Get creative
Organize your art supplies and get painting! Pick a particular location you’ll visit on your trip and compare your artwork to photos of the location when you return. Consider painting the historical Blue Mosque, the Ruins of Pergamon, the ancient Aphrodisias stadium, or the colorful sights of the Grand Bazaar.
Not a painter? Check out this virtual tour of Turkey’s Hagia Sophia Museum.
Pick a film
Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for Turkey include:
- Mustang (2015)
- Winter Sleep (2014)
- A Touch of Spice (2003)
- Muhsin (1987)
Study some history
Dive deep into the history of specific sites you’ll visit on tour. Study the history of the archaeological site of Troy (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world), the Temple of Artemis, or the significance of the Topkapi Palace. Then, tour some of Turkey’s ancient history and modern marvels with this virtual reality video.
Choose a book
Read and discuss a book that takes place in your destination or describes the local culture. Pick from titles like:
- Turkey: A Short History by Norman Stone
- Constantinople: City of the World’s Desire by Philip Mansel
- Anatolian Days and Nights: A Love Affair with Turkey, Land of Dervishes, Goddesses and Saints by Joy E. Stocke
- Turquerie: An Eighteenth-century European Fantasy by Haydn Williams
Fill up your plate
Arrange a potluck and encourage your friends to bring a traditional dish from your destination. Know a chef? Hold a cooking class with your travel group, or consider a group outing to a restaurant that offers your destination’s cuisine. Try baklava (layered pastry dessert), sis kebap (skewered street meat), kofte (meatballs), pide (flatbread), and kumpir (stuffed baked potato).
Learn the language
Call up a friend and practice your language skills. It helps to make flashcards with common sayings to use on the phone or throughout your travels (think about ordering at restaurants, buying souvenirs, and chatting with locals).
Did you know?
You can cross continents underground! Istanbul may be Europe’s largest city, but half of it actually extends into Asia. More than a century after a sultan dreamed of a rail link beneath the Bosphorus Strait, Turkey opened the Marmaray metro line in 2013. The former imperial city is also home to the Tünel, a short funicular that’s the second-oldest continuously running underground railway after London’s.