Author: Emre Yılmaz

One of the most amazing things about Turkey is their ability to be pure and eco-friendly. A lot of different aspects from lifestyle choices of the locals and the geography goes into just what made friendly ecotourism possible in this country.

The Geography

First, there’s the geography and landscape of Turkey. If you come from a place like America, you’re used to seeing factories, smog and traffic jams which produces a lot of carbons that are bad for the atmosphere. When you come to Turkey, you’ll be surprised at how much of a great job they do at controlling the chemicals that go into the atmosphere.

There’s a couple of different reasons for this but one of them is the geography. The geography of Turkey has a lot of different ecofriendly aspects such as rich water sources and there’s a lot of geological substructures that have made a healthy and growing ecotourism in Turkey possible today. One of the key things here you’ll note that if you go on a hike is that Turkey has a lot of natural flowing rivers and valleys. There’s no controlled channels to help them flow, they’re purely natural passage.

The wildlife is also very abundant in this area as you’ll notice a lot of different bird species. There’s around 420 bird species in Turkey that are known about but there could be more. There’s a lot of diversity when it comes to the wildlife in Turkey which is great for boasting about the ecotourism in the country.

The West Vs Turkey in Terms of Ecotourism

When you examine the lifestyle and the overall structural integrity of the West, you’ll notice some very vast differences. When you come to Turkey, you’ll notice that a lot of the things here are not only organic but even the lifestyle of the people seems to be drastically different. Even the way that the local hotels and establishments in Turkey do business seems to vastly vary. There’s a popular building known as the Ataturk Cultural Center that is undergoing a renovation project to modernize it and make it more environment friendly.

The keyword you’ll hear a lot in Turkey is organic. It seems that everything has to be organic. There’s a hotel in Turkey that’s one of the first entirely organic hotels in Turkey named the Five Boutique Hotel. There’s two different popular and outdoor organic markets in Turkey. The first one is the Ekolojik Halk Pazari in Sisil, which was founded back in 2008. This market was started by the group Bugday and you can visit their website at bugday.org. Then, there’s a new grocery store called the Macrocenter. There are nine different locations for this store just in Istanbul.

With this growing trend, Istanbul has started adopting a lot of these all organic specialized stores that sell only organic products. There’s also a lot of stores selling whole foods only which help the environment and people’s general health. A lot of locally produced products can be found in these stores, all you have to do is look for the term bahcemden located on them which means ‘from my garden’.

However, in vehicle ridden areas of Turkey, a lot of them run on diesel fuel. There is a new wave of bus options in the city called the ekolojik which are considered the “new green city buses”.

The Black Sea has an abundance of rich sources in the water, which has provided a lot of interest to researchers and developers to develop more environmental friendly products and solutions. There’s a popular spot known as the Firtina Valley (Storm Valley) which is located in the Rize province. It has a perfect green environment which is a great choice for doing nature hikes and expeditions. Also, there’s a lot of streams and rivers which are great for doing water sport related activities. For people who are interested in mountain climbing, you can visit the Kackar mountains which has an abundance of greenery in the area.

If you’re looking for something a bit more traditional, then there’s always Olympos, which is a perfect spot for ecotourism. Olympos is located in Antalya. A popular sightseeing attraction here are the Carretta-Caretta turtles that reside here. There’s a lot of people who canoe and practice underwater sports in this region. Antalya has a relatively hot climate, so you can visit any time and participate in any kind of water related activities. Then we have the Kelebekler Valley which has a lot of live wildlife and is great for biologist studies.

In the Kelebekler Valley, you can find more than 80 different butterfly species. This is a nice valley where guests can setup a tent and camp. If you’re interested in some artwork, there’s plenty of art related workshops in the region with some self-awareness shops scattered throughout. Throughout Turkey, you might be able to find some field trips as well that support ecological tourism. The support of these activities has grown over recent years. The funding and support for these excursion trips come from various agencies all over Turkey and some volunteers.

Turkey has an amazing collection of hiking trails all over, some are located directly near the Mediterranean Sea. The landscape of nature in Turkey is breathtaking and you’ll definitely want to make sure you bring a camera.

We’ll go over 5 of the best hiking trails in Turkey and we’ll additionally tell you how you can quickly get in shape for them.

