24-North Shore News — Sunday, May 28, 2000 Talk Turkey fo Andrew Renton Contributing Writer OK, so you waited for the cheap fares to take the gang back to their roots in the U.K. Your hand shook when the gas pump registered’ $50 and climbing. Must be a hole in this pint-sized rental car. Pounds for dollars, how can anyone afford to live in this place? As vou leave, teeming suntanned masses surround you at Heathrow and you have nothing but pallor to show tor vour extravagan- za. Remember those cheap return fares to Istanbul chalked in the window of the local travel agent? Go wild. Forget taking Aunt Nellie and the kids for Sole Meuniere, they were happy to have you ¢o stay anyway. Save the cash for a week in Turkev where $2 is worth around one million Turkish lire and climbing, and send them a postcard. In Istanbul alone there’s enough to keep a history buff or a serious shopper going for a month. A skvline of mosques and minarets from around 2000 years ago surround the Golden Horn where Constantine founded Constantinople as the cap- ital of the world at the juncture of the Bosphorous and Marmaris seas. From your hotel in Suftanahmet you can walk to the best spots. Barter for that rug bargain at The Grand Bazaar with over 4,000 shops under one ancient roof. Wander through the Harem then gaze in wonder at the jewel-encrusted dessert dishes, gold thrones and staggering opulence collected by for- mer sultans at Topkapi Palace. Visit the Blue Mosque and the Aya Sofia where frescoes of the Virgin Mary are a reminder of a Christian past. Two dollars will buy you a good dinner or a day-long cruise on The Bosphorous. The humungous piece of rococo on the left hand side as you leave the harbor is Dolmabahce Palace, built in the mid- 1800s to replace Topkapi as the Sultan’s residence. The fur- nished rambling interior is all gold leaf and glitz but the harem particularly is worth the admission — wives and mistresses picked by the Sultan’s mother. All palace clocks were stopped at 9:05 a.m. on Nov 10, 1938 when Ataturk, the most revered Turk and father of confederation died in his room overlookirg the Bosphorous. The date of his death is a national holiday. The comfortable American-run Hote! Empress Zoe cost me $40 US for a room with a view and a marble bathroom. The price negotiated by e-mail included a buffet breakfast in the private courtyard. If you can tear yourself away, buses are the answer in Photos Andrew Renton THE Roman cotonial library of Celsus was bullt in the wealthy seaport of Ephesus. The ancient jonian Greek city passed into the hands of Roman control in 133 B.C. . Turkey. Convenient, comfortable and cheap with lots of over the top service. Tea, coffee and endless rounds of lemon-flavoured hand cleanser are offered as you travel through the ever-changing countryside of lakes, pine forests and vast plains. For those in a rush there’s a great airport net- work as well as an extensive rail system for traiz buffs. Beware. A rush to the coast is filled with fascinating diver- sions. You might be drawn to spend a night or two in the Cappadocia Valley. Underground cities reaching down eight storeys date back some 4,000 years. Frescoes in 12th century ‘The Aya Sofia, built by the Byzantine emperor, Justinian, between 532 and 537 A.D. was converted to a mosque by Mehmet the “enqueror in 1453. 1.9% No Limit Purchase Financing ° up to 24 months 1 4 speaker AM/FM stereo cassette * ABS « Drive Select . 24-hour roadside assistance churches carved from tufa, or lava, are perfectly intact. Reasonable tour prices are regulated by the local cooperative. My cave room in Goreme, a town reminiscent of the Flintstones, cost me ten bucks with ensuite and breakfast included. A majority of the population live in caves which dot the landscape like mushrooms. : The plains of Central Anatolia fill the breadbaskets of Turkey. Konya, an agricultural city, is also home to Sufiism. See Prices page ‘ London icawicn © Manchester Glasgow @ Diisse!dorf * Amsterdam Depart: May 27 - Jun. 21/00 « Return: Jun. 4 - Jui. 13/00 Frankfurt Depart: May 27 - Jun. 20/00 © Return: Jun. 10 - Jul. 12/00 VANCOUVER DEPARTURES. Fares are per person and are applicable to the above city pairs for round trip travel only on eligible departure and return dates, The seat sale is vatid tor new bookings only. All bookings must be made by end of business day on May 31, 2000. A limited number of seats will be made available at these prices and space is subject to availability at time of booking. Passengers must depart between May 27 and June 21, 2000 with all returns completed by July 13, 2000. Not valid with any other tadder-box frame © power steering * power door locks © power windows © power mirrors - city: 22.3L/10okm (23mpg)* ¢ highway: 9.7L/t00 km (29 mpg)* North Van Suzuki | 983-2088 otters. Departure taxes, transportation fees, supplements, surcharges and insurance are not included. B.C. Reg.#2454-4. VANCO TRAVEL 203-1433 Lonsdale North Vancouver 984-3181