Nearby Attractions

Istanbul is truly a world city, an enchanting blend of Eastern & Western culture, a vibrant, modern city, with a unique identity. Its rich past coexists alongside its youthful exuberance. Although no longer the capital of Turkey, Istanbul still remains the country’s cultural & business centre…

Edirne
Edirne’s former name is Adrianople (Hadrianoupolis) “City of Hadrianus”, named after the Roman emperor who founded the city on the site of Thracian village of Uskudama. Between 1700 & 1750, Edirne was the 4th biggest city in Europe, with an estimated population of about 350,000 people. Although it is quite a lively city, especially compared to other Turkish cities of this size, however all you see today is just a fraction of its former glory. Selimiye Mosque which dominates the skyline of the city, is considered the zenith of Ottoman architecture.

Tekridag
Tekirdag is a city of 108,000 in European Turkey, on the northern shoreline of the Sea of Marmara & is 132 km west of Istanbul. First founded by Thracians, its actual location is what is now Barbaros, a village 9 km southwest of Tekirdag. It was then colonised by Greeks from the Aegean island of Samos. Tekirdag since 1923 is a part of the Republic of Turkey. The city is surrounded by the Sea of Marmara on one side & by sunflower & grain fields on the other. On the hillsides to the southwest, viniculture is an important activity.

Troy
Immortalized by the writings of Homer, the legendary city of Troy invites the wanderlust with its picturesque settings & historical ruins. While on vacation in Turkey, an excursion to this ancient city will give you the opportunity to savor the striking scenery & wealth of archaeological sites of a long lost kingdom. If mythology is what intrigues you or if you are an avid literature lover, Troy is the perfect choice for a day tour. Today it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site & has recently been declared a national park.

Assos
Assos, also known as Behramkale (or, rarely, as Behram, as it appears on some old maps), is a village in northern Aegean Region, Turkey. It’s located on the northern coast of Gulf of Edremit, just opposite the northern coast of the Greek island of Lesvos. This is a village that is consisted of two parts: the ‘real’ village on the top of a hill overlooking the sea & a coastal part right down by the shore (which was the harbour of the village in the past). Both parts are equally old & full of stone buildings with traditional Mediterranean architecture.

Gokceada
Gokceada is the largest island of Turkey with a surface of 279 square kilometers. The island is very mountainous. Cape Avlaka, near Ugurlu, is the westernmost point of the island, and of Turkey as well. In ancient times, it was believed that Greek sea god Poseidon rested his horses in the deep sea between Gokceada and the Greek island of Samothrace, which is to the north of Gokceada. The former name of the island, İmroz, which derived from its Greek name (Imvros), was officially changed to Gokceada.

Bursa
Bursa lies in the northwestern part of Turkey near the Sea of Marmara, about 20 km inland. Bursa was the first capital of the Ottomans, who started as a small emirate in the countryside just east of Bursa & within 2 centuries had set foot on3 continents. Today, with a population of more than 2,500,000, Bursa is the fourth largest city in Turkey after Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir. It is famous for its peach, chestnut & silk, although lately, heavy industry located in the outskirts of the city has surpassed these traditional industries.

Ayvalik
Ayvalik was an important trade centre during Ottoman times, it had an autonomous status & even many European powers set up consulates. The city then was almost completely inhabited by Greeks, who were exchanged with Turks from Crete when a population swap was mandated between governments of Turkey & Greece in 1923. The fusion of local Greek & Cretan cultures formes the character of today’s Ayvalik. While most of the physical historical heritage is clearly Greek, the everyday culture alive on the streets is mainly Cretan.