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"All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware." Martin Buber

WELCOME

This Scrapbook of our May 2022 Rick Steves Best of Turkey Tour is not meant to be an all-inclusive travelogue of our trip.  Other scrapbookers have extensively documented their tours, down to the daily details.  Our tour was similar and the itinerary is included here, so it is easy to find photos of each place visited that are better than anything I can do.  Remember the Gettysburg Address?  Remember the name of the other orator who spoke for nearly 2 hours that day?? Neither do I!  This site will NOT make you want to text: TLDR!*

 

My goals are to

  • succinctly explain my unexpected profound  growth as a traveler that resulted from this trip,

  • offer insights to travelers like myself who are reluctant to take a bus (or "coach") group tour,

  • offer a well-deserved "kudos" to the Rick Steves company, and

  • enter, and hopefully win, the 2022 Scrapbook contest!

*Too long, didn't read

How a Rick Steves bus tour made me a better traveler

"A bus tour?!?" was my reply when my wife first suggested going on a bus tour through Turkey. "I hate bus tours!"


Hi! I'm Doug and my wife is Kathy. We are in our mid 60s, and consider ourselves experienced world travelers. Quick bio: Like lots of young people in the 1970s (I'm looking at you, Mr. Steves!), I took my first trip to Europe right after graduating college. Spent a month going from London, through France and Switzerland, to Rome

carrying only my backpack and my copy of Let's Go Europe. Here I am tossing a coin into the Trevi Fountain (yet I've never been back!) and at the Colosseum in 1979.



In 1985 I did a bus tour in Australia and enjoyed it well enough. The tour was for 18- to 35-year-olds, and my priority then was meeting girls. A few years ago my wife and I did a 1-day tour from Queenstown to Milford Sound in New Zealand, 4 hours each way, and it sucked. We had the rear seat by the bathroom, and the motion sickness from the winding roads was compounded by the pungent odors emanating from the noisily sloshing liquids in the head. I recall one particularly beautiful vista (Hundred Falls) I would have stopped at

had I driven that day, but instead got about 17 seconds to longingly crane for the view. On the return the driver played a bad movie very loudly, so there was no way to rest. "Never again!" I declared.


Prior to getting married in the 1990s I traveled extensively, and even did a solo around-the-world trip in 1992. After marrying and having 3 kids, we traveled as a family, and now that the kids are grown, Kathy and I continue to take 1 or 2 international trips each year, plus traveling around the U.S. in various ways. When we travel, we usually rent a car (have driven around Ireland, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain, Malta, New Zealand, Australia...strangely, I now actually prefer driving on the left!), devise our own itinerary, and select our own hotels or other accommodations. Of course, we also tote that little valise of arrogance and disdain for those tour buses which inevitably pull up just as we arrive at an attraction, disgorge their 30 to 50 passengers, monopolize the space, and totally ruin the opportunity to quietly enjoy the scenery. So when Kathy suggested a bus tour, I was skeptical, to say the least.


The trip in question was the Rick Steves Best of Turkey Tour in May 2022.

This sounded very intriguing, and the thought of going to Istanbul was just about the most exotic thing I could imagine! Except for an Egyptian Nile cruise in 1992, neither of us had spent any real time in a Muslim country. We didn't know what the political situation might be or the attitudes towards Americans, especially Jewish Americans. Is Turkey a third-world country with deficient infrastructure? How difficult or dangerous would it be to navigate the cities and roads ourselves? Will people speak English and be helpful? What about COVID??


Being such hot-shot DIY travelers, we were reluctant to submit to the ignominy of sitting on a bus (even if it was referred to as a "coach") and accepting whatever accommodations and visitation limits our guide offered. What if we wanted to stay longer somewhere, or not go at all to a place on the tour? I've never liked prepaying a lot of money to a tour operator and then spending months wondering if they will deliver as promised. As familiar as we were with the Rick Steves TV shows and guide books to Europe, we never knew he had a tour company! Is the friendly, expert Rick we see on TV as trustworthy as he seems? Will this tour be worth it?


