Places to Visit in Turkey

What do Noah's Ark, the Trojan Horse, and Aesop's fables have in common? The answer is - Turkey! Archaeologists believe that Mt. Ararat, where by Noah's Ark landed after the Fantastic Flood, is in fact Agri Dagi in eastern Turkey. The web site in the popular Trojan War (in Homer's Iliad) is stated to be in western Turkey, and a wooden Trojan horse marks the spot to this day. Finally, Aesop the fable-teller was a citizen of Anatolia or Asia Minor, the mainland and Asian part of Turkey.

This alludes to Turkey's colorful spot in entire world history, and on the interesting sights that await the vacationer going to the region. Should the tourist be a history buff, he would certainly have the time of his life visiting castle ruins, former battlegrounds, palaces, and lots of other areas of historical significance.

Remarkably, Turkey is part of two continents, Europe and Asia. The European portion of the region is called Thrace, along with the Asian Anatolia. The capital is Ankara, and its significant urban centers are Istanbul, Izmir and Adana. Istanbul is the largest town, and it was once the center of three powerful empires: Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman.

As a consequence of its strategic location, Turkey has been interchangeably named "Europe's gateway to Asia" and "Asia's gateway to Europe." Right now, local officials use the term "Gateway to Paradise" in promoting the country's tourism. The moniker is apt, for indeed Turkey has a lot to provide to even the most demanding vacationer.

At the top of the list are its beaches, ideal visited from May well to October. Turkey carries a coastline of 7,200 kilometers, and is bound by the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, as well as the Mediterranean Sea. As a result of this, water sports are hot, such as surfing, diving, yachting and rafting. Turkey is, in point of fact, a favorite destination for sports occasions generally. Enthusiasts of golf, oil wrestling, mountaineering and winter sports regularly go to the region to take part in these events.

Also of interest are Turkey's architectural monuments, mosques, caravanserais, museums, gardens and parks, ancient cities (Troy especially), bazaars, and an exciting nightlife (notably in Istanbul). When in Istanbul, one particular ought to go to the Hagia Sophia (as soon as the biggest Christian church in the world), the Blue Mosque (Istanbul's most significant mosque), the Topkapi Palace (home for the sultans of yore), and the Bosphorus Strait (where by East and West, or Asia and Europe, literally meet).