From the Turkish Mediterranean coast – and more specifically from the major tourist city of Antalya – you can take a day trip to the city of Isparta, less than 150 kilometres away, which is situated in the Lakes District and is known throughout Turkey as the City of Roses.
This excursion is well worth doing for a number of reasons. One of them is to see Lake Eğirdir, one of the most beautiful lakes in the country. The other is to explore the fantastic Greco-Roman city of Sagalassos at first hand, and finally to enjoy Isparta, known as the city of roses, where you’ll have the chance to pick one of the world’s best-known varieties of rose. The best time to visit for this event is between May and June.
Isparta is not a major tourist destination, apart from activities related to roses. In any case, you can always have a wander round the city, which, although large, is easy to explore at a leisurely pace. The Plaza de la República is perhaps the best place to start if you want to get a feel for the city. Here, we’ll see how roses have become part of the city’s DNA. A giant sculpture featuring an arch made of roses, beneath which stands a woman with a wicker basket and a man kneeling with an alembic for distilling the liquid from the plants, forms the composition that lets visitors know they are in a city that lives for and through roses.
Very close by is the Ulu Cami mosque, and a little further away stands the Aya Bayina Orthodox church, built in 1750 during the late Ottoman period, which bears similarities to Byzantine churches with a basilica-style layout. Inside, you’ll find Turkey’s first fragrance museum, where visitors can embark on an olfactory journey through the world’s most famous perfumes.
Isparta produces 60 per cent of the world’s rose oil, and we simply have to see what its rose fields are like.
The Damask rose: the jewel of roses
At dawn, we set off for Güneykent/Ardiçli to visit the Gülsha Kozmetik factory, one of the leading manufacturers supplying some of the world’s best-known cosmetics companies. Surrounded by vast rose gardens, we were met by a group who welcomed us with traditional dances from the region, which made our arrival all the more enjoyable. We then had the good fortune and responsibility of picking some roses, which we subsequently distilled in a still. Among its many varieties, the Damask rose stands out; it is grown in this region and is one of the few from which an aromatic, sweet and floral oil can be extracted.
Harvesting is hard, manual work, and it takes four tonnes of roses to produce one litre of oil. After a lovely, fresh breakfast in the open air, we visited the factory and the shop. Gülsha is a luxury cosmetics brand that draws inspiration from tradition and science to offer high-quality skincare products. Founded by the Gurkan family, it is recognised as a world leader in the supply of Damask rose raw materials to the perfume and cosmetics industry. The shop offers an incredible range of products, such as fragrances, oils, soaps, creams, essences, elixirs, nectars and more – a whole world dedicated to love, beauty and passion.
Sagalassos: from a ghost town to a unique treasure
After discovering the fascinating world of roses, we headed for Lake Eğirdir, the fourth-largest lake in Turkey by surface area and one of the most beautiful. Situated at an altitude of over nine hundred metres, nestled amongst the mountains, in summer it becomes a favourite destination for tourists looking to take a refreshing dip and sample the local cuisine. The sunset here is definitely not to be missed.
From the lake, we made our way to our final destination in the area to visit the Greco-Roman city of Sagalassos, one of Turkey’s wonders, which until recently had been all but forgotten. Situated in the Taurus Mountains, at an altitude of 1,400 metres, it was an important urban centre in ancient Pisidia. Its importance stemmed from the surrounding clay deposits, which made it one of the major centres of the pottery industry in Asia.
Its strategic location on high ground has contributed to the exceptional preservation of its monuments and town layout. Recent excavations have brought to light the Agora, the Roman Baths, the Antonine Nymphaeum, a theatre and, above all, an imposing Hellenistic fountain of great beauty, which is the most photographed monument in the whole city. Sagalassos is a gem that we were lucky enough to discover on this trip through the Land of Roses.
Turkish Airlines
The best way to get to Istanbul from Spain is with Turkish Airlines, which operates flights from Madrid, Barcelona, Málaga, Bilbao, Valencia and Seville. The latter has recently been introduced to strengthen connectivity between Andalusia and the Turkish hub, adding a significant number of weekly flights and enabling connections to Asia, Africa, the Middle East, etc., with just one stopover.
In 2025, Turkish Airlines was once again recognised by Skytrax as the best airline in Europe, an award that recognises both its in-flight service and the quality of its premium cabins and culinary offering.
Istanbul’s new airport has become one of the major transport hubs, serving a network of 360 destinations in over 130 countries, placing the airline amongst those with the widest international reach in the world in terms of capacity and number of aircraft, whilst also offering the opportunity to stop off in Istanbul for a few days before continuing on to other cities around the world.
The “lounge” at Istanbul Airport also offers hotels, rest areas and showers to make a long layover more bearable and, above all, Turkish and international cuisine that leaves no one indifferent.
Flying in Business Class with Turkish Airlines means stepping into an experience right from the start where Turkish hospitality takes centre stage. The warm welcome on board leads to spacious, carefully designed seats that ensure maximum comfort whilst travelling and, on long-haul flights, allow you to rest almost as if you were in bed. The cuisine deserves a special mention: a carefully curated selection of Turkish and international flavours is served with elegant presentation and accompanied by an extensive drinks menu. The attentive and discreet service rounds off an experience designed to ensure that your flight is as comfortable as possible. A journey in its own right, where comfort, fine dining and traditional Turkish hospitality come together at an altitude of several thousand metres. Turkish Airlines operates regular flights from Istanbul to Isparta, a journey of just over an hour.
