We live in “experience age” where ownership takes the back seat. Everyone from youngsters to oldies want to travel, experience the world and update their Instagram with images capable of seeding desire and inducing jealousy among followers and travelers. Today, I list down 5 reasons why Turkey should feature high on your vacation list.
Culture
Turkey enjoys a unique geographic position as it partly lies in Asia and Europe making it culturally vibrant, diverse and heterogenous. It is truly multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. You cannot find any other country in the world that is as diverse and amalgamating the best of both East and West. May be this was also the reason why Hittites, Romans, Christians, and Ottomans made it their home enriching the land, culture, and people. UNESCO has tagged 100s places as heritage sites and archeologist continue to discover new sites every day that pre-dates Hittites. Lastly, did you know Turkish and Hindi share more than 150 words?
Cuisine
Proximity to Mediterranean Sea and its climate has a great influence on Turkish cuisine. From hunger arousing breads (simit), mindboggling cheeses (100s of varieties of which 8 are GI tagged), colorful salads garnished with nuts and olive oil, fruits (olives, berries, fig, apple and pomegranate) to sweetmeats (Delights, Baklavas, Dondurma). If you would like to stick to local cuisine, then there is lentil Corba, Shawarma and Kunefe followed by Apple or Pomegranate tea. There is a lot for vegetarians too in this country. In short, it is a culinary paradise for epicureans.
Climate
Turkey enjoys bountiful blessings from mother nature. It has beautiful coastlines, lofty peaks, dormant volcanoes, flat plains and valleys enriching its flora and fauna. Their breathtaking beaches along Aegean Sea, Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean makes it a great getaway location for many Europeans who want to escape frigid winters. Mountains closer to the coast prevent maritime influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons. The eastern part of Turkey is the wettest (2500 mm of annual rainfall), while Anatolian plans are the driest (300 mm of annual rainfall). Read this link for more information on the seasons to plan your visit.
Connectivity
From time immemorial Turkey has enjoyed amazing connectivity with both the East and West. That explains why the Greeks, Romans and Persians Kings made a beeline. The newly opened airport at Istanbul records a touchdown and takeoff every 74 seconds and is being expanded to handle over 200mn tourists a year by 2023. Cruise in the Mediterranean, high-speed trains between big cities, dense bus network connecting smaller and bigger cities and last mile connectivity in cities ensure tourists can move around with ease to enjoy the beauty of the country. India is light years behind when it comes to high-speed trains and last mile connectivity. It is easier and delightful to travel in Turkey than in India.
Currency
Unlike Euro, Dollar, Yen, SGD, AUD or Kronas the Turkish Lira (TL) is very much affordable. Recently, the fall of TL has made it an affordable destination of Indians too. 1 TL is approximately 12.5 rupees making it one of the cheapest countries for Indians to visit, while providing better experience of history than Singapore, Australia, US, and UK. If you avoid peak seasons when Europeans visit (Apr – Aug) and winters (Dec - Mar) and stay in Airbnbs’, you can do a comfortable vacation under INR 100,000/person (inclusive of air tickets).
If you're still not convinced, its okay. In the upcoming blogs, I’ll share more information on how to travel safe and cheap in Turkey, and draw parallels to monuments and places in our country, something that is not available in any of the guidebooks. Hopefully, that should convince you to book your tickets.
Turkey enjoys a unique geographic position as it partly lies in Asia and Europe making it culturally vibrant, diverse and heterogenous. It is truly multi-ethnic and multi-religious country. You cannot find any other country in the world that is as diverse and amalgamating the best of both East and West. May be this was also the reason why Hittites, Romans, Christians, and Ottomans made it their home enriching the land, culture, and people. UNESCO has tagged 100s places as heritage sites and archeologist continue to discover new sites every day that pre-dates Hittites. Lastly, did you know Turkish and Hindi share more than 150 words?
Cuisine
Proximity to Mediterranean Sea and its climate has a great influence on Turkish cuisine. From hunger arousing breads (simit), mindboggling cheeses (100s of varieties of which 8 are GI tagged), colorful salads garnished with nuts and olive oil, fruits (olives, berries, fig, apple and pomegranate) to sweetmeats (Delights, Baklavas, Dondurma). If you would like to stick to local cuisine, then there is lentil Corba, Shawarma and Kunefe followed by Apple or Pomegranate tea. There is a lot for vegetarians too in this country. In short, it is a culinary paradise for epicureans.
Climate
Turkey enjoys bountiful blessings from mother nature. It has beautiful coastlines, lofty peaks, dormant volcanoes, flat plains and valleys enriching its flora and fauna. Their breathtaking beaches along Aegean Sea, Sea of Marmara and the Mediterranean makes it a great getaway location for many Europeans who want to escape frigid winters. Mountains closer to the coast prevent maritime influences from extending inland, giving the central Anatolian plateau of the interior of Turkey a continental climate with sharply contrasting seasons. The eastern part of Turkey is the wettest (2500 mm of annual rainfall), while Anatolian plans are the driest (300 mm of annual rainfall). Read this link for more information on the seasons to plan your visit.
Connectivity
From time immemorial Turkey has enjoyed amazing connectivity with both the East and West. That explains why the Greeks, Romans and Persians Kings made a beeline. The newly opened airport at Istanbul records a touchdown and takeoff every 74 seconds and is being expanded to handle over 200mn tourists a year by 2023. Cruise in the Mediterranean, high-speed trains between big cities, dense bus network connecting smaller and bigger cities and last mile connectivity in cities ensure tourists can move around with ease to enjoy the beauty of the country. India is light years behind when it comes to high-speed trains and last mile connectivity. It is easier and delightful to travel in Turkey than in India.
Currency
Unlike Euro, Dollar, Yen, SGD, AUD or Kronas the Turkish Lira (TL) is very much affordable. Recently, the fall of TL has made it an affordable destination of Indians too. 1 TL is approximately 12.5 rupees making it one of the cheapest countries for Indians to visit, while providing better experience of history than Singapore, Australia, US, and UK. If you avoid peak seasons when Europeans visit (Apr – Aug) and winters (Dec - Mar) and stay in Airbnbs’, you can do a comfortable vacation under INR 100,000/person (inclusive of air tickets).
If you're still not convinced, its okay. In the upcoming blogs, I’ll share more information on how to travel safe and cheap in Turkey, and draw parallels to monuments and places in our country, something that is not available in any of the guidebooks. Hopefully, that should convince you to book your tickets.
Very informative. Can you share your daily expense log and itinerary. Also things which surprised you the most and the least and lastly about your interactions with the locals and some pictures you clicked
ReplyDeleteInteresting as always! I love the way you segregated the aspects of your travel.
ReplyDelete