La Republic of Turkey It divides its territory between Europe and Asia, and it is a land rich in history and culture. It has many tourist destinations, whether you like nature or if you prefer history or go out to try new and unknown flavors to your palate.
Any traveler owes a visit to this country, and today we discover together what can we see in Turkey.
Türkiye
Is bridge between Europe and Asia and for that very reason it has always been a crossroads between different civilizations. Great peoples and empires have passed through here and all of them have left their mark and legacy.
Today the country is a presidential republic and the state is defined as a rule of law, social, democratic and secular. It is a unitary state divided into 81 provinces, each with its respective governor who is appointed by the central government. At a general level, the country is divided into seven zones or regions: Aegean, from the Black Sea, Eastern Anatolia, Central Anatalia, from the Marmara, from the Mediterranean coast and Southeastern Anatolia.
In Turkey the traveler can take cruises through the Aegean or the Mediterranean Sea, practice hiking or trekking in the mountains, tomar el sol on its beaches or do watersports. You can also visit medieval castles, palaces or mosques and of course, go further back in time and dive into archaeological treasures.
Turkey Tourism
Turkey offers many things, but today we go out of the ordinary to focus on some of its most popular cities, some of its most popular winter destinations and Best beaches. A little of everything, but not everything.
So to begin we focus on the most popular cities in Turkey. We can divide them between coastal cities and land cities indoors. Istanbul it is a coastal city and the usual gateway to the country. It is the largest city and its financial center. An incredible journey through history and national gastronomy.
This historic city It has been the capital of the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman Empire so it has many historical sites renowned by UNESCO. They are concentrated in four areas: Sultanahmet Archaeological Park, the Suleymaniye Conservation Area, the Zeyrek area and Walls area. Each one is very different from the other and represents different stages of the city.
There are churches, mosques, synagogues, palaces. For example, Hagia Sophia and its mosaics or the Topkapi Palace. On the other hand there are many mansions and wooden houses and public baths in Zeyrek and in the Suleymaniye Zone that have incredibly survived to this day. The Suleymaniye MosqueFor example, it dates from the mid-XNUMXth century and is a must-see masterpiece.
The Walls Zone is west of the Historic Peninsula, from the Golden Horn to the Marmara Sea and was one of the great projects of the past. Construction began in the XNUMXth century and are a masterpiece of the engineering of the time. All these areas of Istanbul are then included in the prestigious list of UNESCO World Heritage 1985 since.
On the other side is the coastal city of Antalya, the largest city in the Mediterranean, the famous Turkish Riviera with 300 days of sunshine a year and the best payas and recesses. Izmir It is the third largest Turkish city and one of the most important on the Aegean coast. It also offers its own in terms of entertainment, shopping and cosmopolitan life.
The ruins of troy and Gallipoli are close to Canakkale, another seaside resort town. And finally, near the sea, it is Trabzon, on the Black Sea and with its beautiful XNUMXth century church, also being a base to visit the Sumela Monastery that is hanging from a cliff.
What are the inland cities? For Ankara, the Turkish capital and the largest city city, Edirne, with origins in the Neolithic, Eskişehir, very modern, Bursa, first Ottoman capital with hot springs and many historical sites, and finally Mardin, an ancient city with a lot of history. That with respect to the most popular cities.
Now it is the turn of the winter destinations in TurkeyWell, not everything is summer. Turkey has an attractive winter season and some destinations are the inland cities just listed: Bursa and its ski resorts o Eskisehuir with its museums and more urban activities. Cappadocia It also has its own thing, you can stay in a hotel in a cave, see how the smoke comes out of the chimneys or take a hot air balloon ride.
El Yedigoller National Park Also popular in winter and so is the beautiful Lake Abant. Finally, eastern Anatolia is one of the coldest regions in the country but it is still beautiful for skiing, for example, in the popular Sarikamis Ski Center or visit the Archaeological Site of Ani.
And finally, we jump from cold to hot and go to the beach. As you can see, Turkey has a lot for the traveler. The turkey beaches are divided between the Mediterranean beaches and the southern and northern Aegean beaches. For example, Fountain has golden sands and hot springs (north of the Aegean), while Didim, Kusadasi, Marmaris, Fethiye or Bodrum they are to the south.
On the Mediterranean Sea is Antakya, the pearl of the Turkish Riviera with beaches but also with waterfalls and archaeological treasures, Kemer with its Blue Flag beaches, although with pebbles; Alanya with a lot of night life, Side or Belek, a great destination for golf lovers.
As you can see, Turkey has a variety of things to do and enjoy. You can go sunbathing and go out to bars, visit archaeological or medieval sites, practice winter sports or just jump from city to city.
Last but not least is food: be sure to try Turkish coffee, liqueurs, Turkish tapas or "mezes", kebab, lavash, jupka, yufka or katyrma breads or fish and shellfish that come from the four seas, black, Marmara , the Aegean and the Mediterranean.