4 Reasons Why You Should Discover Turkey

4 Reasons Why You Should Discover Turkey
This post was published on the now-closed HuffPost Contributor platform. Contributors control their own work and posted freely to our site. If you need to flag this entry as abusive, send us an email.

Surrounded by three seas: the Black, the Aegean and the Mediterranean Sea; in the neighborhood of the Balkan and Middle East countries; at the crossroads of the European and Asian history; turquoise Turkey can charm you to pack your bags instantaneously and renew your energy.

Below are four tangible reasons why you should experience Turkish adventures. The best part is that you can do it in a heartbeat, on a budget and without long preparation.

1)Turkey is accessible and hospitable world-class destination.

When you choose to go to a new destination, it certainly matters how your journey will look like. Since 2010 Turkish national carrier, Turkish Airlines has been proclaimed The Best Airline in Europe year after year, flying to over 114 destinations. This result and the viral video with satisfied Lionel Messi and Kobe Bryant should reassure any curious traveler that visiting Turkey would be remarkable and seamless experience.

Moreover, according to UNWTO's statistics Turkey hosted 39 million travelers in 2014 and ranks as the 6th tourism destination in the world, which knows how to wow its guests. Did we mention that this hospitality has the youthful and vibrant spark, given the fact that Turkish median age is 28?

2)Turkish history leaves nobody indifferent.

Every city in Turkey is like an open museum because of the civilizations marching in and out throughout its windy history. Imagine architectural treasures that were built by the ancient Greeks, conquered by the competitive Romans and recreated by the Byzantines.

Within radius of several hundred kilometers mosks, churches and synagogues co-exist together and for instance in the eastward city Ani, called The City of 1001 Churches, many churches are still preserved.

Throughout Turkey there are remnants of the glorious era of Alexander the Great and Byzantine that restored faith in creativity and humanity. Fast forward centuries ahead and you can witness the symbols of Kemal Ataturk's reforms or the recent events in Gezi Park and Taksim Square that harnessed the power of the twitter generation.

3)Turkish cuisine satisfies both lean and demanding eaters.

Once you try Turkish cuisine you will understand why culinary experts swear that there are three kinds of cuisine in the world: French, Chinese and Turkish.

A typical meal starts with meze and you can savour both dishes rich in meat and the leaner ones. For instance, sis and doner kebabs, kofte and tandir became household names for meat lovers. Gozleme and manti are the dishes rich in yogurt, popular as almost as börek pies with meat, cheese or potatoes. Dolma and pilaf are rice dishes, yet dolma is coated with grape or cabbage leaves, while pilaf can sometimes contain bulgur, peas, beans, carrot and aubergines.

At the end of the meal treat yourself with sweets such as kadaif, halva or baklava that are small in size, but dense in the rhapsody of tastes.

4)Turkish authentic design creates fantastic gifts.

Imagine rambling on a market in Istanbul and you need to decide among the cinnamon-scented gifts, velvet pashmina, turquoise marble boxes, thick beach towels, or the lucky charm with penetrating Turkish evil eye.

Thanks to the wonders of the internet, the best pieces of Turkish design, sustainable and authentic, can be chosen online. For example, over 10 generations of loomers in the city of Badabag have been creating the traditional Turkish towels. Now these exquisite products of gentle and hardworking artisans evolved and can be purchased on the website of Loombrand.

How about, next time you head to the holiday, you pick up your favourite item from Loombrand's range of bath and beach towels or throws?

Now that you learned about Turkish geographical coordinates, history, scents, tastes and gifts, it is time to travel there.

Let this civilization that spreads on two continents allure you as you approach it with the open mind and heart, willing to take a proper wellness retreat from the daily grind.

Let us know in the comments section how this sojourn went.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE