BootsnAll Travel Community

has anyone encountered any random playings of the National Anthem in the streets of Turkey?
while in Ayvalik, walking down the street, music started blaring out of some loudspeakers on a building somewhere, and absolutely everyone on the street stopped what they were doing and stood still.
It was the strangest thing. No parade, no sporting event, it was a seemingly random time of day.... and after 4 weeks in Turkey, it was the first time. Not sure what it was all about. Any insight? is this a common occurance? didn't think it was a holiday.

Strange you should mention that. Yesterday I heard a similar thing here in Faralya Village. It was actually a procession of cars playing the anthem, waving flags and shooting off shotguns. An elderly gentleman at the place I am staying immediately came out with his gun and a bandolier of shells and fired one off in the air. Unfortunetly no one around spoke enough English nor I enough Trukish for me to figure out what was going on. Weird.

Also, I just wanted to add my two cents on this thread. If you want to go to a chill place on the mediterranean, definitely check out butterfly valley, but dont do so on one of those cruises that just stops off for an hour or so. Either come by boat from Oludeniz, or do what I did and take a dolmus to Faralya village from where you can hike down a somewhat sketchy but fun trail to the beach. If you stay in Faralya I highly recommend George House. The people are very friendly and the food is delicious. It also has breathtaking sunset views over the valley and out to sea.
Unfortunately, the trail up the valley to the waterfall is currently closed (someone cut the rope,) unless you bring your own repelling gear!

Oh, and as far as Selcuk/Ephesus: I wouldn't normally badmouth a place, but I do have to share my experience with Atilla's Getaway. The facilities are clean and nice but I found the staff to be quite rude. Actually, most of them were ok, but one in particular was so rude to me (on seperate occasıons) and very rude to a pair of brits as well, as to sour our entire experience of the place. There seemed to be some sort of weird vibe alienating those who weren't Aussie.
Bottom line: I couldn't recommend Atilla's to someone, unless you are Aussie...

I've really had a hard time finding decent airfares to Turkey...I'm sure that's because it's summer, and anything over the Atlantic right now is not going to be cheap...but I'm still looking...and living out my trip vicariously thru these great posts .

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The facilities are clean and nice but I found the staff to be quite rude. Actually, most of them were ok, but one in particular was so rude to me (on seperate occasıons) and very rude to a pair of brits as well, as to sour our entire experience of the place. There seemed to be some sort of weird vibe alienating those who weren't Aussie. Confused

Could you describe that person? I would like to let Atilla know.

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I've really had a hard time finding decent airfares to Turkey

There are oodles of cheap charters from the UK. It usually comes out to less than $300 R/T from LGW

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Originally posted by static:
There are oodles of cheap charters from the UK. It usually comes out to less than $300 R/T from LGW

Yes, those are really good. The challenge is getting to LGW

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The challenge is getting to LGW

US Air flys to LGW, or one can easily take the airport bus there from LHR.

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Originally posted by TheWanderer:
has anyone encountered any random playings of the National Anthem in the streets of Turkey?
while in Ayvalik, walking down the street, music started blaring out of some loudspeakers on a building somewhere, and absolutely everyone on the street stopped what they were doing and stood still.
It was the strangest thing. No parade, no sporting event, it was a seemingly random time of day.... and after 4 weeks in Turkey, it was the first time. Not sure what it was all about. Any insight? is this a common occurance? didn't think it was a holiday.

Can you remember the date when you heard the national anthem? Because it could be a number of thing.

Ayvalık is a small place where people know each other or are family.

Some times there could be a military ceremony for a soilder that has died on the job. The national anthem is played.

Thanks for the post. Turkey is a place that has been on my radar screen. The website "Turkey Travel Planner" is an excellent resource....those planning a trip or curious about finding out more info should definitely give it a look. Thanks again and have fun.

Does anyone know ıf there ıs a bus company other than Pammukale that goes to Selcuk from Antalya? I am there now and don't want to take the overnight bus. Truva Turizm tells me they go there, but everyone else says Pammkale ıs the only one so I'm a bit confused.

A few comments about pensions I have stayed at so far: Kose Pension in Goreme was very homey and relaxing. The food was good, I loved the pool and Dawn was very helpful. Ferah pension ın Fetıhye was 'OK'. My room was clean but there were plenty of ants to share it wıth me. Thought 2 TLY for a cup of instant coffee was a bit expensive. Saban Pension in Olympos - very quıet and the people were nıce. Rooms were clean...good place to chıll out while beıng close to the more happening pensions (across from Turkmens). If you do stay at Turkmens, definitely try to negotiate for a lower room rate.

