Surrounded by four different seas, Turkey is a beach paradise with over 8000 km of sunny strips of sand. It also has an abundance of plant and wildlife species that can be enjoyed while camping or trekking in the many national parks which are dotted around the country.

Home to more than 20 fascinating civilisations, Turkey has a 10,000 year-old heritage, much of which is still being uncovered. Its rich history is very much part of the present, with temples, ancient theatres, churches, mosques, tombs, statues of gods, palaces and fortresses, and of course the many detailed and fascinating museums which bring the past to life.

And of course, in cities like Istanbul, there is a modern, lively ambience of contemporary society living alongside tradition, where art and music can be enjoyed whether it belongs to today or yesteryear.

Interesting Facts About Turkey

• Istanbul is the only city in the world located on two continents, Europe and Asia. 
• During its 25,000 years old history, it has been the capital of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman Empire. 
• Two of the Seven Wonders of Ancient World stood in Turkey - The temple of Artemis at Ephesus and the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, Bodrum. 
• St. Nicolas, known as Santa Claus today, was born and lived in Demre (Myra) on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast. The village contains the famous church of St. Nicolas, which contains the sarcophagus believed to be his tomb. 
• The first man ever to fly was Turkish. Using two wings, Hezarfen Ahmet Çelebi flew from the Galata Tower over the Bosphorus to land in Üsküdar at the 17th century. 
• Many archeologists and biblical scholars believe Noah’s Ark landed on Agri Dagi (Mount Ararat) in eastern Turkey. 
• The famous Trojan War took place in western Turkey, around the site where a wooden statue of the Trojan horse rests today. 
• Turks introduced coffee to Europe. 
• Tulips originate from Turkey. 
• According to Turkish tradition, a stranger at one's doorstep is considered "a guest from god," and should be accommodated accordingly. 
• Julius Caesar issued his celebrated proclamation, "Veni, Vidi, Vici" ("I came, I saw, I conquered"), in Turkey upon defeating the Pontus, a formidable kingdom in the Black Sea region of Turkey.

Istanbul

Istanbul is the biggest city of Turkey (Türkiye) with a population of over 15 millions. This great historical city has one foot in Europe, the other in Asia, and it is located on 32km (approximately 20miles) of the Bosphorus strait, which connects the trade routes of the Black Sea (Karadeniz) to the Sea of Marmara (Marmara Denizi) and the Mediterranean (Akdeniz). Istanbul has always been one of the most fascinating cities in the world. There are two suspension bridges over the Bosphorus (Istanbul Bogazi).

Istanbul was the capital of the Eastern Roman, the Byzantine, and the Ottoman Empires. In 326 A.D., the Roman emperor Constantine decided to make this city the new capital of the empire and the city was adorned with temples and major public squares. Then when the Roman Empire was divided into two in 395, this city became the natural capital of the Byzantine Empire. Finally, in 1453, when the Ottoman conquest occurred, this magnificent city became the capital of the Ottoman Empire and was named Istanbul.

From a geopolitical point of view, the Bosphorus is very important because it is the sea connection between the old Soviet Union countries and the rest of the world. Meanwhile Turkey manages this waterway under conditions of international law.

The best way to see the Bosphorus is to board one of the passenger ferry boats that regularly goes zigzagging along the shores. Take your camera and do not miss the ferry tour.

Although its population is not accurately known, it is estimated to be 12 to 15 million. Because of the continuous immigration from the rural areas, the city grows rapidly and the population increases around half a million every year.

Istanbul's Top Sights

There are sights you should be sure to see, ranked in order of importance and ease of access. Luckily, the first six are close together near Sultanahmet Square. You can visit them on your own, or on a half-day or full-day city tour.

• Topkapi Palace: Home (and Harem) of the Sultan.
• Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia): changed the course of Western architecture; greatest church in Christendom for 1000 years.
• Sultanahmet (Blue) Mosque: Islam's elegant answer to Ayasofya, with six minarets and blue interior tiles.
• Bosphorus Cruise: the perfect half-day Istanbul excursion, up toward the Black Sea past castles, palaces and Ottoman-Victorian villages.
• Byzantine Hippodrome: the political and recreational heart of Byzantine Constantinople and Ottoman Istanbul.
• Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum: facing the Blue Mosque on the Hippodrome, a treasure house of 1000 years of fine art.
• Sunken Palace Cistern (Yerebatan Sarayi): an eerie subterranean "Sunken Palace" of 336 marble columns which could hold 80,000 cubic feet of water in case of drought or siege.
• Grand Bazaar: the ultimate medieval "shopping center," with 4000 shops - fun whether you buy or just browse.
• Egyptian (Spice) Market: food, spices, coffee, snacks and some touristy stuff.
• Beyoglu: the romance of 19th century Istanbul.
• Dolmabahce Palace: the Sultan's sumptuous new (1856) European style palace on the Bosphorus.
• Princes' Islands: get away to the islands with Victorian-era towns, free of motor vehicles. Walk, cycle, or take a horse-drawn carriage tour.

