Say Turkey to most Brits and they’ll see a summer beach destination. However, the legions of tourists who head for Turkish shores from farther afield, particularly the US, don’t go all that way just to sunbathe.
They’re attracted by the legacy of centuries of upheaval. Turkey’s pivotal position on the Silk Road and other important east-west trading routes saw civilisations battle it out for supremacy, with control passing from the Hittites to the Persians to the Romans before the rise of the Byzantine and then Ottoman empires. Like neighbouring Greece, Turkey’s rich heritage can be as strong a selling point as its beaches.
“Turkey was a stay-put holiday destination attracting school summer holidaymakers but now it is maturing,” says Sabina Shaida, managing director of Turkey specialist Mosaic Holidays. “City breaks to Istanbul are growing, and multi-centre trips combining the city with Cappadocia, Antalya or Oludeniz are great combinations.”
In addition to tailor-made holidays, escorted tours and city breaks entirely focused on Turkey’s cultural side, clients can get a taste of the country’s historic sights while on a beach holiday.
Dosomethingdifferent.com has added Turkey to its portfolio, including day tours of Ephesus from Bodrum and Aphrodisias from Marmaris. Attraction World offers a wide range of tours in Istanbul, plus Pergamon, Ephesus, Troy, Aphrodisias and Gallipoli.
Istanbul
This popular city-break destination straddles the Bosphorus and two continents. Istanbul has one foot in Europe and one in Asia, both geographically and culturally, with relics of the Christian and Islamic empires that took control of the city. Istanbul is this year’s European City of Culture.
Many of the city’s most famous attractions are gathered in the Sultanahmet district, which was the centre of both the Byzantine and Ottoman empires. Visitors can marvel at the breathtaking dome of the Hagia Sofia, built in the 6th century as a church, converted to a mosque in 1453 and now a museum. The ornate interior is stunning, all marble and mosaic, with vast granite columns.
Nearby, visitors can see the Blue Mosque, with its six towering minarets and extravagantly tiled interior.
A short walk away is the Topkapi Palace, the political centre of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries. The huge complex of buildings is surrounded by gardens and interwoven with courtyards and pavilions. Visitors can see treasures, jewellery, robes, armour and art, as well as the palaces, which are beautiful examples of Ottoman architecture.
These highlights just scratch the surface of the historical delights, but it also illustrates just one side of Istanbul. Despite the palpable presence of its past, Istanbul is very much a city of the here-and-now. With the youngest population of any city in Europe, it has a vibrant nightlife of bars, restaurants and clubs and a thriving art and design scene. Suggest clients head for the up-and-coming areas of Beyoglu and Taksim to experience this side of the city.
Many operators offer short breaks to Istanbul, such as Thomas Cook Signature, Kirker Holidays, Regent Holidays, Kuoni, Inghams and Page and Moy.
Gallipoli
Clients with an interest in more recent history may want to head to the slender Gallipoli peninsula in north-west Turkey.
This land, now a mixture of beautiful rolling fields and thick pine forests, was the site of the 1915 landings by Allied troops, and there are a huge number of First World War battlefields and cemeteries to visit.
Those with an extensive interest will be best off with a specialist such as Leger Holidays, which offers an eight-day Gallipoli Battlefields departure. Shorter trips can be added on to holidays in other areas of Turkey; Intrepid Travel has a two-day Gallipoli Pilgrimage itinerary.
Anzac day (April 25) is by far the busiest time at Gallipoli, as thousands of visitors from Australia and New Zealand arrive to commemorate the Allied defeat, so recommend clients book ahead to visit at this time.
The Aegean Coast
The remains of ancient civilisations are scattered along the Aegean coast at Turkey’s western extent.
The most famous is Troy which, according to legend, the Greeks finally captured after 10 years of siege by hiding inside a large wooden horse. The city’s existence was thought to have been a myth until 1871, when excavations uncovered nine layers of remains, revealing a city whose history spanned four millennia. Warn clients not to expect too much: imagination is necessary to envisage Troy as it was from the ruins left behind.
Further south, Pergamon rose to fame in the Hellenist period. The city of the kings, the acropolis, is impressive, containing temples to Trajan and Athena, and the famous library, which reputedly contained 200,000 books.
Except for Pompeii in Italy, Ephesus is the best-preserved and most extensive ancient city in the Mediterranean. It’s also Turkey’s second most-visited attraction, after Sultanahmet.
Far further from Izmir and the coast, and thus much quieter, Aphrodisias is a ruined Roman city in a beautiful location. The magnificent theatre is almost intact, there are temples, baths and porticos, and a double agora.
Operators offering tours of these Aegean sights include Page & Moy, Cox & Kings, Imaginative Traveller and Intrepid Travel.
Cappadocia
Slap bang in the centre of Turkey, Cappadocia has seen turbulent times, and evidence of this is writ large upon the landscape.
Its volcanic past has resulted in a strange and otherworldly landscape of ‘fairy chimneys’ and deep gorges. Carved into these mountainsides are hidden cities, such as the one at Zelve, where visitors can see how Christians and Muslims lived in harmony.
The most famous cave churches are to be found at Goreme, an ancient monastic site where visitors can climb inside to see the wonderfully preserved 11th to 13th-century frescoes painted in bright colours on the walls.
Even older are the underground cities, networks of tunnels and rooms reaching deep underground, to which the local population would retreat from marauding invaders and looters. The two largest, Derenkuyu and Kaymakli, date back to about 700.
Clients can really get a feel for the area by staying in a hotel built inside a cave or fairy chimney – there are many in the towns of Goreme and nearby Urgup.
Try Serinn House for an upmarket luxury option. Turkish Airlines flies from Istanbul to Kayseri, the nearest airport. Adventurous operators such as Explore, Imaginative Traveller and Intrepid Travel offer trips to the area.
Eastern Turkey
Eastern Turkey is much less visited by Brits than the west, but for clients looking for something a little different, there are plenty of historical sights.
To the north, near the Black Sea coast, the Greek Orthodox monastery at Sumela clings to a cliff face nearly a thousand feet above the Altindere Valley.
Further south, near the border with Armenia, is the ruined ghost town of Ani, where some of the beautiful painted churches survived ransacking by Mongol hordes in the 13th century.
In the southeast of Turkey, the tomb and temple of King Antiochus, Nemrut Dagi, sits on top of a remote mountain. Tall statues in his memory stand several metres high and stare out across the valley below.
Explore, Imaginative Traveller and Cox & Kings offer itineraries in eastern Turkey.
Sample product
Page & Moy offers a nine-day Istanbul, Troy and Ephesus tour, from £829 including flights. pageandmoy.com, 0800 567 7400
Insight Vacations offers a 15-day Treasures of Turkey tour, with highlights including Istanbul, Cappadocia, Pergamon and Gallipoli, from £1,075, excluding flights but including door-to-door transfers. insightvacations.com/uk, 020 7468 4335
