The Top 5 Places to visit in Western Turkey

Given 4 weeks, you can see a lot of Turkey (of course not enough). Here is a short and snappy countdown of my favourite places to head to.

1) Cappadocia
Always wanted to see the grand canyon but not sure you can make it to the USA just yet? Cappaodocia is the next best thing. With scenery comprising yellow and orangey rocks everywhere, deep crevices and towering 'fairy chimneys', a castle and several astonishingly enormous underground cities, this area is a playground. The 5 am hot air balloon was pricey (around 100 euros with some haggling and pitiful pleas of, 'but we are students') but worth it for the beautiful sunrise. Staying in a cheap but excellent hostel in a cave is mandatory, as is devouring Gözleme, turkish pancakes and a speciality of the region, on a daily basis. Hire an inexpensive scooter and feel like the ultimate racer boy amongst the coach-riding tourists. 

2) Kaş
It's small, and cute, but a little bit expensive (we had to resort to staying in an old man's guest room). Used as our scuba-diving base, this quaint town was ideal, with its purposefully-sunk lifeboat and aeroplane lying at the bottom of the sea, and we had 6 excellent dives in the relatively still waters. Afternoons were spent eating ice cream and jumping off rocks from one of the many seaside cafes. There are fancy restaurants, but we also found somewhere that sells giant jacket potatoes for very little. 

3)Pammukale
Is it snow? Is it sugar? No it's salt! (cringe soz). Just a mountain covered in salt, with tiny salty pools on the way up to sit inside. There are some 'ancient baths' at the top but I would either avoid or sneak in free, as it reduces the breath-taking scenery to a Disney-esque mess.

Sunset : tourist-free and beautiful

4) Istanbul
A vibrant, exciting city to which even a week could not do justice. Read more on how the city enchanted me here. 

5)Ankara
Go, because it is relatively non-touristy. The new capital of Turkey comprises limited hostels, restaurants with non-english menus and no direct flights to the UK. A giant mausoleum dedicated to Ataturk, the first president of Turkey, and a tiny but adorable old town, mesh ancient with modern. It was the only place in Turkey that I felt on edge, mainly because I was female. I received a lot of scathing and inquisitive looks from both the men and women of Ankara as I traversed the streets in exactly the same clothes I had been wearing around the rest of the country. It's sprawling and ugly, but the beauty in the old town only benefits from this dichotomy. 

Ataturk's Mausoleum