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Lured by the untouched east and the trek north, travelling in Turkey for three months was harder than I thought. Here are some top tips on how to travel to Turkey and some of the best places to visit.

With Turkey one of the greatest Empires of all time, a ‘cradle of civilisation’ and whose history of Ottoman rule spans centuries, its resulting meld of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern cultures is a huge attraction for any curious traveller. Being the largest landmass in the entire region, located right in the middle of Europe and Asia, travel in Turkey would be no easy or rapid feat, and I knew that from the onset.

Not one to reside in Turkey resort towns, choosing a relaxing beach break on the West coast wasn’t on my agenda, nor was I going to end it at the central area of Cappadocia. A considerable part of what makes up Turkey also lies in the Kurdistan region – which to locals is also referred to as South Turkey, Southern Anatolia or, “why do you want to go there?” – and the mountainous North.

It was the lure of the untouched eastern plains and the off-beat valleys of the north that kept me in the country for nearly three months.

Yet leaving Turkey was like finally breaking up with someone you’ve had long-standing emotional issues with. Being able to articulate my thoughts after visiting Turkey hasn’t been an easy task. Nothing extreme or life-threatening happened; instead, I was hit by a multitude of cultural setbacks that came in waves.

Catching my breath momentarily, I would then be swept right back into the current that somehow keeps people in the country, before the next onslaught of mixed thoughts began. 

 

Turkey first lures you with its rich history, from tales of Biblical times to the arrival of the Romans and the Byzantine Empire to the dominance and enormous growth of the Ottomans. It’s always been a place of takeover, turbulence and significant change.