Over the centuries Diyarbakir, in south east Turkey, has seen dozens of civilizations and empires come and go. The Greeks, Romans, Sassanids, Arabs, Byzantines and the Ottomans all ruled here at one time or another. The Mervani, a Kurdish Sunni Muslim dynasty of Upper Mesopotamia and Armenia ruled Diyarbakir between 978 and 1085 AD, and…
If you have to ask whether visiting Cappadocia is worth it, then I suggest you scroll on. The same goes for people in Facebook groups who say they wasted their time going to Cappadocia because their balloon flight was cancelled. Or think the best way to enjoy Cappadocia is by doing a flying dress photoshoot….
Of the nine Princes’ Islands in the Sea of Marmara off Istanbul, Heybeliada is the second biggest after Büyükada. The Turkish name translates as Saddlebag Island, as hills at either end of the land mass make it resemble one. However locals call it Halky (pronounced halki) which is also the Greek name for the island….
2026 Writing Retreat Turkey Write, sail and dream as we cruise the waters of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas in 2026 with my Writing Retreat Turkey. Disconnect from the chaos of daily life, find your inner voice and enjoy evenings sharing stories under the stars. Learn how to make your words tell a story that…
Bodrum has been featured a lot in travel magazines and websites lately as the next big summer hot spot for the rich and famous who’ve just ‘discovered’ it. However locals like blogger and artist Annie Onursan who first came to Turkey as a teenager on a school trip in 1974 know Bodrum has been popular…
FETHIYE HISTORY Telmessos, modern day Fethiye, was once the most important port city on the border of ancient Lycia. A theatre of the same name high up in the hills is one of the major sites left from the original settlement. According to a legend from the Lycian period, the god Apollo fell in love…
Birgi is located on the Silk Road and the town was once an important silk production centre, beginning some fifteen hundred years ago. By 1426 it had come under the control of the Ottoman Empire and in 17th century, Evliya Çelebi noted that loads of silk were being sent from Birgi to cities all over Turkey. These days silk weaving is done on industrial looms but there are still some small workshops producing delicate items on traditional silk hand looms. Birgi was chosen as one of the 3 best villages in Turkey in 2022 by the United Nations World Tourism Organization and once you’ve seen it for yourself, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Modern day Demre is essentially a dusty farming town full of shops selling agricultural equipment and simple lokanta serving up doner or home cooked food. Tomatoes grow in abundance alongside orchards lush with citrus trees but back in the 5th century BC Myra, as Demre was known, was a powerful Lycian city.
Izmir, Turkey’s third most populated city, stretches around the Gulf of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. It’s where the first ever railway line was built in the country to transport produce grown on farms 120 kilometres inland for export to Europe. The gorgeous Sarayı Borsa, the Palace Stock Market that once saw a vigorous trade in cotton, figs and a range of dried fruits including Sultaninas (dried raisins) brought to Izmir by camel, is still standing.
Sanliurfa (Şanliurfa in Turkish) in south east Turkey is famous for three main things. Baliklı Göl, Urfa Kebab and Göbekli Tepe and I’ve been there four times. The first time I went to Sanliurfa in 2001, Göbekli Tepe wasn’t a tourist site. I hung around Baliklı Göl, talked with Turkish school kids eager to practice…