Truva - Troy

Known as Truva in Turkish, Troy is one of the most spectacular archeological sites in Turkey. The remains of Troy lie just west of the main road around 20 kilometers south of Canakkale. Until 1871 Troy and the famous Trojan War were generally thought to have existed in legend only. The Troad Plain, where the ruins lie, was known to be associated with the Troy that Homer wrote in Iliad, but all traces of the city had vanished completely. In 1868 Heinrich Schliemann obtained permission from the Ottoman Government to start an excavation where earlier excavators had already found the remains of a classical temple.


Scliemann's excavations uncovered nine layers of remains representing distinct and consecutive city development that span 4 millennia. The oldest Troy I, dates back to 3600 BC and was followed by 4 similar settlements. Either Troy VI or Troy VII is thought to have been the city described by Homer; the former is known to have been destroyed by an earthquake around 1275 BC, while the latter shows signs of having been wiped out by fire about a quarter of a century later, around the times the ancient historians generally estimate the Trojan War to have taken place. Troy VIII, which thrived from 700 to 300 BC, was a Greek foundation, while the final layer of development, Troy IX, survived between 300 BC and 300 AD, during the heyday of the Roman Empire.
Although there's no way of being sure about the existence of the Trojan War, there's a fair amount of evidence showing that Troy was the scene of some kind of armed conflict. It's possible that Homer's epic is based on a number of wars between the Mycenaean Greeks and the inhabitants of Troy. A replica of the wooden horse, the famous trick of Odysseus in the Trojan War, can also be found in the site of Troy.

Truva - Troy

Known as Truva in Turkish, Troy is one of the most spectacular archeological sites in Turkey. The remains of Troy lie just west of the main road around 20 kilometers south of Canakkale. Until 1871 Troy and the famous Trojan War were generally thought to have existed in legend only. The Troad Plain, where the ruins lie, was known to be associated with the Troy that Homer wrote in Iliad, but all traces of the city had vanished completely. In 1868 Heinrich Schliemann obtained permission from the Ottoman Government to start an excavation where earlier excavators had already found the remains of a classical temple.


Scliemann's excavations uncovered nine layers of remains representing distinct and consecutive city development that span 4 millennia. The oldest Troy I, dates back to 3600 BC and was followed by 4 similar settlements. Either Troy VI or Troy VII is thought to have been the city described by Homer; the former is known to have been destroyed by an earthquake around 1275 BC, while the latter shows signs of having been wiped out by fire about a quarter of a century later, around the times the ancient historians generally estimate the Trojan War to have taken place. Troy VIII, which thrived from 700 to 300 BC, was a Greek foundation, while the final layer of development, Troy IX, survived between 300 BC and 300 AD, during the heyday of the Roman Empire.

Although there's no way of being sure about the existence of the Trojan War, there's a fair amount of evidence showing that Troy was the scene of some kind of armed conflict. It's possible that Homer's epic is based on a number of wars between the Mycenaean Greeks and the inhabitants of Troy. A replica of the wooden horse, the famous trick of Odysseus in the Trojan War, can also be found in the site of Troy.

Turkey

Welcome to voyageturkey.blogspot.com ... We will try to guide you with both context and photos on Turkey. Whether you'll visit Turkey or just want to have more information about Turkey, you'll find it at Turkey in Photos...

Find an Hotel in Turkey

Turkey, with the official name of Republic of Turkey, lies mostly on Anatolia, the peninsula of the Asian Continent covered by 3 seas, Black, Aegean and the Mediterrenean. A small part of Turkey, called Trakya, lies in the European Continent. Two straits of Turkey, Canakkale and Bosphorus, seperates the two continents with the internal Marmara Sea in between them.
History of the Republic of Turkey starts with the World War I. After the practical end of the Ottoman Empire and the conquerence of most part of the country by the Allies. During the first years of the 1920s a group of patriots leaded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk built a new army, a new Republic and, at the end of the War of Liberation, a new country, Turkey. Being 84 years old now, Turkey is the only country with a muslim population and a democratic republic at the same time.

Contrary to the short history of the Republic of Turkey, Turks and Anatolia have histories that extend to 5,000 BC. Anatolia, which comes from Greek with a meaning of "rising of the sun", has been the cradle for many civilizations because of its strategic location. During the course of the 7,000 years humanity build many civilizations; Hattians, Luwians, Hittites, Cimmerians, Lydians, Persians, Celts, Greeks, Romans, Goths, Byzantines, Seljuk Turks, Ottoman Turks and Turkey. These people used to have both different ethnic and linguistic roots.

