Turkey travel guide

Cities / Towns:

• Istanbul,
• Bodrum,
• Antalya

Regions:

• Central Anatolia,
• Black Sea Coast Turkey,
• South Coast Turkey

Turkey

The country on the crossroads, charming and hospitable as ever

Turkey’s unique geographic location makes it the main crossroads between Europe and the Middle East. Some see Turkey therefore as the ideal spot for building bridges, between East and West -- not an easy task for a single country to manage. Turkey offers enormous cultural variety -- some things are familiar, some will surprise you, and some will bewilder. Turkey has so many faces that it needs something to hold it together -- or someone. Mustafa Kemal, founder of the Turkish Republic in 1923, was soon pronounced “Ataturk,” father of all Turks; to this day, his presence on photographs and public monuments is ubiquitous. The hospitality and charm of Turkish people are legendary, and the country boasts one of the three major cuisines in the world (the other two are French and Chinese). For relaxation, you can explore the more than 4,000 miles of coastline, offering everything from white sandy beaches to rocky exclusive bays. Turkey delivers the entire panoply of human history, from the world’s oldest human settlement (from 7,500 B.C.) to some of the most famous ancient Hellenistic cities. World history comes together in a single place: Istanbul. Wherever you explore in the former Constantinople, once the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires, you will find traces of the old glory times -- not always to the delight of residents, who dream of a subway tunnel below the Bosporus, which is constantly delayed by new archeological findings.

Turkey travel guide created by philipp, last edited by philipp

is this text outdated?