G Turkiye

Author: tur

  • Tourism in Turkey

    Another considerably large sector of the Turkish economy is tourism. As a country of uniquely beautiful natural assets and vast historical treasures, Turkey constitutes a perfect center for touristy activities. There exists every kind of opportunity for every type of holiday maker, due to the richness of the land with respect to its geographical and climatic characteristics granted by nature. With its enormously diverse natural figures, ranging from high mountains to extensive coasts, from wide green forests to broad lakes, this country possesses great resources in the field of tourism.

    Consequently, investments in modern and large capacity touristy establishments, are being made to put this potential into good use. Hotels, motels and holiday villages of high standards, offer services in all touristy areas with their high quality facilities.

    The establishment of an infrastructure for the training of qualified tourism personnel constitutes another investment area, and training programs are carried out at the newly established tourism centers serving this purpose and increasing the number of professional personnel.

    As a result of all these processes, Turkey has achieved the goal of providing the high level services suitable to the needs and wishes of foreign tourists. With the promotion policies being pursued and further arrangements in the sector, tourism will continue to rapidly increase its share in the Turkish economy.

  • Sarikamis Ski Resort, Turkey

    sarikamis ski center

    Sarikamis ski center is located near Sarikamis, 60 km, from Kars in Eastern Turkey The nearest airport is 50 km away. The duration of the skiing sea son is 120 days a year. The altitude in the skiing area of Sarikamis is 2200 2634 m and covered by pine forest. The most suitable skiing conditions are between 20 December and 20 March. The average snowfall is 1.5 m in normal winter conditions. Sarikamis and the surrounding area have suitable conditions for Alpine skiing, ski touring and cross country skiing.

    This center is equipped with 2 chairlifts and I T bar. Qualified skiing instructors and equipment for hire are avail- able. The center has first aid facilities and medical facilities. The slopes and mechanical equipment are under surveillance of experts. Accommodations can be booked directly.

    In the Eastern Anatolia Region and 55km southwest of Kars, the Sarikamis Ski Resort is on the Camurlu mountain at an altitude of 2634m, and is renowned for its good quality of snow. The Cibiltepe, with an altitude of 2500m, is an area of wonderful natural beauty and has five ski runs, the longest of which is 12 km long. It is covered with crystallised snow and therefore is very challenging.

    Arrival: Sarikamis Ski Resort is 60km south-west of the centre of Kars, and 50km from the airport. It is also accessible from Erzurum airport, southwest. There are direct buses to the ski resort from Kars airport (40 mins) and Erzurum airport (90 mins). From the centre of Kars, there are no public vehicles.

    Geography: The skiing area is between the altitudes of 2100 – 2634m, within the pine forests. There is an average depth of 1.5m and is quite typical of Alpine conditions, and the best ski season is between 20 December – 20 March. It has a terrestrial climate, with a dominant south-westerly wind direction.

    Facilities: There are two government guest-houses, and other private accommodation. Ski instructors and equipment is available for rent, and there is first aid, security and health services available, more hotels and hospital in the Sarikamis area. There is a military zone which can be used for helicopter landings. There are two chairlifts and one T-bar, plus two 4-seater T-bars.

  • Palandoken Ski Resort, Turkey

    palandoken ski center

    This center has a sufficient number of suitable skiing slopes for Alpine skiing, ski touring, cross country and heli skiing. Guides are available for these activities. Located on the northern slopes of the Palandoken Mountain in the Eastern Anatolia Region, southwest of the town of Erzurum. The distance between the center and Erzurum is 5 km and takes 10 minutes by car. The nearest airport is 20 minutes away. The duration of the skiing season is 150 days a year. The altitude in the skiing area of Palandoken is 2200 – 3176 m and the most suitable skiing conditions are between 10 December and 10 May.

    The average snowfall is 2-3 m in normal winter conditions. Due to the climate, the quality of the snow is “powdery” all through the season. Palandoken Ski Center is equipped with 3 chairlifts, 1 T bar and a tele cabin (3 km). Qualified skiing instructors and equipment for hire are available. The center has first aid facilities and a rural clinic. The slopes and mechanical equipment are under surveillance of experts. Accommodations can be booked directly. Palandoken mountain has an altitude of 3185 m, and is south of Erzurum.

    This was the area of the first extensive study in the country looking at a master plan for tourism potential, which concluded that the area has the necessary potential and qualities to be a major international resort. Given the right facilities, it is estimated that 32,000 people could ski per day and could be the venue of international competitions and even Winter Olympics, giving job opportunities to around 6000 people.

    Arrival: There are daily flights from Ankara and Istanbul to Erzurum. The ski resort is 5km from the city centre, and 10 minutes from the airport. During the winter season, there are public buses from the ski resort to the city centre.

    Geography: Erzurum is one of the highest and coldest cities of Turkey, with a harsh terrestrial climate and covered with snow 150 days of a year, and an average annual snowfall of 2-3m. The dominant wind direction is southerly and westerly. The skiing area is at an altitude of 2200m – 3176m, and best time to ski is between 10 December – 10 May.

    Facilities: There are 4- and 5-star hotels with restaurants, and ski instruction and equipment rental services are available. The slopes here are among the longest and steepest in the world, each one up to 12km, giving a total length of around 28 km. With the altitude difference of 1000 metres between the start and finish line, Palandoken has two registered tracks for competitions of Slalom and grand Slalom. (Ejder Track and Kapikaya Track). There are five chair-lifts, one T-bar, two baby lifts and a gondola lift.

