simply wanted to welcome us to their beautiful corner of the world.