The Top 5 Hiking Trails in Turkey

#1 – Independence Trail

The name independence comes from the Turkish War of Independence in 1919. It was this trail that liberation armies used this trail to ensure their victory. This isn’t a very lengthy trail, but the Istiklal Trail does preserve its history and has some breathtaking views as well.

This is a very remote route that isn’t travelled by a lot of tourists. The trail is also very close to the Black Sea, situated in Northern Turkey. This trail goes all the way from Inebolu to Kastamonu. The whole trail is waymarked and the most ideal times to visit are in between March and October.

#2 – Tokatli Kanyonu

This trail has a few steps so if you’re looking for a flat ground trail, you’re going to have to do a little bit of climbing to successfully tread this trail. It’s a beautiful canyon and it feels like something straight out of a wild west movie.

There’s plenty of natural sights for sightseers such as the free-flowing waterfalls, the flowers and the trees. There’s also a restaurant in the canyon which allows you to take a break and stop for a snack. Today though, you can only see about 750 meters of the canyon as the canyon now ends in Safranbolu.

#3 – Beydağları Coastal National Park

This park is located in the Antalya Province in Southern Turkey. The park was established in March 16^th, 1972. It’s not a small park as it stretches over 132 square miles. The park begins in Sarisu, which is situated in the southwestern region of Antalya and the park ends down in Cape Gelidonya. Cape Gelidonya is directly across the Mediterranean Sea.

You’ll want to visit the three different ancient settlements during your visit to the park. This park isn’t just a long list of hiking trails, they also offer picnic, sporting events, mountain climbing and much more.

#4 – Kilimli Parkuru

This trail is located right next to the town of Agva. On the trail, you’ll be on a ridge that’s directly next to the Kilimli Bay. This is a relatively calm trail with the exception that the Black Sea can have some pretty harsh winds, so watch your step on some areas of the trail.

When you reach the bottom of the trail, you’ll find a nice beach but it’s not an ideal beach for swimming. The beach itself has a lot of stones and the sea is best described as rough.

#5 – Lycian Way

One of the most famous trails in Turkey is the Lycian Way trail. Tourists who visit Turkey love this trail and it’s a very lengthy trail. It stretches across 540 miles and wraps around the southern region of Turkey. It ranges all the way from Fethiye to Antalya.

There’s a lot of old Roman roads and mule trails that used to be used. Some of these areas are a bit stony and it’s not an optimal trail if you plan on taking a mountain bike up there. There’s also some steep gradients as it does sit between some mountains and the coast.

How to Get in Shape Quick for The Hiking Trails in Turkey

Make Sure You’re Eating Healthy

We cannot stress enough how important eating healthy is. Poor eating habits lowers your energy levels, makes you vitamin deficient and will overall result in poor health. You need to adopt some healthy eating patterns before you take on lengthy trails.

Make sure you’re avoiding any food with high amounts of fat content in them. The fats you want to avoid are polyunsaturated fats and trans fats. The foods you should be eating are fruits, vegetables, monounsaturated fats and lean proteins.

Join the Gym/Lift Some Weights

You don’t necessarily HAVE to join a gym to lift weights, but this will increase your confidence and you’ll have a chain of support around you to help you if you need it.

A lot of people are afraid of going to the gym because they’re afraid of everyone around them being fit and laughing at them. That’s not the case. Everyone has started somewhere. The areas you primarily want to focus on for lifting is your upper body and your lower body. You need strong legs for climbing and hiking. Your goal shouldn’t be to build muscle mass, it should be to strength train.

Try to do six to eight reps focusing on your arms, gluteal, legs, shoulders, back and chest. The ideal weight should be one that makes you fatigued by the 12^th repetition. Once you find your perfect weight, do two to three sets.

Up Your Cardiovascular Workout

A pounding heart is a good thing when it comes to exercise. It gets your blood flowing, provides some adrenaline and gets you moving. Your ideal workouts should be 30 to 60 minutes.

Don’t stress yourself to the point where you can’t even breathe but go for a moderate pace where you can still focus and hold a conversation even while moving. Running and bicycling are going to be your two best options here because we want to make sure that your stamina and your legs are in top notch before a lengthy hike.

Give Your Life Some More Physical Activity

If you sit on the couch a lot or have a job that requires you to be seated 8 or more hours a day, you need to make sure you’re getting more physical activity in general. Things you can do to negate this is walking to the park or taking some walks at night when you’re off work.

Any kind of physical activity is better than none. Any kind of activity that amps your heart up and gets your body working is good.

