Insight Guides Pocket Turkey (Travel Guide eBook)

By Insight Guides

Perfect day itineraries and top travel tips in a pocket-sized package. 

Plan your trip, plan perfect days and discover how to get around - this pocket-sized guide is a convenient, quick-reference companion to discovering fun and interesting things to do and see in Turkey, from top tourist attractions like Istanbul's Haga Sophia, Blue Mosque, and Topkapi Palace, to hidden gems, including Nemrut Dagi and Oludeniz. 

Compact, concise and packed with essential information about Where to Go and What to Do, this is an ideal on-the-move pocket travel guide when you're exploring Turkey

- Cultural: delve into the region's rich heritage and get to know its modern-day life and people
- Inspirational: discover where to go and what to do, highlighted with stunning photography
- Practical: get around with ease with a free pull-out map featuring key attractions
- Informative: plan your visit with an A to Z of advice on everything from transport to tipping
- Inventive design makes for an engaging, easy-reading experience
- Covers: Istanbul, around Istanbul, the Aegean Coast, the Mediterranean Coast, Central Anatolia and the East

About Insight Guides: Insight Guides is a pioneer of full-colour guide books, with almost 50 years' experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides with user-friendly, modern design. We produce around 400 full-colour print guide books and maps, as well as phrase books, picture-packed eBooks and apps to meet different travellers' needs. Insight Guides' unique combination of beautiful travel photography and focus on history and culture create a unique visual reference and planning tool to inspire your next adventure.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Insight Guides
• Release date: Nov 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781839051661

Insight Guides

Pictorial travel guide to Arizona & the Grand Canyon with a free eBook provides all you need for every step of your journey. With in-depth features on culture and history, stunning colour photography and handy maps, it’s perfect for inspiration and finding out when to go to Arizona & the Grand Canyon and what to see in Arizona & the Grand Canyon. 

Book preview

How To Use This E-Book

Getting Around the e-Book

This Pocket Guide e-book is designed to give you inspiration and planning advice for your visit to Turkey, and is also the perfect on-the-ground companion for your trip.

The guide begins with our selection of Top 10 Attractions, plus a Perfect Itinerary feature to help you plan unmissable experiences. The Introduction and History chapters paint a vivid cultural portrait of Turkey, and the Where to Go chapter gives a complete guide to all the sights worth visiting. You will find ideas for activities in the What to Do section, while the Eating Out chapter describes the local cuisine and gives listings of the best restaurants. The Travel Tips offer practical information to help you plan your trip. Finally, there are carefully selected hotel listings.

In the Table of Contents and throughout this e-book you will see hyperlinked references. Just tap a hyperlink once to skip to the section you would like to read. Practical information and listings are also hyperlinked, so as long as you have an external connection to the internet, you can tap a link to go directly to the website for more information.

Maps

All key attractions and sights in Turkey are numbered and cross-referenced to high-quality maps. Wherever you see the reference [map], tap once to go straight to the related map. You can also double-tap any map for a zoom view.

Images

You’ll find lots of beautiful high-resolution images that capture the essence of Turkey. Simply double-tap an image to see it in full-screen.

About Insight Guides

Insight Guides have more than 40 years’ experience of publishing high-quality, visual travel guides. We produce 400 full-colour titles, in both print and digital form, covering more than 200 destinations across the globe, in a variety of formats to meet your different needs.

Insight Guides are written by local authors, whose expertise is evident in the extensive historical and cultural background features. Each destination is carefully researched by regional experts to ensure our guides provide the very latest information. All the reviews in Insight Guides are independent; we strive to maintain an impartial view. Our reviews are carefully selected to guide you to the best places to eat, go out and shop, so you can be confident that when we say a place is special, we really mean it.

© 2019 Apa Digital (CH) AG and Apa Publications (UK) Ltd

Table of Contents

Turkey’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Top Attraction #2

Top Attraction #3

Top Attraction #4

Top Attraction #5

Top Attraction #6

Top Attraction #7

Top Attraction #8

Top Attraction #9

Top Attraction #10

A Perfect Tour Of Turkey

Introduction

Size and Landscape

Atatürk’s Legacy

People and Religion

A Brief History

Conquerors and the Conquered

Early Christians

Byzantines and Seljuks

Enter the Ottomans

Decline and Fall

Birth of a Nation

Into the Present

Historical Landmarks

Where To Go

Istanbul

Sultanahmet

Hagia Sophia (Aya Sofya)

The Blue Mosque and Surroundings

Archaeological Museum

Topkapı Palace

The Bazaars to Süleymaniye Camii

The Grand Bazaar

Beyazit District and Süleymaniye Camii

The Golden Horn

New İstanbul

Karaköy

Galata Tower to Pera

To Taksim

Beşiktaş

Along the Bosphorus

Around İstanbul

The Princes’ Islands

Edirne

İznik

Bursa

The Old Centre

The Aegean Coast

Çanakkale

Gallipoli

Troy

Behramkale (Assos)

