Turkey has been one of the most popular tourist destinations for many years.
Datcha
The city is located on the peninsula Reshadie, which is shaped more like a spit, going almost 100 km into the Aegean Sea – so you can look at its turquoise waves from two different shores. The place is non-touristic – there are no all-inclusive hotels and crowds of tourists, but there are many cozy fish restaurants, excellent local wine and always calm sea. The place is famous for almonds, which grow here, and delicious honey. If you drive to the cape of the peninsula, you can get to Knida, walk among the ruins of the ancient Lycian city and appreciate the incredible sea views at the confluence of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Getting to Datca from the south of Turkey is a particularly spectacular route – by road along the sea from Mersin via Antalya.
Blue Lagoon of Oludeniz
A paradise place a couple of hundred kilometers from Datchi: a quiet bay with a coast of white pebbles and bright blue sea water. The lagoon is surrounded by a chain of mountains. The location can’t be called wild, but for the beauty of nature it is worth spending a couple of days here. Beach vacation surrounded by dense forests here is exaggeratedly beautiful. If you are tired of sunbathing and swimming, you can walk through the ruins of Kayakoy village – there are more than 500 well-preserved buildings. Fans of strong impressions can entertain themselves in Oludeniz and fly with an instructor on a paraglider: there are two sites at an altitude of 1672 meters and 1980 meters. The duration of the descent is about 30 minutes – during this time you will be able to see the lagoon in detail.
Kachkar National Park
The park is located in a protected ecological zone in the northeast of the country near the Georgian border. It is an ideal place for trekking, walking in the wild mountainous terrain and studying the bizarre transformations of fluffy clouds. The park is named after the highest point of the local mountain range with an altitude of 3937 meters. The summit is accessible for climbing, no special equipment is required, but you should keep in mind that the glacier does not descend from it all year round. In the park you can walk through dense forests and tea plantations, visit picturesque villages and taste authentic local cuisine, sit under citrus trees, swim in mountain lakes or stand under waterfalls. The weather, as it should be in the mountains, is unpredictable even in the summer, you should check the forecasts before visiting.
Salda Lake
This lake is called the Turkish Maldives: the emerald water is framed by a wide strip of white mineral deposits. The size of the reservoir is about six by eight kilometers, it is located on the site of a volcano crater, so it is quite deep in the center – up to 183 meters. Another strong point of the place: it is at an altitude of 1193 meters, and the temperature here is about 10 degrees lower than on the coast. Swimming, however, is forbidden by the authorities. But here it is great to have a picnic among black pines, to lie down, covered with therapeutic mud, or to rent a bicycle and explore the surroundings. The water is purest, wild nature is all around, mountains surround the lake from all sides – the place will not leave indifferent to itself.
Nemrut-Dag Mountain
In central Turkey you can reach the Nemrut-Dag mountain massif. Here at an altitude of 2150 meters is located one of the symbols of the Hellenistic period of the country – the tomb of Antiochus I of Commagene, the most famous ruler of the ancient Armenian kingdom, built in the I century AD. Around it there are stone heads eight meters high – not inferior to their counterparts on Easter Island. In 1987 these monuments were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. The mountain vistas around are also quite impressive.
Giresun
One of the best resort towns on the Black Sea coast of Turkey, where you will not meet crowds of foreign tourists. It is surrounded by coniferous forests, wide pebble beaches and numerous gardens. You can go to the island of the same name, where, of course, there are also ruins left from ancient times. Architecture fans: the main attraction of the resort is the Giresun Fortress and its bas-reliefs.
