What you can buy
What you can buy – Turkey is a shopaholic’s wonder world! There’s a great variety in Turkey! Including must - have carpets, good priced suede and leather goods, a variety of pottery, glassware, jewellery, textiles and handicrafts. Don’t go home without the world’s best Turkish Delight. Where you can buy – the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, malls and department stores in main cities as well as crammed tourist handicraft shops.
There are numerous bars, discotheques and nightclubs with belly dancers for a taste of local entertainment. Don’t miss out on restaurants featuring Turkish food including mezze. Try and fit in one or two folkloric or cultural shows while you are there.
Secular festivities include National Sovereignty Day, April 23, a big holiday to celebrate the first meeting of the republican parliament in 1920. Celebrations abound in summer: there's an oiled wrestling festival in early June at Sarayiçi, near Edirne; the country Kafkasör Festival near Artvin in northeastern Turkey in the 3rd week of June; the International Istanbul Festival of the Arts (late June to mid-July); Bursa's Folklore and Music Festival in mid-July and Diyarbakır's Watermelon Festival in mid or late September. The whole country stops, just for a moment, at 09:05 November 10, the time of Atatürk's death in 1938.
Topkapi palace , dating back to Ottoman times is so huge it will take you a day to explore it. Marvel at the Blue mosque, notable for its six Minarets and cascade of domes for a touch of the heavenly. The Museum of Turko-Islamic Art’s has an extensive collection of carpets, furniture, crafts and paintings. Antalya is the chief city on Turkey's central Mediterranean coast. As well as several km of pebble beaches and a historic Roman-Ottoman core, Antalya is a good base from which to explore the quieter beach towns and more spectacular ancient cities of the region. Side is the increasingly popular beach town once chosen by Mark Antony and Cleopatra for a romantic tryst. Alanya, east of Antalya, is another sea-sun-n-sand joint with a mini-Miami feel. Patara is a party town a few hundred km south-west of Antalya. For a taste of the past don’t miss Ephesus, one of Turkey’s best preserved ancient cities and ruins. Mount Ararat which has figured in alot of legends should be the highlight of any trip to Turkey. Of course do not forget to visit the Aya Sofya. A structure of wonder.
Water sports of all kinds for the enthusiasts of sun and sand! Snorkelling, scuba diving, swimming, jet-skiing, skiing, fishing, boat cruises, para-sailing and sailing are just a few! Trekking trips are popular for those with the energy. End your trip in luxury and pamper yourself in one of the famous thermal spas or Turkish hammams.
Dine in one of the bazaar cafes, kebab houses and taverns or try one of the famous fish restaurants along the Bosphorus. As a cultural and entertainment hub, Istanbul offers modern and classical plays, opera, ballet and folkloric shows.