Holiday Travel and Tourism Advisor

The modern country of Turkey was founded in 1923 Mustafa Kemal, the country's most famous hero, who is known as the Father of the Turks. The country borders the Black Sea between Bulgaria and Georgia, and also borders the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.

The country is steeped in history, with two of the world's seven wonders located in Turkey - the Temple of Artemis and The Halicarnassus Mausoleum. Officially known as the Republic of Turkey, is in the northern hemisphere where two continents, Europe and Asia, meet.

Most of the country extended across the Anatolian peninsula, with the rest of the country located on the edge of the Balkan Peninsula. For holidaymakers the country is in a perfect location, with three sides surrounded by sea.

Turkey boasts over 8000 km of coastline and over 300 blue flag beaches. The beaches on the Aegean coast include Cesme and Alacati as well as Long Beach, a 6km stretch of sand. The international port of Kusadasi is close to the biblical site of Ephesus. Bodrum has become one of Turkey's trendiest resorts, as is Marmaris, a favourite with British tourists, which is a buzzing resort. On the Mediterranean Coast the most famous beach in Turkey is Olu Deniz (Dead Sea) near Fethiye, a lagoon beach with turquoise waters. The Turkish Riviera city of Antalya is set around a Roman harbour and old town and is the main resort on the southern coast of Turkey.

Cheap holidays to Turkey have been growing in popularity in recent years. Turkey has been voted European Capital of Culture in 2010 and, according to the Sunday Times online, has become one of the most up and coming destinations for 2009.

You've probably heard of Niagara Falls but how much do you really know about it? You will learn about twenty trivia facts about the Falls. You will discover the answers to these questions and more - How tall is it? How deep is it? How high is it? What does it comprise of? Who owns it? How much does it erode? How much water flows over it? Where is it? What's gone over it?

Here are some interesting facts about Niagara Falls, mostly taken from Metromap Publication's Street Map Guide to the Regional Municipality of Niagara:

1. The Falls at Niagara cannot claim to be the highest or the widest in the world, or even to have the greatest flow of water. The Iguazu Falls on the Paraguay-Brazil-Argentina borders surpass Niagara Falls on all three counts. But Niagara's are the world's most popular.

2. From the water level to the crest, the American Falls are 182 feet high, the Horseshoe 176 feet high.

3. Ten percent of the water flows over the American and Luna Falls, 90% over the Horseshoe Falls.

4. There are actually three Falls: American (Rainbow), Luna (Bridal Veil) and Horseshoe.

5. The U.S. owns all, or part, of all three, while most of the Horseshoe Falls belong to Canada. Niagara Falls is located 23 miles northwest of Buffalo, New York and 79 miles southeast of Toronto, Ontario.

6. Today 50% of the Niagara River never makes it to the Falls: it is diverted for power. This percentage increases to 75% at night and in the winter months.

7. The Falls have eroded an average of 3.78 feet/year since 1842. Since the beginning there has always been a large spread of water on the approach to the Falls.

8. The Niagara River is not a river it is a strait.

9. One and a half million gallons of water flow through the Niagara River every second, or one cubic mile every week.

10. The Falls have taken 12,000 years to erode the seven miles from Queenston Heights, where they began, to their present position. But the Falls separated around Goat Island only 600 years ago.

11. The Niagara River drains 255,000 square miles of mid-continental North America.

12. With power requirements and anti-erosion measures, erosion has been reduced to less than one foot a year.

13. The whirlpool is 126 feet deep at the water level. The water spins around in a counterclockwise direction.

14. The water depth of the lower rapids is 45 - 60 feet, with currents of up to 30 m.p.h.

15. The drop from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario is 330 feet depending on seasonal water levels.

16. Seven people have gone of the Horseshoe Falls in a barrel. Four lived, three died.

17. Only two living things have been seen to go over the Falls safely without special protection - a dog over the American Falls in the 1800's and a boy over the Horseshoe Falls in 1960.

18. Five large boats and innumerable small ones have gone over the Falls, many with people in them.

19. A free swimmer has never conquered the lower rapids.

20. Before his death in 1942, the famous Red Hill saved 28 people from death over the Falls and salvaged 149 bodies of those that didn't make it. He accumulated more lifesaving medals than anyone else in the world.

