Turkey has four bordering seas; the Black Sea,
Marmara Sea, Aegean Sea and Mediterranean Sea, so it not surprising that
cruising is a popular sport. There are many cruising charters available.
Gulets are traditional motor yachts and gulet
holidays are becoming increasingly popular. Best Gulets are build in Marmaris
and Bodrum.
Mediterranean and Aegean coasts are the best places to dive. It is also
possible to dive to shipwrecks from World War
I (with special permission of local authorities) in Gallipoli,
Canakkale. Diving for purposes of sport, with proper
equipment and in non-restricted areas, is permitted. Foreign divers should have
official documentation of their qualification, training and must be accompanied,
when diving, by a licensed Turkish guide. The limit
for diving with diving gear is 30 meters. For educational purposes, this limit
is extended to 42 meters. Dives exceeding 30 meters must be done with proper
diving and medical equipment. In order to protect Turkish archaeological and
cultural treasures, it is strictly forbidden to transport or export Turkish
antiquities or natural specimens. Detailed information can be obtained
from any Turkish Tourist Information Office.
Turkey's rivers provide perfect conditions for canoeing
and rafting, for both beginners and experienced. Some of the best rivers
for rafting are: Çoruh, Barhal, Berta, Firtina, Çolak, Köprüçay, Manavgat,
Dragon, Göksu (Silifke), Zamanti, Göksu
(Feke), Kizilirmak and Dalaman çayi.
The bays around Çesme,
Bodrum
and Datça peninsulas, as well as Antalya,
have ideal wind conditions for windsurfing.
Turkey's Aegean shores are
among the best windsurfing and kite surfing areas in the Mediterranean. The
coastal plain enjoys an exceptionally mild climate, with
soft, verdant springs, hot summers, sunny autumns and warm winters marked by
occasional showers. For windsurfing and sun-bathing summer months are ideal.
Alacati has a shallow area that extends 500 meters out from the beach. Combined
with flat water, no tides or currents, this is a perfect place to improve
technique, speed surfing and freestyle. It is an ideal place to learn to water
start. The wind in Alacati (in Cesme) is an accelerated
Meltemi that is funneled through the hills. A local thermal effect caused by the
dry hills heating up increases the strength. It's windy all the time, most
reliable in the summer. The wind will blow for a large part of the day, the
strongest being in the afternoon. From May to end September the wind is medium
to strong (2-6 beaufort) and during the winter strong southerly winds take over
from October to March (4-8 beaufort).
In Bodrum - Bitez area the season runs from late May to
Early November with the strongest winds being in June through September. During
the morning the wind is gentle making it ideal for the rookies, followed by hard
winds for the trained surfer in the afternoon. Temperatures are hot all times,
except during the night during the first few weeks at the beginning and end of
the season. The sea is warm throughout.
Teos is located on the west coast south of
Izmir and a great place for beginners and others that
need to get techniques like the water start, turns and tricks straightened out.
The bay has a shallow area so that you can stand, where's once out of the bay
the space is free for speeding or slalom. The most consistent wind is the
Meltemi during the summer months, blowing from the north/northwest reaching 5 to
6 beaufort in strength. When you're in the bay and something comes up that you
can't make it back to shore, the wind will just make you drift to one side of
the bay, so you can just take your rigging and walk along the shoreline back to
where you launched. Round noon-ish it tends to die down a little, but picks up
again in the afternoon.
Fishing can be done without a license as long as you're an amateur. Details
concerning fishing zones, the minimum sizes of fish that can be caught,
and the numbers of fish that can be caught per person, can be obtained
from the Department of Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Affairs. Especially Aegean and Mediterranean seas are rich fishing areas.
Plane gliding, hang gliding, parachuting, paragliding and single engine
flights are catered for as well as services that provide instruction courses.
Best areas are Fethiye, Eskisehir,
Pamukkale
and Istanbul.
Balloon rides can be taken daily over Cappadocia near Nevsehir.
The most beautiful and interesting caves are located in the Toros regions
along the Mediterranean coast,
southeast, northwest Anatolia and Thrace.
With an approximate number of 40.000 caves and caverns present,
Turkey is like a paradise of caverns when compared to
other countries. An important geologic - geomorphologic fact in the formation of
caverns is karstification (karstic fields) and this karstification is present
especially in Western and Central Taurus Mountains (Mugla,
Antalya, Isparta,
Burdur, Konya,
Karaman, Içel and
Adana). The longest (Pinarözü Cavern, 16 km west of
Beysehir Lake) and the deepest (Çukurpinar Sinkhole, 1880 meters at the south of
Anamur) caves of Turkey
are present on this mountain belt. The exact number of caves investigated and
documented by all local and foreign cave explorers is approximately 800 so far.
Please note that hunting can only be done in parties organized by official Turkish travel agencies which have been authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs.
