{"id":1898,"date":"2014-11-15T23:19:55","date_gmt":"2014-11-16T06:19:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=1898"},"modified":"2014-11-15T23:20:06","modified_gmt":"2014-11-16T06:20:06","slug":"turkey-and-instanbul-make-great-vacations-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/golf\/offcourse\/1898\/turkey-and-instanbul-make-great-vacations-spot","title":{"rendered":"Turkey and Instanbul Make Great Vacation Spot"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"PatrickAndersononBosphorous\"<\/a>Turkey is a popular topic at Thanksgiving, but it\u2019s also a favorite travel destination of East Lansing\u2019s Patrick Anderson, founder of the Anderson Economic Group \u2013 a boutique consulting firm with international business clients, including Meijer and AT+T. Anderson just returned from Istanbul, a city he has visited six times.<\/p>\n

\u201cMichigan is one of Turkey\u2019s biggest trading partners with many auto parts, agricultural products, and textiles going back and forth,\u201d says Anderson, who served as Deputy Budget Director for Governor John Engler. \u201cI enjoy the warmth and hospitality of the Turkish people and the rich history in Istanbul, where you can still see \u201cConstantine\u2019s Walls\u201d which were built by Byzantine emperors in 400 AD to defend what was then Constantinople.\u201d<\/p>\n

Anderson recommends visitors tour the famed Hagia Sophia, which was the largest cathedral in the world before being was converted into a mosque and is now a museum where Christian and Muslim symbols appear side by side. \u201cBe sure to walk about the remains of the Hippodrome, too, where 80,000 spectators could watch horse races,\u201d he advises.<\/p>\n

I found Anderson\u2019s advice solid. Like most tourists, I also experienced the Blue Mosque and bustling, colorful labyrinth of the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. It\u2019s easy to get lost in the passageways and dazzled by the haggling that goes on at the bazaar. Goods from the exotic, like ornate daggers and nargile pipes, to the practical, such as the counterfeit Hugo Boss socks one merchant followed me into the parking lot to convince me to buy, are plentiful.<\/p>\n

The architecture in Istanbul itself, once dubbed the \u201cCity of Spies,\u201d provides constant visual stimulation, which makes it a popular set for filmmakers. The Bosphorus River divides the city, placing half of it in Europe and the other half in Asia. A ferry can take you to Maiden\u2019s Tower, a lighthouse in the middle of the river, featured in the 007 movie \u201cThe World is Not Enough.\u201d More recently, \u201cSkyfall\u201d had James Bond running \u2013 and shooting – atop the roof of the Grand Bazaar, and \u201cFrom Russia with Love\u201d sent Sean Connery spying in the Basilica Cistern, which you can also visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike the Detroit River, the Bosphorus is spanned by suspension bridges and traversed by giant ships. I enjoy both sides, and the ferry ride across is a special treat allowing you to drink in views of the ancient mosques, modern skyscrapers, and Ottoman-era buildings, including the Ciragan Palace, on both sides,\u201d says Anderson.<\/p>\n

Four Seasons Hotel Istanbul at Sultanahmet – formerly a prison – is now a luxury lodging option, and Four Seasons has another property on the Bosphorus. Ciragan Palace Kempinski Hotel is also directly on the river with sweeping balcony views from which you can stand a listen to the Muslim \u201cCall to Prayer\u201d echoing from various points across the city.<\/p>\n

Be certain to educate yourself on the relevant details of traveling to the region by reading the U.S. State Department\u2019s current travel advisories at www.Travel.State.Gov<\/a><\/p>\n

Michigan-based travel writer Michael Patrick Shiels may be contacted at InviteYourself@aol.com<\/a> or via www.TravelTattler.com<\/a> His morning show is heard weekday mornings in Lansing on 92.1 FM. <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Turkey is a popular topic at Thanksgiving, but it\u2019s also a favorite travel destination of East Lansing\u2019s Patrick Anderson, founder… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":1899,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19164],"tags":[568,998690,998691],"class_list":["post-1898","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-offcourse","tag-turkey","tag-four-seasons-instanbul","tag-instanbul"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2014\/11\/PatrickAndersononBosphorous.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1898"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1901,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1898\/revisions\/1901"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1899"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1898"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1898"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1898"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}