Many people ask me why I choose to vacation in Turkey during the summers. The cliche choose the ordinary places to visit, which can be fun and relaxing, such as St. Tropez or Hawaii, but lack much culture or true experience. I enjoy visiting a place in which I can delve into the culture, tradition, and history; escaping my daly routine in Los Angeles.
  Turkey is the cradle of great civilizations. More than a dozen have been born and flourished during the past 10.000 years. From BC to 1600 AD, Anatolia was the very heart of the civilized world at the crossroads of cultural and artistic currents emanating from Europe, Asia and Africa. 
Istanbul is a sprawling city of 18 million, with a patchwork of neighborhoods bisected by the Bosphorus Sea into the European and Asian sides. The up-and-coming Golden Horn, an inlet of the Bosphorus on the European side, was settled by Jews, Armenians, and Greek Orthodox during tolerant Ottoman times. This revitalized area and the luxurious waterfront of the Bosphorus—plus the rising star of the Asian region—have added to Istanbul's charms and modernity in recent years.
Bodrum, a Southeastern port town on the Aegean Sea, is the most up-and-coming seaside escape in Europe. Whether you chose to relax in a secluded white-sand cove, party until 6am at a beachfront nightclub, or enjoy the bay from a boat, Bodrum offers a satiating escape.