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Transcript of turkey - u|Chiefuchief.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Travel... · Bodrum Marmaris Iclemer Turunc...
travel debrief.
Photos: Mar ion Kate , www.g i r l inb lue jeans.com
Travel blogger (and The Girl in Blue Jeans) MARION KATE, debriefs u|Chief on her recent trip to Turkey.
turkey
Tel l us about your recent t rave ls?
I recent l y went to Turkey, a count ry I have
now v is i ted 16 t imes . F l y ing Turk ish A i r-
l i nes i s a d i rec t f l i gh t f rom Johannesburg
to I s tanbu l ove rn igh t , so my t r ips a lways
s ta r t i n I s tanbu l where I spend a few days
and then I map out a d i f f e ren t rou te each
t ime so tha t I can exp lo re d i f f e ren t towns
and c i t i es in the count ry.
T h i s p a s t t r i p t o o k m e t o K a s , a b e a u t i f u l
t o w n o n t h e A e g a n c o a s t t h a t l o o k s o u t
o n t o t h e G re e k I s l a n d o f M e i s . I h i re d a
c a r a n d d ro v e d o w n t h e c o a s t t o s e e
D e m re ( b e t t e r k n o w n a s T h e F a t h e r
C h r i s t m a s To w n ) . A l o n g t h e w a y i s t h e
S u n k e n C i t y, a n o t h e r b e a u t i f u l s p o t .
H e a d i n g b a c k t o I s t a n b u l , I s p e n t s o m e
t i m e i n A f a y o n , w h e re t h e m a j o r i t y o f
h o t e l s h a v e t h e r m a l p o o l s .
What was memorable about your t r ip?
From the bus iness perspect i ve , go ing to
the Turk ish A i r l i nes head o f f i ce in I s tanbu l
was an eye-opener. I remember wa lk ing
up the s ta i r s and ha l fway up i s a m i r ro r
on the wa l l and a s ign above i t tha t reads :
“F i r s t impress ions count ” . The s ta f f a re a l l
smar t l y d ressed, regard less o f the i r pos i -
t ion w i th in in the company. Peop le move
a round w i th speed and the re i s an a i r o f
a lmost s i l ence in the bu i ld ing . There i s no
unnecessary ch i t -cha t i n the cor r idors , no
loud laugh ing , no chewing o f gum and,
TURKEY FACT FILE
Anthem “The Independence March”
Official language Turkish
Capital Ankara
Largest city Istanbul
Currency Turkish lira
Time zone FET (UTC+3)
Land area 783,356 km2 (302,455 sq mi)
Population 79,814,871 (2017 estimate)
Density 102/km2 (264.2/sq mi)
Total GDP (PPP) $2.082 trillion (2017 estimate)
Per capita GDP $25,776
Cars Drive on the right
Calling code +90
(SOURCE WIKIPEDIA)
Bursa
Istanbul
Izmir
Karakose
Adana
Samsun
Gaziantep Diyarbakir
Trabzon
Antalya
Kayseri
Olympos
Nevsehir
AEG
EAN
SEA
Bodrum
Tigris
Euphrates
M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
B L A C K S E A
Lake Van
BULGARIA GEORGIA
SYRIA
IRAQ
TURKEY
Dardanelles
GREECE
150 km150 miles
Bodrum MarmarisIclemer
Turunc
Dalyan
OludenizPatara
Dalaman
Fethiye Hisaronu
KasKalkanM E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
TURQUOISE COAST
KOS (GREECE)
A E G E A N S E A
80 km80 miles
© The Free Range
© The Free Range
ANKARA
Bursa
Istanbul
Izmir
Karakose
Adana
Samsun
Gaziantep Diyarbakir
Trabzon
Antalya
Kayseri
Olympos
Nevsehir
AEG
EAN
SEA
Bodrum
Tigris
Euphrates
M E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
B L A C K S E A
Lake Van
BULGARIA GEORGIA
SYRIA
IRAQ
TURKEY
Dardanelles
GREECE
150 km150 miles
Bodrum MarmarisIclemer
Turunc
Dalyan
OludenizPatara
Dalaman
Fethiye Hisaronu
KasKalkanM E D I T E R R A N E A N S E A
TURQUOISE COAST
KOS (GREECE)
A E G E A N S E A
80 km80 miles
© The Free Range
© The Free Range
ANKARA
when wa lk ing th rough a l a rge , open-p lan
o f f i ce , I d id no t see a s ing le person p lay-
ing on the i r ce l lphone. The company runs
on d isc ip l i ne , wh ich i s a cu l tu ra l behav-
iou ra l t ra i t and someth ing I f i nd re f resh ing .