With these questions in mind, we examined the tour details. The itinerary was ideal for us, the limited number of passengers sounded right, and reviews were all positive. So we made a down payment and booked it!


OK, Doug, but how did the trip make you a better traveler??


Well, I became a better traveler simply by paying attention and learning a few things. Since we already considered ourselves "travel experts," we arrived in Istanbul a few days ahead of the tour start date. I'm glad we did, as this allowed us to see many places that the tour did not include (of course, the Rick Steves guide book was indispensable!). That's when we discovered that many of our future tour mates were also already in town doing the same thing. "Hmm," I thought, "I guess the bus won't just be full of old people who don't know what they're doing or are too afraid to see a place on their own." So the first thing I learned was not to pre-judge (isn't that the etymology of prejudice??) tourists on buses.


Then came the first day of the tour where we met our fellow travelers and our excellent guide Taylan Tasbasi.

He asked everyone how many other RS tours they had done. At least half the group had already been on a RS tour, some on several, and one couple was on their 6th tour! That got me wondering what the heck was so great about a Rick Steves tour? I had never before met people so loyal to a tour company (except maybe my crazy old med school roommate who has taken his family on over 30 Disney cruises)!


One nice perk of a RS tour is the inclusion of the RS guide book, which was sent to us well ahead of time. This allowed us to study up on Istanbul prior to arrival, and guided us during our few days in Istanbul pre-tour. We have been fans of the RS books for years, finding that they, more than any other brand such as Frommer's or Fodor's, most closely match our style of travel. We enjoy finding the interesting and less-visited sights, neighborhoods, and shops that Rick Steves has scoped out for his readers, like an experienced friend whose suggestions you can trust. Never would have found the pigeon market in Istanbul without that book!

And here's the thing I learned vis-à-vis the guidebook, or rather NOT carrying the guidebook: Just because you are on a guided tour doesn't mean you check your curiosity at the door and let your human guide do all the work. CARRY THE BOOK WITH YOU! I'm so used to seeing hordes of tourists disgorge themselves from buses, crowd around a guide at an attraction, then immediately repack themselves into their can that I thought that's how bus tours go. On our Rick Steves tour, our guide expertly introduced us to the attraction, spoke to us over a radio earpiece so we could spread out and not obstruct traffic flow, and then always allowed free time to explore at our own pace and to our own level of interest. The first day we hadn't bothered bringing our guidebook, expecting to be spoon-fed. After that, we made it a point to carry it with us, which greatly enhanced the entire tour. Turns out a "bus tour" can also be a "self-guided tour" if you want it to be.


What else about this tour made you a better traveler?


The other people on the tour made me a better traveler, mainly by showing me that even with all my past travel experience, I am not as advanced a traveler as I thought! Sure, I've got the "bug" and enjoy going to new places, meeting locals and fellow travelers, and have put in the miles, time and money to make these trips happen. But just going somewhere doesn't make you a traveler, any more than eating a lot makes you a gourmet, or taking lots of pictures makes you a photographer (more on that in a moment!).


There were a total of 28 passengers on our tour, ranging in age from 30s to 80s.

One woman from San Francisco named Lara was very interesting. She had recently booked a tour to Uzbekistan which got cancelled due to COVID, so she boldly went anyway, and even crossed into Kyrgyzstan despite having the same reservations about infrastructure, et al., that I mentioned previously regarding Turkey. She made it a priority to learn some of the language as she navigated the country on her own! For the Turkey tour, she had learned some phrases and customs and thus seemed more comfortable interacting with the locals.


In my travels, I've found that if you are polite, learn to say hello, goodbye, please, thank you, and can count to ten in the local language you can usually get by just fine. (Of course, it's a little easier now with translation apps on your phone, but that still requires some goodwill on the part of the locals. For example, a busy merchant may or may not wish to bother with tediously trying to understand your phone app.) But I didn't do that this trip.