  • The moonscaped region of Cappadocia unique for geological features called fairy chimneys

    goreme turkey

    Cappadocian region is the place where the nature and history come together with most beautiful scene in the world. While geographic events are forming Peribacaları (fairy chimneys), during the historical period, humans had carried the signs of thousand years old civilizations with carving houses and churches within these earth pillars and decorating them with frisks.

    During the Roman Emperor, Augustus period, territories of Cappadocian Region as a wide region lying till to the Toros Mountains at south, Aksaray at west, Malatya at east and Eastern Black Sea shores at north within the 17 volume book named ‘Geographika’ of Strabon, one of the Antic Period writers. Today’s Cappadocian Region is the area covered by Nevsehir, Aksaray, Nigde, Kayseri, and Kirsehir cities. More limited area, rocky Cappadocian Region is composed of Uchisar, Goreme, Avanos, Urgup, Derinkuyu, Kaymakli, Ihlara and environment.

    Traditional Cappadocian houses and dovecotes carved into stones are showing the uniqueness of the region. These houses are constructed on the feet of the mountain via rocks or cut stones. Rock, which is the only construction material of the region, as it is very soft after quarry due to the structure of the region, can be easily processed but after contact with air it hardens and turns into a very strong construction material.

    cappadocia-turkey

    Due to being plentiful and easy to process of the used material, regional unique masonry is developed and turned into an architectural tradition. Materials of neither courtyard nor house doors is wood. Upper parts of the doors built with arches are decorated with stylized ivy or rosette motifs.

    Dovecotes within the region are small structures constructed within 18th century and end of 19th century. Some of the dovecotes, which are important for showing Islamic picture art are constructed as monastery or church. Surfaces of dovecotes are decorated with rich inscriptions and adornments by regional artists.

  • Ancient City of Magnesia, Mugla, Turkey

    Magnesia ad Meandrum is located on the south of Ephesus, Ortaklar Soke Highway, within the borders of Tekin village in Ortaklar quarter of the Germencik District of Aydın. According to the ancient resources and the myths, the city was established by a tribe which came from Thessalia and were called the Magnets. Nobody knows the exact location of first Magnesia, which was founded by Magnets who landed at today’s Bafa Lake that was a small bay under the leadership of Leukippos and divination of Apollo; but it was estimated that it was located at the edge of the Menderes River.

    The Magnets rebuilt a city near Gumuscay in B.C. 400 because of the epidemics which arouse out of overflow of Menderes and because they had to defend themselves by building a more secure city against The Persians. Magnesia, which was dominated by Seleukos first and the Bergama Kingdom subsequently in the Hellenistic Period, maintained its importance in the Rome Period and had been the Episcopal centre during the Byzantine Period. Magnesia was a city surrounded by ramparts that covered a 1, 5 km diametre area, having a grating planned street and a road system and had been a commercially and strategically important location among triangle of Priene, Ephesos and Tralleis.

    The Magnesia Ancient City had not been subject to much destruction. The overflow of the river and the silt layer brought by rainwater from Gumus Mountain had a great effect for this situation. The first digs in Magnesia were carried out by Carl Humann on behalf of the Berlin Museum in 1891. A Theatre, Artemis tempest and altar, an agora, Zeus tempest and prytaneion were found partially or completely during these digs which lasted 21 months. The works found in Magnesia are being exhibited in Paris, Berlin and İstanbul museums.

    The digs were completed in 1893, and 100 years later, the digging activities restarted in Magnesia, which was about to disappear, in 1984 on behalf of the Ministry of Culture and the Ankara University. The fame of Magnesia results from Hermogenes, the architect of ancient times. According to the Architect Vitruvius, an author of the ancient times, Hermogenes is the first architect who applied an octagonal pseudodipteros tempest plan. Vitruvius states that the main work of Hermogenes is the Artemis Leukophryene tempest in Magnesia.

    The tempest of Hermogenes was built in the Hellenistic Period (the 3rd-2nd century BC), on the ruins of the Artemis tempest belonging to the Archaic Period (the 6th century BC). The tempest is the 4th biggest tempest of the Anatolia in Ion style with 8 x 15 columns and with 67,50 x 40 metres dimension.

    There was an altar in front of the tempest, which pioneered the Bergama Zeus altar with its “U” formed plan. The altar was ornamented with embossments and statues heights of which were two-man lengths. Another important structure in Magnesia is a theatre, which lies under the ground today.

    The Magnesia theatre (end of the 2nd century BC) is one of the unique works that complies with the general theatre plan given by Vitruvius. The Agora and Zeus tempests, which were supposed to be built by Hermogenes, are the other works that are recovered with soil after the digs carried out 100 years ago. The front side of Zeus tempest located in the agora, which is considered one of the biggest shopping areas of the period with its 26,000 m2 area, is being exhibited in the Berlin Bergama Museum.

    The other buildings seen in Magnesia today belong to the Roman Empire Period. The other works known in Magnesia are as follows: a Gymnasium which is a training centre especially for sports, a bath which is small copy of the Faustian Bath in Millet, an Odeon between the theatre and Artemision, a stadium of 25.000 people capacity, an unfinished building with theatre plan, shopping area basilica, a Byzantine building characteristics of which are not known yet and a Byzantine rampart also surrounding Artemision.

    The 15th century Transversal planned the Cerkez Musa Mosque is the only Islamic building of the ruin. Tour around, see and introduce yourself to this ruin which is one of our ancient cities along with Ephesos, Millets, Aphrodisias and Hierapolis which are being studied by foreign teams.