A richly historical land with some of the best cuisine you will ever taste, the scenery from beaches to mountains, and the great city of İstanbul.
The city lies in the valley of the Gediz River, below Mount Sipylus in western Turkey (🛣️ HGS – 88,50 TRY / class 2). It was called Magnesia ad Sipylum in ancient times, and the Magnetes of Thessaly are thought to have been its first inhabitants, in the 12th century BCE. It was taken by...
It was supposed to rain, but in the end, it was a nice sunny day in Bergama town in western Turkey. It shares one of Turkey’s most impressive archaeological sites dramatically sited on a hill with terraced slopes (cable car 🎫 130 TRY / return). There’s plenty to see in the...
We made a pleasant short stop at a seaside town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. Ayvalik was an ancient Greek Aeolian port town. At first glance, Ayvalık may seem unremarkable, a port town similar to many others in this region. But a few streets back from the waterfront...
Ancient Assos is located in Behramkale on the coast of northwestern Turkey, with the island of Lesbos lying about 11 kilometers offshore to the south. Founded by Aeolic colonists from Methymna in Lesbos in the 1st millennium BC, the city was constructed on the terraced slopes, partly...
We made a short stop in the ruins of Troy (🎫 100 TRY). The site resembles an overgrown archaeological dig and it’s very difficult to imagine what the ancient city would have looked like. So, if you come to Troy expecting a rebuilt ancient city along the lines of Ephesus...
After four hours (⛽ diesel 25,16 TRY / l, 🛣️ HGS – 253 TRY / class 2) we arrived at Çanakkale located in northwestern Turkey at the mouth of the Koca on the Asian side of the Dardanelles. Originally a 15th-century Ottoman fortress had by the 18th century developed a reputation for...
Mt. Uludağ is the highest mountain in the Marmara region. Its highest peak is Kartaltepe at an elevation of 2543 meters. It was known as the Mysian Olympus and in the Middle Ages, it contained hermitages and monasteries linked to the resistance of numerous monks to the policy of the...
Bursa is situated along the northern foothills of Uludağ (Turkey’s premier ski resort). Set among orchards watered by plentiful mountain streams, Bursa is a city of brightly colored houses and winding streets dotted with fountains. It retains its Ottoman flavor and contains some...
We took a cheap ferry (3,85 TRY with Istanbul Card) to the islands, which most İstanbullus refer to as the Princes’ Islands. The slow ferry goes around 1,5 hours to the largest and most popular Büyükada island, which is Iying 20 kilometers southeast of the city in the Sea of Marmara...
We spent more than two weeks in the magical meeting place of East and West. This pleasant megacity has more top-drawer attractions than it has minarets. İstanbul’s strategic location has attracted many marauding armies over the centuries. The Greeks, Romans, and Venetians took turns...