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Travel Contests / Contests / Istanbul Travel / Turkey Travel / Rough Guides / → All Tags

Students Can Compete for a Travel-Writing Guidebook Gig in Istanbul

If you're a student journalists or happen to know one aspiring to become travel writers, there's no reason to wait to do slave work at an internship where you won't see the outside of a cubicle. Rough Guides and BikeHike Adventures are offering a contest that will send one one travel-hungry student to Istanbul on assignment.

You'll get to be a travel-writing assistant for Terry Richardson, author of The Rough Guide to Istanbul, who's researching a new edition of the book. But as is the case with any assistant gig, you'll be the one doing the grunt work researching and updating the guidebook. Be prepared to do some solo traveling.

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Airfare Deals / Turkey Travel / Istanbul Travel / Turkish Airlines / IAD / IST / LAX / → All Tags

$751 All-in on Turkish Airlines Direct to Istanbul. You In?

Every so often, we go through serious destination crushes, and we bet you do too. When it was summer in New York City, we were all about looking up airfares to Iceland, but now that it's cold and getting dreary, the exotic entrances. Which means that we've got our eye on Istanbul, and umm yea we're totally going to spend the weekend wasting hours on Wikipedia pages and Netflix documentaries about the city's history and landmarks. Or we could just book a flight and be done with it. That could also happen.

Luckily for travelers who also need a serious escape, Turkish Airlines just launched a sweet fare sale to coincide with the beginning of direct flights between Washington DC, Los Angeles and Istanbul. If you book before December 31 and travel before March 31, 2011, then flights on the DC route are $751 including taxes & fees and $999 on the LA route, same deal.

It's almost as good as that mindblowing Lufthansa sale that ended last week, but with the Turkish Airlines flights, you don't have to switch planes in Germany. These are direct, baby!

Here are all the details on the flights, and we'll (maybe) see you at the Blue Mosque.

[Photo: Bulent-LtBaSpotter]

Jaunted Interviews / Turkish AIrlines / New Routes / Istanbul Travel / Airline News / Turkey Travel / Airlines / → All Tags

America Soon to See More of Turkish Airlines: Our Chat with CEO Dr. Temel Kotil

What international airline is adding the most new direct routes to the US in the next year? If you guessed Turkish Airlines, you'd be right. The airline's CEO, Dr. Temel Kotil, was in New York City yesterday and we made sure to catch up with him to talk about Turkish's campaign to get more Americans interested in Turkey and their fast-expanding airline.

What Turkish Airlines' CEO Dr. Temel Kotil has to say... · On the next adventure for Turkish Airlines, in the US:
"We want to be the largest company on Earth," says a smiling Dr. Kotil, and although that sounds like the height of ambition, Kotil counters by stating that years ago, when they wanted to be Southern Europe's largest airline and in the top 3 for Europe, that was also counted as too ambitious. But both those goals have now been attained, and to continue expanding, they're looking at the US.

Three new routes will begin in the next several months: Washington DC, Atlanta and Los Angeles to Istanbul. Beyond that, Kotil wants to add twice daily flights from New York and new routes from Detroit, Boston, Houston and Miami.

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Travel Contests / Istanbul Travel / Turkey Travel / → All Tags

Try Out Travel Writing to Win a Free Trip to Istanbul

If you think you have the chops to be a travel writer—or are willing to do whatever's necessary for a free trip—here's your big break. Great Hotels of the World is holding a travel-writing contest whose winner will go to Istanbul on assignment.

The prize includes all of your flights, a five-night stay at Istanbul's Midtown Hotel, breakfast, dinner and "VIP travel writer treatment"—though most credible travel scribes do it anonymously to get the everyday person treatment.

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Food Travel / Foreign Grocery Friday / Turkey Travel / Drinking Travel / → All Tags

Foreign Grocery Friday: Save Your Tastebuds from Spicy with Ayran in Turkey

When we travel, one of our favorite things to do is to pop into a local grocery store and check out the food products and candies we'd never find anywhere else. So we're trying out this new feature, Foreign Grocery Friday, where each week we'll feature some of our (and your) favorite overseas treats. Got a recommendation? Let us know!

Every culture with spicy foods seems to have that one milky drink that perfectly cools down your mouth. For instance, you order a lassi in India and a horchata in Mexico, and an Ayran in Turkey. It's a cold, yogurt-based beverage which we've found in not only Turkey, but also in the small grocery stores of the Astoria section of Queens, New York and also the Döner Kebap shops around Europe. Berlin especially loves a cold Ayran with their kebap.

