Introduction
Turkey is rapidly modernizing country with best of both worlds to offer. It offers oriental splendor, full of mystery and mystiques with progressive western outlook. Savor the unrivalled hospitality and mouth-watering cuisines. Pristine coastline with spectacular mosques and castles Turkey remains Mediterranean's most sought destination. It has lot more to offer ranging from water sports to trekking, archaeology to river rafting. Water sports are big in Turkey because of the beautiful coasts and beaches. Go for Yachting, water-skiing, snorkeling and diving. Turkey offers fabulous mountains for climbing. Go for skiing at Bursa, on Mt Erciyes near Kayseri, and at Palandöken near Erzurum. Cycling through Turkey is delightful activity.

Attractions

Ankara
Turkey's capital is a modern city in the midst of the Central Anatolian steppe. Visit Hisar, the Byzantine citadel atop the hill east of the old city, and the nearby Museum of Anatolian Civilization. Beautiful mausoleum of Atatürk, a monumental building, echoing the architecture of several great Anatolian empires is located in the south. The Presidential Mansion is preserved as Atatürk used it, with decor and furnishings of the 1930s including billiard table and cigar-and-brandy nook. For ancient history lovers there is more to see Roman ruins dotting amongst the mosques and monuments of Muslim Anatolia. Roman Ankara was also a city of some importance.

Antalya
Antalya is the chief city on Turkey's central Mediterranean coast. Antalya with pebble beaches and a historic Roman-Ottoman core is a good base to explore the quieter beach towns and more spectacular ancient cities of the region. Side, east of Antalya is the increasingly popular beach town. East of Antalya, is another sea-sun-n-sand joint at Alanya. Patara is a party town a few hundred km southwest of Antalya.It offers splendid 20km long beach and Roman ruins in amongst the dunes.

Bodrum
One of the South Aegean's prettiest resorts, Bodrum is complete with a yacht harbour and a port for ferries to the Greek island of Kos.Hill side is dotted with Palm-lined streets along the bays. Boating, swimming, snorkeling and scuba diving are prime Bodrum activities. Enjoy the happening nightlife at Bodrum's famous discos throb,boom and blare, keeping much of the town awake until dawn.

Ephesus
Ephesus is the grandest and best preserved among Turkey's hundreds of ancient cities and classical ruins. Ionia's Temple of Diana was counted among the Seven Wonders of the World, and the city was generally renowned for its wealth and beauty. Take a walk around the ruins including the Grotto of the Seven Sleepers, in which seven persecuted youths slumbered for two centuries, then woke up and ambled down to town for a meal; the colossal Harbour Gymnasium; the grand marble-paved Arcadian Way; the impressive Temple of Hadrian and a scattering of Roman fountains, pools, brothels, libraries and public toilets. Selçuk is the main tourist centre for the region. There is a beautiful museum in the centre of town and delightful Roman, Christian and Muslim sights including the St John Basilica and a Byzantine Aqueduct.

Istanbul
Istanbul is one of the truly great romantic cities skyline studded with domes and minarets. Its history tracks back from Byzantium to Constantinople to its place at the head of the Ottoman Empire. Today it famous world over as Turkey's cultural heart. The heart of historical Istanbul is Sultanahmet, the district centred on the Byzantine Hippodrome in the oldest part of the city. Most sights are within easy walking distance of each other. If the pace does get too much, a çay bahçe (tea garden) is never too far away.

Gallipoli Peninsula
This strategic peninsula has held the key to Istanbul for a millennium. Today the Gallipoli battlefields are peaceful places covered in scrubby brush, pine forests and farmers' fields. It is a place where Momentous battles have been fought, including the 9 months of ferocious combat between Atatürk's troops and the Allies in WWI. Gallipoli is a large area to tour. The two best bases for a visit are Çanakkale on the eastern shore, and Eceabat on the western. The great battles of Gallipoli are commemorated each year during March (usually from the 12th to 19th).

Harran
Harran, in Kurdish southeastern Anatolia, is one of the oldest inhabited spots on earth. The hills around the town are surrounded by crumbling walls and topped with ruined buildings. There is a fortress on the eastern side of the town, and some good mosaics in the 8th century Ulu Cami (a mosque).

Troy
Troy was excavated in 1871 by amateur archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann making it the Homeric city of Ilium, site of an epic battle between the Achaeans (Greeks) and the Trojans in the 13th century BC. Excavations have revealed nine ancient cities, one on top of another, dating back to 3000 BC. Troy VI (1800-1275 BC) is the city of Priam and the one that engaged in the Trojan War. This is the site of one of the world's grandest tales.

Valley of the Fairy Chimneys - Cappadocia
Many Cappadocian valleys are famous for collections of strange volcanic cones, but the ones near Aktepe in northern Cappadocia are the best formed and most thickly clustered. Most of the rosy rock cones are topped by flattish, darker stones of harder rock that sheltered the cones from the rain that eroded all the surrounding rock. The Kale, a tall rock riddled with tunnels and windows visible for miles around, dominates Uçhisar. There is a pleasant walk to Göreme along Dovecote Valley, where the rock face is riddled with holes cut to attract nesting pigeons.