Ayvalık

Pergamon

The ruins

The town

İzmir and Çeşme

Sardis (Sart)

Ephesus

Selçuk

Kuşadası

Pamukkale and Hierapolis

Aphrodisias

Priene

Miletus and Didyma

Bodrum

Mediterranean Coast

Marmaris and the Datça Peninsula

Dalyan

Fethiye

Ölüdeniz and Kaya Köyü

The Ruins of the Lycian Heartland

Tlos and Pınara

The Letoön and Xanthos

Patara

Kalkan and Kaş

Kekova

Demre and Myra

Olympos and Phaselis

Antalya

Ruins of the Antalyan Coast

Termessos

Perge and Aspendos

Side

Alanya

Central Anatolia

Ankara

Cappadocia

Ürgüp and Nearby Villages

Göreme

The Underground Cities

The Ihlara Valley

Konya

Çatalhöyük

The East

The Hatay and Antakya (Antioch)

Northern Mesopotamia

The Far East

What To Do

Shopping

Bazaars

In İstanbul

Elsewhere

What to Buy

Bathtime

Outdoor Activities

Ballooning

Birdwatching

Golf

Hiking

Skiing

Horseriding

Sailing and Yachting

Scuba Diving

Swimming

Windsurfing and Kite-Surfing

Entertainment

Children’s Turkey

Festivals and Seasonal Events

Eating Out

Where to Eat

What to Eat

Beverages

Reading the Menu

To Help You Order…

Menu Reader

Meze (Starters)

Et (Meat)

Balık (Fish), Deniz Ürünleri (Seafood)

Sebze (Vegetables)

Tatlı (Dessert)

Beverages

Restaurants

İstanbul

Marmara Region and Aegean Coast

Ayvalik

Bodrum

Bursa

Çanakkale

Çeşme

İzmіr

Selçuk

Yaylaköy

Mediterranean Coast

Antalya

Dalyan

Datça

Kalkan

Kaş

Kayaköyu

Patara

Cappadocia and Central Anatolia

Ankara

Konya

Mustafapaşa (Sinasos)

Ürgüp

Eastern Turkey

Antakya

Gaziantep

Mardin

A–Z Travel Tips

A

Accommodation

Airports (see also Getting There)

B

Budgeting for Your Trip

C

Camping

Car hire

Climate

Clothing

Crime and Safety

D

Driving

E

Electricity

Embassies and Consulates

Emergency Numbers (see also Police)

G

Gay and Lesbian Travellers

Getting There (see also Airports)

Guides and Tours

H

Health and Medical Care

L

Language

M

Maps

Media

Money

O

Opening Times

P

Police

Post Offices

Public Holidays

R

Religion

T

Telephone

Time Zones

Tipping

Toilets

Tourist Information

Transport

V

Visas and Entry Requirements

W

Websites and Internet Access

Y

Youth Hostels

Recommended Hotels

İstanbul and Surroundings

Princes Islands

Edirne

Sea of Marmara and Aegean Coast

Assos (Behramkale)

Bodrum and Environs

Bursa

Çanakkale

Çeşme

İzmir

Kuşadasi

Pamukkale

Selçuk

Mediterranean Coast

Antalya

Dalyan

Kalkan

Kaş

Patara (Gelemiş)

Side

Cappadocia and Central Anatolia

Ankara

Göreme

Güzelyurt (Gelverİ)

Üçhisar

Ürgüp

Eastern Turkey

Antakya

Gaziantep

Nemrut Daği

Şanliurfa

Turkey’s Top 10 Attractions

Top Attraction #1

Getty Images

Aspendos

The site of an amazingly well-preserved Roman theatre. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #2

iStock

Blue Mosque

Its interior is aglow with thousands of decorated tiles. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #3

Frank Noon/Apa Publications

Gaziantep Archaeological Museum

Hundreds of square metres of vivid Roman mosaics, the best in the Middle East, form the heart of this astonishing collection. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #4

istock

Hagia Sophia

Completed in AD 537, it ranks among the wonders of the world. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #5

iStock

Pamukkale

Mineral-rich springs formed its irresistible travertine terraces. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #6

iStock

Ephesus

Its Roman ruins are the most extensive in the Mediterranean. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #7

Frank Noon/Apa Publications

Patara

Turkey’s longest continuous beach, its dunes romantically encroaching on the ruins of an ancient city. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #8

iStock

Ölüdeniz

Pine-clad hills and white-sand beaches back the turquoise waters of this beautiful stretch of coastline. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #9

Rebecca Erol/Apa Publications

Topkapı Palace

Centuries of Ottoman pomp and power are on display. For more information, click here.

Top Attraction #10

iStock

Nemrut Dağı

Huge stone heads stare from a mountaintop in the Mesopotamian basin. For more information, click here.

