Top 10 Things To Do in Turkey - A Traveler's Paradise

hey guys welcome back to the other side we're ian and anna ian's behind the camera right now and you've probably seen us traveling somewhere in southeast asia or maybe in the united states in our van but more recently we got our vaccines and are now on a three-month trip in europe our first country that we visited was turkey and it totally surpassed all of our expectations this country holds a special place in our hearts and we are so excited to share with you the top 10 things to do in turkey starting with number 10 pamukale in turkish pamukkale translates to cotton castle and was given the name based on its famous breathtaking white terraces made of travertine like every place in turkey there's quite a bit of history revolving around pamukkale shocker in 2nd century bc the ancient greek city of heropolis established palmokale as its thermal spa it later became under control of the roman empire and the city flourished during this time while visiting you were able to see the ruins of the ancient city as well as the renovated amphitheater however the main attraction here is obviously those white terraces the color of the water is unfathomably blue and with the bright white terraces complementing them it's hard to comprehend how a beautiful site like this can be natural if you do go definitely feel free to take a dip in the pool that was my favorite thing to do here just float in the magical blue healing water the pools remain at a warm temperature starting at 95 degrees fahrenheit this area is out of the way from where you may be visiting in turkey so the big question is is it worth it i understand why it's such a tourist attraction but being one of the most visited places in turkey with over 2.5 million visitors a year you can only imagine how crowded it is in addition some of the pools are no longer even filled or accessible due to the tourists ruining the area over time we arrived very early at 6 30 in the morning and were able to enjoy it all to ourselves actually if you don't go early we don't even recommend visiting because once 8 30 came around it felt like we were at a baseball game back in the states just jam-packed with crowds quick tip on getting there early rent a car so you can move to the beat of your own drum up next is number nine cappadocia's open air museum besides the world famous hot air balloon rides in cappadocia this is the next most popular attraction to get here we walked about 15 minutes up a hill from gourmet town tickets were 100 turkish lira per person or 11.50 usd and we also decided to get an audio guide for an extra six dollars to be honest we did zero research beforehand and we're super confused when we got there so we thought the audiobook would have been a great teacher sadly it made us even more confused so we decided to hire jem a local tour guide after talking with jem for only 10 minutes we couldn't have been more excited about the open air museum and the history revolving around this area cappadocia isn't just a place to hop on a hot air balloon ride and take pretty instagram photos and that's why i want to give you a brief history lesson the moon-like landscapes and crazy rock formations you see were formed 60 million years ago by volcanic eruptions the black colors you see on the rock is lava stone and the cream color is volcanic ash in 600 bc kappa doki was controlled by the roman empire and was a significant stop along the silk road which was a network of trade routes from china to europe because of the silk road there were often wars trying to gain power of this area and that's why people would build underground cities cave houses and castles to hide away fast forward after jesus's death christians took refuge in cappadocia to learn about their religion the reasons christians had to hide from the roman empire was because the romans were pagans which believed that king and god were the same the gourmet open air museum was not a village but rather a school where girls and boys could learn about christianity in this complex of monasteries you will see the most remarkable ancient paintings in cave churches in the region this school was equipped with dormitories kitchens dining room tables and even had a pigeon valley which is an area for farming the reason you see all those small holes carved and rock above the valley was because those were nests for pigeons if you didn't know this pigeon poop is a natural fertilizer i would recommend hitting up the gourmet open air museum to start your first day in cappadocia because after learning all this history your adventures here will be much more meaningful now time for number eight hanging with the locals i can't stress this enough hanging with locals will be one of the best things you do in turkey on one of our hikes we ran into a family and instead of hiking to the sunset point we had originally planned we decided to stop and hang with them all night the hospitality of the people in turkey is beyond everyone welcomes you with open arms open minds and lots of tea and bread everywhere you go you will be offered tea and our advice is drink up i already miss it since we're not there anymore anyways i feel like everyone here knows so much about their country you can ask them anything and they will be able to clarify it for you not only do you get to learn about history with locals you get to experience their way of life and mindsets people are so calm and just want to chill they value family good food and happiness above all else and while you're in istanbul the cafe culture really demonstrates how people like to kind of just enjoy their lives the more you speak with locals whether it's your waiter your host or strangers you randomly meet the more you will understand this country and also feel more connected to it next is number seven olympus situated in a river valley on the mediterranean coast olympus is a backpacker's paradise only an hour and a half away from the old town of antalya this was by far our most relaxing time in turkey and a place we need to head back to asap if anywhere in turkey reminds us of thailand olympus is the winner you can live like a hippie as you stay in bungalows and tree houses alongside one of the best beaches in turkey which is lined with ancient ruins from here you can take affordable boat tours to suluata and kosh which we have