Turkey is a beautiful country, with fantastic beaches, cosmopolitan cities, self-contained towns and gorgeous little fishing villages dotted along the extensive coast. Turkey, on the whole, offers excellent value for money; holidays, accommodation, travel, food and drink generally cost next to nothing. The country is famed for it’s rich cultural heritage, and the unendingly friendly people; wherever you visit, it’s a given that the locals appreciate the tourism and treat you as a long lost friend.

When you are thinking of a holiday to Turkey you think of Well Placed Apartments. Our self catering holiday apartments in Gulluk, near bodrum and in Akbuk, Didim offer great, cheap last minute holidays in Turkey

Boat trips are a popular choice of activity in Turkey, more so in areas where the sea is calm. The trips usually visit a selection of islands and bays, where you can stop and have a swim, and sometimes snorkel to see the amazing array of sea life off the coast of Turkey. Many of the boats have a shaded area, nevertheless it's a good idea to take a sunhat and appropriate clothes with you, as the sun is twice as strong on the water.

As an activity in Turkey, shopping is right up there with the favourites! No holiday to Turkey is complete without shopping. Many of Turkey's tourist and non-tourist destinations have a weekly market, known as a bazaar, selling everything you could imagine, from food to clothes, household items to perfume. They are excellent to wander around; even if you have no intention of buying anything, there will certainly be a few bargains that catch your eye. Even so; it's great spending the afternoon navigating around, seeing all the different produce and watching other tourists haggle for their goods.

Aside from the weekly market, you can bet your bottom dollar that where you're planning on staying has an indoor market where you can bag a bargain or seven, including clothes, handbags, suitcases, table cloths and more!

Plenty to see and do when you visit Turkey

Leaving Turkey without the treasured 'Mavi Boncuk', a Turkish good luck charm which protects the wearer from evil spirits, would be a crime. as would leaving without abusing the incredibly cheap prices for designer jeans and handbags which are invariably as good quality as the real thing.

Traditional Turkish goods can make excellent souvenirs; from households goods such as tiles, carpets or 'kilim' and rugs to pillow and cushion cases and tablecloths. These goods are generally great value for money and good quality, and with goods like tiles or carpets, shipping is usually available so you don't have to worry about getting them home yourself.

The carpets in Turkey are great quality. The density of knots determines the quality, and indeed the price, of the carpet - the more there are, the longer the carpet will last. Clothing is also great quality - pasmina shawls, kaftans and such like are gorgeous for the ladies; and they'll probably last for years too!

Sightseeing

Pamukkale

Pamukkale, recently named the world’s top holiday destination, is a beautiful is a beautiful sightseeing destination, located in the inland Aegean region. The site resembles huge cotton wools balls, (Pamukkale means 'cotton castle'), as cascading mineral waters have petrified the stone gradually over thousands of years, turning the site into a series of dazzling white hill side terraces, creating a beautiful scene. The waters are believed to have therapeutic healing properties, and sightseeing tourists are welcome to paddle in the waters if they wish.

Ephesus

Ephesus is a great archaeological site. Comprising the Temple of Artemis, Ephesus is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The city of Ephesus, built in around 1000BC, bore the title of “the first and greatest metropolis of Asia.” The ancient city comprised a library, a theatre capable of holding an audience of 25,000 people, a gymnasium, the Church of Virgin Mary, and the Temple of Artemis. The city had one of the most sophisticated aqueduct systems in the ancient world, which supplied the whole city with both hot and cold water. To this day just one fifth of the site has been excavated; testament to the sheet size and complexity of the ancient city.

Safranbolu

Safranbolu is a collection of beautifully preserved Ottoman houses from the 17th century. The houses and other buildings have rich cultural and historical heritage, and are reflective of Turkish social life in the 18th and 19th centuries. The site is listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site, as recognition of the careful and successful preservation of the collection of houses, and as such is well worth a sightseeing trip.

Temple of Apollo

Temple of Apollo. The Temple was built around 800BC as a place of worship. In the 6th century BC the temple was expanded upon, to magnificent proporations, before the Persians attacked it in 494BC. Thanks to Alexander the Great the Temple was not only restored but extended once again; the remains of which we can see today. A devastating earthquake saw the Temple collapse, at which point it was abandoned before the Greeks and Bulgarians settled there around 1922. The Temple of Apollo is located in Altinkum.

Myndos Gate

Standing at an impressive 8 metres tall - almost it's original height - the gate was just one of two entrances to walled Myndos. The city wall was surrounded by a two metre deep moat which has been hilariously described as 'causing difficulty to Alexander the Great as he captured the city. Located in Gumusluk, this historical feature is well worth a sightseeing visit

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus

Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, located in Bodrum, is the second of Turkey’s two seven wonders of the ancient world. The tomb is Mausolus’s, built for him by his sister, and wife, Artemisia (it was custom for men to marry their sister’s at the time). Having died suddenly in 353BC, he left Artemisia devastated, so to pay her respects she decided no expense would be spared for his tomb, and employed Greece’s finest artist to decorate it. Life size statues of lions and warriors adorned the surrounding area, creating a beautiful location for the tomb. Unfortunately, just the foundations remain, after a devastating earthquake saw most of the magnificent building fall to the ground.