Istanbul and the Aegean coast offer seascapes, antiquities and most of all, a warm welcome – The Washington Post

By Associated Press, Published: January 27

ISTANBUL — The sea of Marmara shimmered to my right, a pod of dolphins played improbably in the ferry-and tankers-choked Bosporus strait, and minarets pierced my jet-lag fog on my first Istanbul evening.

Walking down the main road in Istanbul’s old city the next morning, I was pulled out of my reverie when an older, heavily mustachioed man leaned out the window of his rickety car and boomed, “American?”

Photos

( Giovanna Dell’Orto / Associated Press ) – This July 2011 photo shows boaters and swimmers along the coastline of the Datca peninsula, near the ruins of Knidos, a seventh-century B.C. Greek town, Turkey. Datca is just one stop on a driving tour from Istanbul down the Aegean coast.

( Giovanna Dell’Orto / Associated Press ) – This July 2011 photo shows the fourth century B.C. temple of Apollo at Dydima, now in the middle of the modern Turkish city of Didim on the southern Aegean coast, Turkey.

( Giovanna Dell’Orto / Associated Press ) – This July 2011 photo shows the remains of intricately carved buildings that line the main street of the ancient Roman city of Ephesus, Turkey, one of the richest archeological sites in the Mediterranean region.

( Giovanna Dell’Orto / Associated Press ) – This July 2011 photo shows the coastline of Assos, Turkey. The northern Aegean village of Assos, with its elegant stone houses converted into hotels and a small fishing harbor, is just one stop on a driving tour from Istanbul down the Aegean coast.

( Giovanna Dell’Orto / Associated Press ) – This July 2011 photo shows the fourth century B.C. temple of Apollo at Dydima, now in the middle of the modern Turkish city of Didim on the southern Aegean coast, Turkey.

Suddenly aware of my short sleeves and skirt on a trip last summer to a city where many women wear long coats even in hot weather, I smiled sheepishly.

“Ah, have a good day!” he yelled in English, breaking a wide grin, to which all I could do was reply “cok iyi,” meaning very good, the Turkish words I had learned on my first day here in an impromptu lesson from a taxi driver.

via Istanbul and the Aegean coast offer seascapes, antiquities and most of all, a warm welcome – The Washington Post.

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