On the other hand, Turks, were first seen on the history in Central Asia, neighboring the Chinese Empire and being the reason for the construction of the Great Wall of China. Towards the 10th century AD, due to the shift in the climate, Turks started migrating to west. Seljuk Turks first entered the scene of Anatolia in 1071 AD with the Malazgirt War. The Malazgirt War was a complete defeat for the Byzantine Empire which led open the gates of Anatolia to Turks.
After the fall down of Seljuk Turks, the Ottoman Empire gained control of Anatolia. Being built in 1299 AD, the Empire lived for more than 600 years as one of the greatest empires of the world history. At the peak time of the empire, led by Suleyman the Magnificent, the Ottomans, based in Istanbul, controlled North Africa, East Europe, some part of Russia and the Middle East.

Today, modern Turkey, has a population of over 70 million. Turkey is a member of the United Nations, NATO, OECD and many more organizations. With a 99,9% muslim population, Turkey is the only muslim country in the world having a democracy and governed as a republic. Turkey switched from the Monarchic Regime to the Republican Regime in 1923 after the War of Liberation led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk. After a series of revolutions like switching the alphabet from the Arabic to Latin alphabet, Turkey became a much modern country. One of the most important revolutions was the seperation of religion issues from the government issues, so-called secularism. Also, in 1934, Turkey gave women the right to vote, even before many European Countries like France, Italy and Switzerland.

After this brief introduction to the history of Turkey, we would like to take you to the touristic sites of the modern Turkey. Turkey basically has 7 regions without representing an administrative structure. We will try to give more details about the regions of Turkey that attracts tourists in the first place. These are, namely, the Mediterrenean Region (which is also called the Turkish Riviera), The Aegean Region (West Turkey), The Marmara Region (Northwest Turkey which also includes Istanbul) and the Central Anatolia (where Cappadocia and the capital city Ankara lies in).

The territory of Turkey, looking much like a rectangle, is about 1700 km long and 800 km wide and the area including the lakes is about 780,000 square kilometers. Spreading on a quite wide region with a past of over 10,000 years and 13 civilizations, Turkey has a very diverse culture. You can find traces og the Middle East Turks, Ottomans, Europe and Islam at the same time. As Turkey transformed in to a modern nation state from the religion based Ottoman Empire, great importance was given to fine arts. Especially in the first years of the Republic, high investments were made for building museums, theaters, conservatories and art schools. Today

Turkey is proud of its Nobel Award winner Orhan Pamuk.

One of the first places to visit in Turkey is Istanbul. Being the capital city of the Byzantine Empire until 1453, Istanbul then served as the capital city of the Ottoman Empire till 1923. After this period although not being the capital anymore, Istanbul is still the economical capital of Turkey with over 10 million population. You will need more than a week to visit the toursitic places in Istanbul like the Topkapi Palace, Dolmabahce Palace, Hagia Sophia, Sultanahmet Mosque, beautiful Bosphorus, Basilica Cistern, Golden Horn, Grand Bazaar and many more...
Going a bit south towards the Aegean Region, you arrive at the 3rd biggest city of Turkey, Izmir. Being the most modern city of Turkey, Izmir is also very close to various holiday attractions. Resorts such as Cesme, Ayvalik, Kusadasi and historical sites like Ephesus, House of Virgin Mary are all one hour driving distance from Izmir.

Further south you will come to South Turkey, main cities being Mugla and Antalya. In this region, you can visit Bodrum, St. Tropez of Turkey, Marmaris, an attraction for most tourists, Antalya, Kas, Kemer, Kalkan, Fethiye, Alanya and many more smaller holiday resorts.

Nowadays this regions i also called the Turkish Riviera, a coastline stretching from Bodrum to Alanya. The region is also called Lycia, the ancient settlers even before the Byzantine Empire. The Lycian Union was consisting of many ancient cities like Myra, Patara, Olympos, Termessos, Hieropolis, Ephesus, Simena, Perge, Halikarnassos and Aspendos. Most of these ancient cities are in good condition today with traditionally an amphitheater, baths, aqueducts, temples, gates stadiums... Be sure to visit the natural beauties like Pamukkale and Saklikent near Antalya.
Another worth to visit region in Turkey is the Cappadocia in the Central Anatolia. The magnificent natural formation of the rocks resulting in a chimney looking hills (called Fairy Chimneys) and many ancient churches and monasteries carved into rocks during the first centuries after Jesus are the main attractions of Cappadocia in Turkey.

Wherever or whatever you're looking for in Turkey in Photos, we will try to guide you with some detailed and correct data about the history and today of the touristic destinations of Turkey. Even more important, we have many high quality pictures of these destinations. Don't forget to visit our photo galleries to see the pictures...

You can also find an interactive Turkey Guide Map at Turkey in Photos. Click on the parts and the maps will get bigger presenting you with greater detail about the region. For suggestions, complaints or any questions about Turkey please feel free to contact us via e-mail. Thanks for visiting Turkey in Photos...