Whereas Lara had prepared well for Turkey, once we booked the bus tour I lazily assumed everything would be done for me, and quite frankly, it would be easy to settle for that and not bother trying to interact with the locals any more than necessary. But that's not traveling, that's "attending," like going to a show. To travel is to interact with the country you are visiting, not just gawk at it. One can certainly ride a bus for 2 weeks and feel satisfied they have seen the country. A real traveler, like my new friend Lara, seeks a more immersive experience.


You mentioned photography?


Yes. I take A LOT of pictures when I travel. Heck, my phone can hold thousands of shots, so why not? Scenery is easy enough, but I always feel self-conscious photographing locals. Most people don't want to feel like they are on exhibit for annoying tourists, plus I am a bit shy, so I usually just try to be surreptitious. For example, in the bazaars (i.e., markets, also called souks) which are plentiful and colorful in Turkey, I tried to take photos that showed the goods on display while capturing the merchant candidly. Another very experienced traveler on our tour, a woman from Seattle named Virginia who maintains an extensive blog of her voyages, shared several shots of merchants proudly displaying their wares. The people in a photo are almost always much more interesting than the fruits or spices or meats on display.


My typical market photos:









And here are some of Virginia's shared photos:















Notice how friendly her merchants look, how they become one with their wares, and the pride they exude. You can almost feel the warmth!


When I asked how she got such great shots, she told me she simply asks them if she can take their picture. Imagine that!


I now make more of an effort to speak to people and ask if I can photograph them, and my photos are getting better. Thanks, Virginia!


What other travel pearls did you pick up on the tour?


As previously mentioned, I've always viewed bus tours as something easy for old people to do, or inexperienced tourists who are intimidated by the thought of making arrangements (car, hotel, etc.) in a foreign country. I also assumed that any special stops, like a show, spa visit, or shop were either at additional cost, tourist traps, or involved some sort of kickback to the tour operator. On our Rick Steves tour, we were treated to an exclusive showing of whirling dervishes,


had a Q&A sit down with an imam,


and had tea at the home of an elderly woman named Fahriye who is famous in her region for her rug weaving.


These experiences would not have been possible to arrange on our own.


We were also brought to a rug market where expensive, high-quality merchandise was available. There was bargaining to be done but no hard sell, and our guide assured us there were no kickbacks, and I believed him. I looked it up later and the reviews confirmed it is one of the best stores in Turkey to buy a rug, which we did (and everything arrived as promised). Finding a reputable dealer on our own would have been hit-or-miss, at best.


Here is the rug we bought--now lying in our kitchen where we get to see it everyday!








In Antalya, our guide directed us to a hamam (Turkish bathhouse) that was clean, proficient and inexpensive--not sure we would have had the nerve to choose one on our own and thus might have missed that wonderful experience.


Anything else?


Sure, lots! Mainly we learned about Turkey itself, and I became a better traveler having experienced life in a predominately Muslim country. I learned what Islam is, and what it isn't. People were generally tolerant and honest (one taxi driver and one ice cream vendor excepted!), and we felt safe walking around the cities at night. Our wonderful trip to Turkey in May inspired us to visit Morocco in October. There were many similarities (Muslim country, generally tolerant and friendly people) and some significant differences (Morocco is not a democracy, and not quite as productive as Turkey). While on the Turkey bus tour, with 30 people on board for 2 weeks, we all wore masks. Two passengers tested positive for COVID midway through the tour and were required to stay in place for 5 days. In Morocco we had our own driver and car, and despite all assurances that COVID was "no problem" there, our maskless driver developed a cough, after visiting a friend with a "head cold," and gave us COVID! So as of May 2022, Turkey and Rick Steves were still taking COVID seriously, while Morocco and our driver, as of Oct. 2022, were not.


Here's something else I learned in Turkey (and Morocco): They like cats! There are feral cats everywhere, and although they are technically strays, they are vaccinated and tagged. Muslims don't like dogs as much as they are considered unclean. (In Morocco we were told that if a dog enters your home, you must clean your entire house thoroughly.)


