rfbk50

Does this pass cover the museums in Cappadocia, Ephesus as well as Istanbul? Where can they be purchased? Airport? Hotel? I have 7 nights in Istanbul at the end of my trip, but our first stops are Ephesus then on to Cappadocia. Thanks for any info.

xyz99

The one I am aware of covers Istanbul sites only
http://www.muze.gov.tr/museum_pass.
All info you need is there

yestravel

Our hotel bought it for us and had it for us when we arrived.

lauren_s_kahn

I have never seen the value of museum passes anywhere unless you intend to fly through museums with the speed of lightning. I tend to go slowly and savor them. Museum passes put you on a trajectory to max out the pass by "bopping" from museum to museum. You sometimes, if you qualify, lose discounts for seniors as well if you buy them. I would investigate closely before buying a museum pass anywhere.

Please note that at major Istanbul sites, people do speak enough English to assist you. In Cappadocia, I just took guided tours and had no worries about museum passes. I don't think there is even a museum pass there.

Here is a piece on my website to get you started with Turkey:

http://altecockertravels.weebly.com/...ange-ever.html

You will find other pieces there on Cappadocia, the Princes Islands, Edirne and Istanbul. I did not go to Ephesus.

For the absolute best site on Turkey travel, I recommend http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/ I used it heavily when I planned my trip.

yestravel

One does not need to "fly through the museums" to find value in the Turkish museum pass. It is good for three days and it is quite easy to see the major sites on the card in IST in that time frame without "bopping" from site to site. The big advantage can be the not having to wait in the often long lines if you have a card.

agree that the Turkey Planner website is a very helpful one.

rfbk50

Thanks everyone. I will contact my hotel and see if they can order one for us. I think it's worth the price not to wait in line.

Goldens

You can also buy individual museum tickets online and print them at home.
You might compare prices of museums you plan to visit to make sure you are getting the value out of a pass.
The site to purchase is the one listed by xyz99 above.

xyz99

We bought the pass even though $ for $ we did not get its full worth, but the big benefit was not having to stay in line.
We were in Istanbul for only 3 1/2 days, and the time saved was more important. Of course, this might not work for everyone.
See if your hotel can get it for you, but note that not all the hotels listed on that web site actually carry the card. We learned by walking into a hotel listed there, but then bought the card in front of Aya Sofia. There was a line, but not too long (at least not around 5 pm when we bought it).

yestravel

The touristic quarter is most busy from 10ish to 3ish when the huge cruise ships disgorge their thousands of passengers and they flood the area. Plan accordingly.

kja

The pass I purchased was for sites in Istanbul only and it was FAR more valuable to me than it's dollar cost because it let me avoid all lines. I purchased it at the first covered site that I visited and from then on went straight to the front of the line at every covered site. That saved me hours and hours.

This info should be covered in any decent guide book. Do consider investing in one (or more!) or spending some time with one (or more!) at your local library.

Enjoy!

kja

PS: I visited Istanbul in early June.

lauren_s_kahn

The key to visiting sites without lines is to go early or late--or during midday when the groups are at lunch. I never had a problem with a queue anywhere. It took me about 6 hours to go through the Topkapi Palace including the harem and seeing the museum area where the famous dagger is located. Groups often skip both the harem and museum due to the need to "do it all" in a day or two. I do agree you should cost out individual tickets for the museums you intend to visit before springing for any museum pass anywhere.

There are a lot of interesting sites/museums in Istanbul and you cannot see them all even 3-4 days. I had a 3 1/2 week home exchange in the Cevezli section of Istanbul in July 2011. With my preexchange trip to Cappadocia, I was in Turkey 4 weeks. I also visited Edirne to see the great mosque there. I went to Edirne via the Turkish bus system--which is really great. Ephesus will have to wait for another time.

You can see pieces on what I did on my website. Follow the link provided in my previous post and it will lead you to all the pieces.

Off on my 55th home exchange in Costa Rica in a couple of weeks.

yestravel

@lauren - we just got returned from spending close to a month in Turkey. Major sites in IST had lines, sometimes long ones. It was packed esp in the historic quarter. We read in a Turkish newspaper that many travelers are viewing Turkey as a safe harbor and tourism is way up. Normally the season ends sometime in Oct. This year it is extending into Nov.

lauren_s_kahn

Surprised Turkey tourism is doing so well after all the demonstrations in Taksim Square, but glad that it is. I just can't remember that I had any significant lines, but lines can be unpredictable.

kawh

we were in turkey last summer (may-june) and had long lines at most museums... including rumi's burial museum. we were on a tour for part of our trip... so the guide handled the tickets. otherwise, would have waited for tickets a lot.

nfldbeothuk

If Ephesus is your first stop, please note that the museum(as distinct from the ancient city ruins) closed for renovations in 2012 and had no definite date for reopening when we visited there in Oct of this year.