Bodrum is famously known for the Bodrum Castle. It’s regarded as one of the Seven Wonders for its time and was built in BC 4^th century. There are a lot of memorable sights and attractions, with a string of nearby beaches and resorts for tourists. Bodrum had become a small fishing village around the time of the late Ottoman Era until the 1940s when the city opened up its ports to tourists. There’s many different historical attractions in this nice quiet town but we’re going to count down the top 5.

#1 – The Shopping District Bazaar

For those looking to indulge in some shopping, the Bazaar in Bodrum has everything you need. While it gives off an original Turkish market look, it’s been uplifted to give it a modern market feel with real shops rather than street vendors. There are a wide variety of shops there and while the prices aren’t the cheapest, you can find authentic Turkish products such as textiles and pottery.

They even have beach apparel for beachgoers. Located in Cevat Sakir Caddesi, you can indulge yourself into the different selection of merchandise from Central Asian textile, some local made pottery, some gold shops to bling yourself out in and a whole lot more. You definitely won’t leave empty handed when you visit the Bazaar of Bodrum. There’s so many historical and fun products to shop around for.

#2 – The Marina Shipyard

The clear and smooth waters of the Mediterranean Sea is what draws a lot of tourists in all year round to Bodrum. Located in Neyzen Tevfik Caddesi, the Marina Shipyard has a gasping view of yachts. The yachts you find here may be small fishing vessels or larger luxury yachts. Yachts are the number one attraction here and local tourism has spiked to get out into the open seas.

If you’d like to take on the open water, you can find an excursion vessel which may offer different trips depending on your destination. Some offer trips that only last a day and some of them offer trips for longer. They’ll take you all around the coast and you’ll visit some pristine water areas where you’ll be able to swim, sunbathe and more. If you continue to go down the Marina road into the West, you’ll come across the Ottoman Shipyard. The Ottoman Shipyard features a bunch of tombstones and you’ll get a great view of the Marina.

#3 – The Remains of Myndos Gate

Otherwise known as the Myndos Kapisi, this location is where a lot of researchers and historians come to find traces of the ancient city once known as Halicarnassus. While this place used to house a fortress for King Mausolus, it now stands as just a gate and it’s the only remaining piece of the fortress left. These fortress walls actually wrap around the entire city for seven kilometers.

There’s also some small ruins scattered around the gates that make for interesting exploration. Wandering tourists will find some tombs scattered throughout the grounds and some mosaic fragments. There’s also some fragments that are suggested to be part of a 4^th century BC moat. While they’re not the most impressive thing you’ll discover in Bodrum, you’ll have plenty to explore in the ruins and around the gate.

#4 – Bodrum’s Historic Old Town

One of the most stunningly beautiful areas of Bodrum that you’ll visit is Old Town. The main attraction to Old Town is the cottages here that you’ll find scattered all throughout the narrow alleyways. Located in Off Kale Sokak just behind the Castle of St. Peter, this town stands as a reminder of what was once a small fishing village. While there have been renovations to modernize the town, a lot of authenticity was left in place.

The cottages are whitewashed and have vines that drape over them. If you love taking pictures, you’ll love the historic sights of Old Town and the shrubbery covered cottages. If you’d like to take a seat and grab a drink, there’s a wide selection of different cafes in the area. As expected, there’s also plenty of boutiques in the area as well. It’s a breath of fresh air to stroll through and is regarded as one of the top favorited spots to visit for tourists.

#5 – The Castle of St. Peter

Located in Kale Sokak, here lies The Castle of St. Peter. This is a tourist favorite because of the breathtaking view from the castle and the history behind the castle. If you visit Bodrum, you shouldn’t leave before coming here. Inside this castle is one of the most famous attractions, the Museum of Underwater Archaeology where you’ll find various artifacts, ship remains, pottery and more.

When the tower was built by The Knights Hospitallers of St. John in 1402-1437, various knights from different nationalities were given the responsibility of protecting the walls. The knights protected these walls up until the reign of Ottoman Sultan the Magnificent. Afterwards, it was given to the Turks who built a mosque inside the castle. A lot of the halls have been fixed and renovated but kept authentic with crests and markings on the walls.