As you can see, many facts have been compiled about Niagara Falls over the years but at least you probably now know considerably more than you did before about this amazing spectacle. You can either tell others that are planning to visit the Falls what you have learned, or you can plan to see it yourself now that you are an expert on the subject!

Holidays In Turkey - Best Family Holiday Destination

Having spent the last 15 years taking holidays to Turkey my wife and I are always looking for a nice place to relax and escape the hordes that descend on Turkey's beach resorts during the summer months. Both of us are in the service industry so we are always desperate to "get away from it all". Why Holidays to Turkey all the time I hear you say? Well, my wife is Turkish and she wants to go there at least once a year so I do not really have much choice in the matter.

She always has an excuse to go whether it is for visiting family or friends; there is always someone whom she has not seen for a while. This year we decided on a cheap family holiday
and chose to visit a friend who runs a camp site in a secluded valley about 20 miles away from the nearest major holiday town of Fethiye. Due to the fact that we were traveling with our 1 year old son, we decided to go on a schedule flight from London Gatwick to Dalaman in Turkey. The airline we chose for this occasion was an obscure schedule airline called Cyprus Turkish airlines which I had never flown with or heard of anytime in the past. The reason we chose to fly with them is that they offer a whooping 25 kilograms of luggage per person; whereas a lot of the other cheap holiday charters to Turkey offer a tiny allowance of only 15 kilograms.

Due to the fact that we were well and truly stung the previous year, when we thought we had purchased a cheap flight to Turkey only to find out that we had to pay £90 pounds worth of excess luggage (the flight only cost £123) - not a pleasant start to our first family holiday! This time we did our research and I must admit it paid off even though we paid a lot more for the fare; we received free food and drink on board, which a lot of the other cheap holiday airlines do not offer. In fact we were 10 kilos over our allowance as my wife likes to take most of our fixtures and fittings from our family home to our family holiday.

The flight was pleasant enough, no in-flight entertainment, but who needs that with a 1 year old baby in tow. On arrival to Dalaman we were picked up by a Turkish gentleman called Ahmed in a massive jeep type vehicle which looked like something like a monster trucks. It was a very pleasant drive! We drove through beautiful Turkish holiday resorts such as Gocek, Calis beach, Fethiye and Olu-Deniz.

After crossing the holiday resort of Oludeniz and going past the huge Resort of Lykia World, the road turns into a dust track. The road between Olu-deniz and Kabak (the campsite) is carved into the side of huge cliffs, 300 meters above sea level with no barriers to stop vehicles from plunging in to the azure sea below. Thankfully our driver could see the terror in our eyes and drove very calmly and carefully. On arrival to Kabak bay our driver let the 4x4 kick in and we started to descend using a road very similar to a donkey track, in the pitch black.

Once we arrived we were shown our accommodation which consisted of a wooden hut built around a tree, with a balcony and also the added bonus of a shower and toilet! Turan camp consists of 16 bungalows, 6 of which have shower and toilet facilities.

My first night was spent eradicating our mosquito problem with my bare hands. I finally managed to sleep and I was greeted by the most magnificent view in the morning, there in front of me I was presented with the beach and the towering mountains all around us; it was truly awe inspiring. Unfortunately this place really does not know the meaning of health and safety. We were constantly chasing our baby boy all around, who always seemed to find the most dangerous areas to play in. To top things he came out with chicken pox on our second day of the visit.

Kabak bay is on the ancient Lycian way which is a path along the southwestern coast line of Turkey. My plan was to walk some of it, but I did not get any chance since my days were spent looking after baby and keeping him out the sun and away from dangers. Although we were in a truly amazing place, it was not what I had in mind for a cheap family holiday. After 6 days the chicken spots had started to fade and my wife and I thought that enough was enough and decided to check in to an all-Inclusive family holiday resort nearby Fethiye.

I would like to return there someday but definitely without the children. So it looks like that I will be in my late fifties when I can enjoy an alternative holiday. So it is an all inclusive holiday for at least the next 10 years!