Bodrum holidays – welcome to the cosmopolitan and contemporary region of Turkey. Connecting Europe to Asia, along the south coast of the Bodrum Peninsula, holidaymakers can expect to make modern memories within a country brimming with tradition and culture.

Despite the development of the area, there are still a number of travel tips that can ensure you stay safe and savvy during your Bodrum holidays.

Dress

Turkey is predominantly a Muslim country, with over 99 per cent of inhabitants following this religion. Although many of the main tourist areas within Turkey turn a blind eye to holiday attire, it is respectful and appropriate to cover your arms and legs when seeing the religious sights in the country, during your Bodrum holidays.

Language

Turks and local vendors speak Turkish. For your convenience, it is worth buying a phrase book and taking this with you to aid with effective communication during your stay.

Staying Safe

While the popular resorts in Turkey are perfectly safe, it is always wise stay on the safe side. Be wary of approaches from strangers, and be cautious near cash machines. Women should also avoid sitting next to men on public transport when traveling away from tourist areas.

Alcohol

Despite the predominance of Muslim faith within Turkey, many bars and restaurants within Bodrum and other developed tourist regions do serve alcohol. Avoid over-consumption of alcohol, where possible, however Gumbet is accustomed to ‘nights on the tiles’.

Weather

Holiday season in Turkey is generally considered to be between May and October. From June to September, the weather on your Bodrum holidays is likely to be breath-taking, reaching highs of up to 40 degrees C. Do ensure you take UVA and UVB protection, as well as sunhats. Avoid midday sun.

Money

The currency in Bodrum is the new Turkish Lira.

For the best deals on Bodrum holidays, look online today at a discounted holiday website. Take your pick from the wide range of deals collated from trusted travel companies from across the web.

Sultanahmet, Istanbul, Turkey

One of the things I love most about Turkey is the richness in color and texture and scent that seems to exude from every surface.  From carpets to ceramics, spices to sweets; it seems that everything you pass is calling to your senses, yearning for your attention.

Here, outside of Elegance Carpet (my favorite rug & ceramics shop in the city), they have created a colorful, artsy wall outside of the gallery using pieces of the broken ceramics that may have come as damaged parts of their orders or been damaged in the store.

I love it because they put use to their broken goods, so nothing goes to waste, and have created a beautiful collage of colorful pieces which draw attention from the passer-by.  Brilliant.

If you like your holiday destinations a little out of the ordinary, with stacks of diversity and plenty of new experiences on offer, there’s no place quite like Egypt. It’s a land of contrasts; and as holiday destinations go, it certainly delivers the full package.

Head to the non-stop cities of Cairo and Luxor to discover the buzz and bustle of modern Egyptian life, which is threaded with some of the most awe-inspiring archaeological treasures you will ever see. Visit the incredible Valley of the Kinds, gaze at the soaring Pyramids of Giza, step into the shadow of the Great Sphinx or wander among the enormous pillars and imposing architecture of the Temple of Luxor.

Of course, if you prefer to pick and choose your experiences, you could take a Nile Cruise and enjoy a relaxing holiday on the water, watching the world pass you by as you sail along in blissful relaxation. Step off and join excursions to see the sights, take unforgettable adventures like a hot air balloon ride over the Pyramids, or practice your haggling skills in local markets and bazaars.

But Egyptian holidays aren’t all about cities and ancient history. Choosing Egypt holidays with Thomas Cook, for instance, serves up so much more. Stay in the glorious Red Sea resort of Sharm el Sheikh and discover a new underwater world of rainbow-colored coral reefs and tropical marine life. Or laze on shimmering golden sands under a cloudless blue sky. Or shop ’til you drop in cool, modern shopping malls that are worlds away from the dusty plains and ancient ruins of Egypt’s famous historical sites.

