Turkey
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Turkey is amongst the top holiday destinations in the world. It's highlights include, sun-kissed perfect beaches, ancient ruins, epic religious sites, wonderful food, glorious scenery, and a warm welcome from the famously friendly local people.
Turkey includes tremendous variety in its vast borders: the west and east coast beach resorts offer pristine beaches and gorgeous turquoise-coloured waters, while to the west of the land are the rugged mountains of the Anatolian plateau, with its ancient cities and vibrant tribal cultures.
Turkey's variety is best experienced in the glorious city of Istanbul, straddling two continents across the Bosphorus, and with Ottoman mosques and palaces, Roman ruins and glorious Byzantine churches interspersed with cutting edge nightlife, retail stores and modern developments.
It's easy to get seduced by the picture perfect resorts of Oludeniz, Bodrum and Marmaris, but Turkey has plenty of other world-class attractions. Top draws include Cappadocia's famed rock-hewn houses and churches, set amid a lunar-esque landscape; Gallipoli, a emotionally moving WWI site; the astounding ancient cities of Ephesus and Pergamum; and the thermal waters of Pamukkale.
Turkey offers a curious and exciting mix of ancient and modern cultures with east and west civilizations. Visitors will soon realise that they need more than one holiday or trip to experience what can Turkey truly offer and take back many great memories!
Turkey has an abundance of bazar and markets which specialise in ceramics, carpets and leather.
Travelling to Turkey has improved substantially in the last decades, with safer and a more reliable transport infrastructure, both by road and air. Turkey is one of the most popular places to travel to for those seeking a warmer climate year round. It's easy to travel by air with direct flights not only to the main city, Istanbul, but to the coastal cities of Bodrum, Antalya and İzmir.
The national airline of Turkey is Turkish Airlines, which provides the best connections to the country, either direct to Istanbul or making a stopover to another city in the country. They offer the best service, a high quality product with frequent flights to the popular holiday cities and very reasonable fares. Turkish Airlines is also a major global airline now a days, with over 300 destinations worldwide flying a modern fleet or aircraft direct to many capitals across 4 continents. Flying direct to Istanbul is possible from cities like New York, Los Angeles, Havana, São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Tokyo, Beijing, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Jakarta and many more long haul destinations. At the same time, from Europe it flies from nearly every major city, not only the capitals but smaller airports as well, which makes Turkey Airlines a very attractive airline to fly direct to Istanbul or as a transit hub.
It's also possible to fly with other major European airlines from the main capitals, Asian airlines and from the Middle East. However if you are coming from Europe, it's easy to get package holidays to turkey and most likely charter flights which take you directly to the destination. Airlines like Condor can offer seat only reservations on the charter flights, specially during the Summer timetable. (March to October).
Low cost airlines flying from Europe to Turkey are a good option as well when going for a short period, or don't have much luggage, Easyjet, Pegasus, Atlasjet Airlines, Sun Express or Onur Air are a good choice.
Once in the country, travelling by air is the best option when going from Istanbul to other cities with flying times of one hour to popular cities. Fares are also cheap, making it an ideal option when time is tight when travelling. Turkish Airlines provides the most frequent flights, best times and good fares. Alternatively, trains are a good option linking major cities in about 3 hours from Istanbul with high speed trains getting each time more popular to use. Busses connect to all major cities by road and smaller areas, specially in the Cappadocia region. Bus rides can be long, though the scenery you travel by is very interesting and worth the ride if you have ample time and want to save money.
Turkish Airlines is the largest airline in the world with over 300 destinations served! There is no excuse not to reach Turkey!
Turkey has very different climates depending where you are located in the country. As a general rule, the country enjoys hot weather most of the year specially down south and on the Mediterranean coast line, where many tourists opt to spend their winter holidays. During the peak season, July and August, Turkey is very crowded with holidaymakers and tourists. Temperatures can reach easily above 35 °C in a dry climate.
During the rest of the year, temperatures are more moderate and pleasant. The best time to visit Turkey is from March to June and from September to November. However it's also possible to experience some typical European Winter weather in the north of the country, specially in Istanbul it can get very foggy (due to the proximity of the Bosphorus Strait) and it can snow during the colder months in January or February with temperatures below freezing and not much higher than 10°C or 12°C.
