Posted on 04/22/2015 2:05:30 PM PDT by Citizen Zed
1. The Marmara.
Where East meets West in a kaleidoscope of culture.
For millennia, Turkey’s Marmara has been a physical and figurative bridge between Eastern and Western cultures, religions, and histories. It was here, at this crossroad of civilization, where Persian King Xerxes built his famed bridge of boats over the Dardanelles for his conquest of Europe. Here, on the treacherous waters of the Bosphorus, Jason led the Argonauts to find the Golden Fleece. Up against the legendry Walls of Troy, an impossible beauty launched a thousand ships and a wooden horse destroyed an ancient people.
Frozen in time: Experience the living history of Princes Islands, an archipelago of seven islands once home to exiled Byzantine and Ottoman princes. An example of how history lives alongside modern culture, the Princes Islands are a snapshot of Istanbul’s 19th century elite lifestyle of horse-drawn phaetons, clapboard mansions and stunning beaches.
2. Central Anatolia.
The beating heart of Turkey.
From the Hittites to King Midas, the vast steppes of Central Anatolia have hosted some of the land’s greatest civilizations and ancient kings. Its underground cities and rock-cut dwellings served as refuge for the earliest Christians, while Selçuk and Ottoman caravansaries provided respite for weary travelers along the Silk Road.
Always, always, visit the Never Never Land, Cappadocia: A story-book land of fairy tales and enchanting mysteries, Cappadocia captivates with fairy chimneys, underground cities and chapels carved directly into rock cliffs in the valleys of Göreme, Mustafapasa and Ihlara.
3. The Mediterranean
Modern luxury, ancient hospitality, unsurpassed gastronomy
From its golden sands to verdant peaks, where ancient ruins live in harmony with modern luxury, the turquoise coast of Turkey’s Mediterranean region is a rainbow of experiences. History, culture and nature converge along the coast and the Gulf of Antalya, where magnificent castle fortresses and waterfront Greek and Roman temples hold court with nature’s own palaces of untouched beauty.
Birthplace of Santa Claus: In Demre and Patara, along Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, slip your kids an early Christmas present by taking them to the birthplace and, as tradition has it, the final resting place of St. Nicholas, better known as Santa Claus.
Birthplace of the American Constitution: The American Constitution has roots in the 2,000-year-old coastal city of Patara, once the center of the Lycian League, whose federation-style government influenced the U.S.’s Founding Fathers in drafting the U.S. Constitution.
4. The Aegean coast of Turkey.
As the birthplace of Homer and Herodotus and the adopted land of Aristides and Thales, the Aegean is often characterized as the gateway to Ancient Greece. But add two of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and all seven Churches of the Revelation in the ancient cities of Smyrna (now Izmir), Pergamon (now Bergama), Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea and Ephesus, and the Aegean can more appropriately be regarded as the capital of the ancient world — a place where philosophers, holy men, pagans, Jews, Christians and Muslims came together in the cradle of Western wisdom, science and religion.
5. The Black Sea coast
Turkey’s undiscovered secret
From the Bosphorus Straits to the Georgian border, Turkey’s Black Sea region remains an undiscovered treasure of scenic seaside, hilltop towns, lush national parks and World Heritage sites. Its coast served as an important maritime route, and the ancient civilizations who ruled the waters left behind castles, churches, monasteries and mosques among historic towns and the inland mists of the rugged Kaçkar Mountains.
I dunno. If I take a vacation to another country, I think I will make a point of staying in Christendom.
Armenians are dying to go there.
Why would anyone go to a Muslim country?
There are 148 countries that are not majority muslim. I’d think that’s at least 148 vacation destinations before I’d visit Turkey. But of the 49 countries that are Muslim, Turkey might be high on the list, if I ever gave visiting a muslim country any thought at all.
LOL!
+1
Turkey is very interesting in a Christian sort of way. There’s Ephesus for one, Pergamon for another... lots of places that Apostle Paul visited and preached and lots of Christian sites where NT stuff happened.
I did the tour in ‘77-78. Care of U. Sam.
It was beautiful. Have some great pics of TU.
5.56mm
Speaking of Turkey, Operation Nemesis was an enjoyable experience for some.
My Armenian blood keeps me away.
Never. No holocaust-denying towelhead haven will ever see me.
Ditto!
I was stationed there and lived there for a year.
No, thanks.
It’s a craphole.
Our base slogan: “It’s not the end of the world, but you can see it from here!”
Visited Ephesus when I was 17 and it was a high point of my life.
My biggest regret living in Turkey?
I should have taken the Morale, Welfare, and Recreation tour of the nude beaches in Greece while I was there.....
* yawn * whattaya done lately?
Instead of Turkey, go to Greece — they need the money. Or head to Lebanon or Spain for the sun.
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