Hi everyone, I'm very interested in Turkey but not able to learn the language as of yet(taking 3 yrs of Spanish first).
I'm mostly interested in the history, and need to plan my future visit say in within the next two years. I want to see ruins that have to do with the Hittites, The Trojan War, and possibly some Egyptian and maybe Greek. I absolutely love the history, and if there's any other exciting history or knowledge of those I have mentioned, please let me know. I want to see the lakes, the ruins, the rolling green hills and lushious grass. The mountain tops, the castles, and deffinately the Dead Sea and NATURAL hot springs(very very rare in my location in the U.S.A).
I love the forest natures, and if so, the wildlife, especially farm lands. Ahh, I can almost imagine the beautiful smell of nature and natural life.
So please, any information or if you would just like to talk, plese let me know.

I hope everyone has wonderful and lucky days in the future to bring! ^ ^
Bye

If you want to see the Dead Sea you need to go to Israel...

Dead sea is a geographical term describing a part of the sea with a very narrow opening to the main body of the sea. On account that they are very calm and isolated from the main water they are called dead seas. We have one in Fethiye and I suppose there are hundreds more around the world. Ours is quite famous too by the way. I suppose the reason why you remember the one in Israel is because of the Qumran scrolls they found in the vicinity of a dead sea there.

You will find all that you are looking for and more in Turkey. Before my first trip, I spent many weekends at the library reading about different places in Turkey, history of Turkey, customs, religion, ect.... I decided what I wanted to see most and then planned my trip. For me, I like to read about a place before I go to it. That way I know what I am looking at. As far as ancient ruins - a great many are a mixture of ancient Greek and Roman. My favorites are Aphrodisias (for the art) and Ephesus (for the history). I do a lot of driving in Turkey and everytime I go, I find new places to see. Most are not on the "tourist maps".

Anyway, If you want to see a "dead sea" that is close to home, there is one in Utah...the great Salt Lake. It has many hot springs around and is so very beautiful. There are some places in Turkey that have thermal activity, even though it is not THE Dead Sea (which is not a "sea" at all. It's a salt lake like the Caspian Sea, Salton Sea, Aral Sea, Great Salt Lake) But I digress.

I think it is lovely that you are so curious about a culture that is so different from your own. Enjoy it!!

Thankyou everyone. I did not know there was more than one dead sea. Dead Sea body products are very famous here, so they made it seem like just one. It says the Turkey owns the gate to the Dead sea though, the huge one on the map right above Turkey.
Anyways, could anyone share their experiences with me? I can't be on here long enough to look at all the posts, so I can't look through essays and stuff. I would like to know if anyone knows of the Hittite history by any chance.
Thankyou all for your input so far, you've been a great help.

on the 12 Island tour out of Gocek they called that a dead sea. And it was super-salty so you could float without paddling and no waves. I have a lot of pictures on Flickr of my travels in Turkey PM me if you want to see them. I would post them but had trouble posting many to this site.