Spell a World

Urfa: Much More than Kebap

Among the cotton fields. In Mesopotamia. This city not only offers easy access to many historical gems of Eastern Turkey, like Göbekli Tepe, but Urfa itself is also worth visiting. Late October is probably the best time to visit Eastern Turkey. Even this year, hotels were quite full, and one could see foreign tourists in Urfa. Turkey has to offer much more than Istanbul, Antalya and Bodrum. Southeastern Turkey is definitely a proof for this. Many foreign tourists haven’t discovered it yet. One of the reasons might be the negative image from the media.

What to do and see? (Besides the obvious: eating Urfa kebap and çiğ köfte.)

UNESCO’s World Heritage in Turkey: Göbekli Tepe

Göbekli Tepe: Sneak a peek 11,000 years back to the history

Historical places have also attracted me. I find it amazing how we have the opportunity to travel to the past and see how our forebearers lived, what they worshipped, and even what problems they dealt with or what they thought about. One of the most interesting places I have visited so far was Herculaneum and Pompeii. It was also interesting to see pyramids in Cairo, however, I would like to dive deeper into the Egyptian culture and visit other places, to understand better ancient Egypt. Therefore, Göbekli Tepe is definitely on the second places when it comes to the most interesting archaeological sites I have visited so far.

Lycian Way Day 1: Unexpected Adventures

The year 2020 finally brought me the opportunity to discover more of Turkey. For me, this year is great for hiking for two reasons: you can walk without the mask and you avoid crowded places. I don’t think hiking is a popular free time activity among Turks, and even if it was, this year Lycian Way definitely wasn’t the top destination among the hikers. Here is my experience of the Lycian Way: 8 days in total (7 days of walking). 135 kilometres. From Ovacık to Kaş. We took a minibus three times to skip some parts which were more difficult or we had to walk on the road for a long time.

Lykian Way signs and the famous Ölüdeniz Beach in the background

Turkey: 4 Holiday Ideas

2020 is a special year. We all agree on that. To define what kind of special, depends on each individual. Despite everything, it gave me an opportunity to (re)discover hidden gems of Turkey.

When deciding about a holiday or a travel destination the most important things for me are:

to avoid the crowds if possible, especially since I moved to Istanbul (this year even more important than before)
a balance between nature and city
a balance between cultural and sport activities
price
small/ boutique hotels; never huge hotel complexes.
cuisine.

Here are my top 5 picks, which tick most of the boxes. Some are quite close to Istanbul and are a good choice for a daily trip, meanwhile, others are a few hours ride away from the city. I have visited all of them with a car, though some are quite easily accessible with public transportation.

Running around the World: the Pyramids Half Marathon

I have started running only a few years ago. My first run (at the event) was in September 2014. I run 7 km. Approximately 2 months after, in November 2014, I have run my first 10k at the Istanbul Marathon. It was difficult to finish 10k, but at the same time amazing because of two things: firstly, to show myself that I can do it and that summer training paid off, and secondly because at the very beginning runners cross the Bosphorus bridge. That is the only day in the year, that you can cross the bridge connecting the two continents.

Istanbul in the Times of Corona

View on the empty bridge over the Bosphorus during the 48 hours lockdown. Source: DailyNation on YouTube

I am writing these lines during the total lockdown – the longest so far. During the past two weekends lockdown in 31 cities across Turkey lasted 48 hours, right now, however, we are in the midst of 96 hours long lockdown. The reason for the longer lockdown is the National Sovereignty and Children’s Day, a national holiday observed on April 23rd.

One Place& One Book: Galicia

Reading is a synonym of travelling.

I have probably travelled more pages than miles. Now that we are slowing down our lives for a while (and speeding up our bytes), we also have a great opportunity to read more or to remember where have we travelled and which books took us there.

I hope to share more book and travel memories here these days. Please, if there is a book which reminds you of a certain place and would like to recommend it, don’t hesitate to leave your comment below.

I know, Galicia is a very big place, more precisely the autonomous community in Northern Spain, which covers almost 30.000 square kilometres. I was thinking of dedicating this post to Santiago de Compostela, which definitely means something special to me, but as there are a few books which remind me of this region, I decided to make to separate blog posts. So the first one is dedicated to Galicia (and partially to León).

One Place& One Book: Naples

Reading is a synonym of travelling.

Having a Good Time at Home: 5 Ideas on how to Improve your Knowledge of Turkish Culture

There is probably no one, who doesn’t follow the news these days. Without any doubts, the news about the Coronavirus and virus-related city and national lockdowns are what everyone speaks about. Many people will now have to work from home, and as many schools are also closed, pupils and students will spend their time at home as well.

But what to do? How to make time pass?

New Istanbulites: Mohammad Alard, the chef behind “Beyond Kitchen”

I met Mohammad a few years ago when we were both volunteering for a local NGO. Everyone in the group knew that he was studying Gastronomy and, if you attended an event with him, you would sooner or later realise that he loved speaking in public. I reconnected with him recently in cooking events he organises every month. To know more about the project Beyond Kitchen and everything else Mohammad does, please continue reading.