When you’re taking a walk through the Taksim Square, you’ll probably notice something a bit strange. You’ll notice a lot of people with bandages on top of their head. The hair transplant industry is one of Turkey’s quickest thriving industries. This comes at a time when Turkey is facing a sharp decline in tourism due to negative media attention abroad from terrorism and attacks that have scared a lot of people from visiting the country.

So why have so many people started travelling to Turkey to receive a hair transplant operation? It was reported by a Turkish newspaper named Hurriyet that an estimated 750,000 medical tourists had visited Turkey in the last year alone. Of that 750,000, almost 10,000 of them or 60,000 came there for a hair transplant. It’s estimated that there’s anywhere from 150 to 500 hair transplants done in the country every single week.

How Does a Hair Transplant Work?

These operations are not cheap and they’re not quick. They take months for the effect to kick in and there’s often more than one appointment. Doctors will extract some hair follicles from the back of the head and then insert those hair follicles into the front of the head where they have made hundreds to thousands of incisions, depending on how much hair the patient needs.

People get these procedures done because most other baldness combat methods are usually ineffective and don’t work. There’s temporary solutions on the market to make it appear like you have hair on a balding spot but one of the only real solutions at the moment is to get a hair transplant. This procedure however doesn’t come without risks. When doctors mess up or botch the operation, this can result in scars visible on the front of the head and the hair may end up growing in odd directions.

It was revealed by the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council that Turkey made $5.8 billion in 2015 alone. According to the Turkish Healthcare Travel Council, that’s an estimated $10,000 per visitor. That’s how expensive these hair transplants are and they don’t always go as planned.

Illegal Hair Transplant Clinics

Another core problem with the hair transplant is that while there are a lot of legit doctors out there who perform the operation, there’s a lot of illegal hair transplant clinics as well or better known as the black market. It’s said that in travel agencies and around airports where tourists land, there are middlemen who advertise these services to people. Some people even pay some of these tourist agencies to give them a list of names for people who are looking to get a hair transplant.

Some agencies will recommend a hopeful patient to a faulty clinic and once that patient pays the clinic, they’ll in turn pay the agency a portion of the profits. This industry is so profitable that some of these clinics will even offer luxury rides in cars and have their hotel stay paid for until the treatment is finished. The health tourism interest in Turkey has been booming for some time and this is partly because of the investments made into health facilities over the past decade.

It’s not just hair implants either, a lot of people come to Turkey for eyebrow implants and even facial hair implants.

One such customer is Sayeed, who’s 32 from Saudi Arabia. When he left the clinic after his transplant, he was walking around town with a blood covered bandage. Sayeed admits he didn’t put enough proper research into the clinic and the operation was botched. When he arrived in Istanbul, he wanted to receive an operation for a transplant but he didn’t know about the unlicensed and illegal clinics all around Turkey. He later did return to Istanbul to get the damage that the clinic had done repaired.

However, Aziz Khellout, who’s 28 years old from Algeria had a more successful story. He traveled to Turkey because he had lost all confidence in himself when his hair started falling out. He arrived in 2017 and arrived at his clinic in February 23^rd. He said that he had found the clinic on a Facebook page but none the less, he had a successful operation and likes to brag about the before and after pictures for his hair.

If you want to get a hair transplant in the United States or Europe, you can expect to pay up to $25,000 for a single operation. However, in Istanbul, that price is drastically reduced down to anywhere from $600 to $2,000. There are a lot of clinics in the city and they’re so competitive that some of them have dropped their prices down to $600 and some go even lower. The competitive market for hair transplants are getting even worse though because more and more are popping up each day.

One expert terrifyingly admitted that doctors aren’t even the ones doing a lot of the operations. A hair transplant by law should be done by a doctor. However, it’s usually just a nurse or a technician that’s doing the majority of these transplants and some of them aren’t qualified to do so. He admits that doctors usually only step in when there’s any major complications. So how do these clinics get away with breaking the law?

Well health inspectors who make sure clinics are operating up to code are usually bribed the clinics and they can do this because of the amount of money they make. One clinic owner said that almost 90% of his patients come from the Middle East.

The bottom line is, there’s a line of clinics out there that are designed to scam people out of their money and most of them are the cheapest option available. It should be no surprise that a $600 hair transplant probably won’t go well, but some people are so desperate that they take the deal anyways. The market is plagued by corruption, fake clinics and gullible customers looking for a bargain and the market is only expanding.