Turkish Cuisine

Turkey is rightly famed for its cuisine, which is rich and savory, not particularly spicy-hot, with abundant use of vegetables.

Though based on lamb, it includes beef and chicken (no pork of course), as well as all sorts of seafood. The most common preparations are roasting and grilling, which produce the famous Turkish kebabs, including Döner Kebab, the national dish.

Every month has its own preferred fish, along with certain vegetables, which complement the taste. For example, the best bonito is eaten with rocket, and red onions, blue fish with lettuce, turbot with cos lettuce. Large bonito may be poached with celery root. Mackerel is stuffed with chopped onion before grilling, and summer fish, which are younger and drier, will be poached with tomatoes and green peppers, or fried. Bay Leaves always accompany both poached and grilled fish. Grilling fish over charcoal, where the fish juices hit the embers and envelope the fish with the smoke, is perhaps the most delicious way of eating mature fish, since this method brings out the delicate flavor. This is also why the grilled fish and bread sold by vendors’ right on their boats are so tasty. "Hamsi" is the prince of all fish known to Turks: the Black Sea people know forty one ways of making hamsi including hamsi borek, hamsi pilav (rice) and hamsi desert. Another common seafood is the mussel eaten deep fried, poached, or as a mussel dolma and mussel pilav. Along the Aegean, octopus and calamari are added to the meze spread.

Bread is baked fresh early morning for breakfast and lunch, and late afternoon for dinner, and varies from the common sourdough loaf to rounds of leavened pide (flat bread) to flaps of paper-thin lavas (lah-vahsh, unleavened village bread baked on a griddle).

Snacks and side dishes include gözleme (fresh-baked flat bread folded over savory ingredients-a sort of Turkish crepe) and börek, pastry filled with cheese and vegetables or meat.

If you are vegetarian, you’ll get along all right by choosing the few Turkish dishes made without any meat, and by dining in the increasing number of restaurants offering vegetarian plates. A popular traditional dish is gözleme, flat bread folded over various fillings.

As for drinks, pure spring water is always available.

Turkey is famous for its succulent fruit, and thus for its fruit juices. There is also ayran (yogurt mixed with spring water-tastes like buttermilk), which goes well with kebab (roast lamb).

Drinking alcohol, with meals: beer, wine, and raki (clear grape brandy flavored with anise and diluted with water) are the favorites, although gin, vodka, whiskey and liqueurs are also served. Similar to Spanish tapas, "meze" is the general category of dishes that are brought in small quantities to start the meal off. These are eaten, along with wine or more likely with raki, the anise-flavored national drink of Turks sometimes referred to as "lion's milk", for a few hours until the main course is served.

Turkish Tea is the national stimulant, even at breakfast, and famous Turkish coffee only a distant second. 

Among the favored treats is Turkish Delight (lokum). You have to be in Turkey to get the real and the best taste variety of the desserts. However, in addition to the variety of Turkish Delights, there is a lesser-known type of dessert that can be taken back home in a sweetbox. These are nut pastes – marzipan made of almonds and pistachios. The best marzipan is sold at a tiny unassuming shop at Bebek, in Istanbul. A few boxes usually will last for a month or so and bring delight after dinners. Finally, candied chestnuts, a specialty of Bursa, are among the most wonderful nutty desserts.

History

AYASOFYA: The basilica of Hagia Sophia was constructed by the Roman Emperor, Justinian in 537 AD. This was the largest church in the Christian world for a thousand years. It's immense dome rises nearly 200 feet above the ground and its diameter spans more than 100 feet. The mosaics covering the walls are among the most important works of art that have survived to this day from the Byzantine era.

Large round buildings had been successfully covered by domes before, but Hagia Sophia's rectangular structure covered by a huge central dome was being tried for the first time in history. The dome collapsed and was repaired many times.

The Ottomans converted the basilica to a mosque in the 15th century after the conquest of Istanbul. Recognizing its historic and universal importance, the Turkish Government turned it into a museum in 1935.

SULTANAHMET MOSQUE:  Sultanahmet Mosque is the most famous monument in both the Turkish and the Islamic worlds. It was built in the classic Turkish architectural style between 1609-1616 by the architect Mehmet. The building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior paneling of more than 20,000 blue and white Iznik tiles.

The inside is a single immense space into which the light pours from 260 windows. The dome, 141 feet high, is supported by four enormous circular pillars, 16 feet in diameter, known as elephant feet. As it is located across from Hagia Sophia, the mosque was designed to be as large and as magnificent as this Byzantine structure.