Didn’t we say that this stunning place is a land of contrasts? Why not tick it off your must-see list and discover this incredible place for yourself? One thing’s for sure, it’s a cocktail of experiences that you won’t forget in a hurry…

When in Rome, I’ve always found hotel rooms to be generally overpriced and under serviced.  My general feeling is that if I book a room for over $150 per night, I should have wi-fi that works really well in my room.  My floor should not be popping up.  I should fit n the shower (I mean, come on I’m really small compared to normal people), and the water should stay in the shower with me.  I find this to not be the case in Rome.

So, this time a hostel seemed like the obvious choice.  I mean, at least you know what you’re getting with a hostel, and the price reflects that.  Of course they’re always more expensive in bigger, more popular, cities…but I have yet to feel disappointed or like I’ve been robbed when staying at one.

M & J Hostal was suggested to me by @voyagejason, and I’m oober thankful for that recommendation.  The location is tops – really, RIGHT next to Termini station for easy access to and from the airport (among other places)- making Rome wayyyyy cheaper already since you didn’t start in a cab that cost surplus of 50 Euro.

M & J has free WiFi available in the lounge area, though not inside the rooms.  The vibe in this communal space feels much like a college dorm lounge.  The people at the desk are super friendly, and extremely helpful.  There is a communal kitchen, a big pasta dinner available to guests, and a bar downstairs that offers 50% off to those staying in the hostel – all great additionals that increase the likelihood of making new friends in a place where you may know no one.  The bar also has food, nothing elegant, but it fills your tummy.

There are dorms and private rooms available.  Damany and I stayed in a private room.  It was extremely large, and slightly odd in it’s features.  It took me a minute to figure out how to turn the lights on, though I’m not sure why – I guess they just didn’t work the first time around.  The bathroom in our room was very modern looking – with an almost mechanically cold feel.  The shower was fine, except that there was no lip to keep the water from spilling over onto the floor, creating a need for an extreme amount of towels.

The bathroom situation is probably my biggest and only complaint at M & J – which, all things considered, is not so bad.  I would definitely recommend the place to anyone traveling to Rome, with some sort of a budget in mind.

M & J Place Hostel

Via Solferino, 9  00185 Rome, Italy
+39 06 446 2802
http://www.mejplacehostel.com/

If your directions start something like this, you are probably in trouble.

“When you come into town, pass the fountain on your right, then go through 4 traffic lights, and make a left after the abandoned gas station.”

Puerto Rico, the land of no clocks or street signs, makes it rather difficult to get anywhere you are trying to go successfully, and in a timely fashion.  So, when in this US Territory, you’ll need to understand that driving directions do not include actual addresses or streets – instead be prepared to get around via landmarks.

As an example, I’m offering up a few hours of the day before my friend Alayna‘s wedding.

The ceremony was to be at Hacienda Siesta Allegre, in the rainforest of El Yunque.  The night before we would all stay in a house down the road, a property also available through Hacienda Siesta Allegre.  The first car was supposed to pick up flowers and head up in the morning to put together the arrangements.  But like most weddings (and most days in Puerto Rico), the schedule went unobserved.

Leaving finally around 5:00 pm, we piled in the car to pickup the flowers and get on our way.  The directions to the florist’s shop went something like this:

“When you come into town, pass the fountain on your right, then go through 4 traffic lights, and make a left after the abandoned gas station.”

Once we had passed, not one, but three fountains and had driven probably a mile afterwards, it was time to phone the shop to ask for updated directions.  Vergi (from Peru) spoke with the florist in Spanish in the hopes of actually finding this place.  “After the fountain go through the lights and make a left at the gas station,” he persisted, “then you will see a school and make another turn”.  While trying to procure the actual street address to be put into a GPS to find the location, she was told multiple times to shut up and listen before being hung up on (twice).  How rude, we all thought, while driving around in circles (passing even more fountains in the process).  At some point we passed a gas station that had been converted into a store, at which point I said “I mean, it’s not abandoned, but that’s an old gas station”.  Making the quick left, we found the school.  Making another quick turn, we actually did find the shop.  As it turns out, there was no number on the building, and no street sign to be seen for blocks.  He couldn’t have given us an address if he tried.  Also, try Google searching “wholesale florist” in the vicinity while in PR…it’s great fun.

