Turkey for Experts

Turkey for Experts is the name of my third book of funny travel stories in the genre of ‘travel comedy’. In it, I talk about destinations from central-southern Turkey that are not as popular among international visitors as the seaside resorts, Istanbul or Cappadocia – the latter would represent a Turkey for beginners. Among the less-known destinations are internationally recognized UNESCO sites such as Mount Nemrut, Çatalhöyük or Göbeklitepe, but also lesser-known ones such as the ancient capital Azativata, today known as Karatepe-Aslıntas, the old Hittite stone quarry with an open-air sculpture gallery of Yesemek, the village of Old Halfeti sunken in the waters of the Birecik Dam and many others. Let’s not forget the incredible cuisine too.

You can get acquainted with Turkey for Experts by ordering the book at me@manyathetourist.com or through Manya the Tourist’s social media profiles, links are given at the bottom of the page. You can listen to it in the audiobook version, recorded by me personally, on Storytel. For now, the book is only in Bulgarian, but English is coming!

Intro

„A noble example of piety which it is a matter of sacred duty to offer to gods and ancestors, I have set before the eyes of my children and grandchildren, as well as many others, and through this work; and I believe that they will follow this example by continuously increasing the honours appropriate to their line and, like me, add greatly to their personal fame in their late years.“

From the Testament of Antiochus I, King of Commagene, Southeastern Anatolia, second half of the 1st Century AD

Here we are at the end of the eastern path to Mount Nemrut. You stop for a moment to catch your breath, to dust off your pants, and to wipe the lenses of your cameras. Then you step onto the ancient stone terrace of the gods. First you see the huge pedestal of the altar for sacrifices. Today, only a few steps of the pyramidal structure have been preserved, but they are impressive. There was a human-sized lion in each of the four corners, you take a picture with the only survivor. It is time, ready or not, to meet the gaze of the gods. You turn towards the summit. Since you are on the Eastern Terrace, and it is late afternoon, the sun falls behind the giant statues, giving the scene a slightly ghostly hue. First you see the thrones with the seated headless figures. Below them are the heads that fell during one of the frequent earthquakes in the area and apparently no one is bothering to put them back, only some 2000 years after the original masters. Zeus, Apollo and Hercules – I assume the king’s favorite deities, plus himself and the only female image, the personification of Commagene. With the guardian figures of an eagle and a lion on both sides.