TOPKAPI PALACE: Topkapi Palace is certainly the most important historical site to be visited in Istanbul. It is one of the most frequently visited museums of Europe and is the most visited one in Turkey. The palace served as the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years between the 15th and 19th centuries. Its principal parts were finished in 1478, then altered and enlarged by new additions in the reign of each succeeding sultan. The Palace was abandoned in 1855 when Sultan Abdülmecit 1, 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, moved to the new Palace of Dolmabahçe. In 1924, it was turned into a museum upon the orders of Atatürk.

The palace is a complex of buildings spread out over one of the seven hills of Istanbul. It consists of courtyards serving different purposes which are separated from each other by monumental gates. Pavilions, each used for different purpose, surround these courtyards. The total area of the Palace is twice the area of the Vatican and half the size of Monaco.

Besides being the official residence of the Sultan, the Topkapi Palace served as the headquarters of the government. It also housed the state treasury and archives. The mint, as well as the highest educational institution was located on the palace grounds.

On display are the imperial collections of crystal, silver and Chinese porcelain; imperial handmade costumes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the treasury; the richest collection of clocks in the world; the sacred relics of Islam including the swords of Muhammed, his bow and mantle; priceless objects. One of the largest diamonds in the world, the Spoon Maker's Diamond, is displayed in a special showcase in the hall. The rooms are exquisitely decorated and tiled.

KARIYE MUSEUM (The Chora Church): The Kariye museum is, after Hagia Sophia, the most important Byzantium monument in Istanbul. The existing building was built towards the end of the 11th century and dedicated to Christ the Savior.

After the Turkish conquest, the church remained deserted for a time, and was turned into mosque in 1511 by addition of a minaret. It became a museum in 1948 and its frescoes were cleaned and restored by the American Institute of Byzantine Research.

The walls are decorated with superb 14th century mosaics, illustrating scenes from the life of Christ and the Virgin Mary. These are among the finest masterpieces of Christian religious art to be found anywhere in the world. Paintings, rocks and architectural designs seen in the background make the pictures three-dimensional. The scenes are made with special care for them to look lively and ordinary. The scenes are enriched with explicating stories near them.

TROY: The ancient city of Troy is located 30 km south west of Çanakkale province in the Marmara Region of Turkey. This is one of the most important historical cities of Anatolia. Archeological excavations have revealed nine separate periods of settlement at this site, including ruins of city walls, house foundations, a temple and a theater. The earliest settlement dates from five thousand years ago and the last coincided with the late Roman period. Famous Trojan wars, depicted in Homer's epic Iliad took place here at about 1200 BC. A symbolic wooden horse at this site commemorates this legendary war.

MOUNT NEMRUT: Antiochos 1, ruler of the Commagene Kingdom in the first century BC, built himself this funeral monument on top of Nemrut in eastern Turkey. It consists of a tumulus and a dozen gigantic statues representing Antiochus1, eagles, lions and ancient gods. Lion and eagle statues were used as the guardians. The tumulus is 50 m high and 150 m. in diameter. Although the inscriptions at the back of the thrones on the east and west terraces record that Antiochos I had chosen the hierothesion as his sacred last resting place or a place where his body will sleep for endless eternity, seismic research did not find any grave chamber or large cavity in in the tumulus. The average height of the statues is 26-23 feet. These are made of stone, too heavy and large to be carried to the museum and remain where they were originally erected. Time has inflicted heavy damage on the sculptures. Their bodies sit with their beautifully carved heads at their feet.

PAMUKKALE: This sight of spectacular beauty is located in the inner Aegean region. The terraces, over 300 feet in height composed of layers of the accumulated limestone sediment have been gradually formed in the course of the ages. For thousands of years, a deep underground spring on the hills above has been pouring out streams of hot, mineral-saturated waters. As the water has flowed down the mountainside, the water’s rich mineral content has coated them in a smooth layer of white calcareous rock. Since these white slopes resemble castles when observed from the plain, the area is called Pamukkale which means "cotton castle" in Turkish. Several Roman emperors came to bathe in these thermal pools. The area is still one of the leading hot springs in Turkey.

Tours

Egypt & Beyond is pleased to be able to offer a number of wonderful packages that will take you to this fascinating destination. Please click on the links below to see each package in detail. Contact us on  (011) 678-4777 / 6165 or at cecelia@egyptandbeyond.co.za to book, or for more information.

Packages

Following packages are available:

• Istanbul and Izmir - 5 Nights Special
• 3 Nights in Istanbul

Istanbul and Izmir

5 Nights Special

Tour Includes

• 5 Nights accommodation at BB AT 5-star hotels
• 3 Lunches
• Return airport transfers
• Visits to monuments, bazaars, famous historical sites, and an excursion to Ephesus

Tour Excludes

• Flights
• Beverages during meals
• Tips
• Visas

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Istanbul

3 Nights

Tour Includes

• 3 Nights accommodation on BB at Marmara Hotel (5-star)
• 3 Breakfasts, 1 lunch
• Return airport transfers, with guide
• Visit to Hagia Sophia Church, the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar

Tour Excludes

• Flights
• Tips
• Visas

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