Found answer to my questıon, the only bus to Selcuk from Antalya wıthout an overnıght stay anywhere ıs wıth Pammukale. Of course, by the time I figured that out the bus was sold out so now I am taking a bus to Izmir and staying there for the night (on Truva). It seems the pension I stayed at (Saban ın Olympos) should have been able to share that information with me this morning when I told her I was going to Selcuk. While I didn't like the pushiness of Turkmen they probably would have been more helpful with this sort of stuff.

dude, are you following us? you've stayed at all the same places as us, and I would say about the same for them as you have.
can't answer your question about the bus, though. sorry.

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Originally posted by static:

Could you describe that person? I would like to let Atilla know.

It was some Australian lady but I dont know her name.

Anyhoo...

I wanted to ask for advice on going to Mt. Nemrut. How hard is it to go there on your own? I am trying to figure out whether the 35-40 Euro is worth it for one of the tours there. I generally avoid tours at all cost, but from what I was reading in the LP, the only easy way to do it yourself is to start in Kahta and take a dolmus to Karadut and walk about 6km from there. You then have to spend the night in Karadut. Considering that this would be relatively time consuming and you have to pay for a night of lodging in Karadut, the tour seems mildly appealing.
Any thougts/opions on doing Nemrut independently vs. going on a tour?

What's up Sup,

I stayed in Karadut (last sept.) at the Karadut Pension, for TL:10, they have 20 Lira rooms, but I told him I don't need such a nice room, he liked the complement. I walked up to Nemrut by myself(10 Kilometers)in the morning, I left at about 5:00am and got there around 7:30-7:45. It's nice up there, but doesn't require a lot of time, a couple of hours is plenty. I hitched back, so that made it a lot easier.

The bus from Malatya to Katha was 10 Lira and took a few hours. From Katha to Karadut is 3 Lira. Maybe this will help you decide on doing it independent or going with a tour.

Don't miss Sanliurfa, it was my favorite spot in Turkey. The people were great! Have fun in Syria, I want to go back!

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miss the Egyptian Market (and particularly the area behind it) and make sure that you take a commute ferry over to Uskudar and back. They leave from Emininou. Cheap! (Great photo ops, but Istanbul is smoggy and hazy during midday, so early morning is best for snapshots)

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(Yes, you are going to skip Troy. Avoid Gallipoli unless you are an Aussie/Kiwi. Bursa, though, is very worthwhile)

I did the Gallipoli tour a few days ago. I'm neither Australian or Kiwi so maybe The cultural signıfıcance wasn't there, but I still really enjoyed ıt. The scenery ıs beautiful, and it was good to learn a bit more about that area of history.

Here's a link to another BnA article that details some other transport/routing options within Western Turkey.

I miss Turkey. they really set the standard too high, and now all I want to do is go back.
pooh.

Go to Saklılent gorge, its fantasic. Thogh you do have to be rather agile.

Oooh, this makes me want to go to Turkey even more! I'm so glad that you and your kids had such a great time Sputnik. I think that Tunk and I want to go September next year, but I'm trying to think how much I need to save up... maybe $3000 for two weeks? I'm thinking flight from Indy or Chicago, 2 star hotels, hot air balloon ride in cappadocia, some Istanbul shopping, maybe a dip in the Mediterranean, and a couple of nice dinners, and some spa action. That'd mean I'd need to save about 275 - 300 per month for the trip. *Sighs* well I'm going to need to be creative here in finding that!

The good news is that you may not need 3000 dollars for only two weeks for two people to do what you want.

The flight may be the most expensive part of the trip.

2x750 = 1500

Hotels

14x80 = 1120

oops, its the 2 star hotel that sets you back. You might do with a one star hotel for about forty a night, and that could be good.

Personally, I stayed in 7 dollar a night hostel rooms, so it was much cheaper for me.

I'm sure you'll find a way. If you're both working, $300 per month should be manageable, no?

$3000 for the two of you, depending on how much you get the flights for, should work. Balloon rides, in particular though, are expensive...the reputable companies were charging a little over €200 per person when we were there. (One of the cheap competitors was offering €165 for a shorter flight, but word was their pilots weren't the best)

Accomodation, on the other hand, won't set you back so much. $80 per night would be very expensive in Turkey. Stay in pensions, which are everywhere, and better than hotels anyway. The one we were at in Cappadocia, which was at least as good as a 2 star hotel, had double rooms with ensuite for 40 YTL , about $30, per night, though inflation is high, so it's probably gone up a bit since we were there in June. I'd say that was about standard. For private rooms, almost always with private bath, we were paying generally 30-50YTL per night throughout the country, except Istanbul, where prices pretty much double.

Still, Turkey is awesome. I'm sure you'll find a way to make it work.