Discovering Turkey and its Culture
Turkey is an amazing place, located at the intersection of two continents: Asia and Europe. Since a Eurasian nation, a strong influence of both western and eastern tradition can be seen here. Officially known as the Republic of Turkey, the country has Armenia and Iran to the east, Syria and Iraq to the southeast, Georgia to the northeast, Greece to the west, and Bulgaria to the northwest. In addition, it is bordered by the Aegean Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and the Black Sea to the north. A wonderful tourist destination – Turkey’s attractions range from archeological and historic sites to recreational and scenic spots, all of them coupled with warm and traditional hospitality of the Turkish people.
Ankara – the capital city of Turkey – is home to an array of impressive attractions such as the Anitkabir Museum, within which has the mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk, apart from a rare ensemble of paraphernalia and memorabilia. Interesting attractions in Ankara also include the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the Hisar - a Byzantine Citadel atop a massive hill, Painting and Sculpture Museum, Ethnography Museum, and a collection of archeological remains of ancient attractions like Atakule Tower, Roman Theater and Roman Bath, the Temple of Augustus, and the Citadel.
Perhaps the greatest of Turkish attractions would be Istanbul, the largest city in the country as well as the gateway between Asia and Europe. Founded in AD 326 by Emperor Constantine, the place was once the seat of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. With an illustrious past, Istanbul has to its credit a magnificent network of churches, museums, mosques, and palaces. Among the prime attractions are architectural wonders such as Blue mosque, which is the world’s only mosque with six minarets; Topkapi – the stunning palace of the Ottoman Sultans; and the amazing dome of Aya Sophia, erected in 536. Also, fabulous are the city’s superb parks and gardens.
Apart from this , while your stay at Turkey take a fascinating tour to such ancient Turkish cities as Ephesus, Erzurum, Konya, Samsun, Tarsus, Trabzon, and Troy.
In spite of these aforesaid attractions, Turkey is a summer paradise, with a dazzling array of interesting landscaped and sandy beaches such as Patara Beach, Olu Deniz Beach, Gemile Bay Beach, Turtle Beach, Kaputas Beach, and Cleopatra’s Beach, each of them rendering a host of activities to choose from. Also, fantastic are Turkey’s natural attractions including Cappadocia – a scenic region sandwiched between two volcanoes: Erciyes Dagi and Hasan Dagi, and Pamukkale that is blessed with some rare calcium deposits.
Besides, Turkey offers excellent options for shopping, with a range of modern as well as traditional malls and boutiques such as Covered Bazaar and Spice Market, all of them selling everything from carpet and embroidery items to gold and silver jewelry to copper and bronze artifacts. Above all, worth mentioning is Turkish cuisine, which is one of the best as well as healthiest in the world. Most popular among the Turkish dishes are baklava, kebabs, and pide.
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July 12th, 2007 at 12:32 am
[…] Turkey is a wonderful place to visit with surprisingly beautiful beaches. If you would like to make a mental picture the beaches of Acapulco and Miami would pale in comparison to the Turkish beaches. However, for unknown reason, these exceptional tourist attractions are somehow underrated locally. […]