The combination of the summer season and the upcoming Eid Al Fitr holidays make this a perfect time to travel to Turkey.

With long summer days of 10 hours sunshine and average temperatures of 28 degrees, Turkey provides tourists with a plethora of activities and sites to visit.

This holiday season, the top three holiday spots to visit this Eid that combine indoor and outdoor activities that will be fun for families include:

Bursa’s Unesco World Heritage sites
With a total of eight Unesco World Heritage sites, Bursa is filled with history, natural beauty and modern conveniences. The 700-year-old village of Cumalıkızık is a well-preserved example of early Ottoman rural life. The village is located to the east of Bursa on the Uludağ mountain. Known as a Waqf village, Cumalıkızık is the most complete remnant of the system that has maintained its character over the centuries, and represents a significant insight into Ottoman social infrastructure.

Külliyes, which are complexes of buildings centred on a mosque and managed by a single institution to help fund regional rulers at the time, portray a true impression of Ottoman architecture. Along with a mosque, the külliyes in Cumalıkızık usually include a school, Turkish bath and various social compounds.

In Cumalıkızık, the Orhan Gazi külliye is the most famous of the many külliyes that include the Yıldırım, Muradiye, Hüdavendigar, and Yeşil külliyes are scattered around the Bursa’s city centre.

Cumalıkızık is also renowned for its early morning breakfasts. Many of the village’s homeowners have opened rustic courtyard eateries that serve traditional village-style breakfasts, usually made up of locally procured eggs, vegetables, meats and cheese and pastries.

Istanbul’s amazing museums
Istanbul is a historic city with a heritage of culture that goes back millenniums. From beautiful palaces to mosques and museums, there is an overabundance of sites to visit.

Highly recommended on the list of museums to see is the Archaeology Museum, locally known as the Arkeoloji Müzesi. This is considered a real hidden gem in Istanbul, with a rich collection of ancient artefacts and relics. The museum is family friendly and houses a kid’s section with a life-size model of the Trojan Horse.

Other top attractions include Alexander the Great’s sarcophagus, constructed of Pentelic marble in the form of a Greek temple. Carvings along the sides of the sarcophagus depict some of Alexander’s most famous battle and hunting scenes. And the oldest surviving peace treaty, set in stone and silver in 1259 BC and signed by the legendary Egyptian Pharaoh Ramesses the Great and Hittite Great King Hattusili.

Other museums that should not be missed are the Turkey Modern Museum of contemporary art, the Military Museum, locally known as the Askeri Müzesi located in the Harbiye district in Istanbul, and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts that is located inside the Ibrahim Pasha Palace in the historic Sultanahmet district.

Outdoor adventure and beach life in Marmaris
The port city of Marmaris is located south-west of Turkey along the shoreline of the Turkish Riviera on the Mediterranean. Marmaris is known for its fine white sand beaches and scenic mountains.

Icmeler Beach, one of the best known beaches in Marmaris, is attractive for its shallow clear water, which makes it a perfect family destination. Scuba diving and snorkelling trips are also extremely popular in Marmaris due to its untouched and extensive marine life. A vast range of other watersport activities are available, as well as awe-inspiring views of the nearby mountains.

For a day of outdoor adventure, a trip into the Marmaris mountains is much advised. With many picturesque hiking trails through portraits of natural fauna and flora, visitors can enjoy breathtaking waterfall lagoons, quaint water streams and beautiful sunsets over into the sea. - TradeArabia News Service