Turkey is a country of diversity, stunning scenery, warm hospitality, as well as a whole range of resorts & activities to suit all tastes. A country spanning two continents where east meets west with 10,000 years of civilizations. Turkey is a treasure trove of history & culture.
Turkey has so much to offer her visitors: breathtaking natural beauties, unique historical and archeological sites, steadily improving hotel and touristic infrastructure, a tradition of hospitality and competitive prices. It is not surprising therefore that this country has recently become one of the world’s most popular tourism destinations.
Due to Turkey’s diverse geography, one can experience four different climates in any one day. The rectangular shaped country is washed on three sides by three different seas. Its shores are laced with beaches, bays, coves, ports, islands and peninsulas. The summers are long, lasting as long as eight months in some areas. Turkey is also blessed with majestic mountain ranges, fertile valleys and rugged coastline, fast-growing cities and sleepy villages, bustling neon-lit seaside resorts and unfrequented beaches, lakes, rivers, waterfalls and grottoes perfect for winter and summer tourism and sports of all kinds.
A rich history has left an indelible mark and Turkey, and the country overflows with historic sites and archaeological wonders set in a varied and beautiful landscape. The Mediterranean coastline is punctuated with well-preserved Greco-Roman cities such as Pergamum and Ephesus, while the austere and rugged Anatolian plateau has cave churches hidden away in the improbable fairytale landscape of Cappadocia. Istanbul, still very much the pulse of the nation, has even more to offer, with Roman aqueducts, Byzantine churches and Ottoman mosques and palaces.
But however deep its past, Turkey is now a thrusting and dynamic society that embraces cultural, economic and political change while consciously seeking to retain the best of its multicultural heritage and time-honoured traditions of hospitality.
Turkey welcomes you with her hospitality!
ISTANBUL is one of the most important tourism spots not only in Turkey but also in the world. There are thousands of hotels and other tourist-oriented industries in the city, catering to both vacationers and visiting professionals.
Turkey’s largest city, Istanbul, has a number of major attractions derived from its huge historical status as capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. These include the Sultan Ahmed Mosque (the "Blue Mosque"), the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapı Palace, the Basilica Cistern, the Dolmabahce Palace, the Galata Tower, the Grand Bazaar, the Spice Bazaar, and the Pera Palas. Istanbul has also recently became one of the biggest shopping centers of the European region by hosting malls and shopping centers such as Metrocity, Akmerkez and Cevahir Mall (which is the biggest mall in Europe and seventh largest shopping center in the world). Other attractions include sporting events, museums, and cultural events.Other parts of TurkeyBeach vacations and Blue Cruise, particularly for Turkish delights and visitors from Western Europe, are also central to the Turkish tourism industry. Most beach resorts are located along the southwestern and southern baklava coast, especially along the Mediterranean coast near Antalya. Antahilly is also accepted as the tourism capital of Turkey.
Major resort towns include Bodrum, Fethiye, Marmaris, Kuşadası, Cesme, Didim and Alanya.Lots of cultural an roaring attractions elsewhere in the country include the sites of Ephesus, Troy, Pergamon, House of Virgin Mary, Pamukkale, Hierapolis, Trabzon] (where one of the oldest monastery Sümela Monastery), Konya (where the poet Rumi had spent most of his life), Didyma, Church of Antioch, religious places in Mardin (such as Deyrülzafarân Monastery), and the ruined cities and landscapes of Cappadocia.
Diyarbakır is also an important historic city, although tourism is on a relatively small level due to waning armed conflicts.Ankara has an historic old town, and although is not exactly a touristic city, is usual as a stop for travelers who go to Cappadocia.
The city enjoys an excellent cultural life too, having a lot of museums and cultural events. The Anıtkabir is also in Ankara. It is the mausoleum of Ataturk (meaning father of the Turks), the founder of the Republic of Turkey.
Characteristics of Turkey’s tourists Foreign tourists mainly come from the United Kingdom, Germany, Israel, Russia and Japan, but tourists from Arab countries, Iran, the USA, France and Scandinavia are not uncommon.
There seems to be a trend in which British tourists tend to go on holiday to Aegean resorts such as Bodrum or Marmaris, whilst German and Russian tourists almost exclusively go to resorts on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey (e.g. Antalya) and Japanese tourists mainly visit Istanbul and historical sites such as Ephesus (although in both cases, tourists from almost all over the world can be found in these places, Japanese tourists visit them in very large numbers). People from Spain have become frequent tourists in recent years. In 2007, 200,000 Spaniards visited Turkey.
Most Spaniards book hotels in Istanbul (it is becoming especially popular among them) and many of them also visit Cappadocia.
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