The Hidden Joys of Turkey

Turkey was a country I knew almost nothing about when I first visited. After spending a month traveling around, however, I quickly realized just how much this somewhat anonymous country has to offer.

I say "somewhat anonymous" because most westerners know very little about the country--as was the case with me before visiting. For example, I'll wager that most of you don't know where the capital is (no, it's not Istanbul). I'll also bet that you don't know how many of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World are located here. Would you be surprised if I told you it was two?

Turkey is a traveler's onion that one keeps peeling away and discovering amazing ruins, sites, history, nature, people, food, and so many other gems of which the outside world is hardly aware.

Fred Mawer, writing for The Telegraph, shares this opinion and in a recently published article has narrowed the layers of the onion down to "ten reasons to visit Turkey this summer."

I sure do like the first on the list: Because it's cheap.

Mawer then goes on to wow us over with nine other reasons that include Cappadocia, new hotels, the Datca Peninsula, and more. I was, however, disappointed to discover "golf" on the list. Please, folks, don't go all the way to Turkey to play a round of golf when places like Ephesus remain to be explored (and which is tragically missing from Mawer's list).

Sure, his ten reasons differ from my ten reasons, but give them a read and you'll discover what makes us both feel the same way about Turkey. Perhaps you'll even find one or two reasons powerful enough to inspire a visit.

Filed under: Turkey