I briefly over the following cities below:
- Ankara
- Izmir and its surroundings
- Patara
- Konya (Anatolia)
- Cappadocia
- Gaziantep
- Dogubayezit
Ankara
Ankara is the Capital of Turkey. It is a city where history and modernity live together.
Visit the old town and have a nice walk around Ulus, a quarter in Ankara, where you can see antique shops, the bazaar and a big variety of restaurants. Also visit the Castle with an incredible view of the city. Go to the Erimtan Museum (archaeology) and the museum of Anatolian Civilisation, which has beautiful pottery and jewellery among other things. See the Rahmi M Koc Museum, which contains the personal collection of a very wealthy Turkish businessman.
Visit the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the beloved founder of modern Turkey. This is his last resting place. See the changing of the guard which is very impressive. There is a museum about his life, with some of his personal things if you are interested.
For shopping go to the famous Armada shopping Center, where you will find all that you are looking for. Have something to eat in the street lined with varied and eclectic restaurants. Try the local speciality, Ankara Tava, a very tasty meat stew.
You can stay at the Movenpick hotel.
Izmir (Smirne) and surroundings
Being located on Turkey’s Aegean coast, it is popular with tourists, featuring museums, markets and decorative towers alongside spectacular views. Izmir has a holiday feeling all the year round and has very good food. Fish is very fresh and don’t forget to try the locally famous scorpion fish soup that is very good. Try also the aubergine soup that is delicious. Gevrek is a local version of the sesame encrusted bagel, which is very common around Turkey. You can find street vendors selling them in all the Turkish cities. I love them and have one every morning when I am in Istanbul. My friend Daniela adores them, she puts the classic rose marmalade on them. An option is to stay in the Movenpick Hotel Izmir that has a good standard.
Close to Izmir is the lovely town of Alacati, a town with wide streets, nice souvenir shops, cafés and restaurants
Just 240 km south-east of Izmir are located the ancient ruins of the city of Aphrodisias, which is a UNESCO world heritage site, named after the Greek goddess of love. You can see there an outdoor theatre, a temple and a monument dating back to the first century AD. You can reach it from Izmir by car o by bus and you can sleep in the nearby village of Geyre.
Turkey has 18 UNESCO World Heritage sites of intellectual and natural significance.
Not far from Izmir visit the magnificent ancient city of Ephesus. When I was there some years ago, I found it so impressive to see this incredible city. So beautiful, so perfect. When I was in Petra some years later, which is also amazing, I was not as impressed as I should have been, having been to Ephesus first.
Patara
Patara is located in the south-west of Turkey. It is a very special place near to the more crowded Kalkan and around one hour and a half from Dalaman Airport. Patara is more authentic, more local. Home of only nomads until 30 years ago and has very long white sandy beaches. It is the real birthplace of Santa Claus (St Nicholas). Here the people are very friendly and after some hours you will feel part of the village, feeling very welcome. There are lots of cafés with locals playing backgammon and smoking Narghile. You can sit and play with them if you like.
Sit and try my favorite Gozleme pancakes, which is a thin pastry envelope filled with spinach or goat cheese or both, or with other types of cheese or meat. I never leave Turkey without eating some Gozleme. It is always the first meal I have when I go to Istanbul, in the Mesale Restaurant and Cafe in the Arasta Bazaar. A lady sits on the floor and prepares the pastry and cooks fresh Gozleme on a hot round surface. Gozleme are round and very thin and crunchy. All of my friends that come with me to Istanbul love them as well.
If you are there on a Friday, there is a market in the nearby village of Kinit. The town of Gombe is worth a visit, to try their famous white bean dish with tahini sauce, and their excellent meat balls (piyaz).
If you are in Patara during the month of April, every year during the third weekend there is the Nomadic Walk, along the historic Lycian way. Starting from Delikemer and following the Roman acqueduct it finishes in Patara. The locals dress in very nice national costumes and serve traditional food. This excursion is known inside and outside Turkey. Around 700 people join the excursion, between locals and tourists. It is said that is one of the most beautiful long-distance hikes in the world (Sunday Times).
Visit the ancient Main Market Area, and the also ancient Theatre of Patara and Tlos.
Some hotels:
- Golden lighthouse hotel
- Hotel Dardanos
- Patara ViewPoint hotel
Konya (Anatolia)
The resting place of the famous mystical Sufi poet of the 13th century, Rumi (Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi) the founder of the Mevlevi order (Dervishes). The dervishes following Rumi are also known as whirling dervishes, due to their dance called Sema, which they believe brings them closer to God. It is incredible how men go around and around, dressed in white tunics, looking as though they are hypnotized, gazing into the distance. Don’t leave Turkey without seeing a dervish dancing. There is a similar dance in Egypt, but it is called a grupal and the outfit is very colourful, they also go around and around. I saw this dance during one of my trips to Cairo. Saturday is the day to watch Sema taking place in Konya. You can visit the dervishes original lodge, that today is a the Mevlana Museum where you can appreciate a lot about them, their way of living in the 13th century and their art.
A good place to stay, just in front of the Mevlana museum, is the Hich Hotel.
The city center is nice, full of bars and restaurants, where you can try the local speciality, Sac boregi (a thin pastry with potatoes, meat and mushrooms, cheese or mixed)
A good place for lunch is Gokcem restaurant, well known for the traditional dishes of the area, like Bamya soup, which is a dried okra soup that is supposed to be good for your health, since okra is said to have antibiotic qualities, and the traditional local sweet, Irmik helvasi.