Ultimately, the directions weren’t so off, just missing a step between the fountain and the gas station – though if we had come into town from the opposite direction, the step would not have been missing.

Moving on from the flower pickup production, we were now in a race to get up the mountain and into the rainforest before dark.  We knew we would have to find the place, and guide everyone else heading up (also in the dark).  This task entailed siting landmarks to direct people through the back-roads.  Getting off the highway exit, we turned left onto the first dirt road, and I began to write the instruction.  Here’s what we came up with:

“About 3/4 of a mile after turning onto the dirt road you will see a political billboard with the face of Edward something-or-other, make a right before that sign.  When you come over the hill of that turn the road will split, and you will fork left.  Keep going until you see another fork with two blue trash cans, and bear left through the columns.  Go straight up the hill until you reach the house.”

The intrinsic problem with these directions is that, well, every Puerto Rican resident has two blue trash cans.  While everyone made it to the house at some point, many had turned into the first driveway at the political billboard, rather than the fork just after that; or missed the billboard completely; or passed the first fork; or missed the fork with the blue trash cans because they had been removed.  Some didn’t even have the correct turn onto the dirt road from the highway.  Those who did make the correct turns ended up getting stuck in the dirt repeatedly (with a truck) because they couldn’t see the path.  It was a production to say the least, though adventure might be a better term for it.

There’s a joke that I tend to think describes the overall energy in Puerto Rico quite well:

“Three men arrive at the gates of Heaven, and are told that before entry they must repent for their sins.  The first was sentenced to shovel snow in Antarctica for a year.  The second to shovel sand in the Sahara for a year; and the third to Puerto Rico to shovel shit for a year.  At the end of the year long period, the men returned to the gates and asked what they learned.  Both the man who had shoveled snow in Antarctica, and sand in the Sahara, had strained themselves shoveling unending piles and had repented.  When the man who was sent to Puerto Rico was asked how his year had commenced he responded, ‘Oh, it was great.  On the days that there was shit, there was no shovel.  On the days there was a shovel, there was no shit.  And on the days that there were both shit and a shovel, it was a holiday’!”

The point of all this?  When in Puerto Rico, just relax and go with the flow, you’ll make it to where you need to be at some point…even if there is a bit of confusion (or some sort of obstacle) along the way.

While going through the photos from our autumn 2012 vacation, it occurred to me that the pictures were different than the ones taken on most of my past trips.  Damany and I travel for 3 weeks every September, and we’re usually visiting new places and seeing new sights – taking ridiculous amounts of photos of our surroundings the whole time.  This time was different altogether…on this crazy trip almost all of the photos were of people.  This September-October, Damany and I had 2 weddings and some business to attend to – which changed the whole style of our holiday.

Touching down in Sicily (Sept 25) for my cousins wedding on the 29th, the entire week was spent with my family (4 nights in Partanna and 2 nights in Palermo).  I don’t get to see them as often as I would like, and the time spent is never long enough.  Of course, when you visit family in Sicily, all you do is eat all day.  Seriously.  You wake up and there’s cafe e dolce (coffee and sweets), and then about an hour later, you’re going to some other family members house to have a big lunch.  When I visited as a child there was siesta after that; it’s not so much the tradition anymore.  On one of our days there, a family dance party actually broke out after the lunch.  Maybe a couple hours after lunch you are eating a big dinner at another family members house.   And then you’re going to the bar, or out for gelato.

Between eating, we did go to the Aqua Calda (Aqua Pia these days – apparently a resort now).  It’s one of my mom’s favorite places in Sicily, and close to my dad’s hometown of Partanna.