Turkish food is one of the tastiest in the Mediterranean, with influence from Central Asia, the Middle East and Mediterranean cuisine. Meat is a large component of the Turkish diet, with lamb featuring heavily and dishes tend to be aromatically spiced, although they are not as hot as those found in Indian cuisine. Vegetarians will find they are easily catered for, as meze, a selection of sauces, dips and vegetables, can be found on almost every menu. A wide range of international cuisine is also available in the major cities, and standard German and British dishes along the coasts due to the heavy tourism industry.
Specialities include: Döner Kebab, a traditional snack or main dish, made from different meats mounted onto a skewer and cooked slowly to a hot fire source. (see below) Köfte, spicy sausage-shaped meatballs made of minced lamb. Shish kebab, pieces of meat threaded on a skewer and grilled. Pide, the Turkish equivalent of pizza topped with cheese and eggs. Dolma, vine leaves or vegetables stuffed with pine nuts and currants. Lokum, Turkish Delight, originally made from dates, honey, roses and jasmine bound by Arabic gum and designed to sweeten the breath after coffee.
As for drinks, you can find: Raki, anisette, known as ‘lion’s milk’, which clouds when water is added. Drinking raki is a ritual and is traditionally accompanied by a variety of meze. Ayran, a refreshing yogurt drink. Cay, tea, usually drunk black and strong and served in small tulip-shaped glasses. Strong black Turkish coffee, traditionally brewed over hot coals and served very sweet. Turkish beer is also popular to drink as well as red and white wines.
Turkish Tea
Chicken Shish Meal
Turkish Delight, can be found in many flavours and colours!
About Turkish Döner
The most popular thing to eat whilst in Turkey is the traditional Turkish Döner Kebab, it's called this way because of the way it is cooked, Döner is a Turkish word, from dönmek ("to turn" or "to rotate"). It can be translated literally into "rotating roast". You will find them all over the country, sold by small snack bars, market style stalls or seat-in restaurants. You will instantly recognise the Döner Kebabs, as big chunks of meat are slowly cooked mounted on a large skewer rotating to a hot fire. The image of a Döner Kebab or a man cutting through the meat is also a popular one to identify those establishments selling it.
Kebabs are a popular form of snack in many countries especially Middle East, Arab countries, South and Central Asia, and some parts of Europe. Kebabs are essentially different kind of meats cooked traditionally on skewers over a coal fire, BBQ style or a hot grill. You can find them made out of lamb, chicken,beef or even goat and fish. However you will not find Pork Kebab in Turkey due to religious reasons.
They are an ideal snack when feeling hungry during the day and many casual eateries provide a good quality Döner Kebab to grab in just a few minutes. However there are also many restaurants that have them as part of a more elaborate menu. Try as many as you can, flavours vary as the sauces and spices used can make a big difference!
Popular Kebab Stands can be found everywhere!
Turkey is one of the most interesting countries to visit as a door to the Middle Eastern culture in so many ways. It's a country which has so much to offer, both from the cultural side and the landscape to the cuisine, music and high quality local products like carpets, leather materials and ceramics. Although the country has one of the most advanced infrastructures in the region, with high development programmes and technology it's also bathed in tradition and culture. When visiting Istanbul, it feels you go back in time, with great Mosques to see, old style Bazaar's and markets, little local coffee shops etc, however modern commodities are very present and in fact the city of Istanbul is very international.
Tourism is a great source of income to the country, it's immediately recognisable the amount of Hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops which try to encourage tourists to spend their holiday money. The people are always friendly and happy to help if you need any advice or direction if you happen to get lost. However, be careful they don't try to scam you or sell you stuff as a way of being friendly and helping you. Specially in the popular tourists areas. The best thing of going to Turkey must be the food, flavours win to spices, so if you like rich food without the hot-spicy feeling then Turkey's cuisine won't disappoint you! Another added benefit is the cost of accommodation and expenses are not high. There are multiple activities to keep you entertained either by tours or do it alone. Day and night, are always interesting to see the city, specially in the evening time as the sun sets and you are located viewing the Bosphorus Straight with the impressive Sultan Mehmet Bridge connecting Europe to Asia!
(2 times visited)