 Shop in the world’s largest covered market, Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, then head uptown to browse for cut-price fashion goods and clothing in the department stores along Istiklal Caddesi or upmarket Nisantasi.
Take a ferry from the Eminönü dock in Istanbul to the Princes’ Islands, a tranquil summer getaway popular with Istanbulis where cars are banned and horse-drawn carriages and bicycles are the transport of choice.
Sip tea or smoke a nargile as you watch the sunset at one of the traditional cafes beneath Istanbul’s Galata Bridge.
Trek the Lycian Way, which stretches for 500km (311 miles) between Fethiye and Antalya, providing a month’s walking through some of Turkey’s most spectacular scenery (website: www.lycianway.com).
Experience white-water rafting on the Dalaman River (website: www.oludenizbeach.com/rafting.html, the Köprülü River, the Zamanti River or the Coruh River, which is rated by professionals as one of the top rafting descents in the world.
Relax in a steamy Turkish bath, known as a hammam, and have a scrub and massage. In Istanbul, the most popular historic baths are the Galatasaray Hammam in Beyoğlu and Cağaloğlu Hammam in Sultanahmet, though local baths are often just as good.
Catch a ceremony by the renowned Whirling Dervishes (website: www.whirlingdervishistanbul.com), who are members of the Mevlevi Order and who perform the famous whirling dance (Sema). Their amazing ceremony can be seen in Konya, where the Order originated, or in Istanbul.
Go trekking in the wild Kaçkar mountain range of Turkey’s northeast, close to the Georgian frontier.
Bathe in the warm therapeutic waters of natural travertine pools at Pamukkale near Denizli in the Aegean region (www.pamukkalethermal.com).
Wander through the very Middle Eastern-feeling bazaar at Şanliurfa in the southeast, close to the Syrian border, and pay a visit to the cave where Abraham is said to have been born.
Escape the foreign tourist hordes and join holidaying Turks at one of the small Black Sea coast towns like Ünye or Giresun - less crowded, cooler and greener than the Mediterranean coast.
Take an early morning hot-air balloon flight over the stunning, other-worldly moonscape of Cappadocia in central Anatolia (website: www.kapadokyaballoons.com).
Look for fragments of Noah’s Ark, reputed to have washed up here, on the slopes of 5,165m (16,945ft) Mount Ararat in Turkey’s far eastern region (website: www.ararattrek.com).
Examine the Ottoman architect Sinan’s finest achievement at the 16th-century Selimiye mosque at Edirne in Thrace close to the Bulgarian border.
Charter a gulet, a traditional wooden boat (website: www.boatingturkey.net), for a leisurely cruise along the Aegean or Mediterranean coast. Itineraries of a week or more are possible, with a variety of destinations and ports of call.
See Contact Addresses for further tourist information.
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