 Turkey's long and varied sea coast, high mountains and lakes, and its
many historical, religious, and archaeological sites (possibly
including more Greek ruins than survive in Greece) give the country
unrivaled tourist potential.
A look on the map
shows you immediately that the Turkey is surrounded on three sides by
the sea: The Aegean Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the west coast, the
Eastern Mediterranean Sea in the south and the Black Sea in the north.
Turkey has little land in Europe (24.000 square kilometers) and most of
its land in Asia (756.000 square kilometers) Thrace being the name of
the European part, and Anatolia being the name of the Asian part. Asian
continent is connected to Europe in Istanbul, with two impressive
bridges across the Bosphorus, connecting european and asian parts of
Istanbul. It is hardly surprising that sea side resorts like Antalya,
Bodrum or Kusadasi are very popular with tourists from Europe. This may
lead you to believe Turkey is very much oriented on the sea. You
couldn't be more wrong: "Anadolu", the anatolian high central plateau
is where turkish culture is rooted. The soul of the country is to be
found in the green pastures of the hinterland, where shepards still
move their herds with the seasons.
This is why you shouldn't be surprised that the Turkish
Republic chose Ankara as the capital. The city is located centrally in
Anatolia. For travellers, the city offers some interesting sights and
attractions, the most imporant ones being the Museum of Anatolian
Culture and the Mausoleum of Ataturk.
Istanbul is Turkey's prime attraction, however; it has the
most beautiful mosques and palaces of the country, it has Byzantine
churches and Roman temples. Without fear of exageration one can say
that Istanbul's claim to the title of Eternal city is as justified as
Rome's
Cappadocia is another great sight: it is both a natural wonder
and the result of human inventiveness. Soft volcanic rock formed a
landscape of bizarre beauty, but it was man who made their homes,
churches, shops and courtrooms in them. All of these are decorated in a
highly original style.
In the East of Anatolia you find the strange rock statues at
Nemrut Dagi, which could remind you of Easter island, as well as
ancient cities like Van, located on lake Van, and Dogubayazit. When you
go west of eastern Anatolia you will find Turkey's "sports city",
Erzincan.
On
the South coast of Turkey you will find approximately 600 remains of old
Greek and Roman buildings, mostly well preserved. About 1 hour west of
Kemer there is the wonderfull Roman town Phasalis: this is a museum
town, where you can see the remains of a complete Roman city, including
a military harbour, an aquaduct a theater and many more buildings. You
will walk on the old Roman roads between those buildings.
Which such a diversity of sights, Turkey is a wonderful destination for any traveler.
This article is written by contributors of world66.com, modified by travelers-online.com editors and licensed under a Creative Commons License .
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