Istambul, Ankara, Capadócia e Antalya

About the destination: Istanbul owes its historic importance and its amazing cultural and architectural heritage to its perfect strategic location, straddling the Bosphorus straits which separate Europe and Asia Minor. Through most of its 2,500-year-long history, the city (first known as Byzantium, then as Constantinople and since 1930 as Istanbul) was a cultural melting pot. Today, its population of more than 13 million is almost exclusively Turkish, and many of its people are recent migrants from provincial Turkey, lured by the promise of jobs and careers in this vibrant, fast-growing city. Istanbul is no longer the nation's capital, but is Turkey's economic and cultural powerhouse - a status underlined by its role as a European City of Culture in 2010 and the award of UNESCO World Heritage listing to many of its most important landmarks, which range from stunning Ottoman mosques and Byzantine churches and catacombs to the columns of Hellenistic temples and the remains of massive medieval city walls. But there's more to Istanbul than Byzantine and Ottoman heritage. A fast-growing economy contributed to a flourishing arts and music scene, with a plethora of new bars, clubs, private art galleries, restaurants and designer fashion outlets.

About the destination: Like Washington, Brasilia, or Canberra, Ankara is the capital but not the first city in Turkey. The city’s modernity surprises those arriving from its primitive countryside. Pleasant and less touristic than Istanbul, Ankara has a handful of interesting sights and tremendous museums. It’s also a transportation hub for travel east and south, and home to all the embassies in Turkey. Atatürk Bulvari is the city’s main north-south boulevard, the boulevard lead to ULUS, the older section of town. Near the southern end of the citadel that dominates the old town, you’ll find the fantastic Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, the museum is one of the best in Turkey and it makes Ankara worthwhile to visit. The setting is unique, a restored Ottoman han and a covered bazaar, houses a collection of artefacts that trace the history of Anatolia from the dawn of time. While in the area, stroll through the bazar, the town-within-a-town inside the citadel walls, and the Alâedin Mosque, the oldest mosque in Ankara. Don’t leave Ankara without visiting Anit Kabur, the tomb of Atatürk. Its sheer size and the museum of Atatürk’s personal effects will give you a sense of Turkey’s immense reverence for its national here. The site is in a large park. Other sight in Ankara include the Temple of Augustus, built in 25 B.C.E. over the site of earlier temples to Cybele, an Anatolian fertility god, and to the Phrygian moon god but later converted into a Byzantine church. Nearby are Haci Bazram Mosque, the Ethnography Museum and the old Parliament. Ankara has a lively social scene, great restaurants and award-winning shopping malls, with a great deal of history dating back to the Romans to top it all off. The nation’s capital is the place to eat out in style, go to a club, visit art galleries, museums or explore antiques shops.

About the destination: Cappadocia is a historical region in Central Anatolia, largely in the Nevşehir, Kayseri, Kırşehir, Aksaray, and Niğde Provinces in Turkey. According to Herodotus,[1] in the time of the Ionian Revolt (499 BCE) the Cappadocians were reported as occupying a region from Mount Taurus to the vicinity of the Euxine (Black Sea). Cappadocia, in this sense, was bounded in the south by the chain of the Taurus Mountains that separate it from Cilicia, to the east by the upper Euphrates, to the north by Pontus, and to the west by Lycaonia and eastern Galatia.[2] The name, traditionally used in Christian sources throughout history,[citation needed] continues in use as an international tourism concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders, in particular characterized by fairy chimneys and a unique historical and cultural heritage.

About the destination: Antalya is the largest city on the Turkish Mediterranean coast, and is one of the hubs of the so-called Turkish Riviera. Having the most beautiful and the cleanest shores of the Mediterranean, along with the long coastal line of Antalya, one encounters antique sites, old ports, monumental graves, dramatic shores, endless beaches, green forests, rivers and waterfalls. Kaleici, enclosed in ancient city walls, is Antalya’s Old Quarter. It is one of the liveliest parts in the city with shops, bars, restaurants and entertainment facilities. The streets of Kaleici extend to the old harbour, which is used as an international yacht marina today. In the picturesque Old Quarter, you’ll find examples of Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman eras and numerous archaeological cities and historic buildings to explore. Antalya is an attractive city with shady palm-lined boulevards, considered by many as a paradise on earth and the pearl of the Mediterranean. Not bad, huh?