Going to Palermo to see my cousin Fabio and his wife involved far less eating than in Partanna, and in reasonable portions.  We had what I would call a very chill, normal everyday life kind of time – it was awesome.  One day, really, all we did was sit in the house all day and chat, while watching Il Padrino (The Godfater – in Italian) – which by the way I am on a hunt for, so if anyone knows where I can get it, hollar!  We went to the bar late night, and filled our bellies with delicious kebab afterwards – getting only 3 hours of sleep before rushing to the airport.

Leaving there for Istanbul (Oct 2nd), we spent 4 nights in my favorite city for business.  Being that this was our third time in Istanbul, our business contacts had now become much more like family.  Instead of seeing the average tourist sites as we had on our first trip, we spent the entire day (practically every day) sitting at Elegance Carpet enjoying the company of our Turkish cousins, and watching them operate (it’s always a learning experience).

Upon attempting to do something touristy, Damany and I found that we were now disinterested and unimpressed.  The real Istanbul didn’t sit in the walls of Topkapi Palace (though at least 6 gift shops do) – the real Istanbul sits within the streets, within the food, within the souls of the people and their ridiculous tea drinking culture.  The real magic of Istanbul is the people who live there, and I’ve come to understand that the most interesting days for me are those spent just watching the lives of those who make it such a magical place.  Their energy, their compassion, their humor – that is what attracts me to the city.

Skipping over to Rome (Oct 6) to rest for two days before heading back to The States, Damany and I had planned an all eating itinerary.  Being a foodie, I had been previously unimpressed with Rome’s food scene.  Maybe I’m partial to my family’s cooking in Sicily, but whenever someone says, “Oh I just loved the food in Rome,” I find myself severely perplexed.  I find Milan and Napoli to be much better food cities than Rome, and most of what I had eaten previously in Rome was pretty terrible to be quite honest.  So, this time I went with a list of eateries from Anthony Bourdain’s Layover.  With only one full day in the city, we were only able to choose two restaurants from the list.  Both trattoria’s (Cacio e Pepe and Betto e Mary) lived up to my expectations, so thank you Anthony Bourdain.

Staying at M&J Hostal was a great idea.  Not only was it VERY close to Termini Station (so easy to get to from the airport without a taxi), it also was just above a bar.  Our first entire night was spent in this bar, which offers discounts to people staying in the hostel (dangerous situation).  We ended up being invited to stay for a birthday party which was taking place at the bar, and met a number of interesting people from around the globe.

Our Brooklyn pit stop was only two nights at home, and felt oddly like a layover in a fancy hotel.  About as soon as I walked into our apartment I exclaimed, “this is the best bathroom we’ve had yet!”  I almost considered doing some touristy things (like go to a museum) while home, but opted to rest up for the Puerto Rican wedding festivities to come.

Taking off for a Puerto Rican wedding on October 8th we arrived at JFK airport in the cold air, and would be landing in 90 deg F weather a few hours later.  I’m not sure that Damany and I were fully rested and ready to party after only two days of rest from one time zone to the next, but we hit the ground running regardless.
 

I really appreciate having these moments in travel, where you fit into the average day (or a special day) in the life of those you are visiting…it’s rather refreshing sometimes to not be rushing around from one tourist site to the next, and rather to enjoy the company of the people around you.

Istanbul, Turkey

I’m always intrigued by the beauty of architectural degradation, and I know I am not the only person who feels this way.  It’s the reason we (tourists) flock to ancient architectural ruins – despite the fact that they are, well, ruined.  In their degraded, fallen state, man made structures are still beautiful.  And they speak of a history, without saying a word.  This is true of more modern structures as well.  Each exposed portion of brick, or crack in plaster, or patch of mismatched paint has a story behind it – exposing the history of the place, while giving it character.

These particular homes in Istanbul lay across the street from my room at Art City Hotel.  I found them interesting, not only because of the cracks and the exposed bricks, but also the piles of broken furniture, the hanging laundry, the bright blue paint which varies from wear – all of it insinuating struggle – and then topped off on one roof with a seemingly new TV satellite in perfect condition.