I a l so had the oppor tun i t y to s i t i n one o f
the f l i gh t s imu la to rs in wh ich the p i lo ts
a re ab le to “keep up the i r hours” : i t i s a
wor ld-c lass mach ine and i t ’s comfor t ing
to know tha t we a re in good hands when
aboard the i r a i rc ra f t . A f te r tha t I exp lo red
the k i tchens o f the company tha t p roduc-
es the food fo r the a i r l i ne and I was h igh l y
impressed by the leve ls o f hyg iene and
the va r ie ty o f mea ls they p repare . What
I found in te res t ing was tha t many o f the
long-hau l f l i gh ts fo r the l a rger ca r r i e rs
ac tua l l y have an on-board che f to p repare
mea ls fo r passengers .
M A R I O N K AT E ’ S U s e f u l Tu r k i s h
P h r a s e G u i d e
• MERHABA | HELLO
• COK GUZEL | VERY GOOD
• EKMEK | BREAD
• CAY | TEA
• SU | WATER
Turkish Airlines was named the 2018 Five-Star
Global Airline by the Airline passenger Experi-
ence Association (APEX) off icial airlines rating.
Food i s a lways someth ing tha t makes o r
b reaks an exper ience fo r passengers , and
to fu l l y i l l us t ra te how the f l i gh t a t tendants
and g round c rew work together to de l i ve r
such a h igh se rv ice , Do & Co had us s i t i n
a make-sh i f t p lane , w i th the p roper sea ts
and nar row wa lkways . They then de l i ve red
the food and dr inks to us wh i l e exp la in ing
how d i f fe ren t mea ls a re se rved on d i f f e r-
en t f l i gh ts and how the food and dr inks
a re sourced.
Th is en t i re exper ience opened my eyes to
the wor ld o f f l y ing and made me rea l i se
what the d i f f e rence i s be tween a low-
cos t a i r l i ne and an a i r l i ne tha t has been
a Sky t rax w inner s i x years in a row.
What opportun i t ies d id you ident i fy
dur ing the t r ip?
There is a lot more room to market the
country as wel l as the a i r l ine to South
Afr icans, and there are so many benef i ts
on both p lat forms. From the a i r l ine’s s ide,
there has been s igni f icant growth in the
Sub-Sahara region, wi th f l ights f rom JHB,
Durban and Cape Town, as wel l as neigh-
bour ing countr ies. The di rect f l ight f rom
Johannesburg to Istanbul is a dream come
true. I t f l ies at a convenient t ime and lands
ear ly in the morning in Istanbul , a l lowing
you to get on with your day. The Turk ish
Ai r l ines arr iva l lounge – as wel l as the de-
parture lounge at Ataturk Ai rport – is sheer
luxury. W ith at tent ion hav ing been paid to
the f inest deta i l , there is noth ing a t rave l ler
can want for. The loya l ty card program is
another added benef i t .
F rom the count ry perspect i ve , South
A f r i cans don’t need a v i sa fo r v i s i t s o f up
to 30 days – the eV isa i s obta ined on l ine
w i th in m inu tes and i s f ree . Once ins ide the
count ry, your movement i s no t res t r i c ted
and you can go wherever you want . Th is i s
one o f my b ig loves , as I w i l l dec ide a t the
l as t m inu te to c l imb onto a bus and t rave l
ac ross the county.
