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]

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....