A Perfect Tour Of Turkey

Days 1–2

İstanbul

Enter Topkapı Palace early, then see Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque. Have lunch nearby before strolling west via the Grand Bazaar to the Sülemaniye mosque, later descending to the colourful Spice Bazaar. The next day, take a ferry up the Bosphorus, visiting various museums or waterside villas. Return in the evening to sample Beyoğlu’s nightlife.

Days 3–4

Bursa to Assos

Hire a car and take the ferry to Mudanya or Yalova, ports for Bursa. Tour Bursa then set off west for Çanakkale, perhaps making it to Troy before sunset. The following day, cross to Eceabat for the battlefields of Gallipoli. Return to the mainland and head for Assos, watching the sunset over Lésvos from the acropolis before dinner.

Days 5–6

Ayvalık to Pamukkale

After a morning swim, head down the Aegean coast to Ayvalık, in time for lunch. Explore nearby Pergamon before continuing south to Selçuk. Spend the next morning at Ephesus, then stop at Priene, Miletus or Didyma after lunch. Next head inland to Pamukkale in time for sunset.

Days 7–8

On to Patara

After viewing the terraces and ancient Hierapolis, loop round via Aphrodisias, lunching at adjacent Geyre village, before continuing to Highway 400 en route to Dalyan. Get up early for a river cruise to Kaunos. Then drive east, pausing for lunch at Kaya Köyü, before visiting two sites from among Tlos, Pınara, Xanthos or the Letoön. Arrive at Gelemiş, gateway to Patara beach and ruins.

Days 9–10

Kaş to Antalya

Having enjoyed Patara, continue east to Kaş for lunch, then drive early in the afternoon to Kekova, where boatmen take you to Simena and other local highlights. Next day, continue east, pausing at Demre for ancient Myra, before swimming and lunch at Çıralı. Catch Phaselis ruins before they close, then arrive at Antalya’s old town.

Day 11

Termessos to Cappadocia

Spend the next morning at Termessos, seeing either Perge or Aspendos before lunch (and a swim) at Side. Then take the inland road via Beyşehir to Konya by nightfall. Having paid your respects to the Mevlâna, continue after lunch to Cappadocia, choosing Ürgüp or Göreme as a base.

Days 12-13

Cappadocia

In one day it is possible to comfortably visit the Göreme Open-Air Museum; plus the distinctive villages of Üçhisar, Ortahisar and Ürgüp with their cave dwellings, churches and stunning views; as well as the underground city at Avanos. On Day 13, take in Sinasos, the underground city at Derinkuyu, and a walk in the Ihlara Valley.

Day 14

Ankara

Drive to Ankara, hand in the rental car, then tour the city’s highlights on foot. The Hisar (Castle), copper bazaar and Museum of Anatolian Civilisations are all well worth a visit and just a few paces apart.

Introduction

Today, Turkey is one of the world’s favourite holiday playgrounds, and this land that bridges Europe and Asia has accommodated a stampede of travellers for millennia (although many of the earlier visitors came dressed in armour and had conquest and plunder on their minds). In 2018 alone, 40 million foreign visitors visited Turkey. To experience the richness of this nation you need only follow paths well beaten since ancient times. Since the earliest prehistoric cultures of Anatolia this has been the crossroads of civilisations: the Hittites, Greeks, Persians, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, Crusaders, Mongols, Ottomans, French, British and Italians have all passed through and left their imprint on this most complex and beautiful of societies.

In İstanbul, climb the staircase outside the waterfront entrance to the Egyptian Bazaar and you will find yourself in the Rüstem Paşa Camii, a gem of a mosque designed by the great Ottoman architect Sinan and awash with magnificent İznik tiles. At Termessos, on the Mediterranean coast, scramble up a steep mountain path and before you lies an ancient Greek theatre perched spectacularly on the edge of a precipice. In the Ihlara Valley in Cappadocia, insignificant holes in the cliff open out into jewel-like cave-churches rich in glorious Byzantine frescoes.

Of the many fabulous experiences that await you in Turkey, one well worth seeking out is the pleasure of swimming from beaches at Patara, Olympos, Side or Phaselis, raising your head from the warm Mediterranean waters, and looking back towards a shore littered with the remains of ancient, once-thriving cities: a ruined temple here, a granary there, a bath complex rising from the scrub.

Size and Landscape

Geographically, Turkey is huge, with 7,200km (4,500 miles) of coast, and land frontiers with Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The border between Europe and Asia runs through the middle of İstanbul, along the Bosphorus, one of the most strategically important waterways in the world.

The country’s landscape is as varied as it is huge. Sculpted cliffs, punctuated by golden beaches and lapped by indigo and turquoise seas, line the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts, their valleys a sea of greenhouses producing, among many other things, some of the most delicious tomatoes in the world. A little way inland, valleys give way to rocky mountains clad in pine forests, their lower slopes filled with orchards that flutter with pink and white blossoms in spring.

Mount Ararat