A traditional drink of the Ottomans,
“serbet” takes it name from the Arabic
word “sariba”, which means “to drink“.
I t ’s ex t reme ly cos t -e f fec t i ve , and you
wou ld be surpr i sed a t how fa r the Rand
can go in Turkey. There a re a l so va r ious
t rave l op t ions w i th in the count ry wh ich a re
a l l pe r fec t l y sa fe , rang ing f rom s ing le t rav-
e l l e rs to women and fami l y g roups .
Bes ides hav ing p len ty o f opt ions w i th in
the t rave l i ndus t ry (wh ich inc ludes w in te r
sk i i ng ) , the re ’s a l so the impor t o f p roducts
l i ke tex t i l es . The manufac tu re o f c lo th ing ,
l i nen , shoes and so on i s o f the h ighes t
qua l i t y, and ve ry we l l -p r iced .
The we l l -known South A f r i can b rand o f
De fy app l i ances has recent l y been bought
by Turk ish-owned Arçe l i k Group as par t o f
the i r s t ra tegy o f expand ing in to emerg ing
marke ts in A f r i ca .
Turkey is every t rave l le r ’s pot o f go ld, f rom
the s ize o f the count ry and the cont rast ing
landscape, vary ing cu is ine in d i f fe rent
reg ions, and the fact that i t ’s the on ly
count ry s i tuated in Europe and As ia !
What surpr ised you about the country?
The f r i end l iness o f the peop le . I t i s a ve ry
d isc ip l i ned count ry and ye t the peop le a re
s t i l l ab le to en joy l i f e . They a re a na t ion o f
p roud and hard-work ing peop le , and i t ’s
never too much e f fo r t to go the ex t ra m i le .
They a l so have a beaut i fu l count rys ide : i n
my op in ion , the d r i ve a long the Turquo ise
Coast cou ld ou tdo Chapmans Peak any
day, and i t ’s f ree . There ’s a l so no l i t te r
anywhere , f rom Is tanbu l to the qua in t sea-
s ide towns and in land v i l l ages .
On the negat i ve s ide , Eng l i sh i s no t spo-
ken everywhere so , as a t rave l l e r, i t can
be d i f f i cu l t to commun ica te ou ts ide the
b ig tour i s t spots , a l though the loca ls don’t
g i ve up t r y ing . W i th hand s igna ls and lo ts
o f smi l i ng , the p rob lem is a lways reso lved .
Thank goodness fo r Goog le Trans la te –
and the re i s W iF i j us t about eve rywhere ,
and i t ’s eas i l y access ib le .
Edirne was the capital of the Ottoman
Empire for 88 years. It boasts more
than 600 monuments and offers
the best Ottoman cuisine.
How d id you grow persona l ly f rom th is
t rave l exper ience?
I have become very independent as a
resu l t o f my f requent v i s i t s to Turkey, I
have a l so lea rn t a lo t more about do ing
bus iness w i th men. Most dec is ion-mak ing
pos i t ions a re he ld by men, so I have had
to l ea rn how to th ink l i ke a man. I have
a l so lea rn t no t to be swayed by comments
in the med ia tha t a re o f ten ou t the re to
jus t cause damage, bu t ra the r to make
dec is ions based on my own exper iences .
I have lea rn t a lo t about be ing open-mind-
ed and to le ran t o f o ther cu l tu res and
re l ig ions . I am a to ta l oppos i te o f the
s te reo typ ica l Tu rk i sh c i t i zen , bu t I have
never been made to fee l uncomfor tab le o r
unwanted in the count ry.
What lesson d id you learn or p ick up
dur ing th is t r ip that you would l ike to
share wi th others?
Speak to peop le a round you and take
the t ime to p ronounce the person ’s name
cor rec t l y when you a re in t roduced… and
a lways ca r ry a bus iness ca rd in your
pocket . As South A f r i cans , we can be loud
and obnox ious a t t imes , so i t i s impor tan t
to pay a t ten t ion to a count ry ’s cu l tu re and
dress , and to speak accord ing ly.
