Ankara - Post Report Question and Answers
What have been the highlights of your time in this country? Best trips or experiences?
Road trips from Ankara, all the playgrounds for kids and just how easy everything is. - Nov 2023
The coastline and the towns along the coastline are breathtaking! The food is also very good-especially the olives and the olive oil! The Black Sea region is supposed to be lovely in the spring, and I have heard there is decent skiing. - Jan 2023
Travel here is great! Which is a good thing as we were stuck domestically for a long time! You have mountains, beaches, big cities, ruins, castles, forests, hiking, and more! Cappadocia is my favorite place. Our Eastern Turkey 10 day road trip was epic and we saw so many amazing things. - Nov 2021
We’ve really enjoyed living in Ankara this year, even with the craziness of COVID. We’ve taken some amazing trips to the coast. Turkey is a breathtakingly beautiful country and it is extremely easy to get around. There is so much history here and easy stumble upon structures that are thousands of years old. The country has done an excellent job of establishing museums and national parks and offers residents full access to all for about US $10 a year through their muze kart program. - Sep 2020
The food and opportunities to travel to see the natural wonders and history of Turkey (really civilization) were the highlights. We took trips over several long weekends to the coast to enjoy the sun and all-inclusive resorts. We enjoyed seeing Troy's ruins, the beautiful marble remains of Ephesus, and the battlefields of Gallipoli. - Oct 2018
Istanbul is beautiful. Ditto Gaziantep and Sanliurfa. Ditto the Black Sea, and anywhere on the Aegean. Basically anywhere but Anatolia seems to be nice. - Oct 2018
Traveling is easy within the country and region, people are great, weather is great, and things are very modern but cheap. Great place to work/live. - Sep 2018
Access to flights into Europe. We took every opportunity to get out of the country. - Jul 2018
Turkey really has everything; Mediterranean coasts, skiing in the mountains in winter, a cosmopolitan city among the best in the world, and calm quiet Black Sea beaches. Lots more to see here than you can in a few years. - Oct 2017
Swimming in the crystal clear water down in Kas, exploring the ancient roman city of Ephesus, visiting the wine village of Sarince, and seeing the ancient capital of the Hitites. There is so much history in Turkey that you trip over it. To add to that the beaches all around the country are amazing and the mountain in the winter are wonderful as well. The food is great (there are a lot of other kinds of Turkish food than Kebab), try Mante, Midye, Lokma, Menemen and anything else you can. - Sep 2017
Driving through the mountains and stumbling upon Greek ruins just lying on the side of the road. Scuba diving in the sea which is a clear as a glass of drinking water and snowboarding fresh powder in Ilgaz. - Jun 2017
So many wonderful places to travel. Cesme, Ephesus, Antalya, Bodrum, Cappadocia, Istanbul, Bolu ... the list goes on. Turkey and its people are a total treasure. - Sep 2016
Travel within the country is great. - Jun 2016
The travel was our highlight. We didn't have a wish list of things to buy and already had plenty of carpets, so those things were not a highlight. We went for experiences and got them in spades. - Aug 2015
Travel - Istanbul, Ephesus, 7 churches, Pamukkale, Mediterranean, Black Sea, Cappadocia. It's amazingly beautiful here. - Jun 2015
Travel in Turkey is the highlight of living here. There is just so much to see. As for living in Ankara, I like that the city has a small-town feel to it. It's the government center, so there is a nice international community here with diplomats and many international organizations. There's not a lot to see and do in Ankara for tourists, but living here is very pleasant. Rush hour traffic isn't horrible. There are plenty of restaurants, bars, coffee houses, bookstores, movie theaters and a few nice parks. - Apr 2015
Visiting Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Bergama.... really there is almost too much to see here and not enough time in 3 years to do it all. - Feb 2015
Travel, great food, locals are friendly. - Jun 2014
Travel. Had more visitors here in two years that in 6 years in Germany. - Apr 2014
The beaches and seaport towns. Turkish Hamams, hiking trips, finding friends that that are Turkish and seeing the county through their eyes. learning the language. - Mar 2014
Visits to many ancient sites. All within a day's drive from Ankara. - Mar 2014
Love the Turkish food and the people are nice, friendly and generally helpful. Many speak a little English and are for the most part very patient with my limited Turkish. - Jul 2013
Traveling to different ancient sites, hiking in the middle of nowhere, nice beaches, trips to Istanbul. - Aug 2011
At first Ankara can be a bit boring, but it has improved these past three years with modern malls and better infrastructure. Ataturk's mausoleum is a must-see in Ankara. The museum at the mausoleum gives you a great intro to modern Turkey from the days of the ottoman empire to Turkey today. Traveling all around Turkey is magnificent. Turkey is rich with history, and the people are generally friendly. Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukale, Bodrum, Cappadocia, Antalya, and Troy are just a few great cities to visit. Unfortunately, you must drive at least two hours to get to an interesting city, but it is totally worth it. - Jul 2010
