The Turkey Itinerary

(Last Updated on Aug 28, 2024)

The start

One morning, my mother called and said they were going through some travel websites and came across an itinerary for Turkey. She wanted me to go through it and suggest if it was worth it. I did some quick research and concluded that it was good to go. Later in the day, Nam and I were discussing it in detail and a question popped into our heads – if the itinerary is good, then why aren’t we going? After all, we hadn’t travelled anywhere in the last 2 years due to Covid (the last trip was Seychelles in 2020). And now, we had baby P as well – he had just turned 1 year old – having the grandparents around would be a good way to test out our first big trip with him. So, the very next day, we called them back and said we’re joining them too! Super excited for Parth’s very first international trip!

For a geography and history buff like me, the Republic of Türkiye is one of the most interesting places in the entire world. It is the bridge between Europe and Asia – 3% of its land comes in Europe and the rest is in Asia. It has coastlines along the Black Sea, the Aegean and the Mediterranean. It has land borders with 8 other countries and straddles the Balkans, Caucasus and the Middle East. You can find everything from snow-clad mountains to pristine beaches to other-worldy landscapes like the volcanic “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia and the white terraces of Pamukkale. It is also the origin of the historical Mesopotamian rivers – the Euphrates and Tigris. The Anatolian peninsula of Turkey has history dating back to the oldest known man-made structure in the world – the Göbekli Tepe from 9600 BC.