The Aegean and Mediterranean coasts of Turkey have almost eight months of warm weather, making them ideal for sea and sun worshippers.

Skiing fans, mountain climbers, trekkers, hikers and hunters can enjoy new and unforgettable experiences in Turkey. But Turkey is, above anything else, a huge open-air museum, a repository of all the civilisations by the soils of Anatolia. The huge amount of historical and archaeological wealth in Turkey seems more appropriate for an entire continent than a single country. Recently, a new field of tourism has opened up- health tourism. The country is in fact rich with hot springs, healing waters and muds, which come highly, recommended by the medical authorities as a remedy for many diseases.

Nature has blessed the shores of Anatolia with countless sandy beaches, bays, inlets, islands and coves.

For centuries, Turkey has been a crossroads of religions, not only of Islam and Christianity, but also of many others now forgotten by history. Many religious devotees can find a site, a shrine, a monument, a tomb or a ruin connected with their faith or belief. For this reason a “Faith Tourism” programme has been recently introduced.

It is not possible in these pages to review all the touristic sites of Turkey. What we have done is select a number of places, which show the variety of climates, geographical and physical characteristics and historically interesting aspects.