Traveling in Turkey During the Corona Restrictions – Part 1

We have long been aware that travel is not just a luxury or entertainment, but above all learning about other cultures, customs and everything that makes us unique and strengthens us in our commitment to lasting peace in the world. But better than anyone, Mark Twain wrote: »Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.«

It is this articulation, in addition to the original and sparkling curiosity, of course, that led me to travel to another continent on one hand and, while reading, evoke in you a genuine desire to travel and discover something different and new on the other.

The Asian part of Turkey was chosen for the first escape from Europe. At the end of December, Turkey was one of the few countries that allowed entry without a negative PCR test, although this changed during the trip. The time, which was otherwise intended for the celebration of the entry into the new year, was thus replaced by the preparation of a Turkey travelogue in a way it had never been done before, and I hope it will never have to be again, although the journey at that time also had its peculiarities and charm.

Checking the epidemiological situation in the places where we intend to travel

But let's start where we usually don't – with a country that's a healthy and safe choice and one with the least complications when it comes to entering and returning. There were only a few countries I could choose from and I ended up choosing eastern Turkey, where the epidemiological situation was also better than in some other parts of the country. The decision was then followed by completely normal steps, from buying a plane ticket to booking accommodation, and also renting a car due to the limited public transport.

Given that the number of hostels operating within Hostelling International in Turkey is modest, I decided to choose different types of accommodation, from the most comfortable to the most prestigious, as those have become much cheaper and are also available at a time when accommodation is almost vacant.

Another reason was the very affordable plane ticket from Vienna to the city of Kayseri fort the price of €170, including luggage. At the time of the trip (end of December 2020), the corona situation in Turkey was comparable to the European average in terms of the number of infections per million inhabitants, and the number of deaths per million was comparable to the world average and much better than in Europe.

Kayseri is located deep in the Asian part of Turkey and is closer to the Syrian and Iranian border than Istanbul, where I also bought a Turkish SIM card for easier connectivity. It already proved to be a good investment in Kayseri, as there was no car rental agency at the airport, but had to be called there instead. After a few formalities, I was already on my way to the first destination, the town of Ortahisar, just a few kilometers from Göreme, which is considered the heart of the fairytale region of Cappadocia, whose name probably comes from the word Katpatuka, which in Hittite language means the land of beautiful horses which, however, were not seen, except at tourist attractions.

Despite the coronavirus, Turkey decided to open up to tourism with strict adherence to measures and additional incentives from the government, which reduced the VAT in tourism to just 1%.

When opening up tourism, they decided that the curfew would not be in place for tourists, which wouldn't change much during the week. On weekends, however, it's a very important fact, as curfew is said to last from Friday evening to Monday morning. Even when entering shopping malls, tourists are not required to use an electronic tracking application, but other measures, such as disinfection, the general obligation to wear a mask and maintaining a physical distance, also apply to tourists. Despite the general obligation to wear a mask outdoors, in a car or on a bicycle, they also explain that the police are logical and do not even warn you to wear a mask outdoors and in places where there is no crowd.

Cappadocia – the land of beautiful horses and fairy chimneys

But let us return to our visit to one of the most interesting regions not only in Turkey, but also in the world, to Cappadocia, which is otherwise located in the heart of central Anatolia.

Cappadocia was formed by volcanoes and erosion in the upper and middle course of the Kizilirmak River fifty million years ago, and the advantages of the landscape, full of cone and chimney shaped rock formations, have been known since prehistoric times. The first to settle here in an organized and planned manner were the Hittites in about 2,500 years BC. The Hittites were followed by the Assyrians, who established their trading posts here, and the Phrygians, Lydians, and Persians, who ruled the province from the middle of the sixth century to 334 BC.

In AD 17, Cappadocia became a Roman province through which trade and military routes led, and the first major urban centers were created. With the growing influence of Christianity in this part of Asia, the first Christian communities began to emerge in Cappadocia, and they flourished with the arrival of Basil the Great (329–379), the bishop of Caesarea (modern-day Kayseri), who encouraged the growth of various religious colonies in the form of monasteries, which survived throughout the next millennium. This was followed by invasions from Turkmenistan and Mongolia, followed by invasions by the Seljuks and finally the Turks or Ottomans, who are still here today.

It was these conical formations that made construction relatively easy, as the houses were built by nature itself, only the rooms in them had to be carved out.

The above is another special feature of Cappadocia – it is impossible to separate natural sites from the cultural ones, as the latter are actually located in the former.

You may not see horses, but chimneys for sure

If we only speculate about the origin of the name the Land of Beautiful Horses, despite being very probable, then the current description of Cappadocia as a land of fairy chimneys is much more logical, as we can still admire them in this part of Cappadocia today. In addition to part of the landscape with the fairy chimneys, another place also worth visiting is the Göreme Valley National Park with its rock monasteries and churches, the Zelve Valley, the underground cities of Cappadocia (among which the most famous are Kaymaki and Derinkuyu), the Ihlara River Valley ... Many of these places, including the city of Göreme, are listed as UNESCO World Heritage, and it makes sense to combine the wonderment at the natural and cultural sights in the spring and autumn with trekking or horseback riding, although there are also less environmentally-friendly tours with off-road vehicles, motorcycles and quad bikes. Of all the options, the most popular is the panoramic hot-air balloon ride, which takes place before sunrise and sometimes at sunset.

It is true that not everything can be seen from a above, but a holistic, albeit superficial view is something that should not be missed when visiting Cappadocia. With the magnificent view from the balloon basket, I kept hearing Nena's song "99 Luftbalons" in my head because you can see just as many of these hot-air balloons from your own. The number of balloons that can fly simultaneously is limited to one hundred for safety reasons, so in addition to the fairytale landscape, you can also observe the remaining 99 hot-air balloons. These were all in the air on my visit during the crisis, only the number of passengers was reduced from 28 to 24 due to the measures. Before leaving, our body temperature was measured and we were again told that it was obligatory to wear a mask while up in the air, with a single exception – the mask could be taken off only if and when taking a selfie. Given that the balloon flight, which lifted us almost a kilometer above the landscape, depends largely on weather conditions, the competent authorities issue a separate (or not) permit for flights each morning and therefore it makes no sense to save the panoramic flight for the last day, as weather conditions can quickly ruin your plans.

Many tourist guides have been written about Cappadocia, but there is always more to see and experience than there's time. With only a few days that I spent preparing a Cappadocia travelogue, I certainly wouldn't have experienced and seen all that I had without my own means of transport, and the corona measures were even helpful in this case, as restaurants only offered food to-go, making the time spent for lunch significantly shorter than it would otherwise be. Let me also add that it would be unfair to say that the culinary delights available were also significantly lacking, as Turkey is also known for its delicious traditional fast food and excellent desserts. And on that note I also conclude the first part of this travelogue. In the next issue, we will focus mainly on spiritual food and walk through the heritage of Cappadocia, most of which is also listed by UNESCO as part of World Heritage.