Top 7 Most Fun Activities in Turkey

October 14, 2008 at 11:06 am · Filed under Turkey

This post lists our family views on the most fun activities we undertook during our nearly three weeks in Turkey. Because we didn’t all do every activity together, we had difficulty reaching a consensus top 5 list. In the interest of family harmony, we expanded the list to 7. Here they are:

        1. Gulet Sailboat Tour on Turquoise Coast - this week-long trip included a lot of fun outdoor activities: swimming and snorkeling, sea kayaking, jet skiing, windsurfing, hiking and running on the islands. It also included some fun on-board activities: playing Liar’s Dice/Challenge, playing backgammon, reading on deck, sleeping under the stars. The gulet tour was great.

        2. Hot Air Balloon Ride in Cappadocia

        - although I was too nervous to have much fun in the joyous “wahoo” sense (mostly because I was afraid that the baby would somehow slip out of my arms) this was an enjoyable outing. We took off shortly after dawn, and floated for an hour about 2,500 meters over the Cappadocian plains and canyons. As you would expect, the views were also spectacular.

        3. Fenerbahce Soccer Match - Zola and I did this as a boys’ outing while we were in Istanbul, and had a great time. The big stadium, the singing and chanting, and the window into Turkish (mostly male) culture were all a blast. The Fenerbahce team shirt that we bought for Zola prompted comments everywhere we went.

        4. Day Trips from the Gulet - this includes our “Dalyan Day” with Captain Ilyus in the small putt-putt boat (bathing in the weird sulfur mud bath, seeing the ruins of Kaunos and the Lycian tombs, having sunset drinks along the lakeside) and our spectacular family beach day at Olur Deniz, a beautiful resort area

        5. Amusement Park at Cevahir Mall in Istanbul - the kids voted heavily for this one, which tells us adults something about travel with kids. It was definitely fun to ride the rides, and seeing the Cevahir Mall (largest mall in Europe) was a cultural experience.

        6. Rouge Valley Hike in Cappadocia - the adults voted heavily for this one, which tells the kids something about travelling with adults. We walked for about three miles through the dusty canyons and wild rock formations, and looked at the ancient churches and cave dwellings carved into the rock. Beautiful day and beautiful hike.

        7. Miniaturk - all of the important buildings and attractions in Turkey are reproduced in miniature scale at this outdoor park in Istanbul. India and the kids loved it (I couldn’t go), but India definitely noticed the presence of heavy security, there to prevent anyone from damaging or defacing a symbol of Turkey. Zola reached out to touch the model of the Dolmabahce Palace (where Ataturk died), and three grown men came running to stop him.
        Overall, Turkey was not only remarkably interesting and beautiful (posts on the most thought-provoking and spectacular sights to come later this week), but it was also easy and a lot of fun. It was more expensive than I had anticipated, but it is a great place for a family vacation.

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