Turkey tour… Two weeks weren’t enough. I visited Istanbul, Bursa, Pergamon ancient city, Ephesus, Denizli and Antalya.
I will start with Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, the largest city in Turkey, the most populous European city and the world’s 15th-largest city. It is the country’s economic, cultural and historic hub. See why.

The city straddles the Bosphorus strait and it is the only pan-continental city in the world situated on two continents, Europe and Asia, with a population of over 15 million residents.

ISTANBUL

I captured so many photos in Turkey.

First of all, I wanted Istanbul Bosphorus sightseeing, so I took boat cruise.

I had to see The Grand Bazaar, biggest old covered bazaar in the world, with over 3,000 shops of all kinds. I was surprised with colors, spices, prices and how crowded it was.

Istanbul is home to the most mosques in Turkey. It has around 3,113 mosques, including the historical Sultanahmet Mosque and the Süleymaniye Mosque.

Common architectural elements included large domes, smaller surrounding buildings with semi-domes, entrances with horse-shoe shaped arches and, in the complexes surrounding mosques, towering minarets.

Islamic architecture is one of the world’s most celebrated building traditions.

Known for its radiant colors, rich patterns, and symmetrical silhouettes, this distinctive approach has been popular in the Muslim world since the 7th century.

PAMUKKALE

As it was tour across the Turkey, I went explore further. After visiting Bursa, one place fascinated me the most, Pamukkale.

Pamukkale is a natural site in Denizli Province in southwestern Turkey. The area is famous for a carbonate mineral left by the flowing of thermal spring water.

 Known as Pamukkale (Cotton Castle) or ancient Hierapolis (Holy City), this area has been drawing visitors to its thermal springs. The Turkish name refers to the surface of the shimmering, snow-white limestone, shaped over millennia by calcite-rich springs. Dripping slowly down the mountainside, mineral-rich waters collect in and cascade down the mineral terraces, into pools below.

Legend has it that the formations are solidified cotton (the area’s principal crop) that giants left out to dry.

People have visited the area for thousands of years, due to the attraction of the thermal pools and its natural beauty.

Do I need to mention that the area was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site?

EPHESUS

Ephesus was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, few kilometres of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province. It was built in the 10th century BC. 

The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis, which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators.

I had luck to visit World heritage in Turkey: Pergamon, living proof of ancient Romans, Seljuks and Ottomans. Adjoining the temple are the ruins of Pergamum’s famed library, built around 170 BCE and once home to one of the largest libraries in the ancient world with 200,000 volumes (later carried off to Alexandria by Mark Antony as a gift to Cleopatra).

ANTALYA

Antalya was the town I visited last. It is most famous Turkish summer resort.

It is located on Anatolia’s southwest coast bordered by the Taurus Mountains, Antalya is the largest Turkish city on the Mediterranean coast outside the Aegean region.

Turkey tour was really something. Beautiful sunsets, great food, excellent hotels with great hammams, going trough history with different architecture, what else do you need?

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