7 Days. TURKEY Road Trip - Explore Natural Attractions

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 leads 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 hero. The site is in a large park. Other sights 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: Sapanca is a town in the Sakarya Province in the Marmara region of Turkey near Lake Sapanca. The stunning nature and the Lake Sapanca have helped the city become a tourist destination, with its proximity to İstanbul and the city of İzmit, also known as Kocaeli. In addition, the town has several hotels and resorts. (Note: The text is already in English and does not require translation. English is spoken in Ireland with regional dialects and accents, but the written language remains the same.)

About the destination: Kocaeli, an ceantar is mó industrialaithe in An Tuirce, tá sé suite i réigiún Marmara agus tá cáil air as a lárionad ceantair, Izmit. Tá an chathair aitheanta mar lárionad tionscail, ach tá sé freisin timpeallaithe ag láithreacha turasóireachta ar nós tránna, lónlanna sciála, agus páirceanna. Mar shampla, tá Kartepe aitheanta mar an sprioc deiridh do spóirt gheimhridh agus sciáil. Tá Kerpe agus Kefken ar an gcoasta Dubh cáiliúil as a dtránna áille, fad is atá tránna iontacha freisin ag Golcuk agus Karamursel ar Ghuailf Izmit. Is féidir áiteanna do bháid seoil a fháil i sraideanna timpeall ar ghuailf Izmit freisin. Is ionadh nádúrtha eile é Loch Sapanca atá foirfe do phicnicí. Tá na cairpéid is fearr sa Tuirce á ndéanamh i Hereke, baile i Kocaeli. Tá siad cáiliúil as na cairpéid is breátha a dhéanamh do phálásanna ottoman agus do sultáin.

About the destination: Tuzla is a district in Istanbul located on the south-eastern edge of the city. Once a popular destination for tourists during the summer, it has now become the home of Turkey's largest shipyards. Tuzla utilises its location along the Sea of Marmara, bordering the commercial and industrial city of Kocaeli Province.

About the destination: Istanbul owes its historical significance and its incredible cultural and architectural heritage to its perfect strategic location, straddling the Bosphorus straits which separate Europe and Asia Minor. Throughout 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 over 13 million is almost exclusively Turkish, and many of its people are recent migrants from provincial Turkey, drawn by the promise of jobs and careers in this vibrant, rapidly growing city. Istanbul is no longer the nation's capital, but is Turkey's economic and cultural powerhouse - a status emphasised 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 rapidly growing economy has contributed to a thriving arts and music scene, with a wealth of new bars, clubs, private art galleries, restaurants and designer fashion outlets.