heard is unforgettable because olympus has so much natural and historical importance this area is protected which means there are no big resorts or luxury hotels making it a perfect hideaway in paradise we stayed at byram's treehouses with an all-inclusive rate of 46 dollars for a bungalow that included delicious breakfast and dinner every single day as we all know by now eating in turkey is a way of life and here at bye rooms it was no exception the meals were different every day and had to be some of the best food we had the entire time in turkey if you want to visit olympus beach a couple times during your stay make sure to buy the 40 lira ticket that is good for your group of travelers and gives you 10 entries over 10 days if you're thinking about heading to italia we would suggest skipping the old town touristy area and heading right to olympus we ended up running a car to get to olympus so we could head to pamukale after but if you want to get here for cheaper you could definitely take the bus next up is number six visiting mosques 99 of turkey is muslim and there are almost 83 000 mosques in the whole country we only visited mosques while we were in istanbul once an orthodox church then a mosque and now a turkish museum haya sophia is one of the most popular structures to visit it's a perfect combination of where you can observe both ottoman and byzantine effects under one great dome the interior is quite beautiful and the history is super interesting however it was just so crowded and a bit of a tourist trap next to hayao sofia lies blue mosque unfortunately it was under construction so we didn't get to see a whole lot but i love that these two are right next to each other it makes for a really easy day of sightseeing our favorite mosque to visit was called suleimanie it was built for sultan suleiman during the ottoman empire i found this structure to be one of the most beautiful we've seen surrounding the mosque are many rooftop cafes we visited two different ones and both offered an epic view of suleimanie the bosphorus river and the istanbul skyline these cafes were one of my favorite things to do in istanbul so visiting suleimanie then grabbing a bite to eat makes for a great day trip out in the town hopping in real quick to introduce you to the sponsor of this video's skillshare skillshare is an online learning community for creatives where millions come together to take the next step in their creative journey if you ever wondered how anna and i made travel vlogging a full-time career skillshare was a big part in helping us learn those essential skills in our istanbul video i shared one of my favorite classes on skillshare with sorel moore on how being truly authentic on youtube is the road to long-term success another class that has helped us along on our youtube journey is how to edit faster on final cut pro with ali ali is a busy doctor and youtuber from the uk so he had to learn how to add it really fast with as many tips and tricks shortcuts and systems i am now able to create videos way faster making it easy to be consistent on youtube lucky for you guys you'll be able to watch this class too the first 1000 subscribers to sign up to the link in the description below will get one month free of skillshare premium now let's get back into the video with number five istiklol avenue this famous street in istanbul is the tourist and local capital of the city istiklal is the busiest street in all of turkey with around 1 to 3 million people walking up and down every single day the one mile street stretches from toxin square all the way to the famous gala to tower and is lined with breathtaking buildings the entire time anna loves shopping here and our all-time favorite spot is oxxo she couldn't believe how affordable and cute the clothes were and i of course won the boyfriend of the year award as she tried everything on istiklal is full of classic street food like simmet corn and stuffed mussels but a must try is the traditional turkish ice cream the workers here play tricks on you when you order your ice cream and is quite the game probably the most well-deserved ice cream of your life after struggling for five minutes another thing that makes the street quite unique is the classic red tram that runs right through the middle of the crowd anna and i both decided the best thing you could do here is walk in the alleyways lining up this area and sit at the cafes for dinner or a gigantic fs beer the vibe of this area is upbeat exciting and truly feels like a classic european summer to end your night walk 10 minutes from gala to tower to galata bridge for an unforgettable sunset on galata bridge you will see boats passing by in the golden horn and watch as locals catch fish as the sun sets on istanbul let's keep it rolling with number four hiking in cappadocia cappadocia is famous for its fairytale caves remarkable history and of course the hundreds of hot air balloons that take off in the sky during sunrise every morning however you don't really hear about hiking which we believe is super underrated in cappadocia we attempted to embark on the muskender valley rose valley and red valley trails all in one day these checks connect at one point so we figured we could do them all but to this day we're still a bit confused on where we went wrong we were dropped off at kaya campground and ventured our way to the messender trail massander valley was full of plum cherry and apple trees we were eating every fruit along the way and they were so fresh obviously i still dream about those juicy plums we randomly happened upon not to mention we didn't see another soul on the trail the entire hike if you can't tell we love having areas to ourselves this trail is known for its amazing large tunnels that tend to open up to incredible views of huge cave dwellings pigeon holes and historical sites we found so much abandoned furniture that is thought to be used only 50 years ago we also made our way up into a pigeon cave it was high up and scary but so worth it seeing these caves up close and personal was one of my favorite things we did during our entire time in cappadocia we ended this trial meeting a nice family that welcomed us in which i mentioned earlier but the next day we did go back to red valley and hiked it for only about 30 minutes we were dropped off at the sunset point and hiked down these rock