Türkiye

1:Discover ancient sites

Stepping back in time can be sweaty work. That’s why spring, with its breezier, pleasantly mild climes, is ideal for pootling around any of Türkiye’s litany of ancient sites, 21 of which are on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. That could be the aqueducts and two-storey library of mighty Ephesus, a city mentioned in the bible; the surviving bathhouses and terrace pools beside Pamukkale’s thermal springs, where kings once came; or Göbeklitepe, a mysterious settlement whose megalithic structures are the world’s oldest — predating even Stonehenge.

2:Experience tulip season
in İstanbul

Introduced from Asia, tulips were adored by Ottoman societies from the 16th to 18th centuries and İstanbul became world-famous for them, long before the Dutch cottoned on. Millions of the plant still bloom here in joyous bursts of purple, pink, red and blue from March to May, explaining today’s İstanbul Tulip Festival. Usually held in April, this city-wide spectacle involves concerts and artistic displays; beside the Bosphorus in İstanbul's European side, Emirgan Park is its main, most photogenic hub.

3:Celebrate Hıdrellez

Prefer your festivals less flowery and more folkloric? Then consider Hıdrellez. In commemorating an earthly encounter between the prophets Al-Khidr and Elijah, this widely-celebrated holiday also symbolises winter’s ceding to summer. The exact ingredients vary, but celebrations often involve participants leaping over bonfires, bathing for purification, singing en masse and leaving milk out overnight to ferment. It falls on May 5-6 in the Gregorian calendar, with one of the biggest examples occurring in northwesterly Edirne at a former hunting grounds for Ottoman sultans.

1:Discover
museums at night

What could be more magical than stepping where our distant ancestors once lived and bathed millennia ago? Easy: doing so at night. Expanding every year, Türkiye’s annual Night Museums Project sees historical sites illuminated after sunset. Side’s impressive ancient theatre, Patara’s Triumphal Arch and valley-set Olympos are all involved. As the stars shine, temperatures stay pleasantly balmy and mighty, magnificent constructions glow under soft yellow light, it’s easy to feel transported to a bygone age…

2:Set sail on a traditional gulet

What better way to cool down in the summer sun than by getting out on the water? Take a traditional Turkish gulet to head out on the turquoise waters in a wooden sailing boat. Discover wildlife wonders, untouched bays and underwater caves before ending your cruise with a toast to the sun setting on the water. The perfect finale.

3:Enjoy the art
of İstanbul

No excuse is required to visit İstanbul’s cornucopia of air-conditioned art galleries, but July and August’s high temperatures may certainly provide extra incentive for aesthetes. The headline act is İstanbul Modern: a Renzo Piano-designed waterfront confection, in the cool Karaköy district, which chiefly promotes Turkish artists alongside its impressive international exhibitions. But tens of other galleries also reward exploration, from the neoclassical Pera and its Orientalist paintings to multidisciplinary modern works amid Galerist’s reinvention of an 18th-century apartment block.

1:Join the Bozcaada
Grape Harvesting Festival

Can you keep a secret? Southwest of İstanbul, the unsung island of Bozcaada is a quaint vision of flowery cobblestone streets, rosemary-scented footpaths, sandy beaches and spindly windmills. In early September, there’s an additional reason to come: the annual grape-harvesting festival in which visitors can assist producers with picking before purchasing bottles, listening to concerts and attending the Miss Grape beauty pageant. Produced here around 3,000 years, wine is central to Bozcaada’s identity — rendering this the prime time to visit.

2:Stroll
the cities

More 20 degrees Celcius than 30 degrees Celcius, autumn is ideal for discovering Türkiye’s cities — and we don’t just mean İstanbul. Nearby Bursa, the Ottoman Empire’s original capital, is home to a 20-domed mosque and massive bazaar dating to Silk Road times. Approaching the eastern border, lakeside Van is also home to Akdamar Church (the Church of the Holy Cross), a cathedral situated on an island and known for its elaborate and detailed bas-relief carvings. Or there’s Antalya: along with its oh-so-strollable old town, this famous resort offers access to Aspendos, Perge and Termessos’s respective classical-era city ruins.

3: Go hiking

Be it hills, highlands, historical realms or coastlines, Türkiye is a walking wonderland. That includes the İzmir region’s new Efeler Way, a 310-mile traverse of mountainous highlands introducing the warrior-based efe culture in 28 villages. Alternatively, try the Yenice Forest Trails for bronzing, beautiful autumn leaves or the sea-hugging Carian Trail to discover classical ruins in little-known southwesterly corners. Rather higher-profile is Mount Ağrı (Ararat), out in the far east: with a guide, it’s possible to summit the 5,137m peak where Noah berthed his ark.

1:Experience Cappadocia under a blanket of snow

There’s a magical, make-believe quality to Cappadocia’s so-called ‘fairy chimneys’ — thousands of pointy, tuff-rock pillars — all year round. It all gets even more romantic, however, when this volcanic central region is glazed in snow. Hot air balloon rides continue to operate intermittently, while the likes of Love Valley can still easily be hiked or enjoyed on horseback. At the end of the day, reward your adventures with a glass or two of local wine. Cappadocia’s volcanic past means the soil is very fertile and perfect for grape growing. One of the most popular grapes in the region is emir which produces a crisp, white wine. 

2:Watch the
whirling dervishes

Spinning ever faster, men in wide, white, skirts soon resemble only blissed-out blurs of motion. Welcome to the wonderful world of whirling dervishes. Hypnotic to watch, whirling is a meditation undertaken by Mevlevi Sufi members in order to deepen their connection with God. Ceremonies take place weekly at İstanbul’s Galata Mevlevi museum but far better to frequent the Mevlevi’s heartland. In Konya, a stately central city, visitors can attend mesmerising performances every Saturday through winter at the mosque-side Mevlana Cultural Centre.

3:Take a horse-drawn carriage across a frozen lake

Every winter in easternmost Türkiye, large Lake Çıldır freezes over. Its ice is so reliably thick that a gamut of safe winter activities soon begin: walks, cycling, fishing through holes for yellow carp and, most popularly, horse-pulled rides in traditional troika sleighs. Such carriages were once the predominant mode of transportation in these remote parts, so there is a pleasing sense of cultural traditions enduring. Entirely newer is the nearby Sarıkamış ski resort, where 21km of slopes can be tackled.