Turkey is a country of opposites and different colors. This is the result of being the center of many civilizations throughout the history. If you simply book an hotel in a popular destination like (let’s say in Marmaris) and stay there only; you will miss many great places to visit. Have you ever thought about exploring beautiful Turkey by car hire? If so, I can suggest a superb car route which will give you more than your expectations.
Let’s start from Istanbul, which is the cultural and historical highlight of Byzantine and Ottoman empires. The places you should certainly visit are Spice Bazaar (Plenty of mystical spices, Ottoman recipes), Topkapi Palace (The home of Sultans), Hagia Sophia (One of the largest cathedrals in the world which was built around 1500 years ago by Byzantines) , Miniaturk (A park where you can see around 100 miniature models which perfectly reflects the architectural and natural wonders of centuries that reside in Anatolia and Istanbul), Bosphorus Cruise (It is the best way to see what gems are near the shores of Europe and Asia including historical ancient Ottoman villas).
After spending one or two days at Istanbul you should continue to Canakkale which is known for its Troy history/findings and Gallipoli where bloodiest First World War battle between Allied forces (Mostly ANZACs) against Ottoman empire took place. You can see the trenches and battle areas. By the way, you can begin swimming because after this part of Turkey to the down, the Aegean sea is wonderful.
After Canakkale, you should continue with Kusadasi, Marmaris and Pamukkale. Some of the most famous attractions are Ephesus ( Ancient large preserved Roman city with lots of spectacular ruins and ancient theaters, burials, baths etc). Marmaris is your stop for entertainment and crazy night life (If you seek). This tourism center has excellent sea near the beautiful forests where you can use many camping sites as well.
Your next destination will be rafting at Dalaman river and Pamukkale which is a world heritage site. You will see a mountain of pure white like snow. Actually these are calcium stones piled by warm/hot waters through thousands of years. You can walk and even become stay under this mineral water as well.
These are the must-see destinations when you hire a car. And I can easily say that it is just the top of the iceberg which is waiting to be discovered by you. Turkey is a nice destination for a larger Europe travel plan as well. Be sure that it is in your path.
If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
Everyone dreams about a nice long holiday near one of the sourthern seashore cities now in Istanbul in the hottest of these summer days. I will try to introduce you my favorite holiday resort in Turkey and in which hotel we stayed there. 