Here is a picture of Kathy having dinner at a restaurant while a random cat looks on, and another of a market stall that had, among other things, 3 sacks of cat food marked with different prices. The stray cat was helping itself to the premium food, which I guess is a testimonial to its quality!

And when our tour group took a subway ride in Istanbul, there was a stray cat right there at the entry gates. I quipped that you couldn't even ride the subway without first getting a CAT scan!


In summary, here is how I became a better traveler by taking a Rick Steves bus tour

  • Don't expect everything to be done for you just because your transportation, accommodations, and expert guide are prearranged. Keep your guidebook handy and learn some local phrases and customs so you can interact with locals without depending entirely on your guide or driver.

  • Be friendly and approach merchants and others with a smile. Ask if you can take their photo, and be respectful if they say no.

  • Embrace the bus! Yes, they can be obnoxious when you are at a national park, say, enjoying the peace and quiet and a bus horde swarms over you. But if you book a tour with a company like Rick Steves, you may find they share your philosophy and will plan routes that avoid large crowds, allowing your entire tour to be more efficient and enjoyable. You will also make new friends who are experienced travelers themselves and share your values!

  • Not all Muslim countries are alike. As Americans, we are exposed in our media to certain stereotypes pertaining to Islamic countries, and we were pleasantly surprised to discover Turkish people are generally very tolerant, friendly, and peaceful. Officially, the country is secular; they even have a national liquor called Raki.

  • Turkey is not a "3rd world country." It is a member of NATO and developing much industry, and thus is considered "1st world," to the extent that term means anything post-Cold War. Turkey is the only country with a Muslim majority population (99.8%) that operates under a secular constitution and a democratic government. We found Istanbul to be very cosmopolitan, of course, and everywhere we visited we found good infrastructure, excellent highways, clean bathrooms (alongside the pit toilets!), clean and safe cities generally free of homelessness, amazing antiquity sites, good internet connectivity, and very few signs of poverty. In short, we felt safer traveling around Turkey than in many US cities.


Here is a picture of our tour group at the Library of Ephesus. (Credit and thanks to Lara for the tagged photo.)




I hope you have found these comments about my 2022 Rick Steves tour of Turkey to be interesting and helpful. I highly recommend Turkey as a travel destination, and I would like very much to do another Rick Steves tour in the future, especially if I can win the Scrapbook contest! This is my first attempt at building a web site so please excuse the lack of artistic embellishments and the crude construction. Rather than creating a simple travelogue, I have tried here to relate what was most profound to me on my first RS Tour while avoiding the usual platitudes (all travel "broadens" you and every place is a "Land of Contrasts," e.g.); better photos than mine of all the various sites and sights can be found on other travelers' web sites, the Rick Steves site and Google. Below are just a few "Scrapbook" photos that have special fondness and meaning to me.




The sultan's quarters at Topkapi Palace, Istanbul. I like the Arabic tiles, colors and designs. Very mathematical!



These teenage girls were on a school trip to the National Museum in Ankara. We met them outside after our visit, and they gathered all around Kathy to speak English and have their picture taken with her. Maybe it was her blond hair they found so interesting?



At Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, in Ankara. Many school groups in attendance. These kids were being instructed in proper protocol.




In Konya, our guide Taylan treated us all to a breakfast pide, a kind of baked flatbread, like a Turkish pizza!



One advantage of being on a bus is that you are not driving, which means you are free to take photos out the window. This was taken from the highway as we crossed the western mountains towards Antalya.



Cappadocia is a region known for its "fairy chimneys" and other strange geologic formations. The rocks are porous and have been used for ages as dwellings. Ballooning is very popular here.



Our hotel room was a cave in the rocks!




From the museum at Aphrodisias. Just looking at this photo gives me a splitting headache!



There are photos of Atatürk EVERYWHERE!



They call it ice cream with a magic show. Make sure you check the price first, as one vendor refused to give us our change!




İstiklal Avenue, Istanbul. Sadly, there was a terrorist bombing in November 2022, which was even more unnerving since we had so recently visited there.



Fahriye waving "Good-bye!"








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