The taste: Ayran is a simple drink, so easy to make that you could whip it up no problem at home. The major three ingredients (or only three, if you're making it plain) are water, yogurt and salt. Thus, it tastes exactly like natural yogurt watered down with salt water. Although this isn't the most appetizing description, trust that Ayran is quite tasty. The first sip just hits those places on your tongue that need to be caressed during a spicy meal.

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Valentine's Day Travel / Travel Deals / Valentine's Day / Turkey Travel / LCCs / Pegasus Airlines / → All Tags

Our Love for Low-Cost Carriers Continues with Pegasus Air

Have you ever heard of Pegasus Airlines? We can't remember if we have, but apparently they've been flying for 19 years in Turkey, and have some pretty great rates for travel around Europe, especially with their current Valentine's Day promotion.

Let's say you'll be in London for good old Valentine's, but you've got a little extra vacation time. Why not skip Paris but still honor the memory of the romantic Orient Express by hopping a flight to Istanbul? If you book on Pegasus before February 13, and fly between February 11 and 15, then the second passenger travels for 50% off.

Or just forget it and wait until March, when the airline begins service between Paris-Orly and Istanbul, with tickets starting from 49.99 EUR one-way. Yes, Pegasus considers itself a low-cost carrier, so you in-flight meals will cost money, but you can at least pre-order them. Perhaps it's time we finally dipped our toes in the Bosphorus...

Related Stories:
· Pegasus Airlines [Official Site]
· LCC news [Jaunted]

[Photo: Pegasus Airlines]

Turkey Travel / Travel Advertising / Tourism Boards / Tourism Campaigns / Religious Travel / → All Tags

Turkey Launches Campaign To Capture Hearts, Tourism Dollars

Turkish tourism has taken a sustained hit this year, both because of the recession and because of some geopolitical dustups that we aren't about to get into. Regardless of the cause, the country's tourism board realizes they need to make up some ground. As a result, they're launching a new campaign to emphasize the wide array of travelers who will find something in Turkey, from history buffs to pilgrims to sports tourists.

The ad push includes a commercial they planted in the center of Times Square, a revamped new web presence with information about events, to a YouTube channel with a bunch of videos. The channel can be a little over-exuberant in places—the description of Turkey as the "cradle of civilization" and the "center of world history" will be news to Baghdad and Rome—but it does a good job highlighting the different kinds of options travelers can avail themselves of.

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Smoking / Bars / Cafes / Turkey Travel / → All Tags

Adventures of Link: Please, No More Cold Turkey Puns

As of today, Turkey has banned smoking in all enclosed areas. But getting people to comply may be quite a task, as half of all Turks smoke at least occasionally, according to Gallup.

If you're not ready to quit, you'll find a reprieve at bars, cafes and restaurants: They'll have until July 2009 to go smoke-free. Until then, one waiter says, you'll be able to skirt the restrictions:

I don't think the Turkish people will follow this law ... They will find a way around it. But I think it's a good change. Even as a nonsmoker, I feel like I am smoking.

Maybe we shouldn't be so cynical, though. If the French kicked the habit, maybe the Turks can too!

Related Stories:
· Turkey, Smoking Nation, Tries Out Ban [NYT]
· Turkey without Tobacco? [IHT]
· Turkey Widens Smoking Ban to Enclosed Areas [AP, via Google]
· Places You Can't Smoke, from Bhutan to Uganda [Wikipedia]
· Smoking coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo from Istanbul: John Picken]

Television Travel / TV Travel / Matt Lauer / Turkey Travel / Protests / → All Tags

Matt Lauer Continues His Globe-Trotting

"The Today Show" publicity stunt/geography lesson that is "Where in the World is Matt Lauer?" continued today with a stop in Istanbul. We'll give Meredith Vieira a pass on her claim that "New Zealand is on a submerged continent" and instead focus on the cool info that Lauer had on Turkey, where tourism has doubled in the past six years.

The morning host was also joined by Lester Holt who did a quick tour around the country to Bodrum, Pamukkale, Cappadocia and Ephesus. We also got a look inside the famous Blue Mosque in Istanbul.

Oh, and it's a good thing Matt did his introductory stand-up on a boat in the Bosphorus. Helped him avoid those May Day demonstrations that police in Istanbul put down with tear gas and water cannons today.

Related Stories:
· Where in the World Is Matt Lauer? [MSNBC]
· Television Travel coverage [Jaunted]