Welcome to our modest little site about Turkey. In January and February, in the span of just a few weeks, we travelled around certain parts of the country, happily snapping away digital photos left and right. Therefore this site is merely a repository of some of our favorite ones from that trip.
To tell the truth, this (photo-heavy, text-light) site is mainly intended for our friends and family, but of course we're always glad to hear from complete strangers who've stumbled across it. For anyone interested in reading up a bit about Turkey, you may want to take a look at the general-interest travel article we wrote, Istanbul and beyond, for the April 2003 issue of Oman Today. In addition, we've included links to some particularly useful websites, geared mostly to prospective travellers to the country.
If you've got any comments or questions, please send us an email, at happytravails@elvis.com.
Ok, hope you enjoy the photos!
— Marc Dyer and Karen Cooper (March 2003)
Just click on any of the following places/graphics, and you'll be (virtually) taken there...
An intriguing place, East Meets West, photo opportunities galore. Take a quick visual tour of town, and see why so many people find it hard to resist visiting, and revisiting.
This main waterway is much more than a link between the Sea of Marmara and Black Sea. It not only separates the only major city straddling both Asia and Europe, it offers a welcome respite from busy city life. It also affords a number of other good photo opportunities, some of which are included here.
The region of Cappadocia is bizarre, all right: huge "fairy chimneys" dot the landscape all over, over the centureies providing shelter and, more recently, also plenty for visitors (virtual or otherwise) to look at and marvel.
Some wonderful ruins down south, showcasing the talents of both the ancient Greeks and Romans. Also here are photos from neighboring sites/cites: Priene, Miletos and Didyma.
It's no secret that Turkey has lots and lots to interest the souvenir-buying tourist. Here are a handful of shots of some of those buying opportunities, including some unique and/or off-the-wall bargains.
Name Calling:
So, how did Turkey get its name? (And what about that big, stupid bird?) Some differing views...
- "The original turkey was the guinea fowl, which was brought to Europe from Africa by way of Turkish territories. In the 16th century, the British were introduced to the American bird that is now called turkey, and they apparently felt that it resembled the guinea fowl, because they began calling the American bird a turkey."
(www.takeourword.com/et_t-z.html#turkey1)
- "Turkey, country in western Asia and southeastern Europe; from confusion with the guinea fowl, supposed to be imported from Turkish territory. Date: 1555."
(www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary?va=turkey)
- "Turkey - 1541, 'guinea fowl' (numida meleagris), imported from Madacascar via Turkey, by Near East traders known as turkey merchants. The larger North American bird (meleagris gallopavo) was domesticated by the Aztecs, introduced to Spain by conquistadors (1523) and thence to wider Europe, by way of Africa and Turkey (Indian corn was originally turkey corn or turkey wheat in Eng. for the same reason). The word turkey was first applied to it in Eng. 1555 because it was identified with or treated as a species of the guinea fowl. The New World bird itself reputedly reached England by 1524 (when Henry VIII dined on it at court). Turkeys raised by the Pilgrims were probably stock brought from England. By 1575, turkey was becoming the usual main course at an English Christmas. Meaning 'inferior show, failure,' is 1927 in show business slang, probably from the image of the turkey as a stupid bird."
(www.etymonline.com/t8etym.htm)
So there you have it, not exactly in a nutshell!
Welcome to our modest little site about Turkey. In January and February, in the span of just a few weeks, we travelled around certain parts of the country, happily snapping away digital photos left and right. Therefore this site is merely a repository of some of our favorite ones from that trip.
