Page 46 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023 DISCOVERING TURKEY

We paid for a guided tour of the palace, dribbled in at the last minute. Two tour-goers
hoping for a personalized small group experi-
ence. We gathered near the main gate, near a
popular open-air restaurant, where a pair of
entertaining kittens played among the plants.
We wondered how many fellow tourists would
join us on a steamy Sunday afternoon. Within
minutes, a dozen folks joined us, then an-
other dozen, and finally, another dozen-plus
46 WINE DINE & TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023
on a tour may be awkward, but 40-plus is a
disaster.
The tour guide rushed us through the
crowded gardens, pausing a few times to give
a canned monologue on the history and
nearby points of interest. We had headsets
on, but static from his mic drowned out most
of his patter. He emphasized we could ex-