12 Cool Things To Do In Turkey
/1 Comment/in Travel & About, We Recommend /by Alper Ertubey
Take a cooking class.
More and more people are into taking classes all over the world. Less is seeking for set menus, hotel buffets, and continental food. Turkish cuisine is very tasty, healthy, easy to prepare, and very diverse. I would like to recommend taking a cooking class in Turkey, while you are in İstanbul, Cappadocia, or İzmir area.
Visit Urla and Thrace Wine Routes
Turkey has now 2 established wine routes for the enthusiast. In spite of the high taxing on alcoholic drinks in Turkey, the wine industry is doing remarkably well. Now, on Urla & Thrace wine routes a couple of dozens of wineries are offering to taste their wines and several of them are offering chic restaurants and/or boutique accommodation.
Kayak on sunken ruins.
Turkish southern coast has submerged 2-3 meters over a couple of thousand years, which provides a unique experience to the adventurers. This kayaking adventure is conducted by certified guides, starting out very early in the morning and tying up about 11:00 am. The attendees cross the strait to Kekova Island and slowly float their kayaks over the harbor structures of this Lycian settlement, which once was a stopover for the ship in the ancient times and also for the pilgrims sailing to the holy lands.
Learn how to make felt.
Felt making is a rare, ancient artisanship. Wet fitted fabrics are produced from wool, which grips and mats easily, and a synthetic fiber that gives the felt some resilience and longevity. It is simple, durable and costs very little. Aegean town of Tire, which is only 45 minutes' drive from the Ephesus area. Modern felt makers managed to make felt desirable by creating artistic forms and uses of it. It is big fun to visit Tire as a family and learn how to make felt.
Taste street food
A lot of times, nibbling tasty bits on the street is much more fun than sitting at a restaurant. Street food easy to reach, affordable, usually hit the spot when your energy is about to decline and dinner is another hour ahead of you. Sometimes it is as good as dinner. My personal favorites for street food is İstanbul & İzmir.
Ride a hot-air balloon.
It is no longer a secret that Cappadocia is the most beautiful location for a hot-air balloon ride. It is one of the 100, 1000, or whatever things you should do in your life. Being in a hot-air balloon at dawn up in the air adds a whole different dimension to the beauty of the landscape of Cappadocia.
Take A Dancing Class
Folkdances is one of the underrated activities in Turkey. Traditional dances bring people together, arms-in-arms. Drums and clarions, or fiddles, and bagpipes lead the way and the community celebrates the occasion or dance off the heat of the day. You may want to amuse your friends by learning "Horon", as I did by learning Haka Dance.
Hike & Sail the Turkish coast.
I will not be modest about this one. I really believe that hiking and sailing vacation along the Turquoise Coast is one of the best travel-related experiences in someone's life. It combines pleasure, leisure, learning, fun, fresh food from the kitchen, hiking the ancient trails, exploring antiquity and remote places from the sea, meeting nomads, safe, slow, and most importantly able to accommodate fit and the less fit, young and the less young friends, family members, and everybody wins.
Watch a Sema ritual (Whirling Dervishes)
Sufi whirling is a form of physically active meditation which originated among certain Sufi groups, and which is still practiced by the Sufi Dervishes of the Mevlevi order. İstanbul & Cappadocia area the best places.
Explore Turkish Flora Go Afar
Most people don’t know that Turkey has the richest biodiversity in the temperate zone. You should go to the off the beaten track and observe this amazing fact. My favorite As an expert of flora trips in Turkey, my first choices would be Kemaliye, Antalya, Rize & Artvin areas.
Hike one of the cultural routes
Turkey has more than 20 marked and maintained cultural hiking routes. They all combine antiquity, beautiful landscapes, charming villages and towns. My favorites are Lycian Way, Carian Way and Troas Cultural Routes.
Go to a meyhane.
Meyhane literally means "wine house". Traditional restaurants where people socialized over a glass of wine and had a few mezes. However, unlike the name states, "rakı" has replaced the wine since the mid-1900s but the vibe is on. Meyhane is where an average Turk would strip off the worries of daily life, chat, sing, and come up with brilliant ideas to save the world. Go to a meyhane, order a few mezes, a glass of rakı. Don't forget to order a slice of white cheese and a slice of melon, like my grandfather would.
Turkey is so rich and Hike and Sail is the best.