I have long found Turkey one of the most exciting destinations in (and around) Europe. We have two shows on central and western Turkey that date back to the turn of the century, and it’s time to update things.
Everyone talks about “tough economic times” these days. It’s human nature and it’ll be that way for the rest of our days. It seems no one is ever rich enough. But, as a traveler, I try to stay apart from all that moping. Turkey is far poorer than the USA but, for the average person and compared to any time in history, Turkey is booming. I am very happy for the country — even though that means a little of the romantic shabbiness I find so attractive is a thing of the past. Our old TV shows focused on that shabbiness. It’s my nature as a travel writer to look for the rustic, old-fashioned, odd bits that fall through the cracks. I am doing my best to be more honest about Turkish society on this shoot. It is a success story, and we’ll show it that way as we dedicate 12 days to making two new shows.
Our first program starts in the cruise port of Kusadasi, ventures inland to the great ancient sights of Ephesus and Aphrodisias, then travels to the religious and conservative city of Konya (home of the dervishes), and finishes with a little cruise from the Mediterranean resort of Antalya. The second episode focuses on Cappadocia and the modern capital of Ankara. This happens to be exactly what we cover (along with Istanbul) in our popular Turkey in 13 Days tour.
Simon Griffith is my producer. Even though he’s a Kiwi, he has an amazing sense of style and a dazzling work ethic. Simon is with me during every minute of TV production in Europe (about 100 shows…that’s 600 days since the year 2000). Then he lovingly oversees the post-production work so that we get great shows out of all our hard work in the field. Here we’re overlooking the ancient town of Guzelyurt.
Karel Bauer is an independent cameraman from Seattle, and we book him for about a month of shooting a year. Karel shoots the majority of our shows, and he’s endlessly curious about all things cultural — from cuisine to language to art. I’ve never second-guessed Karel’s ability to frame a shot beautifully. And he’s good at reminding me to suck in my gut so I look like I’m in better shape than I really am. Here, Karel looks ready to sprint the distance with all his gear as we are literally all alone in the ancient stadium at Aphrodisias near Denizli.
This is shaping up to be the smoothest shoot in memory as the Turkish tourist board provided a wonderful van and driver. Lale Surmen Aran (who, along with her husband, Tan, runs our Turkish tour program) capably did all the permissions groundwork. With Lale’s brilliant guiding, we were able to shoot everything we wanted and described it with confidence. Photo credit: Dean Cannon.
While lots of what we shoot are the predictable famous sights, we made sure to pop into no-name towns that had never seen an American tourist, ambush the local pizza joint, and have fun working it into our program. A delightful dimension of traveling in Turkey is the serendipity that is almost predictable when you venture off the main roads. Photo credit: Dean Cannon.
Different cultures react to a big camera differently. Karel was impressed by how at ease Turks were with our camera. We made a point in this shoot to get lots of local portraits that we’ll weave into a powerful beauty sequence. Photo credit: Dean Cannon.
People often ask me what’s my favorite part of my work. It’s tough to choose an absolute favorite, but it might be the creative process for my TV show. It starts with a rough script and then, in a six-day scramble, we work to polish it into the best 3,200 words for a 30-minute show — doing it with all the fun we have in our travels. The collaboration with Simon and Karel, who are quick to jump in and torpedo ideas of mine that deserve torpedoing, is a big part of the fun. We can debate a line. I can be outvoted and be tempted to keep it anyway. But, I know that — for the love of art — in the editing room Simon gets the final say. We have a saying for when I have to cut a cute little bit that I’m attached to but is not good TV — “killing your baby.” When I finally realize it will not survive and I scratch it out, Karel has an annoying habit of making a little baby whimper. Photo credit: Dean Cannon.
The tenor of towns in Turkey changes depending upon how religious and conservative they are. Among western-oriented, secular, cosmopolitan Turks, Konya is not a favorite place. More women wear scarves here, and it’s filled with pilgrims who come to visit the tomb of Sufi mystic Rumi (better known to Turks as Mevlana, meaning “master” in Persian). While I probably wouldn’t like to live here, as a traveler I really like Konya.
Konya’s market hall is just one colorful dimension of this fascinating city.We filmed at the mosque where Mevlana is buried. Thankfully, we were allowed inside before it opened so that we could do our most exacting shots. Once the door opened and the pilgrims flooded in, it was tough to get a clear shot of anything. Photo credit: Dean Cannon.Lale arranged with a local follower of Mevlana to let us film him as he whirled. I interviewed him first so that we properly understood the meaning of his ritual (hand up to accept the love of God, other hand down to connect God’s love with His creation, one foot grounded in word of God and community, the other foot celebrating the diversity of our world — whirl into a trance while meditating on that idea). Then, the breathy flute player started, and the dervish whirled. I was mesmerized by the prayer, and all of us agreed that this will be an amazing part of our program. Photo credit: Dean Cannon.
I enjoyed updating our Istanbul guidebook’s Grand Bazaar chapter. While the main streets of the vast market are jam-packed with cruise groups and other tourists, explore into the back lanes and you find yourself far from the tourist scene. I was able to peek into amazing and surprising worlds. At this shop I was impressed by complexity of making a simple gilded ribbon for fancy local clothing. In Istanbul, when you stumble into something interesting, it generally comes with a warm welcome and the offer of a cup of tea.
If you can’t see the video below, watch it on YouTube.
While I was in Cairo, I kept thinking the Egyptians should check out Istanbul. Both are megacities with over 10 million people. Both come from a poor and chaotic recent history. While Cairo struggles, Istanbul is zooming ahead. Just driving into town from the airport, I noticed landscaping along the highway (with fences to keep people out of the new gardens) and a clear delineation between people and traffic zones. While the architecture was still ramshackle/charming, there was almost no litter. It felt like northern Europe from a tidy point of view.
Istiklal Caddesi is the main drag through Istanbul. Strolling it from one thriving end to the other is a joyful ritual for me every time I’m in town.The historic and touristic center of Istanbul between the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sophia church (shown here) is now virtually traffic-free, with blossoming trees, refreshing fountains, and a mix of strolling visitors from all over Europe and the Middle East as well as locals. I had to just sit on a bench and marvel at the almost Parisian elegance of the scene.
Finally, after over a month in the Middle East, I’m heading west. For the next few weeks I’ll be in Europe again (Turkey, Italy, Spain, and Portugal). As soon as I left the Middle East, I was struck by the advertising. What I saw was interesting to me: Many Americans find a modest scarf — and a society where women cover up in public — so offensive, while people (men and women) from a more sensitive society travel to the West and are offended by how we treat our women. Here in the West, everywhere you look, women are naked in order to sell things. Strip them down and put them in a bucket — or let them help you sell hats.
In my travels, I try to understand people who are different than me. I start with this assumption: I don’t completely understand the context in which they live their lives and the culture that shapes their values and customs. It’s fun. It opens up my world.
