Turkey [antikvár]

Foreword ABOUT LONELY PLANET GUIDEBOOKS The story begins with a classic travel adventure: Tony and Maureen Wheeler's 1972 journey across Europe and Asia to Australia. There was no useful information about the overland trail then, so Tony and Maureen published the first Lonely Planet guidebook to meet a growing need. From a kitchen table, Lonely Planet has grown to become the largest independent travel publisher in the world, with offices in Melbourne (Australia), Oakland (USA), London (UK) and Paris (France). Today Lonely Planet guidebooks cover the globe. There is an evergrowing list of books and information in a variety of media. Some things haven't changed. The main aim is still to make it possible for adventurous travellers to get out there - to explore and better understand the world. At Lonely Planet we believe travellers can make a positive contribution to the countries they visit - if they respect their host communities and spend their money wisely. Since 1986 a percentage of the income from each book has been donated to aid projects and human rights campaigns, and, more recently, to wildlife conservation. Although inclusion in a guidebook usually Implies a recommendation we cannot list every good place. Exclusion does not necessarily imply criticism. In fact there are a number of reasons why we might exclude a place - sometimes it is simply inappropriate to encourage an influx of travellers. •'I : r' Introduction Turkey is Asia's foothold in Europe, a melting pot of culmres and a bridge between continents. Here the contemporary and the ancient, the cosmopolitan and the bucolic, the spiritual and the hedonistic come together to create a vibrant, diverse and exciting whole. The Turkish Republic is modernising rapidly - sometimes so fast you'd swear you can actually see it happening in front of you. It's secular and Westem-oriented and boasts a vigorous free-enterprise economy. The Turkish people have an unrivalled reputation for hospitality, which the touts haven't managed to vanquish, try as they may. The cuisine is to die for, the coastline a dream, and many Turkish cities are dotted with spectacular old mosques and castles. To top it off, while costs are certainly rising, Turkey remains the Mediterranean coast's bargain-basement travel destination. Anatolia, the Turkish mainland, has a long, colourful and complex history, and it helps to know a little of it before you arrive. The world's oldest 'city', dating from c.7500 BC, was discovered at (^atal Hoyuk near Konya. Then came the Hittite Empire (mentioned in the Bible but little known in the West), which rivalled that of ancient Egypt and left behind captivating works of art. The Turkish landmass was then the stage upon which countless empires and kingdoms flourished and declined. Many of the most famous sites from classical Greek culture are not in Greece at all but in Turkey, including the rains of cities such as Troy, Pergamum, Ephesus, Miletus and Halicamassus (Bodrum). Most modem Turkish cities boast a Roman past and several crop up in the Bible. With the coming of the Seljuks in the 11th century, Turkey began to take on a traly 'Turkish' identity, and the great mosques and medreses (seminaries) of Konya are a reminder of that early glory. The Ottoman Empire that arose in the early 14th century expanded to rule the entire eastem Mediterranean, much of Eastern Europe and North Africa for six centuries. The myriad customs, cultures, languages and religions of the sultans' vast domains came together in the imperial capital, Istanbul, surely one of the world's most fascinating and romantic cities - you need days there to do it justice. However, Turkey is much more than its history. With over 7000km of coastline it's an excellent destination for water sports, especially along the Mediterranean, which basks in an average 300 sunny days a year.