TURKEY

voyager.blogspot.com your guide to Turkey and the Turquoise CoastTurquoise turkey is your complete online guide dedicated to Turkey's beautiful Mediterranean coastline and beyond. Our guide will show you some of the best resorts on Turkey's Turquoise Coast including Fethiye, Calis, Ölü Deniz, Kalkan, Kaya, Patara and Dalyan. You can also find top deals on flights, accommodation, airport parking hotels and holiday insurance. Visit our bookshop, we have great selection of Resort Guides and maps of Turkey. Many people are now investing in property, Turkey has become a superb place to buy and offers fantastic value for money, whether you want a small holiday apartment or a retirement villa. Take a look at our property guide.If you are visiting Turkey for the first time you are in for a wonderful surprise, you will be truly amazed by some of the most dramatic scenery Europe has to offer. Sparkling turquoise seas, endless golden sun kissed beaches, bathed in sunshine for nearly 300 days a year and local Turkish hospitality that is second to none.

Want more from your holiday in Turkey than sun and beautiful beaches? The Turquoise Coast has plenty of activities on offer. For those feeling adventurous Turkey has become the number one destination for paragliding enthusiasts and Oludeniz on the Turquoise Coast is the resort most head for. Tandem flights are offered at Oludeniz, so you don't need to be a paraglider pilot to enjoy this unique experience.

Turkey is also a paradise for walkers, the Lycian way is a 509 km way-marked footpath around the coast and mountains, starting from Fethiye and finishing in Antalya and is one of the most popular routes for walking holidays.Turkey offers many other activities including, horse riding, wind surfing, kite surfing, water skiing, and paracending.

Accommodation on the Turquoise Coast.

The quality of hotel accommodation in Turkey is very good, whether you are looking for a simple pension which offer basic clean and cheap rooms or a suite in a five star hotel.Hotel and Pension accommodation on the Turquoise Coast ranges in price from around £4 to £95 for five star luxury, £20 per night will get you bed and breakfast and a good quality hotel though.You will also find a large number of private villas and aparments for rent as Turkey has become popular destination for those buying holiday homes which many owners rent out during the summer months.Want an alternative to the traditional Turkish hotel holiday? Then why not try spending part of your holiday sailing around the Turquoise Coast on board a Turkish Gulet? a totally unique way to explore Turkeys coast line, visiting deserted bays with crystal clear turquoise waters and relaxing, a wonderful way to experience Turkey.

Make Turkeys Turquoise Coast your holiday destination for 2006.

Turkey is one of the property hotspots for 2006, prices are still very reasonable. Whether you looking for a Villa or Apartment take a look at our property pages for your holiday home.
Villa and Apartment Rentals.Turkey offers a wide selection of high quality accommodation in spectacular locations, we've selected some of the best for 2006



Airport Parking.Aberdeen, Belfast, Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Wales, Durham Tees Valley, East Midlands, Edinburgh, Exeter, Gatwick, Glasgow, Heathrow, Humberside, Leeds Bradford, Liverpool, London, Luton, Manchester, Newcastle, Prestwick, Robin Hood Doncaster Sheffield, Southhampton, Stansted More Details

Books,Travel Guides,Resort Guides and Maps The Book Shop

Take a look at our in depth guide to the best Turkish resorts, what to see, eating out, shopping sports activity's and much more. Resort Guide

ANTALYA

Introduction

Founded as a port by King Attalus of Pergamon in 158 BC, Antalya has been owned by the Romans, Byzantines, Crusaders, Selçuk Turks, Ottomans and even briefly by the Italians. The fourth largest city in Turkey, much of it is a typical urban sprawl, but the old centre, Kaleiçi, is an utterly delightful maze of steep narrow streets lined with carpet shops and boutique hotels in restored Ottoman houses, curving down to the ancient harbour, while the Konyaalti seafront is a wonderful place to take the evening air.

Who goes there?

Antalya, with its mix of historic sights, fine restaurants and designer shops, is for the more sophisticated traveller. Although everyone will enjoy a day here, families with smaller children would probably do better to stay in a resort with a beach.

Where in the world?

Antalya lies about a third of the way along Turkey's south (Mediterranean) coast. Antalya itself is the fourth largest city in Turkey and has its own international airport, about 20km (12 miles) east of the city centre.The city is in a stunning setting, tucked into a crescent-shaped bay surrounded by the rugged Taurus Mountains.

Beach

Konyaalti Beach, to the west of the old city, is a sweeping shingle beach, more a seafront playground than a bathing beach, with plenty of restaurants and cafés, shops and snack bars - as well as several very glamorous hotels. This is where locals come for their evening stroll, Lara, the main tourist hotel strip on the far side of the town, is actually on the cliff top with artificial bathing platforms built onto the rocks below. To get real sandy beach, you need to head out of town about 11km (7 miles) west to Büyük Calticak and Kuçuk Calticak, while places such as Phaselis, with its magical mix of pine forests, ancient city and golden sand, or Belek's white sand beaches are within easy daytrip distance.