Bodrum Nightlife

If there’s one thing that the locals of Bodrum love more than fishing, it’s partying. The nightlife of Bodrum is surprisingly always going on and the locals really know how to party. All of the restaurants, nightclubs and even the cafes will stay open all night to make sure they can accommodate the partygoers. It’s such a hot spot for partygoers, that even the Turkish people will consider Bodrum as the number 2 nightlife destination right after Istanbul.

One of the most impressive things is that Bodrum has more bars per square mile than almost every single area in Turkey. The number of bars and nightlife has something for everyone, no matter what your taste is. When you visit Bodrum, even if you don’t party often, you’ll be thoroughly impressed by the amount of options you have from relaxing lounges to party resorts. If you want to sit back and kick back your feet at a nice café with a seaside view, you might even get a nice view of the Bodrum castle.

There’s a street called Bar Street and it’s approximately one-mile long. It runs directly parallel to the seaside so you’ll always have a great view regardless of your destination. You’ll be able to get a stunning view of the castle from almost any destination and it’s illuminated at night for a nice glowing effect.

If you’re looking for live music, you can visit a bar called the VELI BAR which is considered to be one of the oldest bars in Bodrum. The M&M DANCING bar has probably one of the best sound systems in Bodrum and the interior is rather pleasant to look at as well. There’s other options such as the YETTIGARI and the HADIGARI BAR AND RESTAURANT. Make sure to visit the FORA BAR which offers a nice view of the castle at night that you’ll want to take a picture of.

Then, you have the FASIL CAFÉ RASIT which offers an upstairs bar and has live belly dancers for an authentic Turkish feel. They also play original Turkish music. You’ll have to wait until 11PM however for the live action to start. What if you’re looking for something with a nice Victorian style of music? You can visit THE WHITE HOUSE BAR in that case.

You can also find plenty of bars that have a nice open view of the Aegean Sea as well, which offers a nice scenic view where you can enjoy your wine in peace with a fresh breath of air from the calm sea. Nearby, there’s a quiet and really nice bar called the MAVI BAR (which is also known as the blue bar). In only 50 meters, you can find one of the most exotic and nicest bars around known as the HALIKARNAS DISCO. They don’t offer advertise the bar because it’s very popular among the locals and it should be one of the must visit destinations on your list before you leave Bodrum.

Bodrum Festivals

Boat Racing – If you’re into some wooden boat racing, there’s an event held by the ETA Bodrum Sailing Club. This event is held on third Sunday of October.

Biking Festival – If you’re more into biking and an enthusiast, there’s an event that’s organized by the Bodrum Nature Sports Clubs (BODOSC). This event is held around May. There are multiple different organizations including civil and state institutions that help make this event possible. They’ve also got quite a few sponsors to help fund the event. They even have their own slogan, which is “Hand in Hand for a Bodrum free of exhaust, get on bicycles”. This event isn’t all about bicycles though, because you’ll find some live performances from music artists, acrobatic performances and even dance shows. This event tends to attract a pretty large crowd.

If you’re looking for some other events, there’s three events you may want to attend:

#1 – There’s the Padasa Festival which runs from August 27 to September 1

#2 – There’s the Turgutreis Commemoration Festival which only runs on June 23

#3 – Finally, there’s the Turkbuku Culture and Art Festival which runs from September 3^rd to September 9^th

There are additionally some open market fleas and bazaar locations you can check out on certain days. The majority of these events are located directly in Bodrum or relatively close.

• On Mondays, be sure to check out Guvercinlik
• On Tuesdays, you can visit the Bodrum clothing center and the Milas food and clothing store
• On Wednesdays, you can visit Gumusluk and Ortakent
• On Thursdays, there’s a wide selection of food in Bodrum, some food and clothing available in Mugal and additionally, some food and clothing in Yalikavak
• On Fridays, Bodrum is open for a wide selection of food again
• On Saturdays, Turgutreis has a wide selection of clothing and food available
• On Sundays, check out Mumcular for clothing and food and be sure to check out Gumbet as well

A lot of these markets when they’re open offer a lot of organic fruit that’s grown and harvested locally. You’ll also find fresh fish caught by the local fisherman.

If you’re planning on relocating or traveling with your pet to Turkey, there’s an exhaustive list of things you need to plan ahead for. Proper planning should be done a month in advance to make sure you have everything in order.

The majority of these regulations and precautions apply to domestic dogs, ferrets and cats but if you have other pets you plan on bringing, they may be subject to different regulations.

