San Antonio, most popular tourist city in Texas

The first place we want to visit is the Tower of the Americas, where we have a bird’s eye view of the city. The tower is 229 meters high and the view is absolutely amazing.

The tower is also the tallest building in San Antonio. The city is built on flat land, which is especially noticeable from the top of the tower. The population of San Antonio and its surrounding districts totals around 2 million. Texas declared its independence from Mexico in this city and the Alamo, the site of the Battle of the Alamo, has become a symbol of the war launched against Mexico. Today it is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Texas. Tourists can take boat tours on the San Antonio River, along which there are many restaurants and cafes. The places along the river become especially crowded with tourists in the evenings.

Art and natural beauty

The Texas Art Fair, held in a rural area, attracts many art lovers. The Guadalupe River is another beautiful attraction in the region. Those who want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city come here on the weekends to relax.

We don’t plan to leave Texas without visiting its vast and spacious ranches. We’re back on the road in search of a huge ranch in the rural area of the state. Ranches are the first thing that comes to mind when someone says Texas, where there are many big farms. We visit one of the five biggest ranches in Texas, spanning an area of 45,000 hectares. The name of the large ranch we are visiting is YO Ranch. There is a type of cattle here known as the longhorn and on the ranch we visit there are 600 longhorns. In terms of the number of longhorn cattle, this ranch is not only the biggest ranch in the region but also one of the biggest ranches in the world. The horns of these cattle are truly very long. There are 16 million head of cattle in Texas alone. The ranch of former presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush is also located in Texas. Longhorns are also a symbol of Texas. In addition to the longhorns, there are also deer and antelope at the ranch.

We meet Francisco here. He says he’s been working on the ranch for the past 25 years. He was born in Mexico but is an American citizen. He’s become so good at what he does that he can get all the longhorns to come together just by honking his car’s horn. Since he is the one who always feeds them, the cattle know that the honk of the horn means food and so they quickly gather around him. Francisco is a cowboy with many talents.

Hanging out at the rodeo

Bandera County is known for its rodeos and so we stick around to see one of the shows. Andy Steward is a professional rodeo announcer and knows a lot about rodeos. Cowboys who compete in rodeos start training at a very young age. It is for this reason that children perform before the main show starts. Rodeos are actually very dangerous and cowboys sitting on angry and powerful bulls can find themselves on the ground in a matter of seconds. And when they fall, they fall hard. The cowboy needs to make his escape from the ring immediately order to protect himself from the bull’s horns and kicks.

There was another show at the rodeo in which a horse rider chases a bull, jumps onto the bull and wrestles him to the ground. This is called steer wrestling. Of course the show is not always a success for the cowboys.

So how long can someone sit on a bucking bronco? With the exception of experienced cowboys, everyone falls off right away. In fact, some of them take a pretty hard fall. Only one cowboy managed to stay on top of the bronco in the show we watched.

Then we see the children putting on a rodeo with sheep. The helmet-wearing children fall from the sheep one by one. Some of them fall flat on their faces. There’s one girl who is determined not to fall. She ultimately wins the competition and receives an award.

After the rodeo we head to Sea World, which is located near San Antonio. But this is no ordinary Sea World; it is the biggest marine-life park in the world. In this 250 hectare park, people can watch different shows with their children. The most interesting show is the one featuring killer whales. These gigantic animals put on an amazing performance. If you don’t want to get splashed then you need to sit 10 to 15 rows away from the front because those in the front get soaking wet during the show.

The sharks, dolphins and seals create an unforgettable experience for the audience. The dolphin show is especially breathtaking. People are welcome to pat the dolphins and take pictures with them after the show is over.

The Raindrop Foundation, a Turkish cultural foundation, is also very active in San Antonio. It is always packed with people. Like in other cities in Texas, the foundation offers Turkish language courses and courses on cooking Turkish dishes. There are many American residents who like Turkish food that attend the cooking course. The Turkish language and food courses give the two communities an opportunity to get to know each other better. The Raindrop Foundation organizes trips to Turkey during the summer. Americans who are unfamiliar with Turkey become enchanted by our country and become more informed about the Turkish people thanks to these trips. They can not stop talking about their experience once they come back. San Antonio’s well-known judge, Tom Rickoff, and his wife participated in one of the tours to Turkey organized by the Raindrop Foundation. Both said they enjoyed the trip very much.

Rodeo participants The Alamo The Tower of the Americas A cowboy The Raindrop Foundation