Beyond the beach

Antalya Museum on Konyaalti is a world-class archaeological collection housing the finest exhibits from classical sites right along the Mediterranean coast, including the ancient city of Perge and Aspendos, with its superb Roman theatre, both easily reached near Antalya airport. In town, most of the other sights are within the old city, Kaleiçi, described by a 17th century traveller, Evliya Çelebi as being surrounded by a 4.5km (3 mile) wall with 80 towers and 4 gates. Start at the top near the 13th century clock tower and statue of Ataturk and work your way down the hill past the Fluted Minaret and Karatay Medrese to the old harbour, now a ritzy marina with its quay lined by restaurants and cafés. On the cliff at the far side of the harbour, an ancient lighthouse, the Hidirlik Kulesi marks the edge of another historic district with a web of tiny alleys of old wood-framed Ottoman houses, around the triumphant Roman Hadrian's Gate, and the ruined Kesik Minare Camii, a 5th century Byzantine church later converted to a mosque. The privately-owned Suna-Inan Kiraç Institute is an excellent museum of Mediterranean civilisations in a former Greek Orthodox church.

Family fun

There may not be sandy beaches in town, but there are two great water parks with spectacular slides - Aqualand (near Konyaalti) and Aquapark (Lara), which also has dolphin shows, while the museum has a brilliant children's section if you want to try and cram a little culture into them in passing. There are plenty of boat trips from the harbour.

Retail therapy

This is a fabulous place to shop, with everything from designer leather to antique carpets, spices and Turkish delight to fake Rolex and jazzy glass lanterns to tempt the pocket. The whole of the old city is one huge shopping mall, so eager to sell that doe-eyed boys are hired for the season to entice the grannies into the carpet stores! Away from Kaleiçi, are the huge modern Migros Shopping Mall and the Deepo Outlet Center, while out near the airport are several huge jewellery and carpet emporia. Look for a tax-free sticker if you want to buy duty-free and remember that you need a ministry certificate to export antiques.

A night on the town

Start the evening along the Konyaalti waterfront, where all the Turks turn out to enjoy the sunset. If you want to indulge in a cocktail or two, try the terrace bars in one of the five-star hotels along the waterfront. For a beer, head down to the smaller bars down around the harbour front in Kaleici. You will be in the right area for the clubs which start late, serving food until about midnight before blasting the night away until dawn. Best options include Ally's (40-46 Selçuk Mah) and Club Arma (Kaleiçi Yacht Marina).

Eating out

Almost every sort of food you want on is on offer in this very sophisticated city, from a backstreet doner kebab for a few pence to a gourmet meal created by a world-class chef - with a choice of cuisines from Italian to Japanese. Although it is lovely to sit on the waterfront, for quality food, the best places are probably a bit further up the hill in Kaleici in some of the many restored Ottoman mansions, most of which also have terraces and fine views. The seafood is excellent but twice the price of meat.

Getting around

Most people spend most of their time in Antalya in Kaleici, where everything is within walking distance, but steep. Start at the top, walk down and indulge in a taxi back up if tired. Elsewhere, there are dolmus (shared taxis/buses) and a local train service which runs along Konyaalti to the Antalya Museum.

Exploring further afield

Perge and Aspendos are must-see bits of the ancient world, while Side, just beyond, is an attractive resort that combines ancient and modern and a great beach. To the west of the city are the ancient cities of Phaselis, which also has lovely sandy beaches and shady pine forest and makes a wonderful place for a picnic and Olympos, with a shingle beach but also the extraordinary Chimaera, a natural phenomenon that belches living flame from the rock. Both are probably easiest to get to by boat, on one of the many trips on offer from the old harbour. Inland the Taurus Mountains offer excellent hiking and the dramatic setting of the ancient city Termessos.

Splashing out

Book yourself into the Sheraton Voyager or the Hillside Su (website: www.hillside.com.tr/HillsideSuHotel) on Konyaalti with their wall-to-wall luxuries, sea views, and balconies or choose a lovingly restored Ottoman mansion tucked into the ancient ramparts such as the tiny Minyon Boutique Hotel. Dine by candlelight in a secret garden at the Gizli Bahçe (Selçuk Mahallesi, Kaleiçi) or have a meal fit for a king at the Kral Sofrasi (Old Harbour, Kaleiçi). Plan your trip for June so you can take in an opera or ballet performance in the Aspendos Roman theatre during the festival in June-July.

Flying in

Antalya International Airport (AYT)