Istanbul Travel Guide

One of the things that continually amaze me about Turkey is its ability to leapfrog over many of the challenges that traditionally, the "West" has had to grapple with. Turkey seems to be a caldron of budding (and more recently, established) entrepreneurship, and all things organic, natural, vegetarian, healthy, and environmentally sound are no exception. But as elsewhere, achieving these things is still a struggle. So what to expect?

Expect levels of pollution commensurate with any major international metropolis. Many of Turkey's vehicles still run on diesel fuel, although kürsünsüz (unleaded) is also pervasive. The newer green city buses are also considered ekolojik.

Expect fresh fruits and vegetables that taste like fruits and vegetables. To palettes dulled by hardy, homogenized, and flavorless fresh produce, even the produce grown using chemicals tastes better than what we're used to. Still the trend toward organic produce has begun, and Istanbul now boasts two organic outdoor markets, one in Sisli and one up along the Bosphorus (two noticeably higher income areas).

As far as energy goes, the cost of petrol in Turkey is sky high, costing upwards of $100 (£50) to fill the tank of a compact Honda. Natural gas is a bit cheaper. Turkey does customarily use solar energy mainly as a way to provide hot water. But solar panels are more of a provincial thing, the drawback being limited hours where hot water is available. Istanbullus are less and less likely to tolerate anything but "24-hour hot water" -- a sign that was a prevalent hotel marketing tool a mere 8 years ago, but that has since gone by the wayside as a relic of less modern times.

Each time you take a flight or drive a car CO2 is released into the atmosphere. You can help neutralize this danger to our planet through "carbon offsetting" -- paying someone to reduce your CO2 emissions by the same amount you've added. Carbon offsets can be purchased in the U.S. from companies such as Carbonfund.org (www.carbonfund.org) and TerraPass (www.terrapass.org), and from Climate Care (www.climatecare.org) in the U.K.

Although one could argue that any vacation that includes an airplane flight can't be truly "green," you can go on holiday and still contribute positively to the environment. You can offset carbon emissions from your flight in other ways. Choose forward-looking companies that embrace responsible development practices, helping preserve destinations for the future by working alongside local people. An increasing number of sustainable tourism initiatives can help you plan a family trip and leave as small a "footprint" as possible on the places you visit.

Responsible Travel (www.responsibletravel.com) contains a great source of sustainable travel ideas run by a spokesperson for responsible tourism in the travel industry. Sustainable Travel International (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org) promotes responsible tourism practices and issues an annual Green Gear & Gift Guide.

You can find eco-friendly travel tips, statistics, and touring companies and associations -- listed by destination under "Travel Choice" -- at the TIES website, www.ecotourism.org. Also check out Conservation International (www.conservation.org) -- which, with National Geographic Traveler, annually presents awards to those travel tour operators, businesses, organizations, and places that have made a significant contribution to sustainable tourism. Ecotravel.com is part online magazine and part ecodirectory that lets you search for touring companies in several categories (water-based, land-based, spiritually oriented, and so on).

In the U.K., Tourism Concern (www.tourismconcern.org.uk) works to reduce social and environmental problems connected to tourism and find ways of improving tourism so that local benefits are increased.

The Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA; www.abtamembers.org/responsibletourism) acts as a focal point for the U.K. travel industry and is one of the leading groups spearheading responsible tourism.

The Association of Independent Tour Operators (AITO; www.aito.co.uk) is a group of interesting specialist operators leading the field in making holidays sustainable.