Ships in the old harbour of Kateci, Antalya
Turkey (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti or Anatolia) is a country in the Middle East that bridges Europa and Asia. Today Turkey is a popular destination for its beautiful cities, the culture, spa and health care. Istanbul is a top destination, but tourist also like to visit the Cappadocia region and beaches.
You could spend a month to properly visit the whole country but 10 days are already enough to do so.
The best time to visit Turkey is between April and May and September and October.
How to best experience Turkey?
Discover tickets, tours, and activities for Turkey through these providers:
The country of Turkey
| Capital | Ankara |
| Time in Turkey | UTC+3 (TRT) |
| Language spoken | Turkish |
| Religion | No official state religion |
| Population | 84.680.273 (31 December 2021 estimate) |
| Unesco World Heritage Sites | 19 |
Founded in 1923, Turkey is home to a unique intersection of culture as the nation bridges Asia with Europe. It has 19 Unesco World Heritages Sites. The major cities are Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya and Ankara.
Where is Turkey?
Turkey is a transcontinental country located mainly on Anatolia in Western Asia, with a portion on the Balkans in Southeast Europe. It shares borders with Greece and Bulgaria to the northwest; the Black Sea to the north.
Tea in Turkey
When one thinks of tea, one usually thinks of the English tradition but also the Turkish one has its own importance. In Turkey tea drinking is an accepted and valued part of life. Tea tends to accompany most of the rituals and rites of life in Turkey. It is consumed all day long starting with breakfast and continuing right on through until bedtime. Offering tea and drinking tea together is a gesture of friendship and hospitality. It is served with delicious sweet and savory biscuits and cakes. To prepare it there is a whole procedure to be respected which requires the use of two special teapots stacked one on top of the other. Even the glasses used are special and porcelain cups are not common. Tea is drunk from small, tulip-shaped glasses called ince belli (literally “slim-waisted”), which allows the tea to be enjoyed hot as well as showing its crimson color.
What to eat in Turkey
Together with rice, lentils and yogurt, among the typical local specialities usually stand out: kebab, roasted lamb, mutton or chicken; dolmas, hot or cold concoction of meat, spices and rice wrapped in vine leaves; mezé, appetizers in a thousand variations; kofte, meatballs almost always accompanied by tomatoes, peppers or aubergines; imambayildi, aubergine and tomato pie.