Having just spent a few days in Istanbul, I feel that it is necessary to write a short post about it.

Turkey is for what I will call the cultured adventurer.

Turkey was the centre of the world for centuries. I was once told that if the entire world were a single country, then Istanbul would be its capital. The waters of interior Asia and the Mediterranean (which contains passage to south Asia via the Suez Canal) are all accessible via the Bosporus Strait. Though no longer the capital of Turkey, Istanbul is home to the many famous buildings including the Hagia Sofia (the former seat of the Ottoman Empire) – a building that almost every other mosque, church, and palace in Europe is an imitation of. Other sites include ruins from the Crusades in the south of the country, the Blue Mosque in Istanbul, and the capital city Ankara.

Special Tip

If you want to experience the real Turkey, then get out of the touristy areas. You can find some great hostels online, but most will be on touristy streets where everyone wants to sell you something. If you have a free day, get on a street car and go wandering. The cities are safe and you never know what you might find.

Dangers

There is terrorism in Turkey, but this is limited to the southeastern area of the country where there is a Kurdish majority (a different ethnic group that wants to separate from Turkey). So long as you don’t travel near Turkey’s border with Iraq, you won’t haven’t any problems. Istanbul and Ankara are a long, long way away from here.