Talking Istanbul, Turkey on the Amateur Traveler Podcast
I've been a huge podcast fan since before podcasts were cool. That, of course, assumes that podcasts are cool nowadays, but, in my books, there are few things that are cooler. At first, I listened to a wide breadth of podcasts just to get a feel for what was out there, but as time passed I began to narrow my interests and, as you might gather, travel is one of my great interests (and something that, at this point, I would reckon I know a thing or two about).
Anyway, it didn't take long for my love of travel and my love of podcasts to meld together. One of the first podcasts that I was really drawn to in the travel realm was Chris Christensen's podcast Amateur Traveler. Each episode (and there hundreds and hundreds now) goes through a proposed itinerary for a destination and, in a sense, arms you with the information you might want to know before travelling there.
I often download and listen to an episode of Amateur Traveler before heading off to a destination, if only to get a feel for what sort itinerary I could build out while there. Also, I love a good guide book, but I've recently started to rely on other methods as it's a bit demoralizing to get a particular restaurant in a Lonely Planet guidebook and realize it's flooded with tourists who were following the same advice. But hey, that's just me. I would, at the very least, give the Amateur Traveler Podcast a spin though, as it just might be your thing.
<! data-preserve-html-node="true"-- Anything inside will go away once widget is loaded. --> Booking.com
My Interview on Istanbul on the Amateur Traveler Podcast
If you didn't see where this one was going, I was most recently on the Amateur Traveler Podcast talking about my beloved Istanbul!
What I appreciate about the Amateur Traveler Podcast is that he gives his guest a fair bit of room to get in-depth about a subject or place, and I was definitely given that runway in this episode of the Amateur Traveler.
It's not the first time I've been on a podcast talking about Istanbul, nor my first time on a podcast or radio in general, but getting onto this program meant a lot to me because of what a frequent listener I am to the show. Not to mention, I know Chris personally at this point from my involvement attending TBEX in both Jerusalem and Killarney (by the way, some Irish content is on the way, and it's content that I'm really personally invested in, so stay tuned!).
On this particular episode of the Amateur Traveler, we talk for nearly an hour, which I thought was a decent feat.
I've listened to many episodes in the past, and they range from about half an hour and up, but I know from listening that an hour is a healthy length. Thankfully, that podcast has a strong listenership, and time doesn't seem to be a factor in how well listened an episode is. I think it was the result of the fact that both Chris and I are passionate about Istanbul and both have a knowledge and understanding of the city.
Istanbul, and Turkey in general, is in flux right now in many ways, but we aimed to highlight the beauty and majesty of the city, which is the beating, stable heart of Istanbul. If nothing else, Istanbul is extraordinarily resilient, and I found it almost therapeutic to recount what my three years (2014-2017) living in Istanbul were like on the Amateur Traveler Podcast, in contrast to potentially concerning headlines. And, as I previously mentioned, it was great to chat about the city with a man who clearly also knows a fair a bit about its history, where it stands in the present, and its direction into the future.
You can see the Amateur Traveler episode, “Travel to Istanbul, Turkey",” kindly embedded below and I strongly recommend you find the time to listen, if only to learn more about a city I hold dear to my heart. Hopefully it'll further plant the seed that Istanbul is a city worth going to, and Turkey is a country worth visiting.
Have you been to Istanbul before? What did you think? Did you think that the podcast episode did a good job covering what the city is all about? Is there anything you would have added or talked more about? Have you listened to the Amateur Traveler Podcast before? Any and all comments are welcome as, as always, I'll take the time to respond to each and every one.