This country truly amazes me, from skiing to paragliding, there are a wide variety of extreme and exhilarating sports, many of the oldest ruins in the world to visit and some of the most breathtaking views you could envision. I am reminded of this fact every year when I renew my own personal bucket list of adventures in Türkiye, and those that still await.

Go skiing somewhere

While Türkiye may not stand out as a skiing destination per se, there are a lot of options to learn the sport or if you are a pro to practice the sport in pristine conditions. From Uludağ for the partying, Bolu's Kartalkaya for the forest views and then Erzurum's Palandöken for the experts.

Admittedly, there is less snow as of yet this season and in fact, a "snow prayer" was held a few weeks ago by religious officials and locals in Erzurum. The runs at Palandöken have been covered with stored and fabricated snow to make it conducive for skiing.

Visit Göbeklitepe

Göbeklitepe is an archaeological site in southeastern Türkiye, located a few miles northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa. First discovered in 1963 and considered to be the world's oldest temple dating back 12,000 years, the site has spectacular megalithic circles and carvings that have been made into a fully developed attraction equipped with a visitor center and archaeological museum.

Ride in a hot air balloon

I don't even need to say it as anyone reading this probably knows that Cappadocia is Türkiye's hot air ballooning center and rightly so as it is an amazing spectacle of the region's signature fairy chimney rock formations backdropped by an open horizon and colorful balloons floating in the sky. While it may be expensive and is best to go from spring to fall when there is less chance of rain, this is definitely an experience I want to have once in my lifetime.

Horseback riding

Now, this is a talent I would actually love to develop and it seems possible with a number of horseback riding schools open year round in Istanbul as well as in Bodrum and Gökova. But my real goal is to get good enough to feel comfortable riding on trails in Cappadocia, which is among the lesser-known facts about Cappadocia's features. It is actually amazing to explore on horseback, with a number of schools available such as Dalton Brothers Horse Ranch, run by Ekrem, aka Türkiye's very own "horse whisperer."

Hiking the Lycian Trail

The approximately 500-kilometer (310-mile) Lycian Trail is another one of those projects that can be visited multiple times as it runs from Hisarönü near Fethiye all the way to Geyikbayırı, Antalya. Each part of the trail has its own draw, from the views over Ölüdeniz and Butterfly Valley in Fethiye to Patara, Kas and past Kemer to its final destination of Geyikbayırı, which also happens to be Türkiye’s top rock-climbing destination.

Paragliding onto Ölüdeniz

Just above the Lycian Trail are Babadağ and the cable car leading up to it, which is a paragliding spot where people jump off in tandem with skilled teachers only to land on the sandy beach of Fethiye’s Ölüdeniz.

Eastern Express to Kars

The over 24-hour scenic passenger train ride from Ankara to Kars is one of those once-in-a-lifetime trips worth undertaking for the spectacular vistas as it passes through the cities of Kayseri, Sivas and Erzurum along the way, offering snowcapped spectacles in winter.

Gap Tour of Southeast

While there are a lot of sites to cover in the east, the Gap Tour is a multiple-day bus and hotel-stay tour of the most significant sites in Diyarbakır, Batman, Şanlıurfa, Malatya, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Mardin and Antakya. Serving as a great introduction to the region, these tours take off from all major cities by plane and are then combined with an organized bus tour.

Saklıkent Gorge

The breathtaking Saklıkent Gorge is definitely on my to-do list since it not only does it offer rock formations but the ice-cold canyon river to tread through seems like an adventure enough. The prospect of meals with tea in one of the colorful and cushioned restaurants on platforms over the water is also just as enticing.

Konya for Wedding Day

Every year on Dec. 17, the death of Sufi philosopher Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi is celebrated as "The Wedding," in reference to his joining with his spiritual love. The day is celebrated with Sufi dances performed by Whirling Dervishes, making it a wonderful time to visit the historical town of Konya, where his grave is situated.