I was recently asked to speak at a conference in Turkey (in Istanbul) that I’m very excited about. I’ve been to Turkey before in October of 2008 and absolutely love it. I had the opportunity to travel quite a bit around Turkey to places such as Istanbul, Pamukkale, Izmir, Cappadocia, Antalya, Bursa, and a few other; but couldn’t near the Georgia border because there was a war going on. Originally I had no desire to go to Turkey because I didn’t know much about the country, history and geography are not my strong suites for those that are wondering. My family was planning the trip so and I just agreed to go not knowing what to expect. After my first few days in Turkey it quickly became one of my favorite countries to visit.
Although I’m not that great at history I love to learn while I travel. I’m always fascinated by historical sites, stories, cultures, traditions, and people. I’ve been to Greece and thought nothing to possibly top all of the historical sites that I’ve seen there. I was very wrong. Turkey had some of the most amazing historical sites I have seen. Everything from the library of Alexandria to the tomb of King Midas, all of it was just mind blowing; add a hot air balloon ride through the rose canyon in Cappadocia (one of the best places in the world to ride a hot air balloon) and you’ve really got yourself one heck of a trip.
Having said all that here are my top reasons for why I love Turkey and am so excited to speak there in February:
- Turkey has a lot of life and a rising technology and social media scene (which is what I’m interested in). It’s amazing to see so many entrepreneurs in a foreign country working on trying to build something new and innovating. When you visit Turkey you just feel a huge pulse of life. Everyone goes out and has a great time
- The cities and sites in Turkey are also amazing. I absolutely loved Pammukale where I had the opportunity to soak my feet in the limestone terrace pools that were overlooking a mountain. I also saw some of the most amazing rock formations and underground cities that I have ever seen.
- The people in Turkey are very nice and welcome. Again, Turkey is one of those places that gets a bad rap by the media but when you actually visit the country you find that people are very different. They love conversations and are very spiritual. I get the feeling that everyone in Turkey is wise and just eager to impart their wisdom to the world. Turkey has a very old culture, history, and way of doing things and people really value their culture and tradition; everything from the way they pray to the type of tea they drink.
- The food in Turkey is also amazing. I was on a guided tour while visiting Turkey and most of the food we ate on that tour was horrible. However, once I left the guided tour to explore some of the cities on my own I was greeted with some of the best food I have ever tasted. The kabobs and meat dishes in Turkey are heaven!
Here are a few pictures from my trip, if you want to see the full album you can check out my pictures of Turkey album on Flickr:
There are probably a few other things I can point out as well but not without going into details about the various cities. If you have never been to Turkey I highly recommend that you visit, you will really be amazed at the things you will see and experience. I can’t wait to go back!
Oh man, you have made me so jealous. I've said so many times that if I didn't have a family and a life and a job that I'd move to Izmir, Turkey. There is something about the country that is wildly modern and so full of history at the same time.
Some things about Turkey that blow my mind:
* The incredibly rich history of the story of Jesus mother Mary and his brothers and John the Baptist after Jesus was killed. I am not a big religious person by any account, but the history itself just floored me.
* The intelligence of the Turks. Their understanding thousands of years ago of the power of mental health and the attempts they made to better the medical lives of their people.
* The colors and smells. Oh man, I can still feel the colors and smells of Istambul! Amazing!
* The exact place where Asia meets Europe and the pride the local people in Turkey have for that unique geography. (Also amazing how Asian some Turks look and visa versa!)
* The passion for becoming an open country and moving toward a true democracy. I love their passion and steps toward working itself into the EU economy.
… the list goes on! I hope you have the incredible memories I have of Turkey for a long time to come.
🙂
Garza Girl
@garzag
Wow, great post Jacob! I cannot wait to see the sites too, I hear the people are incredibly nice too…Looks like you had a good time there??
Izmir is a great place to check out. Turkey definitely has a very rich history. I actually visited a house where Jesus and Mary were supposedly hanging out for a while 🙂
It was also interesting to see the two continents right next to each other connected by a bridge. I took a boat ride down a river there and have some great pics of that. I definitely have incredible memories of the trip. Lots of pics and video!
Ya I definitely had a great time there, can't way to go back!
Very good to find another blogger who has an interest in Social Media and travel in Turkey. I am about to launch a new blog for travel and other SM things called bloggerpotamus.com. One of the main functions is to create rich multimedia content for distribution. I would like to catch up with you sometime, you can find me on Twitter @JonathanBowker.
All the best and happy new year,
Jonathan Bowker
Same here! I love Turkey so much, and im actually half turkish half English so when I vist I see all of my family over there too. But believe me guys there's just NO place like it! Everyone is so alive over there and life just never stops- you need to go there to understand it! England is so boring compared to Turkey, sometimes I really wished I lived over there 😐 Hopefully one day I will move back xx
Thanks for the post though:)
Same here! I love Turkey so much, and im actually half turkish half English so when I vist I see all of my family over there too. But believe me guys there's just NO place like it! Everyone is so alive over there and life just never stops- you need to go there to understand it! England is so boring compared to Turkey, sometimes I really wished I lived over there 😐 Hopefully one day I will move back xx
Thanks for the post though:)
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Hi Jacob;
Your post is really wonderful. I love Turkey, too. I think there is nothing like Turkey. I fyou want to learn more about Turkey, you can visit http://www.goturkeytourism.com
Tayfun
I have already been in Gallipoli actually and I enjoyed the staying in the old part of Troy for this time and visiting the historical monuments there. I took a private guide to visit gallipoli and troy I can say that these places are fantastic http://www.toursingallipoli.com I visited these places by recommendation of my friend and even I am not so interested in Historical places I was very affected by these monuments. These places are must while visiting gallipoli. I thought that these places are best attractions to see in gallipoli. You can just spend 4 hours for that. Thank you so much…
I am visiting turkey in June. How can I make female friends?