In case you are in Konya during a Sunday and a wedding is taking place, feel free to join in. Everyone is welcome! It is normal for the entire village and whoever happens to be there will be fed. They cook kilos of meat for the guests. Women and men sit separately and all can enjoy the music.
The Carsi restaurant cooks other traditional dishes, like Lokmahane, a lovely thin bread topped with mincemeat, tomato, onion and green pepper, wrapped up with a squeeze of lemon and fresh coriander and cooked in in traditional stone oven. I love it! Try also Etliekmek.
Follow your starter with a Firin kebab, which is oven cooked lamb. If you want to eat the best bit, order the neck in advance. You can eat the kebab together with sweet pumpkin with walnut and tahini, another local speciality.
Just outside Konya there is a small village called Sille Subasi, very similar to Cappadocia, but smaller. Here you can find a rock face with fascinating cave formations to explore, and if you climb to the top you will have a beautiful view of the area. Sille is the village where Turks and Greeks lived peacefully together for centuries (today they hate each other). It has a daily market, where you can buy very good sundried dates, figs, cherry, plums, mulberries, okra, local nuts and other things to take with you back home and that also are very nice presents for friends and family.
Visit Aya Elena Kilisesi, one of the oldest churches in Anatolia. It is a Byzantine Orthodox church, turned into a museum. On the street outside you will find artisans selling handmade gifts, ceramic tiles, beaded necklaces, pottery, etc. You can relax afterwards in the Baraj park, where it is possible to fish, ride, walk, jet ski, or just have a drink in a café.
The Karatay district of Konya is an interesting place to wander around, do some local shopping, for example the traditional Konya Sekeri (a sweet candy) or traditional crafts, such as antique carpets made with natural dyes, Ebru (marbled paintings) and other interesting local things that you may like.
Zafer Street, a busy and crowded pedestrian street, is where you can see nice old buildings and shop. Afterwards visit the Alaeddin Mosque, which was the mosque of the Sultans in Selcuk times. It is said that there is a tunnel that leads directly to the Mevlana.
Interesting is the ancient Neolithic town of Catalhoyuk, which houses dwellings from over 9,000 years ago. If you would like to see the recovered and well-preserved objects of art, you will need to visit the already mentioned Museum of Anatolian Art in Ankara. The farming community produced exceptional art and architecture for its time, making it one of the most important archaeological sites in the world.
For an unforgettable dinner go to Dedeman Hotel whose menu is inspired by the 1858 cookbook written by Ali Esref. You can start with a shot of vinegar, water and honey to clean your palate, then eat the traditional Tahana soup, a yogurt and breadcrumb delicacy. An interesting tradition is the way to ask the waiters for more water: guests place a piece of bread in their pocket! Another traditional dish to try is Gorgeon courgettes, which are stuffed with mince and rice bound with egg. The tender lamb with baby onions and garlic with a compote of unsweetened figs is very good. There are always green plums, cumin and cinnamon to accompany the dishes. And don’t forget to try the classical pudding, Visneli ekmek tatlisi, a white bread lightly buttered cooked in the oven to make it very crisp and then soaked in sour cherry syrup sandwiched with thick cream (Kaymak), with cherries on top. Jolly yummy! During the meal try the warm drink, peltesin rose water and corn starch.
Another special restaurant is Lokmahane, whose menu is prepared by the local gourmet, Ahmet Ergun. Try the soup of the day, which is always delicious. Eat it like the locals with a wooden spoon to cool the soup. Follow with an Anatolian speciality, such as handmade Yaprak dolma (stuffed wine leaves), my husbanito’s favorite, and then a whole lamb on a bed of chickpeas and rice. The lamb is so tasty and so soft the bones slide out. Delicious also is the lamb cooked with molasses and dried apricots. Another lamb variety is Tirit, in which it is topped with sumac spice, which becomes crispy in the oven and rounded with helva and topped with walnuts.
Anatolian food is very tasty. Very often during my stays in Istanbul. I have lunch with my good friend Antonio in a small and clean Anatolian restaurant in the Grand Bazaar, where the food is fresh and delicious.
Cappadocia
Visit the incredible UNESCO world heritage site of Cappadocia, located in the Gerome National Park. Commonly call “fairy chimneys”, that have been sculptured by erosion and the local people since they arrived in the area during the third century BC. It is a unique place. I found it awe inspiring, when I did my trip through Turkey, many years ago. The unusual rock formation includes churches, homes and caves, where you can still see several frescos from the seventh century.
You can have a spectacular view from a hot air balloon during sunset. The sky is full of them during beautiful evenings. The best place to stay is in the town of Goreme, a nice place with local life and good tourist infrastructure.
Gaziantep
This Turkish Gourmet city is a fascinating place, located in the south-east of Turkey, near the Syrian border. In 2015 it was given the title of Gastronomy City. In this city you are going to eat the best Baklavas in the world. It is also famous for its pistachios. Don’t forget to buy some. In the local Bazaar there is a big variety of them, with many different flavours. They are not expensive. It is always a very nice present to take back, together with the Turkish delight and apple tea.
There are 3 museums worth visiting in town: The Kitchen Museum (Emine Gogus Mutfak), the Hammam Museum and the Zeugma Mosaic Museum.
This town is included in the UNESCO Creative City Network list.
If you have the opportunity try Beyran, a hearty soup (cuts of lamb cooked for hours with rice and lots of garlic). Try also Kaymak, which is like clotted cream, very good topped with pistachios.
Dogubayezit
This town is close to the Iranian border, in the east of Turkey. Climb the steps to Ishak Pasa Palace, where you will find an incredible semi ruin perched atop a hill that overlooks the snowy mountains.