Turkey Tours & Travel

Modern Turkey is a blend of the old and the new. Vendors on mobile phones haggle in ancient bazaars and modern cities sit alongside old Roman ruins. The people themselves are friendly and hospitable, but conservative. Islam is the dominant religion here, so Muslim holidays (like Ramadan) are strictly observed, and dressing modestly is encouraged. Coffee shops and bathhouses are popular meeting places for locals, but most young people are drawn to the bars and nightclubs of major cities like Istanbul. 

Sharing borders with Bulgaria, Greece, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Georgia and Azerbaijan, Turkey isn’t short on neighbours (or landscapes). It’s the country’s diversity that keeps travellers coming back again and again. Large tracts of farming land, orchards and plantations sit beside the rugged Anatolia highlands, the rocky, forested Black Sea coast and the white beaches of the Mediterranean. Added to that are a few genuinely unique phenomenon, like the travertines of Pamukkale and the rock spires of Cappadocia. 

With one of the biggest bazaars in the world, some of the continent’s best fashion boutiques and a thriving art scene, Turkey is a shopper’s dream. Hand-woven Turkish carpets have obviously become a global phenomenon, fetching thousands of dollars around the world. But you can often get a good price by shopping direct in the local bazaars. Artisan-made gold and silver jewellery is also popular, as are copper and brass ornaments and decorative objects. Just make sure to check your country’s quarantine.

Commemorations of the ANZAC landings

Every year thousands of people head to the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkish Thrace to pay their respects to the Australian, New Zealand and Turkish soldiers who died there in WWI. The dawn ceremony is a moving and iconic event that has grown in popularity in recent years.

Efes Pilsen One Love Festival

This annual music festival held in Istanbul sees two days of rock, pop, folk and electronica entertain masses of locals and visitors keen on enjoying some good music and summer sun.

Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Championships

Wrestling is Turkey’s national sport, and Kirkpinar is its annual celebration. The Oil Wrestling Championships are held over several days of gusto and fanfare. Wrestling bouts are the highlight, but there are also gypsy bands, traditional food and belly dancers galore. 

Turkey is known throughout Europe as a foodie mecca. As the bridge between East and West, its cuisine has evolved over the centuries, borrowing flavours from a dozen different cultures. Fresh produce, home-cooked meals and sweet, black coffee are the country’s trademarks, bit there are a whole range of more obscure treats to discover: gozleme (a spinach and cheese pastry), lokum (Turkish delight), simit (a baked bread snack), fish sandwich (fresh from the Bosphorus). 

• Portrait of a Turkish family, by Irfan Orga
• Istanbul: Memories and the city, by Orhan Pamuk
• Tales from the Expat Harem: Foreign Women in Modern Turkey, by Ed. Ashman & Gokmen
• The Flea Palace, by Elif Shafak
• The Towers of Trebizond, by Rose Macaulay
• Savarona, by J Patrick Hart