Regions in Turkey
- Aegean Turkey
Greek and Roman ruins between the azure sea on one side and silvery olive groves on the other - Black Sea Turkey
Heavily forested mountains that offer great outdoor sports like trekking and rafting - Central Anatolia
Tree-poor central steppes with the national capital, Hittite and Phrygian ruins and the moon-like Cappadocia. - Eastern Anatolia
High and mountainous eastern part with harsh winters - Marmara Region
The most urbanised region with Byzantine and Ottoman monuments in some of the country’s largest cities. - Mediterranean Turkey
Mountains covered with pine forests rising to the right of the highly indented coastline of the crystal clear sea - Southeast Anatolia
Semi-desert Easternmost part of the country
Cities in Turkey
- Ankara – the capital of Turkey and its second largest city
- Antalya – the fastest growing city, hub of a number of seaside resorts
- Bodrum – a trendy coastal town on the southern Aegean Sea that is becoming a popular seasonal playground for Turkish and international holidaymakers, with a citadel, Roman ruins, trendy clubs and a series of villages surrounding the peninsula, each with a different character, from chic to rustic.
- Edirne – the second capital of the Ottoman Empire
- Istanbul – the largest city in Turkey, former capital of the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires and the only major city in the world to straddle two continents.
- Izmir – Turkey’s third largest city and the centre of a number of seaside resorts
- Konya – a rather large city that is the heart of the mystical Sufi order, the site of Rumi’s tomb, and with elegant Seljuk architecture, all surrounded by vast steppes.
- Trabzon – the wonderful Sumela Monastery is located just outside the city and is a great base for exploring north-eastern Turkey.
- Urfa – a city with beautiful architecture and extremely hospitable inhabitants at the gateway to the Eastern world; where Kurdish, Arab and Persian cultures mix.
Other destinations in Turkey
- Ani – impressive ruins of the medieval Armenian capital in the far east of the country; known as the City of a Thousand Churches
- Cappadocia – a region in the central highlands known for its unique moonscapes (the “fairy chimneys”), underground cities, rock churches and houses carved out of rock
- Ephesus – well-preserved ruins of the Roman city on the west coast
- Gallipoli – site of the Anzac landing in 1915 and many monuments of the First World War
- Mount Nemrut – a UNESCO World Heritage Site with head statues dedicated to the ancient gods on the summit.
- Ölüdeniz – incomparable postcard beauty of the “Blue Lagoon”, perhaps the most famous beach in Turkey that you will see on every tourist brochure
- Pamukkale – “the cotton castle”, a white world of travertines surrounding shallow cascading pools filled with thermal water
- Sümela – beautiful monastery on the cliffs of a mountain, a must for every trip to the north-east coast
- Uludağ – a national park with textbook belts of different forest types that vary according to altitude, and the country’s most important winter sports resort
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