NOTE: Regulations and requirements change. Please contact your travel destinations’ proper authorities before entering the country.

Pets Other Than Dogs, Cats & Ferrets

If you have a bird, you’ll be required to obtain an import permit. Additionally, there are some pets that won’t be required to have a rabies vaccination but will more than likely require a health certificate with other additional requirements depending on the pet. This list includes:

• Amphibia
• Mammals such as rabbits and rodents
• Reptiles
• Tropical fish
• Invertebrates

For specific information on the exact requirements of these pets, you’re advised to seek out information from your country of origin and your destination country.

Microchip Requirements and Standards

Every pet entering the country must have a microchip, there are no exceptions. Every microchip must be up to code ISO Standard 11784 or Annex A to ISO Standard 11785.

Medical Information and Vaccines

These are a list of vaccines and additional medical information required for your pet’s entry.

#1 – Airline Health Certificate or otherwise known as the APHIS 7001. These need to be filled out 10 days before your departure.

#2 – There are additional vaccines for your dogs that must be completed within at least 4 weeks before travel. This list includes Parainfluenza, Leptospirosis, Parvovirus, Bordetella, Rabies, Hepatitis and Distemper.

#3 – Cats must have additional vaccines completed at least 4 weeks before travel which includes: Calicivirus, Panleukopenia, Feline Viral Rhinotracheitis and Rabies

To make sure these certificates are valid, make sure they’re authorized at least two weeks before your arrival.

Pets that are Banned from Entering Turkey

Not all pets will be permitted into Turkey, even with the required certificates. There’s a lengthy list of dog breeds that will not be allowed into the country and this list includes:

• Rottweilers
• American Pit Bull Terriers
• Bull Terriers
• American Staffordshire
• Japanese Tosa
• Neopolitan Mastiff
• Spanish Mastiff
• Dogue De Bordeux
• Roman Fighting Dog
• Bandog Tosa Inu
• Tibetan Mastiff
• Any and all mongrel breeds

If you have a question concerning your specific breed, you should contact the customs of Turkey and ask beforehand if your breed is permitted.

Obtaining a Health Certificate

If you’re travelling from the United States or Canada, you’re going to be required to have a Veterinary Certificate for Turkey. The vet who completes this certificate MUST be CFIA certified or recognized by the USDA. This certificate must be done 10 days prior to your flight to Turkey. For people travelling to Turkey outside of the United States and Canada should have a veterinarian recognized by the government to authorize and fill out these forms.

Turtles and Parrots

It’s important to check whether or not that your pet is not protected under the CITES regulations. CITES stands for (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). More than 180 different countries enforce the CITES regulations and if your pet is protected by these regulations, you will need to check to see what additional permits are required.

Cats and Dogs Under 3 Months of Age

The most important requirement when importing a kitten or puppy under 3 months of age is to have a qualified veterinarian issue a health declaration that states the pet has not been in contact with any wild animals. They also may travel with their parent as long as the parent pet has met all of the qualifications. The county of origin for puppies and kittens must be in a country where there’s no outbreak of rabies and it’s strongly controlled.

Also, there are a few other additional requirements:

• Your pet must not have any internal or external parasites
• Your pet must be in good health
• Must not have any diseases that can transfer over to humans
• You’ll need permission from the Ministry before hand
• You must send in your passport for prior approval

Requirements for Entering Turkey by Flight

When your pets arrive, they will be examined at the airport and they must be free of any transferable diseases to humans. Be warned that if your pet isn’t in good health, there will be an additional examination in Turkey and you will be required to pay for it. If you’d like your pet cleared the same day as your flight’s landing, the pet must arrive before 11:30AM.

To avoid paying taxes on your pets, your pets must arrive accompanied. The owner of the pet is required to be present at customs or have a Power of Attorney on their behalf. You may also have a passport that shows you will arrive within 30 days of your pet’s arrival.

Will My Pets Be Quarantined?

Your pets will not be quarantined as long as a titter test has been successfully completed within 3 months prior to entering Turkey. You should note that if your pet doesn’t have a titter test done 3 months prior, it will then be subject to home quarantine for 4 months.

It’s important to have your veterinarian inform the laboratory doing the test of your destination country.

Is There Anything Else I Should Know?

As regulations do change, you should contact the proper authorities ahead of time to ask for required documentation or ask any questions you may have.

