Fodor's Turkey 1975 [antikvár]

EDITORS' FOREWORD For some time, we've been wondering why more people haven't "discovered" Turkey, and for several years now we have advised readers of this book to go to Turkey while it is still relatively unspoiled. The expected boom has not yet taken place, and the country is still free of "tourist pollution", so our advice remains the same. Perhaps, because of the unsettled nature of local politics and the resultant lack of encouragement of tourist development, Turkey will remain off the beaten track for many years to come. This is just fine for the traveler, less so, of course, for the Turkish economy. It's hard to talk about Turkey without talking in contrary terms. At one and the same time, it's among the newest and the oldest countries in Europe (and geographically, most of it is not in Europe at all). Guardian of the Bosphorus, it is the eastern anchor of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, yet it maintains a strong presence in the Middle East and is on increasingly friendly terms with neighboring communist nations. Moreover, it straddles Europe and Asia—that is, the Turkish giant stands with one toe in Europe and a huge body in Asia (this country's 296,000 square miles make it bigger than France, and even, perish the thought, bigger than Texas!). Scenically, it offers everything from snow-crowned mountains to tropical beaches (the latter but a few hours' travel from the former). In Turkey, thanks to its history of four energetic cultures, you can span 20 centuries just by crossing the street. Culminating a glorious history of Hittite, Hellenistic, Byzantine and Turkish accomplishments, this nation today is the free world's most fantastic experiment in bringing 36,000,000 people overnight from the Middle Ages to the 20th (or even the 21st) century. Turkey is the New Frontier for the tourist. Comparatively undeveloped with respect to hotels and other facilities (as opposed to Spain or Switzerland), it is also uncrowded. The empty beaches will afford you privacy, the uncrowded roads relatively carefree travel. Above all, you will experience the thrill of being on the receiving end of traditional Turkish hospitality, especially in the smaller towns and in the countryside.