Modernization

When people have asked what has surprised me about Turkey, my first thought has been the high level of modernization that is evident everywhere. We did visit some of the largest cities and not rural districts, but western Turkey is very modernized and has undergone an obvious transformation in recent years.

In Istanbul, you can see marks on the highway retaining walls that dates when they have been constructed and much of the work around our hotel and the airport dates to 2006 or so.  The metro system is very new as is the tram.

We drove between several cities by bus and the highways systems were in good repair and clearly undergoing further upgrades.  There were stretches of highway where new trees had been planted for miles and miles, also some areas where the trees had been planted years ago and were mature now.  Very attractive.

Buses are a mix of old and new (see below).