• Make sure you have the passport of the pet owner on hand at the time of arrival
• A Rabies Vaccine Certificate should be on hand
• An APHIS 7001 form will be required and it must be USDA certified
• An authorized import permit

The selective and healthy various cuisine dishes aren’t rich in fat and offer a great variety for tourists who visit. The only thing that may be considered fatty is the Turkish bread that you probably shouldn’t eat too much of, even though it is delightfully delicious. 

Bodrum also has some very tempting and great tasting deserts and pastries you should avoid if you’re trying to eat healthy. If you’re looking for some unique and traditional Mediterranean cuisines, then Bodrum is the place to go.

Some of the dishes such as vegetable entrees are often prepared with some wild plants like bull marrow, chicory and radish leaves. There’s also other ingredients such as:

• Smoked eggplant mixed with yogurt (also known as the kopoglu mezesi)
• Gipsy Salad (also known as the cingene salatasi)
• Purslane salad topped with yogurt
• bitter orange marmalade
• Pickled cucumbers

If you order a dish that’s prepared with olive oil, the dish will be served cold and they are all considered appetizers. There is a popular sub-section of fast food interest that’s served in the small restaurants around Bodrum.

If you’re fancying some exotic food such as grilled lamb, maybe some Turkish pancake (also known as gozleme), Turkish pizza (also known as pide), Lahmacun or some chicken/beef that’s sliced up and then sandwiched in a quarter or half bread loaf (which is also known as doner ekmek), there are plenty of smaller establishments all around Bodrum that offer these dishes.

If you’re looking for an authentic experience and you want to live like a local, then you won’t want to miss your opportunity to drink some Ayran. Turkish people have this tradition of mixing cold water, yoghurt and salt which they use to prepare a drink they call Ayran. It’s kind of like buttermilk. If you eat one of the snacks listed above, then Ayran might be something perfect for your taste buds. While the tradition of Turkish food should be experienced by the healthy wholesome dishes that Bodrum has to offer, there are plenty of these fast food restaurants on just about every corner street you can find in downtown Bodrum.

When you eat out in Bodrum, you won’t run out of possibilities or selection. You’ll be presented with all kinds of different entrees, dishes and options for fulfilling your taste buds’ desires. One of the great things about the Bodrum selection of cuisines is that they offer a wide selection from many different countries. Also, if you go out to eat, it’s essential that you try a glass of Raki at least once. There’s a lot of different drinks you can experience in Bodrum and you may as well try them once before you leave.

While fish is particularly popular in Bodrum, one of the most popular specials is a steak. Also, you can get a chicken with a potato, some garlic and then some specialized yogurt sauce as well. While there’s a wide assortment of dessert options in Bodrum restaurants, you can’t leave before you try two of the most important and popular dishes in the city. The first dish is known as (sarayli). This dish can only be described as a light pastry that’s been rolled. The second special dish is known as (katmer) which is a pie pastry that has been rolled.

Both of these dishes come with sesame seeds and almonds stuffed inside. Another tradition of the people in Bodrum is that they like to mix semolina with ice cream.

Where to eat in Bodrum

Meyhane

If you’re looking for a Turkish traditional style of a bar or restaurant, then you’ll want to visit Meyhane Sokak. This is a nice town where you’ll find plenty of dining options in a very active town. There’s plenty of fishing markets along with butchers’ markets. If you’re in the market to try out some grilled octopus, try heading on over to the Harem Meyhane.

Gumusluk

This town specializes in delicious seafood meals. This is a relatively small seaside village which specializes in catching fish then cooking them later. You won’t find a lot of tourists here as they prefer to stick to the western side of the peninsula. You’re even able to sample fish that fisherman have caught, straight out of their crate. It’s definitely an experience you shouldn’t miss.

Bodrum Town

This is the main attraction and hub for visitors. You’ll find a lot of activity and entertainment here. There’s such a wide variety of different cuisines here that range from local cuisines, to Mexican food, to Indian dishes, to Chinese and even Thai food. If you want to be entertained, there’s quite a few spots with some belly dancers in bars but people looking for a view of the Bodrum Marina, there’s plenty of bars that offer spots for that as well.

Golturkbuku

A lot of people who are big spenders like to come to this village for their luxury dining options. Some of the restaurants in this town actually flow straight out into the water, so the view of the Aegean is beautiful. There’s a lot of locally produced wine here that you don’t want to miss.