14.01.2010
The Glories of Turkey
Three months ago I revisited Turkey with my son Mathew after a gap of 12 years not knowing quite what to expect. I first started a programme there in 1983 after visiting the country and being stunned by its sheer beauty, culture and history. Apart from a couple of other small Tour Operators, we were the only company selling package holidays. How times changed in the ensuing 15 years - suddenly all the world and his mother wanted to be there. Turkey made all the classic mistakes of growing too fast to accommodate the mass market and pretty fishing villages quickly grew into building sites. To stay ahead and in line with our philosophy we moved quickly away from the 'hotspots' and discovered the special places 'along the road less travelled'. We kept ahead of mass tourism and thankfully the appetite for Turkey slowed down and a balance was brought to the proceedings.

So a revisit after such a long gap was always going to be interesting. Over the last three years, Mathew had developed a very small select programme in Turkey called 'Creative Traveller', which allowed clients to book accommodation only, and to arrange their own flights and car hire. The idea was to give him a bit of support and to catch up with some old friends that I hadn't seen for many a year.

What transpired was rather a revelation - Turkey had matured and had become a leader rather than a follower in travel. Innovative, still beautiful with an infrastructure that equated to any other Western European country with well-facilitated airports, much improved roads, and most importantly a feeling that by embracing the 21st century, Turkey had lost none of its soul. It was and is a country of ancient cities, of crystal clear seas and long sandy beaches; of rugged plateaux and ice cold rivers cascading through mountain gorges; a country of forests, lakes, river deltas and unique wildlife; of Ottoman towns and bustling colourful harbours - a land of infinite variety.

What also really impressed me was the standard of accommodation whether hotels, villas or cottages, there was no comparison to the Turkey I had left behind in 1997.

From beautiful restored cottages tucked away in hidden valleys to luxurious contemporary villas catering for every whim, delightful small hotels with only a handful of rooms to the more grander and sophisticated ones - taste, design and comfort have all been catered for. Complimenting this was, as I remembered, a genuine, warm hospitable people whose custom is to treat its visitors as 'honoured guests'.

So it was a no brainer really, all it needed was to convince Mathew to bring his Turkey portfolio into the Simpson fold - not easy this when you are negotiating with your own son - anyway after some hard bargaining on all fronts, this was finally achieved and the new Simpson Travel Turkey programme was launched only a couple of weeks ago (December 15).

So now we have, amongst other things, a small delightful hotel exclusive to Simpson Travel with just fifteen suites known as The Mediteran and overlooking the rather sophisticated and stylish Kalkan, some delightful restored cottages in the unique and beautiful Kaya Valley, a wide variety of villas ranging from comfortable to luxurious in Göcek, Akyaka, Kalkan and Kaş, some simple waterside studios in Gümüşlük and just six well appointed one and two bedroom beachside suites on the stunning Bozburun peninsula which are part of the Golden Key Hisarönü hotel. Add to this a couple of hidden gems in inland traditional villages and some charming hotels from the Dalyan Delta to Fethiye and you have a very comprehensive specialist programme ably run by Mathew and his team.

So if you are thinking of a change and you want good value for money combined with a sense of style, beauty and a magnificent history, then have a look at our website, oh and I nearly forgot Turkey has one of the best cuisines in the world especially if you are vegetarian!

We haven't forgotten Creative Traveller either, the opportunity to book accommodation only and arrange your own flights and car hire still stands and once again can be arranged through Mathew for parts of Turkey, Crete and Paxos in Greece, and Andalucía in Southern Spain.