This week, temperatures in Warsaw have hovered between 16-20 C (60-68 F), which is not
exactly the kind of summer weather I had in mind.
So once again, I find myself dreaming of the
summers we spent on our Turkey trips.
I long to swim in the warm, turquoise waters of the Aegean Sea or the
Mediterranean Sea.
I realize there are so many destinations we
never experienced in Turkey, and I’m just torturing myself with my daydreams. We
don’t have any beach trips planned this year, but we will be spending four days
in Italy next
month with my visiting in-laws. I cannot wait!
In the meantime, here are 5 Summer Spots in Turkey I Wish I Were Right Now:
1. Of course, one of our all-time favorite Turkish
destinations is the lovely wine island of Bozcaada. I
can’t really add much more info than what I already covered in my Top
10 Things to Do in Bozcaada. Just go!
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| Sunset in Bozcaada at Polente Feneri (Lighthouse) on the western side of the island. |
2. One small, Aegean seaside resort town we
liked was Foça,
located about 1 hour north of Izmir. We
stayed here one night during the summer of 2011 as part of our Ramazan road
trip. Foça, called Phocaea in ancient times,
consists of two parts, Eski Foça (Old Foça) and Yeni Foça (New Foça) and is located along small bays and a fishing
harbor.
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| Nothing but blue when you're at Foça, Turkey. |
We liked this area because it was full of locals (not yabancı tourists) and open-air restaurants
lining the shore. Considering its history, Foça
has few ruins except for the Byzantine-era Beşkapılar
Kalesi (Five Door Castle), a bit of aqueduct and a nearby old tomb. If we ever returned, I’d
stay at the charming Bülbül Yuvası Butik Otel,
recommended in the Boutique Hotels of Turkey book, which was full when we
visited.
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| Just one of the many Turkish fish restaurants in Foça. |
3. Another atypical beach destination we
visited during the summer of 2011 was Phaselis,
located an hour south of Antalya. At
this ancient Greek and Roman city, you can admire the historical ruins, such as
agoras, Roman baths and sarcophagi, and take a dip in the crystalline waters
along the nearby beach.
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| Here you can see the remnants of the Roman baths at Phaselis, Turkey. |
4. Another favorite beach destination of ours
and of grandpa’s is Ölü
Deniz near Fethiye. I’m
jealous of my blogger friends at Turkey’s for Life who live nearby
because they can visit this amazing beach and watering hole whenever they want!
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| My favorite photo of Jason with his 90-year-old grandpa at Ölü Deniz last year. |
I’m sure we’ll return again to Ölü Deniz someday.
5. Located along the Aegean Sea, the Çeşme Peninsula offers numerous beach
destinations near the cities of Çeşme
and Alaçatı. I wish I could meet up with a few of our
Istanbul friends that have summer homes here.
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| One of the many popular, beach clubs near Çeşme, Turkey. |
Actually, it’s difficult to narrow my list down
to five choices because Turkey is spoilt for lovely summer beach destinations.
Where do you wish you could be right now?
