Things to Do in Turkey

The Eminonu Pier is located along the southern end of the Galata Bridge and consists of multiple docks for ferries cruising along or crossing the Bosphorus.

Eminonu Halec Iskelesi (dock) is the furthest west of the docks and is the departure point for Sehir Hatlari Golden Horn ferries.  The other dock west of the Galata Bridge, the TurYol Eminonu dock, is where you will find TurYol ferries to Uskudar, Haydarpasa and Kadikoy, as well as Bosphorus cruises. Follow the pedestrian way under the Galata Bridge and you will come to remaining five docks, with ferries heading to Uskudar and Kadikoy, as well as a car ferry heading to the Harem Otogar on the Asian side of Istanbul and multiple ferries cruising across the Bosphorus.

Before or after your ferry journey, try a fish sandwich from a boat at the pier, peruse the goods being hawked by merchants along the pier and sample some of the bites offered by other vendors.

The Egyptian Obelisk is also known as the Obelisk of Theodosius or the Obelisk of Thutmose III. The Egyptian pharaoh Thutmose III originally ordered the construction of the obelisk in the 15th century B.C. at the temple of Karnak, near present-day Luxor. The Roman Emperor Constantius II transported the obelisk up the Nile River to Alexandria in the year 357 to commemorate his twentieth year in power. It remained there until Byzantine Emperor Theodosius moved it to Istanbul in 390 and erected it what was then known as the Hippodrome of Constantinople.

Built at the same time as the Lateran Obelisk that stands in the Circus Maximus in Rome, the Egyptian Obelisk was made of red granite from Aswan and once stood 30 meters tall. Due to damage to the base during transport, today it stands just under 20 meters high, not including its pedestal. The four sides of the obelisk feature inscriptions celebrating a military victory by Thutmose III in 1450 B.C.  and carvings on the marble pedestal date back to 390, when it was re-erected in the Hippodrome.

Modern-day sun lovers worship Didyma’s golden beaches, but in classical Ionian times this was the legendary site of the Temple of Apollo.

In its heyday, Didyma’s famous temple was the home of the oracle of Apollo, who provided the Hellenic world with divine predictions from the gods. The sanctuary at Didyma was the most significant temple in the territory of the legendary city of Miletus, approached via the Sacred Way. It was renowned for its wealth and sacred spring, a revered site predating the era of the Greeks.

The symbol of Didyma is the beautiful stone heads of the Medusa that crown the temple’s Ionic columns. Monumental steps lead to the remains of more than 100 equally huge pillars, two of which are linked by a sole surviving architrave.

Recent excavations have unearthed other temples, including one dedicated to Artemis, destroyed by fire and earthquake over the millennia.

Take a wander around the site and you’ll come across innumerable fragments of giant toppled columns and marble shards as you begin to grasp the tremendous scale of the original temple site.

Of the 100 underground cities in Cappadocia, Derinkuyu is the deepest at 280 ft (85m) below the surface.
 
The city has been open to the public since 1965 but only about half of it can be visited. There are around 600 doors down into the city, leading from the courtyards of the above-ground buildings. In the underground city you’ll find the various levels of stables, cellars, storage rooms, kitchens, wineries, churches and more. The upper floors can be reached by narrow, sloping passageways, while from the 3rd and 4th floor down there are staircases. The lowest floor houses a church.
 
It’s unlikely that these underground cities were meant for full-time residency, but more likely made to withstand attacks from marauding tribes over long periods of time. Derinkuyu had everything needed for day to day life including wells and around 15,000 ventilations shafts.
 
Derinkuyu is 24 miles (40 km) or about half an hour’s drive from Göreme, the main tourist town in Cappadocia.

Capping the green peninsula south of Kusadasi, Dilek National Park (known locally as Milli Park) protects a lovely stretch of coastline and forest.

Kusadasi locals come here to escape the crowds and stretch out on the park’s acclaimed white sand and pebble beaches, and splash in the pristine water.

Make your way to the park’s lovely bays, including Icmeler, Kavakli and Karapinar, and pack a picnic to enjoy as there are tables, benches and facilities. Keep your eyes peeled for wild pigs, and colorful wildflowers in spring and summer.

Mountain trails thread through the park, and the park’s trees come right down to the water’s edge to create a verdant backdrop to the beaches lined with striped shade umbrellas.

The Duden Waterfalls make a pleasant side trip from Antalya and its surrounding gardens are a popular picnic spot with locals.

The Duden river extends from the Taurus mountains all the way to the Mediterranean and creates two cascades know as the Upper and Lower Duden Waterfalls.

The Upper Duden waterfall is 15m (49ft) high and 20m (65ft) wide and set in a pretty valley. A natural cave has formed behind the falls and it is possible to sit here and watch the cascades. There are restaurants, boardwalks and picnic tables in the gardens immediately surrounding the falls to help you make the most of this scenic spot.

One of the largest public parks in Istanbul, Emirgan Park covers 117 acres on a hillside along the shores of the Bosphorus Strait. In Byzantine times, the area was covered with cypress trees and by the mid-16th century became known as Feridun Bey Park. By the 1860s, the park was owned by Khediva Ismail Pasha, the Ottoman governor of Egypt and Sudan, who built three wooden pavilions that remain standing today.

The Yellow, Pink and White Pavilions within the park were restored in the late 1970s and then opened to the public.  The Yellow Pavilion stands in the center of the park, overlooking the Bosphorus, and features traditional Ottoman architecture and rich interior decorations.  The Pink Pavilion is also a typical Ottoman house and is often used for weddings or other events. Not far from the Yellow Pavilion, the White Pavilion was built in a neo-classical style and is now a cafeteria and restaurant. Together with the jogging trails and picnic areas, the pavilions make the park a popular weekend destination for Istanbul residents.

Home to a special tulip garden since the 1960s, Emirgan Park is a great place to visit in April, when it hosts an annual international tulip festival.

When the Ottoman sultans wanted to update their living space, they moved from the sprawling Topkapi complex on Seraglio Point to the more classically proportioned Dolmabahce Palace, also known as Dolmabahce Sarayi.