Geographic structure of
Turkey, is appropriate for development of hunt tourism in
connection with its plant cover and wild life. Hunting grounds, which will be
opened to hunting tourism, with considering the hunting animals potential of the
country, are determined and announced by Ministry of
Forests (National Parks, Hunting and Wild Life
General Directorate). Foreign tourist hunters, can hunt
with Hunting Tourism Permission Certificate, issued to A Class Travel Agencies
by Ministry of Forest. Also, foreign tourist hunters can
only hunt species and breed that set free within private hunting grounds
approved by Ministry of Forest, National Parks and
Hunt - wild Life General Directorate.
Foreign tourist hunters, who can hunt by means of Travel
Agencies, according to the related decision of MAK (Central Hunt Commission) and
regulation related with the application of 6136 Numbered Law, can bring their
hunting guns and accessories together with them.
Wild animals allowed for hunting in Turkey are determined
each year according to their species and hunting periods. These changes are
determined by the decisions of the Central Hunting Commission which has been
organized each year. Bear, hook horned mountain goat (Samua), wild goat (Bezoar),
wild boar, lynx, wolf, jackal, fox, from big hunting animals, are served against
its value to usage of national and foreign hunters under hunting tourism title.
Football (Soccer) is Turkey's national sport and
is played everywhere. Some of the well known teams are: Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray,
Besiktas and Trabzonspor. At this stage Turkish football is at a very important
point. Turkish national teams are struggling with the strongest teams in the
world and are getting more and more successful results. The U-16 and U-18
National Teams had achieved to be the champions and to get degrees in
the European Youth Championships and the Mediterranean Championships.
The A-National Team was qualified for the the FIFA World Cup in 2002 in
Korea/Japan reaching semifinals and they became the third best team of the
world.
In recent years, as golf courses with international standards
have opened up, Turkey has become an elite golfing centre
where players from around the world can meet in an environment of quality and
prestige. Especially the area of Belek, 30km east of
Antalya, is a potential for golf tourism with the unique bonus of the
cultural, historical and natural sightseeing of the
region. Top-class courses are also being
planned for Istanbul, Ankara
and Mugla. In Turkey, most
courses are in the vicinity of tourist resorts, around the coastal regions which
have the necessary facilities like accommodation, restaurants and entertainment.
The Ministry of Tourism plans to establish other 11 golf courses in these
tourist areas.
You can play golf at these facilities: Gloria Golf Resort, Nobilis Golf Hotel,
Klassis Golf and Country, Kemer Golf Country Club, National Golf Club, Tat Golf.
And many others are on the way.
Winter sports resorts in Turkey are generally
located in forested mountains. The following ski centers are easily accessible
by road or by Turkish Airlines domestic flights: Bursa
Uludag; Antalya Saklikent; Bolu
Kartalkaya; Erzurum Palanöken; Kars
Sarikamis; Kayseri Erciyes; Ankara
Elmadag; Ilgaz Dagi; Zigana Gümüshane.
For more information on Skiing please Click
Here.
Special permission is needed to climb the Büyük Agri (Ararat)
and CiloSat ranges. It is generally advisable to inform the Turkish Mountaineering
Club of the region and time of the intended climb. The Club will then inform
the relevant authorities. For more information on
mountaineering and world famous mountains in Turkey,
Click Here please.
Trekking or Backpacking mainly takes the form of hill walking; which is a pity, because the country is made for backpacking. Some of the best and popular trekking routes are:
Mediterranean region:
Akdaglar, Beydaglari, Bakirdaglari, Geyik mountains and Göksu River area at
Hadim-Ermenek, high plateaus of Anamur, mountain
ranges of Mut district, area between Tarsus and
Bolkar mountains, high plateaus of Adana - Kozan and
Kadirli districts, Mentese mountains, Akçali mountains, Tahtali mountains and
Binboga mountains.
Aegean region: Bafa lake, Besparmak mountains, Kaz
(Ida) mountains and Boz mountains.
Marmara region:
Kirklareli and Istranca mountains, Ballikayalar canyon near Gebze in
Izmit. Ucmakdere near Tekirdag,
Kiyiköy and Igneada.
Black Sea region: Ilgaz and Küre mountains,
high plateaus between Trabzon - Uzungöl and Savsat,
Kaçkar mountains.
Cappadocia is named as the country of horses. You
can also try around Daday, Araç, Efiani, Safranbolu,
Ulus, Devrek (near Kastamonu and Bartin),
Marmaris, Kemer, Çesme,
and Karacabey. There are riding clubs in the big cities such as Ankara,
Istanbul, and Izmir.
Turkey, the meeting point of three continents,
forms a natural bridge between the bird breeding areas in the north and
the bird's winter quarters in the south. The area between Izmir
and Çesmealti was declared a natural
heritage region in 1985, because of its importance as a vital stop
for migratory birds. May is the best month for birding. Other important
areas include: Büyük Menderes Delta around Aydin,
Lake Seyfe (near Kirsehir), Sultan Marshes (near
Kayseri), Manyas Lake (near Bursa)
and Göksu Delta (near Silifke).
Wrestling is another national sport in Turkey. The country has many European and World champions. But the most interesting type of wrestling is Oil Wrestling in Kirkpinar, near Edirne. That sport is very traditional as it is practiced since the Ottoman Empire and have a history of more than 400 years. For more information on Oil Wrestling please Click Here