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

www.cinemanouveau.co.za , follow on Twitter

@sterkinekor or Facebook (Cinema Nouveau).

Download the Ster-Kinekor App on your

smart phone for updates, news and to book

tickets from your mobile. For more info, call

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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