Frommer's Favorite Experiences

Taking a Hamam: The Turkish bath, rising out of the Islamic requirement of cleanliness, is not just practical, it's a minivacation. A good hamam experience includes the proper traditional ambience and a heavy-handed scrubbing.

Sharing Tea with the Locals: Tea is at the center of Turkish culture; no significant negotiation takes place without some. But more than commerce, tea stops the hands of time in Turkey; it renews the bonds of friends and family. Having tea is inevitable, as is the invitation to share a glass with a total stranger. Accept the invitation: There's more in the glass than just a beverage.

Soaking in a Thermal Pool: Sometimes Turkey seems like one big open-air spa; chemically rich waters bubble up from below while frigid spring water rushes down from above.

Discovering the Covered Bazaar: Nobody should pass through Turkey without spending a day at the mother of all shopping malls. The atmosphere crackles with the electricity of the hunt -- but are you the hunter or the hunted? The excitement is tangible, even if you're on the trail of a simple pair of elf shoes or an evil-eye talisman. It's the disciplined shopper who gets out unscathed.

Riding the Ferry Across the Dardanelles: Wars were fought for control of these straits. And thanks to a long line of steadfast Turks, you and I can sit back and enjoy the breezes, the high cliffs, and the fortresses that helped win the battle -- and leave our passports back at the hotel.

Cruising the Turquoise Coast: Words just don't do this justice. Aboard a wooden gulet (traditional broad-beamed boat), you drift past majestic mountains, undiscovered ruins, and impossibly azure waters, as the sun caresses your skin from sunrise to sunset. In this environment the morning aroma of Nescafe takes on an almost pleasant quality when enjoyed on deck, anchored just offshore a pine-enclosed inlet. By 9am you're diving off the rail and cursing the day it all has to end.

Paragliding over Ölüdeniz: There's no better place in the world than the surging summit of Babadagav for this wildly exhilarating and terrifying sport. For 15 brief minutes, you're flying high above the magnificent turquoise waters of Ölüdeniz with the mountains in the foreground. The safety factor? Not to be underestimated, but hey, that nice body of water should help break your fall.

Settling into Turkish Style: As nomads, the Turks communed on home-woven cushions and kilims in their tents. The Ottomans continued the tradition of sark (Oriental) seating, and now every tourist destination thinks that's what we want. They're right. We want kilims, saddles, cushions, and low copper tables.

Ballooning over Cappadocia: Watch this surreal landscape change character right before your eyes: In a matter of minutes, the sun rises over the cliffs, valleys, and ravines, and colors morph from hazy blue to orange, pink, and finally yellow. The capper? A post-flight champagne breakfast.

Spending the Night in a Cave: The ceilings are low, the light is dim, and there are niches in the wall for your alarm clock -- this is the troglodyte life as the Cappadocians lived it for thousands of years. Some of these "cave hotels" are rudimentary, others extravagant; but all are cool in summer, warm in winter, and as still as the daybreak.

Exploring Pergamum: Pergamum was once one of the most influential societies in the ancient world. Only traces of its greatness remain -- but high atop the hillside, the acropolis still sings the songs of the wind through its broken pillars. The theater is the most extraordinary remnant of this forgotten society, clinging stubbornly to the side of a hill that overlooks a fruitful and expansive plain.

Unraveling the Mystery behind the Lycian Tombs: How did they get there? And why? Expertly carved into inaccessible vertical cliffs to resemble a classical temple, the Lycian sarcophagi are mysterious and dramatic, with their Gothic headdresses perched above the ghosts of royalty. The best spots to see them? Dalyan, Kaunos, Myra, and while boating the pristine waters of Kekova.

Searching for the Perfect Carpet or Kilim: No matter how lame your bargaining skills, it's still cheaper than Bloomingdale's -- and boy, do they look good unrolled under (or on) your coffee table. Turkey's tribal carpets and kilims represent a cultural tradition that goes back for centuries. The symmetrical designs we're most accustomed to are found in rugs from Kayseri and Hereke -- the latter traditionally boasts the most exquisite silk-on-silk showpieces.

Relaxing at Ölüdeniz Beach: The posters just don't do it justice. On one end is the great expanse of Belcekiz Beach, enclosed by the brittle silhouette of Babadag and the landing pad for paragliders sporting jet-propulsion packs. And on the beach is the jaw-dropper, the Blue Lagoon made real: still waters in no less than three shades of turquoise.