Yalova has a few tourist attractions, including the Köşk, an Ottoman-Turkish style mansion that was used by Atatürk, the founder of the modern Turkey, during his visits to the city. This mansion has a legend connected to it. It is often referred to as the ‘walking house’ because, as the legend goes, Atatürk believed the mansion was too close to a beautiful tree, so he ordered the mansion to walk. The house did just that, and moved 3 km down the waterfront to its current resting place (of course, with the help of rail system built underneath the building, not metaphysically). Termal is a beautiful area in the hills outside of Yalova. There are (as the name suggests) thermal hotsprings here—accompanied by hammams, a large public swimming pool and hotels galore.Another attraction is the Karaca Arboretum on the way to Termal.