formations are different than most in cappadocia because the minerals in the sandstone have a pink tint the pink hue becomes more and more apparent throughout the day peaking at sunset many people come here to red valley for the sunset viewpoint but we recommend hiking down and viewing it from a different point hiking in cappadocia was very fun and we would love to go back to explore more coming up number three suluata also known as the maldives of turkey this small island off the coast of olympus really blew our minds never in our life did we expect to see water like this in turkey we said before the best thing you do is stay at byram's tree houses and take a boat tour to this island for only 15 usd per person you sail in the magical mediterranean sea for eight hours with lunch included we almost ended up spending more on beer than the actual tour anna and i are always about finding the most value when traveling and this was it although there are a ton of boats out at sea and you may be surrounded by a lot of people at times the vibe of this tour was all about having fun drinking beers enjoying the coastal views and dancing the day away one thing i loved about this tour was that they gave you a perfect amount of time at each location to swim jump off the boat and take pictures the water at suluata is some of the clearest we have come across during our travels and the different hues of blue was spectacular there is a reason sulawata is number three on our list so please don't miss out on this experience when visiting turkey up next is number two food tour in istanbul hands down the best way to learn about a new country is through the food now every time anna and i head to a new country going on a food tour with a local is our all-time favorite way to start it out if you're heading to istanbul there is no better person to bring you along than our friend latif during our time with latif he not only treated us to 50 different dishes but also took the time to explain the culture and history of turkey in the surrounding areas we started this amazing tour by heading to the egyptian spice market to gather different dishes for our turkish breakfast after passing by many friendly locals big mounds of colorful spices we ended up at the cheese and olive shop latif told us that if he didn't see cheese and olives on his table in the morning at a cafe he would ask the waiter where his breakfast was next up we had to pick up a famous turkish staple called simmen simmet is a sesame seed-crusted circular piece of bread that reminds me of a bagel after gathering a couple other items we headed to a small cafe and enjoyed our delicious breakfast with some classic turkish tea did you know turkey drinks more tea than any country in the entire world after breakfast we rode a ferry to the asian side of istanbul and enjoyed more food than we could handle we stopped at chia which is a famous restaurant trying to keep dying anatolian dishes alive drink some crazy pickle juice helped make stuffed mussels and even made turkish pide which resembles pizza this was by far our favorite tour we have ever been on while traveling and it was all because latif and his knowledge he was so open and welcoming with all the crazy questions we had if you went ahead on this tour too you can find his information down in the description below and finally number one hot air balloon ride in cappadocia the number one place in the world to ride in a hot air balloon is here in cappadocia but does this experience live up to the hype a question i had asked myself before arriving in cappadocia let me just save you the time and say yes it totally lives up to the hype and it's a must do activity while visiting turkey the hot air balloons soar the sky each morning at sunrise we paid 90 a person to have 16 people total in our basket since sunrise varies throughout the year the wake up time is different for everyone our shuttle picked us up at 3 50 in the morning we had a different experience than most people so i can't tell you exactly what to expect i assume once you arrive to your location it will be a quick wait for the balloon to fill up and then you will hop right in for us however we had a rain delay so we ended up waiting for two hours before embarking on our journey typically they will make you wait one hour for weather inconveniences and then send you home but not us i was a little bummed because i felt like the reason you wake up early and pay all that money is to have a beautiful cotton candy sunrise we flew in broad daylight but it was still extremely beautiful and as soon as we embarked on our journey we forgot all about the sunrise the landscape in cappadocia is breathtaking i like to describe it as a mix of the south dakota badlands utah and mars not to mention the fact that you get to see all the other balloons in the air as well in my opinion the best part of the hot air balloon ride wasn't so much being high up in the air when they would have you float right above the ground because that's when you got up close and personal to the cave dwellings and rock structures real quick i just had to say that waking up for sunrise every morning and just viewing the balloons from the ground was one of my all-time favorite things we've done while traveling ever it's romantic stunning and soothing witnessing hundreds of balloons cover the morning sky we did an entire video on cappadocia that has so much helpful information so if you missed it click right up here you have a ton to be excited about for your upcoming travels well hopefully after watching that turkey is at the top of your bucket list if you enjoy the video give it a thumbs up comment down below and we cannot wait to share our next country with you which is grease so get excited for that we will see you in the next one [Music]

Channel: Ian and Ana

Views: 548,413

Keywords: Turkey, Top 10 turkey, Turkey travel guide, turkey 2021, turkey travel, best of turkey, best things to do in Turkey, things to do in Turkey, turkey, cappadocia, cappadocia turkey, antalya turkey, antalya, pamukkale, suluada, olympos turkey, istanbul, what to do in turkey, best places to visit in turkey, turkey vlog, what to do in Turkey, travel turkey, turkey beaches, things to do in turkey, turkey travel guide

Id: S3Nj-xFD4C0

Length: 16min 6sec (966 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 16 2021