Was there someth ing about how the
loca ls do bus iness or l i ve the i r l i ves
that people l i v ing in other count r ies
cou ld benef i t f rom knowing?
The Turk ish peop le a re a ve ry ha rd-work-
ing and un i ted soc ie ty. They a re a l so ve ry
fami l y -o r ien ta ted . When they work they
work hard… but , when i t ’s fami l y t ime, i t ’s
fami l y t ime. There i s no go ing o f f on
a Sunday as a sp l i t f am i l y so tha t the
husband can p lay go l f and the w i fe can
have co f fee w i th he r f r i ends .
First run in 1979, this year the Vodafone
Istanbul Marathon will be staged on
12 November and will be run over two
continents (Europe and Asia). The race
starts on the Asian side just before
the Bosphorus bridge, with a prize of
approximately US35,000 for the winner.
They a lso don’t was te money on f r i vo lous
th ings – they save the i r money, as mak ing
b ig purchases l i ke a house o r a ca r us ing
cash i s the p re fe r red opt ion to c rea t ing
debt and hav ing to pay in te res t .
Any favour i te memor ies?
There were so many. I s tayed in a ru ra l
v i l l age once where the peop le where so
f r i end ly and a l l the food was home-made.
I took a fe r ry a t m idn igh t to Cyprus on the
Turk ish s ide , had so much fun and then
re tu rned, t rave l l i ng to the fa r Eas te rn S ide
o f Turkey to a s i te ca l l ed An i . I t takes over
16 hours to tave l the re by bus f rom Is -
tanbu l , and every t ime I have been to th i s
town o f Kars i t has been an adventu re .
There was once a man on the bus who
ins i s ted the bus s top 10 minu tes a f te r we
le f t a res t s top so tha t he cou ld ge t h i s
b read out o f the luggage compar tment .
H is w i fe had made i t and he sa id he need-
ed to tas te i t !
Then the re was the ve ry heavy snowfa l l i n
I s tanbu l i n December 2015: I have never
seen such la rge snowf lakes . In Cappa-
doc ih ia I once watched the sunset wh i l e
s i t t i ng in a ca rved-out rock tha t had once
been a church . I t was a b rea th tak ing s i te .
In Bursa, I went up the longest cab le car
in the wor ld – i t s tops ha l fway up and you
change over in to another car. The snow
was beaut i fu l a t the top and the main hote l
had Af r ican in ter io r decorat ing in the foyer.
Where would you go to next t ime i f you
v is i ted for bus iness or p leasure?
Th is i s a d i f f i cu l t cho ice . I l ove I s tanbu l
Got a taste for
Turkey?
For more information on the 5th Turkish Film
Festival and booking details, visit
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@sterkinekor or Facebook (Cinema Nouveau).
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Ticketline on 0861 MOVIES (668 437) .
and the v ibe , bu t I a l so love the Aegan
Coast . However, i f I want some qu ie t t ime
the mounta ins a re a lways a f i rm favour i te .
My son a lso wants me to go to the town
o f Batman, so tha t I can check in the re on
Facebook – he f i nds tha t en te r ta in ing .
What cu l tura l t ips for you have for
v is i tors to Turkey?
Tea i s a lways o f fe red – bu t don ’t re fuse a
cup o f Turk i sh tea , as i t i s seen as rude .
Women shou ld not wear revea l ing c lo thes ,
espec ia l l y no t i n a bus iness env i ronment .
A lso , women shou ld not c ross the i r l egs
when sea ted .
Hugg ing i s no t a fo rm o f g ree t ing , bu t the
shak ing o f hands i s acceptab le .
Once you get to know a person you shou ld
g ree t them w i th th ree k i sses on the cheek :
l e f t , r i gh t , l e f t . The same app l i es when
you a re say ing goodbye . «
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