Talking Turkey

In the early hours of Saturday March 28th, the Colston’s School History Trip set off for Heathrow Terminal 5 on the first leg of their Turkey tour. Arriving in Istanbul in the late afternoon, we had time for a brief bus tour of the Sea of Marmara and the historic city walls, before reaching our hotel near the city centre.

The next day the tour experienced the full wonder of the city of Istanbul, which for over a millennium until 1549 was the glorious capital of the Byzantine Empire, Constantinople. We began with the awe-inspiring Blue Mosque, home to the most minarets on any mosque apart from Medina and decorated with thousands of intricate blue tiles. We followed this by visiting the ancient Constantinople Hippodrome, centre of Byzantine entertainment, and where two ancient Egyptian obelisks, both over 3000 years old, still remain. In the afternoon we explored the Topkapi Palace, home to the Ottoman Dynasty until WW1, and had a chance to visit the treasury where, amongst other treasures, a giant diamond and jewel-encrusted golden thrones were on display. We also visited a famous ceramics factory in the city, where Paul had a go at making his own pot. The day ended with a trip to the astounding Basilica Cisterns, over 1500 years old, which are still standing under the city today.

Monday began with a visit to the Dardanelles, and a chance to see the battlefields of Gallipoli. The 9-month campaign, waged in 1915, was an early attempt to knock Turkey out of the war, and represents the first major engagement for both Turkish and ANZAC forces, and is commemorated by both. After seeing the trenches and memorials of both sides, we continued to Canukkale where we were to stay the night.

Tuesday saw the tour in the ruins of Troy, the famous setting of Homer’s Iliad. With both Mr Kaye and Mr Boyce in their element, we were able to see excavations of at least nine different civilisations in the city, from a Bronze-Age village through to a Roman metropolis. We also had the chance to visit a leather factory, where Mr Pritchard, Jack and Ayasha ably assisted the models at a fashion show. Our next destination was the first of three major Roman cities visited by the tour, the ruins of Pergamum. Perched upon a mountain, the city offered awe-inspiring views, combined with a truly amazing Greek theatre carved out of the mountainside, along with a giant Roman temple.

Wednesday provided a destination to rival Pergamum, the impressively-preserved ancient city of Ephesus, home to the Second Library of the Ancient World, and one of its seven wonders, the giant Temple of Artemis. The city also boasted a restored Roman theatre to rival Pergamum in size, which has recently played host to Sting and Elton John. After thoroughly exploring the site and investigating the possibility of “Genuine Fake Watches” on sale outside, the tour continued through the Turkish countryside to the town of Pemukkale.

Pemukkale is home to a large thermal spring which, aside from filling the local countryside with vast calcium terraces, also provided a hot spa at the hotel, which proved an instant hit, with many of us waking up early the next morning to enjoy a second swim before breakfast. After our swim the tour continued to the ruins of Hieropolis, perched on the vast calcium terraces overlooking the city. Here we had the opportunity to explore the terraces and the vast ruins which, although little remains despite the vast theatre, serve to illustrate the vast size of these ancient cities. In high spirits from an on-coach Karaoke competition, the tour continued on to the city of Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, where we would spend our last full day in Turkey.

Friday started with us exploring the ancient mosques and city centre of Bursa, before visiting the city’s Silk Bazaar, still home to annual silk markets, where we had ample opportunity to treat ourselves and purchase presents. In the afternoon we visited the ancient city of Nicea, now Iznik, scene of one of the first battles of the First Crusade and the birthplace of the Christian Religion, and now home to some of the finest ceramic production in the world. Accompanied by a joke-telling competition clearly rigged in favour of Mr Kaye, we returned across the Bosphorus to Istanbul for our last night in Turkey.

On our last morning, many of us chose to visit the Church of Hagia Sophia, built in the 5th century and for 1000 years the biggest Christian church in the world. This was followed by a trip to the famous Grand Bazaar of Istanbul where everyone availed themselves of the chance to find souvenirs and bargains aplenty. That afternoon we made our way to the airport for the long flight home, arriving finally back at school at 11 o’clock on Saturday evening.

The trip was a resounding success and can definitely be counted as one of the best history trips, if not the best. We were able to see some amazing sights and visit some truly awe-inspiring places which opened our eyes to periods of history we previously knew little about. Our thanks go to Mr Kaye, who organised the trip, and Mr Drew, Mr Pritchard and Mr & Mrs Boyce who made it possible.

David Stone