I recently went on a mission to unveil the mystique behind the health tourism industry through a trip to Turkey. My findings will be presented in a series that investigates hydrotherapy opportunities for health tourists throughout the Turkish provinces. What I found was a land enriched by historical significance enveloped in modern-day dedication to wellbeing.To set the stage, it is important to understand the history of this vast multicultural land. Recently in Istanbul, the last grandson of an Ottoman Emperor departed this earth at the age of 97. Formerly bearing the title of His Imperial Highness Prince Ertuğrul Osman, he was a once-exiled living link to an imperial dream that at its peak encompassed vast tracts of the Middle East, North Africa and Eastern Europe. Osman's childhood memories include romping through the ornate 285-room Dolmabahçe Palace on the shores of the Bosphorus Strait. Dating back to the mid-19th century, it served as administrative hub of the Ottoman dynasty, which wielded power for six centuries.After the new republic was internationally recognized in 1923, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey, made Dolmabahçe his occasional presidential home.
The leader's final days were spent there in the autumn of 1938. Open to the public, the palace showcases the world's largest Bohemian glass chandelier, and a double-horseshoe staircase crafted out of Baccarat crystal, brass and mahogany. The sultan's bath (hamam) is adorned with walls of translucent Egyptian alabaster while the floor is made with Marmara marble.Turkey offers up hard archaeological evidence of at least 10,000 years of man's evolution, from prehistoric stone artifacts to the shining towers of Levent, a financial area of Istanbul. With 12,697,164 residents in 2008, Istanbul's population has tripled in a quarter of a century. Next year, it will reign as European Capital of Culture.In today's secular and democratic Turkey, 99.8 percent of the nearly 77 million citizens are of the Islamic faith. At a median age of 27.7, it is a relatively youthful society.Sites considered sacred by different religions are scattered across the country.Topkapi Palace in Istanbul displays relics of the Prophet Mohammed.
Whether or not Noah's ark actually did come to rest on Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey has been a subject of perpetual debate. The Roman Catholic Church gives credence to the possibility that a shrine in the Aegean community of Selçuk was the dwelling place of Mary, the mother of Jesus.Ayasofya, whose name translates as "The Church of Holy Wisdom," in Istanbul's Sultanahmet district, was finished in 537 AD for the Byzantine emperor Justinian. Despite pillaging and earthquakes, it was distinguished as the biggest cathedral in all Christendom until 1453 when, after a 53-day siege, Mehmet II led the Ottomans into Constantinople. The city had held that name since the death of the Roman emperor Constantine in 337, but in fact during his lifetime it was called Nova Roma. In the previous Hellenistic period, the city went by Byzantium or Byzantion.
Turkey is said to contain more Greek and Roman ruins than Greece and Italy, respectively, and more resorts in the province of Antalya alone than exist on Spain's Mediterranean seaboard.Tourism statistics are skyrocketing. According to the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies, 26 million foreign visitors entered last year. A rising number-200,000 in 2008-make the trip for medical tourism purposes, drawn by the high quality of care and infrastructure, and significantly lower fees. Health and wellness constitute a holiday theme that the state intends to dramatically reinforce.Starting in the 1880s, well-heeled folks boarded the fabled Orient Express for a three-day rail adventure from Paris to Constantinople's Sirkeci Station. Contemporary arrivals fly into Atatürk International Airport. Turkish Airlines, the nation's flag carrier, proudly connects to 150 cities with an expanding up-to-date fleet. New routes are regularly announced; a direct Istanbul to Toronto flight was inaugurated in July 2009.For documented medical tourists, the airline has committed to reducing fares by 25 percent. Abutting eight countries, Turkey possesses 7,200 kilometers of coastline bordering the Mediterranean, Aegean and Black seas and the Sea of Marmara. Its North Anatolian Fault serves periodically virile reminders that, straddling tectonic plates, Turkey is literally a powerhouse. With more than 1,000 points of hydrothermal activity in 24 provinces, Turkey globally ranks seventh in terms of geothermal assets.In 2007, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism launched the Thermal Tourism Cities Project, which has set a priority on southern Marmara, Aegean, and central Anatolia development.Within the next issues of Health Tourism Magazine, this column will explore Turkish hamams, hot springs and spas, and how they relate to the complete wellbeing of an individual.
Freelance journalist David Stubbs, formerly editor of Canadian Chiropractor magazine, is a contributor to Canadian Health, the Canadian Medical Association's waiting-room publication for patients. A registered massage therapist, he has worked in private practice in southwestern Ontario and in resort spas in the Muskoka region north of Toronto. While living in Japan, he was associate editor of Hikari magazine as well as communications officer at Showa Women's University in Tokyo. Previously, he resided in the Cariboo district of British Columbia where he was editor of the weekly 100 Mile House Free Press.
