Hi ! I'm French, so my english is poor... will try to improve it with your help !
Hi ! I'm French, so my english is poor... will try to improve it with your help !
Member since:11.03.2002
Reviews:2
This is my first opinion on Ciao.uk and as I'm French, writing in english is not so easy for me ; I will try to avoid spelling mistakes but don't hold it against me !
My first opinion is about Turkey as I like really much this country where I've lived for 6 years. With this opinion I would like to introduce you to the Aegean and Mediterraneancoast of this country.I will not be able to be exhaustive as there so many things to tell about this area. I will begin with the Aegean coast, from Troy to Bodrum, and finish with the Mediterranean coast, from Marmaris to Antakia.
The Aegean coast :
Let's begin by Canakale ; this is a small and nice city, on the
bank of the famous strait of the Dardanelles. Indeed, the interest of the city lies in the fact that we can take a ferry to cross the detroit : this is really practical when you're coming from Istanbul and want to avoid the Bursa's road.
30 km south from Canakale, you can visit the antic city of Troy (Truva), famous since Homere wrote about it. The archeological site is quiet small and less interesting than the sites located in the south but your children will enjoy climbing in the big wood horse, which is at the entrance of the site. This is a good place to make a break before going to Izmir.
Not far from the antic site, the small fishermen's town of Assos is really authentic and not yet disfigured by new constructions you will find in the south. You can find a boat to visit the surrounding small islands.
In a southern direction, don't forget to visit Pergame, a very intersting antic site qith tow parts : one is on the top of a small hill, the other in the valley with many monuments like temples, amphitheatres...
Then you will arrive to Izmir, the third largest city of the country. Izmir is a noisy, congested and polluted city but you can find there some cheap bed&breakfeast to sllep. You may visit the small archeological museum and the ruins of the antic city of Smyrne.
Less than 50 km from Izmir, you will find the famous site of Ephes, very popular with the tourits because of its exceptionnal beauty. Around this major site, you can take a bus to visit three other small site : Milet, Prieme and Didime.
At the extrem south of the Aegean coast, you will arrive to the city of Bodrum ; this is a trendly hollidays' city for the well-to-do turkish families. Many places to go out : restaurants, night clubs etc.. but quiet expensive. The city is near a beautiful peninsula with a lot of small creeks but is more and more crowded by constructions.
The Mediterranean coast
Marmaris is similar to Bodrum : trendly and expensive, with many big hotels. But it offers the possibility to practrice many leasure activity.
Not far from the coast, a really delightfull site is Aphrodysias. Near the mount Babadag, the site has been abandoned because of an earthquake. The site is in a soothing pine forest.
Now we enter the territory of the old Lycie, with countless antic sites, each more interesting than the others : Patara (really beautifull site near a beach), Xanthos, the island of Kekova (where you will enjoy swimming in a limpid sea), Demre (known also as Myra, famous for its necropolis inlayd in a huge cliff and for its Saint-Nicolas church) and Phaselis (incredible antic haven).
Then we arrive to the city of Antalya, which has its own international airport. The historical city is nice even if there are a lot of tourists. Antalya is a pratical place to sleep and enable you to visit three important sites : Perge, Aspendos ans Side. These three sites are famous for their exceptionnal amphitheatres. If you walk around them, you will certainly see many turtles enjoying the warm sun of the area.
North from Antalya, the site of Thermessos is exceptionnal (one more !!) with its big tombs in the mountain. A good idea is to rent a car in Antalya (around 20£ for one day) and to visit Perge, Aspendos and Thermessos, ending the day by admiring the sunset on the top of Pamukale, near the city of Denizli ; be carefull on the road back to Antalya, especially by night : many old trucks with no lights...
Eastern from Antalya, there is the city of Alanya which welcomes many tourists, most of them from North Europe.
If you decide to continue your travel to Syria, you will have to cross the city of Antakya, intersting mixture of christian and arab culture.
This is the end of our travel ; I hope you enjoyed it before going over there to discover this wonderull place. Sorry for my poor english ; leave me some comments without hesiting.
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Mar 11th, 2002
very helpful by (100%):
