Tentative Turkey itinerary

[mattbell]

Istanbul:  (5 days?)

There are many days worth of things to do here.
- Seraglio Point: Lots of palaces, museums, turkish baths, gardens
- Haghia sophia:  One of the world's largest and most beautiful mosques
- Basilica cistern:  Huge underwater pool
- Blue Mosque
- The Spice Bazaar
- The Grand Bazaar
- Suleymaniye Mosque: another huge beautiful mosque
- Church of St Stephen:  All-iron prefab church.  Looks architecturally interesting.
- Fortress of Europe
- Boat trip up and down the Bosporous.  (Probably best to pick specific destinations instead of just riding the boat all day)
- All kinds of neighborhoods that are probably lots of fun to wander through

Izmir ($80 roundtrip flight from Istanbul):  (3 days?)
- Izmir is a very pretty small coastal town
- Pamukkale -- a beautiful terraced hot spring.  Looks incredible.  150 mile day trip from Izmir.
- Bergama (Greek ruins)
- Ephesus -- has the library of Celsus
- Castle of St Peter - has collection of shipwrecks
- Bodrum peninsula -- 125 mile day trip from Izmir.  Interesting views and ruins.
- Fethiye and Olu Deniz:  Hill tombs, gorges, small towns, beautiful beaches.   Probably too far from Izmir to visit.

Kayseri  ($80 roundtrip flight from Istanbul):  (1 day)
- Derinkuyu.  Incredible ancient underground city that housed thousands.  It's so awesome that I'd fly out to Kayseri just to see it.
    - http://flickr.com/search/?q=derinkuyu
    - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrWlXqICyfc&feature=related
 

Comments

[amoken.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed the Grand Bazaar. My trips to Istanbul were not for tourism, so I didn't get to see much else, but if it's still there you should eat at Gelik.

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Here?

http://www.world66.com/asia/middleeast/turkey/istanbul/eatingout/geliketlokantasi

PS thanks for the advice!

[amoken.livejournal.com]

We always ate outside, and it was a decade and a half ago, so I can't actually recognize the inside, but I believe that's it, yeah. I just remember the lamb...and the bread...and the lamb....

[shekina.livejournal.com]

I went to Turkey for 10 days, and spent 4 in Istanbul (it poured every day so we spent waaaayyy too much time in the Grand Bizarre - not recommended). We were a group of 7 and hired a private tour guide for the day, which was highly worthwhile as we got to hear the background on a number of famous sites, plus learn more about the culture.

We also spent 2.5 days in Ephesus, the ancient Greek city, which was gorgeous. This was also our "relaxing" time, and was memorable because we interacted a lot with the locals.

We then went to Capadocia for 3.5, stayed in a cave hotel, took a balloon ride and went to the underground city. It was the highlight. If you go to Turkey and don't go to the underground city, you are missing out. Go!!!

[nasu-dengaku.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the feedback!

I definitely want to check out Ephesus -- it's where the library of Celsus is.

[mary-wroth.livejournal.com]

I haven't been but I like the sounds of the shipwreck collection. :)