I can tell you how many times I have been to the United States, which is six, and Mexico, which is three. Turkey I cannot tell you, because at some point I lost count, and that is the most honest review I can give a country.
Why it keeps happening
Turkey sits in a useful place, both on the map and in the head. It is close enough to reach easily, varied enough that no two trips repeat themselves, and priced in a way that does not punish you for going often.
But the real reason is simpler. It is one of the few places where I have never had a bad trip. Not one. That track record builds its own gravity.
Istanbul
Istanbul is the reason most people go, and it deserves it, but not for the reasons the guidebooks lead with. The mosques and the palaces are worth your time. What keeps me coming back is the ordinary texture of the city: ferries as public transport, tea appearing constantly, entire neighbourhoods that feel like separate towns.
I have celebrated two New Year’s Eves there. I have also spent quiet weeks there doing very little. It supports both.
Antalya and the coast
Antalya is where I go when I want Turkey without the intensity. The old town, the water, the mountains behind the city. In winter it empties out and becomes something else entirely, which is when I like it most.
The thing nobody warns you about
Turkish hospitality is not a marketing line, and it will slow your itinerary down. You will be invited to sit. You will be given tea. A five minute errand becomes forty minutes, repeatedly, and the trip is better for it.
Countries you visit once give you a story. Countries you return to give you a relationship.
If you are going for the first time
- Give Istanbul more days than you planned
- Take the ferry, not the taxi
- Go in shoulder season if you can, the heat and crowds both drop
- Leave gaps in the schedule for the invitations you did not expect