The country of Turkey, with its beautiful weather and warm Mediterranean atmosphere is a number-one pick for holidays and summer residences. With tonnes of possible activities to enjoy, there is no shortage of fun to have. Here is a handy list of fun or important things to do during your stay in Turkey.
1: Arrange your Visa
Of course, business comes before pleasure, and you have to arrange your visa on time to cover your legal bases, just in case of emergency. If you don’t have a visa, you may end up getting stuck in the country, which may not seem too bad, given the myriad of pleasantries Turkey offers, but may cause some legal trip-ups which you could definitely do without. So number one on the list is to get your visa application arranged and completed before you set off.
2: Visit the cities
Everywhere across the country, from the stunning grace of the capital city, Ankara, to the sweeping architecture of Istanbul, the most-populated city in the country, to all the other brilliant delights that await inside Turkey, there is a host of fun activities for the regular every-year tourist or brand-new first-time visitor to do, seeing the sights of each and every new place. And given the massive differences between any two places you can find, you can be sure it will not get monotonous. Throughout the entire country, Turkey has no less than seventeen UNESCO World Heritage sites, and two of the seven Wonders of the Ancient World, meaning it is a tourist’s dream.
3: Hit the beaches
Across its almost 800,000 square kilometres in land area, Turkey has numerous beaches and bodies of water, even being bordered by the Aegean, Mediterranean and Black Seas on three sides. This makes up a lot of beach space, and with the agreeable climate and weather, the beach industry is huge in Turkey.
If sunbathing or swimming isn’t your thing, you can also find numerous businesses to hire sailing boats or rowing boats, which can be for just some time to relax or, if you find a suitable company, for fishing or windsurfing and similar water sports.
4: Take in the culture
Turkey has been at the forefront of art, literature, music and theatre for as long as each of those things have existed, and you can find amazing, one-of-a-kind examples of that almost everywhere you go. From paintings in a museum to murals on the street, big-budget acting productions to local plays, and dozens of different types of song and dance, all of it is widespread and easily accessible, and any self-respecting tourist would have to add seeing at least one to their bucket list.
5: Try the food
Due to its variety of different cultures inhabiting the area over its long history, Turkish cuisine is a constantly evolving collection of dozens, maybe even hundreds of backgrounds, many built around the basics of meat and fish, dairy, and spices. And fortunately for the hungry tourist with a wish to try some, there are no end of high-quality restaurants to order a sample and test some of it for yourself.
However, it seems like almost every single Turkish citizen has a special recipe for everything, so eating a specific meal in one place may taste massively different in another, simply due to the addition or subtraction of a different seasoning or using different ratios of ingredients. Also, every meal has very specific sides and complements to it, which again are made in hundreds of different ways across the country, so eating a meal is like a surprise of different flavours every single time, perfect for the hungry tourist.
