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FOREIGN TOURIST ARRIVALS IN

TURKEY ROSE NEARLY 30 PCT IN 2017

The number of foreign tourists visiting the surge in the number of Russian tourists, power. This famed monument is a must-do Great Theatre
Turkey rose 28 percent in the first 10 and data for the third quarter of 2017 for every tourist visiting the country. Construction of the Great Theatre of Ephesus
months of the year, hitting 29 million, mainly showed a rebound of nearly 40 percent began in the reign of Claudius (AD 41-54)
due to an ongoing rebound in the Russian year-on-year. EPHESUS and was completed in the reign of Trajan
market, data from Turkey’s Tourism Ministry (AD 98-117). It is particularly impressive,
showed on Nov. 29. THE BEST TOURIST ATTRACTIONS Not to be missed, the mighty ruin of both for its great size and for the excellent
IN TURKEY Ephesus is a city of colossal monuments state of preservation of the orchestra and
The number of foreign visitors arriving in and marble-columned roads. One of the the stage buildings. It was here that St. Paul
Turkey surged 22.2 percent in October to Packed to the brim with ancient monuments most complete, still-standing Roman cities preached against the cult of Artemis and
2.99 million, the data also showed. left over from a parade of conquerors and in the Mediterranean region, this is the place inveighed against the guild of silversmiths
More than 4.5 million Russians visited endowed with showcase scenery that to experience what life must have been like responsible for its shrines.
Turkey in the first 10 months of the year never fails to impress, Turkey is a dazzling during the golden age of the Roman Empire.
with a 496 percent year-on-year increase, destination that straddles Asia and Europe. A sightseeing trip here will take at least The theater’s three by 22 tiers of seating,
as the bilateral ties between the two Our vibrant culture, famous food, and vast half a day to cover the major highlights and divided into sections by 12 stairways, could
countries have normalized after a jet crisis. history wow all who venture here, while our longer, if you really want to explore, so make accommodate an audience of some 25,000.
The number of Russian tourists who visited glorious landscapes - from the sun-soaked sure that you plan your visit so you don’t If you climb to the top, there is a fine view
Turkey was 767,000 in the January - Mediterranean to the mighty mountains and feel rushed. extending down to the Old Harbor. There
October period of 2016. arid steppe... are highlights in themselves. were also staircase tunnels leading to the
The Russian arrivals in Turkey also almost Whether you want to lap up the Byzantine Of all the ruins and archaeological upper tiers. The stage wall was originally
doubled in October, hitting 442,970, and Ottoman glories of Istanbul on a city attractions in Turkey, Ephesus is the most three-stories and 18 meters high but is
according to the ministry. break, laze on the beach, delve into history famous. Tourists from around the world now preserved only to the height of the
In the first 10 months of 2017, a total of wandering through ruins such as Ephesus, come here to walk down the well-preserved lowest story. It was elaborately articulated,
17.6 million Europeans visited Turkey with or see some of the world’s most surreal Roman streets, gaze at the mighty with columns, niches for statues, and richly
a nearly 1.6 percent year-on-year decrease, panoramas in Pamukkale and Cappadocia, decorated cornices. In the west terrace wall
according to the ministry. our country has attractions galore monuments, and soak up the ancient soul of is a Hellenistic fountain-house in the form
this ruined city.
of a temple in antis, which in spite of its
Russia thus became the top tourism market AYA SOFYA ruinous state is notable for the clarity and
for Turkey by taking a 15.7-percent share Many travelers use the picturesque village simplicity of its structure.
in total arrivals in the first 10 months of of Selçuk (right beside the ruins) as their
the year, followed by Germany and Iran, base, but you can also easily visit from the Marble Street
which took 11.5 percent and 7.3 percent of nearby seaside town of Kuşadası or the city Along the east side of the Lower Agora,
share, respectively. Georgia and the United of İzmir. Wherever you base yourself, allow the Marble Street leads from the Koressos
Kingdom ranked fourth and fifth in the top enough time to explore. You’ll find plenty of Gate but has only been excavated from the
five list. things to do in Ephesus and so much history Great Theatresouthward. This fine marble-
Regarding the October data, the top five to absorb, and even a short tour of the paved street, once lined with arcades and
senders for Turkey’s tourism sector ranked highlights will take half a day. decorated with statues, continues south to
the same: Russia, Germany, Iran, Georgia the Library of Celsus. Along the middle are a
and the U.K. Arkadiane series of holes through which surface water
Renowned as one of the most beautiful To the west of the baths lay the Old Harbor, flowed into drains.
Amid a series of bomb attacks, a failed buildings in the world, the spellbinding now an area of marshy ground. Immediately
coup attempt and the diplomatic crisis Byzantine glory of the Aya Sofya Museum south of this group of buildings is the CAPPADOCIA
with Russia, the number of foreign tourists (Hagia Sophia) is not only one of the top Arkadiane, a fine arcaded street running
visiting Turkey plummeted to 25.3 million in things to do in Istanbul, but also in Turkey. east from the harbor to the Great Theatre, The surreal swooping rock valleys of
2016 from 36.2 million in the previous year. The staggering bulk of its exterior is rimmed which stood facing a long square. The effect Cappadocia are every photographer’s
These negativities slashed Turkey’s tourism by the delicate minarets added after the of this magnificent avenue, built by Arcadius dream. Cliff ridges and hill crests are home
revenues in 2016 to $22.11 billion from Ottoman conquest, while the sumptuous (the first Eastern Emperor) around AD 400, to rippling panoramas of wave-like rock or
$31.46 billion in 2015. and cavernous frescoed interior is a grand was further enhanced by an elaborate gate wacky-shaped pinnacles that have been
Numbers turned around in April, thanks to reminder of old Constantinople’s might and at either end. formed by millennia of wind and water