PTAA takes Istanbul by storm
One must experience haggling at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market, look up at the domes of the Blue Mosque and take a Bosphorous cruise.
The day was unbelievably windy. Standing in the middle of what used to be the Hippodrome of Constantinople in Istanbul, it felt like a storm was coming. But there was no storm or rain, just wind — very strong wind. Even for a city surrounded by water, this was unusual.
It is the last two days of a familiarization trip to Turkey for members of the Philippine Travel Agencies Association (PTAA), a tour that started in Izmir and wound its way to Cappadocia and now Istanbul.
Today more than ever, Turkey is a hot destination for new and seasoned travelers with direct flights on Turkish Airlines
starting this year. For most of the PTAA members on this trip, however, it is their first time in Turkey and the itinerary put together by Turkish tour operator Pienti Travel highlighted the ancient cities of Anatolia including Hierapolis and Cappadocia, and lastly Istanbul.
“One way to upgrade and professionalize our industry is for members to be wellrounded travel agents by joining fam trips so they can familiarize themselves with the destinations,” says PTAA president Michelle Victoria. “Travelers prefer booking through travel agents because we can answer their questions and recommend the best way to do the trip.”
PTAA trustee Patty Chiong adds, “Especially with new destinations, a fam trip like this gives members the confidence to answer inquiries and convince customers to book the tour package if they have experienced the destination, the sights, the hotel accommodations and the meals. The travel agent feels more confident about what to offer.”
“As a body, PTAA (with more than 500 members) recognizes this need so 70 percent of its budget is allotted to ongoing education — seminars, educational trips, forums and industry updates,” says Belle Cantada, PTAA vice president for outbound.
And Istanbul is a city to be experienced — every nook and cranny and fortunately its historical landmarks are close to each other in Sultan Ahmet, where you find the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and a short walk to the Grand Bazaar.
One must experience haggling at the bazaar — which everyone did — and sample Turkish delights at the Egyptian Spice Market, stand under the blue domes inside the Blue Mosque, look at Moses’ staff and the world’s largest diamond at Topkapi Palace, and take a cruise on the Bosphorous Strait.
The Grand Bazaar, the oldest covered market in Europe, spans 61 covered streets and has over 3,000 shops. Nothing could be grander than this market with its 91 million visitors a year.
Shopping in Turkey is fantastic, from the country’s leather goods to the souvenirs of evil-eye trinkets, colorful dinnerware, and food, especially Turkish delights and nuts at the Egyptian Spice Market where my friend Sami took the group just outside the bazaar where locals shop (shops on the side of the bazaar offer better prices than inside).
Beth Coo hand-carried several colorful Turkish lamps back to Manila and says, “These were my best buys. Walang katulad,
wala akong makitang ganito sa Pinas.” For Belle, Grand Bazaar also left a moving experience when Syrian children approached her to beg. “I wanted to take them home,” she says.
The first time I went to Dolmabahce Palace, I didn’t really see it — or at least I didn’t get inside because of the long lines and I had limited time. Two months later, when I returned to Turkey at the end of 2014, I finally got inside the palace and realized why the lines are always so long: it is one of the grandest palaces of Europe.
You will never tire of visiting Dolmabahce and its grounds. The last residence of the Ottoman sultans, it has 325 rooms and is as grand as the Versailles Palace outside Paris.
Our tour guide and Pienti director Altan Yurdakul insists it is more beautiful than Versailles. There is talk among the PTAA members if this is indeed true with some saying no and others yes.
One thing about visiting these two palaces is that you have to know where to stand to get the full impact of their grandness. Versailles, with its linear wings spread so wide from either side of the Hall of Mirrors, is best seen from the gardens.
And Dolmabahce? From the Bosphorus Strait.
Altan says when it was built the sultans and their architects wanted the most beautiful façade to be facing the Bosphorus, which is only fitting since the area was a bay where the Ottoman fleet dropped anchor before it was reclaimed.
Made mostly of Marmara marble and Egyptian alabaster, the palace still has the original Hereke carpets and bearskin rugs given to the sultan by Tsar Nicholas 1 of Russia.
But the centerpiece of the palace can be found in the Ceremonial Hall: a chandelier with 750 lamps and weighing 4.5 tons or 9,000 lbs. The chandelier was a gift from Queen Victoria, adding to the Baccarat crystal collection (the biggest in the world) of the palace. Even the Crystal Staircase, which has four sets of staircase in the shape of double horseshoes, is adorned with Baccarat crystal chandeliers.
“I would like to understand the blending of the Asian and European culture in Turkey, and Dolmabache left me with a lot of deep impressions,” says Belle.
Chie Bejar says, “I love our group, we had a great time together. That was my first trip with PTAA and will not be the last.”
For Benilda Mertola, standing inside Hagia Sophia was the most moving experience in Istanbul. A former Catholic Cathedral turned into a mosque and now a museum, Hagia Sophia draws crowds of all faiths — as does the Blue Mosque, which is still an active mosque, for its architecture. “Both Christians and Muslims together under one roof to pay homage to and praise one God,” she says.
Patty adds, “The camaraderie and bonding with fellow travel agents, the shopping — the wall clock decorated with evil eye decoration that I bought, the assorted souvenirs, desserts and lamps... everything was memorable.”
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