Centrally located in Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultanahmet Square), the Obelisk of Thutmose III attracts a number of spectators every day.

As stated on the plaque below the structure, the Obelisk was first erected by the Pharaoh (Thutmose III) in Upper Egypt.  It was Emperor Thedosius who brought it to Istanbul from Alexandria in the late 4th century and erected it in it’s present location.

Made of  red granite from Aswan, the obelisk was originally 30m tall.  The lower part was damaged, probably during its transport or re-erection, and so the monument is only 25.6m high today (if the base is included).  Between the obelisk and the pedestal one may notice bronze cubes – these were used in the transportation and re-erection of the structure.

Each of its faces has a single central column of inscription, commemorating Tutmoses III’s victory on the banks of the Euphrates river in 1450 BC.

The marble pedestal on which the obelisk sits retains bas-reliefs dating to the time of the monument’s re-erection in Constantinople. Theodosius I is shown on one side offering the crown of victory to the winner of the chariot races – framed between arches and columns, with happy spectators, musicians and dancers all taking part in the ceremony.

Today crowds of tourists and tour groups surround the obelisk on a daily basis, awe stricken by the even thought of the daunting task of moving and re-erecting this great statue from Egypt to it’s current location – a common event during the Roman Empire.

Damany and I chose Art City because we didn’t want to do the hostel thing in Istanbul…let’s face it, almost every hostel in the city has reviews that start with “the bathroom was flooded”…and yeah, there may be minor leaks that occur in all hotels or hostels, but I’m not into the idea of showering with a pool of dirty water on the floor.  I guess if I were on a RTW backpacking trip, I might suck it up and try one of the budget options, but Istanbul is one of those cities that makes you want to treat yourself anyway, and we weren’t backpacking.

Clean, comfortable, and perfectly situated on a quiet residential street behind the blue mosque, Art City is just a few blocks outside of the main tourist center of Sultanahmet – not too far, but not right in the middle of the madness.  Getting to Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultanahmet Square) from the hotel takes about five minutes by foot, but requires walking up one of two steep hills (though I believe exiting the hotel to the right is the lesser of these two evils, there are fewer cars to avoid by exiting to the left).

Hill if exiting hotel to left

The rooms are lightly decorated with traditional Iznik ceramics, with trim fabrics of deep red and gold, against mostly white/neutral details and linens – helpful in keeping a clean and airy look.  All rooms have a small complimentary bottle of  red wine, and are stocked with a mini-bar (non-complimentary) for your pleasure.  Damany and I got the chance to stay in two different rooms.  The first had two separate twin beds.  The second, which was supposed to be a double, also had two twin beds – pushed together – it’s something that you get used to as a traveling couple when you leave America, in my experience this is the norm for double rooms worldwide.

The staff at Art City is very helpful, and it may or may not be a good idea to ask for suggestions, depending on who is manning the desk at the time.  Emre, one of the members of the staff, was nice enough to show me a book in their library which was about eating on the backstreets of Istanbul (appealing to me in a search for the less touristic restaurants).  Meanwhile, another staff member suggested the restaurant Kalamar on our first night at the hotel, which wasn’t bad (actually, it was delicious) – it was just overpriced for what it was, and very touristy (especially for a couple who is visiting Istanbul for the third time).

Breakfast is included in the price of your room, but as I never wake up in time for complimentary breakfast no matter where I am, I really can’t speak on the quality of the food, or the variety offered.  I can say that their Turkish tea is exactly what I expect of all Turkish tea – delicious and plentiful.

Overall, I don’t really have any complaints about Art City…there was a bathroom issue, but it wasn’t major.

Art City Hotel

Küçük Ayasofya Mh., Katip Sinan Cami
Sokak 30, 34122 Istanbul, Turkey
+90 212 518 7007‎

artcityhotelistanbul.com