Rick's inimitable Istanbul guide Lale Surmen Aran shares tips for eating well on the cheap in her city, where vendors and inexpensive cafeterias offer great local food amid the vibrant street scene. Then the curator of Paris' legendary Père Lachaise Cemetery describes what it's like to live among 70,000 graves, world-famous tombs, and surprising urban wildlife. And author Robert Macfarlane tells us about two of England's most mysterious landscapes.

• Istanbul-based tour operator Lale Surmen Aran, co-author of the "Rick Steves Istanbul"  guidebook (Avalon Travel)
• Père Lachaise Cemetery curator Benoit Gallot, author of "The Secret Life of a Cemetery" (Greystone Books)
• Robert Macfarlane, co-author of "Ghostways" (W.W. Norton)

• Lale Surmen Aran operates SRM Travel, which specializes in tours of Turkey and the Middle East.
• Lale and her husband Tankut are co-authors of the Rick Steves Istanbul guidebook. They also operate a boutique hotel in Mustafapasa, called Cappadocia Estates.
• As the curator of the Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris since 2018, Benoit Gallot provides a behind-the-scenes look at everyday life on the cemetery grounds in his book "The Secret Life of a Cemetery: The Wild Nature and Enchanting Lore of Père-Lachaise." He posts photos at @la_vie_au_cimetiere on Instagram.
• NPR reviewed Benoit's book in 2025.
• Rick provides a walking tour and map of Père-Lachaise Cemetery in his Paris audio tours.
• Robert Macfarlane teaches in the English department at Emmanuel College at the University of Cambridge. He co-authored "Ghostways" with Dan Richards, and published "Underland" in 2019 to critical acclaim. Robert's most recent titles are "Is a River Alive?" and "The Book of Birds: A Field Guide to Wonder and Loss," in collaboration with Jackie Morris.
• Robert provides links to his works, including audio productions of his work archived on BBC Sounds, at his "Robmacfarlane" Linktree address.
• You can listen to Robert Macfarlane's conversations with Rick about the "Underland" and "Deep Time Journeys," on Travel with Rick Steves programs #638 from May of 2021 and program #658A from July 2024 in the show archives. Rick also spoke with "Ghostways" co-author Dan Richards about the world's remote Outposts on program #625A in March 2025, visiting Kerouac's Firewatch in Washington's Cascade Mountains on program #579A in April 2022, about the singular world of the "Overnight" on program #805 in September 2025, and taking the train in Europe on program #825 in April 2026.

pgm 843 (542) Autumn Haiku

Ohio River
bratwurst mustard on my nose
scenic Roebling bridge
— Jim Snyder, Chuluota, Florida

Mist over the moors
Daylight goes gray yearning for
fall to turn hopeful
— Roy Barnes, Cheyenne, Wyoming

Puppets reenact
Pulp Fiction with tiny guns
Strings tangle, limbs fly
— Jorie Slodki, Raleigh, North Carolina