kmh7

Need some logistic advice. My DH and I in Istanbul for only 5 days, with so much to see and do does it make sense to try to get to Iznik? I am a tile/pottery freak and always bring something home from my travels to remind me of the country I visited. We also love to get off the beaten path and love history and architecture. I know all of this is present in Istanbul so maybe such a journey would be too much? Any thoughts and or advice on how to get there? If we did go should we spend one night and return back to Istanbul before flight back to US? Thank you again for your help.

adrienne

<< Any thoughts and or advice on how to get there >>

I looked it up on a map and was going to ask you how you were going to get there. It looks ungetable! You would probably have to rent a car to make it there and back in a day.

I would stay in Istanbul and look for tile there.

Croesus

I think it's quite easy. Take the ferry from Yenikapı to Yalova - http://www.ido.com.tr/component/cont...enikapi-yalova - and then bus to İznik - http://www.iznikminibuskoop.com/ - (click on "Sefer Saatleri" for times, they run almost every hour).

kmh7

The Fodors book makes it sound simple but real travel doesn't always run so smoothly. It basically says the same thing. I guess there is also a car ferry you can take to get there. Has anyone done it?

kja

I was in Iznik recently and must admit that I was disappointed with the ceramics and tiles I saw there. I had planned to buy gifts for family and friends while there, and ended up buying nothing at all. Maybe my expectations were too high, but I saw a lot of touristy kitsch and only a few pieces of quality, and the few quality pieces I did see were much too expensive for my blood. Maybe I missed the good shops.... I still had a rental car when I was there. If I had to take the ferry and then bus to get there for a day trip, I think I would have been very frustrated - especially if it meant giving up a 5th day in Istanbul.

Sassafrass

My favorite pieces were way out of my price range, but there were wonderful tile shops in Istanbul.

kmh7

Thank you all, not sure it is worth giving up a day in Istanbul..

otherchelebi

Please check trip reports below :

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ik-nicea.cfm?9
http://www.fodors.com/community/fodo...a-turkey.cfm?4


The fact that so many of you did not bother to do that and can still write about it means that I should stop wasting my time here.

the same goes for all who write trip reports or give advice based on experience. Apparently, it really is not worth it.

kja, i hope you did not base your judgement on the Iznik Foundation kilns and Adil Can Atelier. Naturally there are just too many junky places which paint Iznik designs on cheap Kutahya ceramics, or use ordinary mud. But a pottery freak would know and apreciate the real stuff, and unless you are one, you would not be able to price the good stuff realistically. In addition to that, the city walls, gates and the almost medieval turkish small town life can be interesting to those who will not get a chance to visit other parts of the country like Cappadocia and environs.

kmh7

Otherchelebi, I did read your trip report I should have mentioned that. You were my inspiration for thinking that I could do this in a day trip. I am quite passionate about tile and would (and have on other trips,) go out of my way to see traditional tile making facilities. Besides the tile the walled town , and just getting to see the "real" turkey are all of great interest to us. I will have seen Bodrum and Ephesus on the Windstar boat that is bringing us to Istanbul. So let me say thank you for all the time you take to answer all the posts here. You made the journey sound so easy, but since you are a local I thought maybe a less experienced traveler might have done it and found it just as easy. I am truly sorry if I made it seem your time in responding to people was a waste of time. I have been hanging on your every word as I have no experience in this part of the world. Thank you again, I am even more excited to visit turkey because of people like you!

kja

Hi, other - I did not visit the Iznik Foundation, but instead visited 8 or 9 different ceramic/tile shops in various locations within the old walled city. When I said that "the few quality pieces I did see were much too expensive for my blood," I didn't mean to suggest that the prices for these pieces were inappropriately high - just that they were more than I was prepared to pay, particularly once I factored in the risk of breakage in transport and either the cost of shipping or the logistical problems of trying to take them with me. And you are right - it is entirely possible that I didn't recognize some of the better pieces.

kmh7 - It sounds like you know much more about tile than I did, so maybe you would have more success than I in locating the better pieces, or maybe your budget will more easily accommodate them.

Perhaps I should have mentioned that I wasn't at all disappointed with my decision to spend a night in Iznik - I saw a gorgeous sunset over the lake, fell asleep to the wonderful scent of pine, awoke the the wonderful scents of both pine and wood smoke, and spent several very enjoyable hours roaming around the town and seeing some of its sights. But I didn't give up a 5th day in Istanbul to visit Iznik.

kmh7

Thanks kja, I appreciate the info still not sure which way to go but thanks for the clarification. I guess I will just have to make it back to Turkey to see more!

kawh

i would save on the stress of tight travel and make a separate posting here of great places to buy tile in istanbul. use that travel time to really dig deep into the istanbul shops??

saige

There are tourists and then there are people who are passionate about specific arts and crafts.

I would bow to otherchelebi's knowledge of Turkish tile and pottery in a heartbeat. Istanbul is a treasure and worth every minute of your time there, but if you really want to explore tile and pottery, I'd follow the wisdom of our Fodors expert on this one.

I grew up in Turkey and will always feel at home there. Saige.

otherchelebi

Thanks saige. But I am also of two minds. 5 days IS too short in Istanbul. As you say, it has a great deal to do with tastes and priorities. I am usually the wandering kind but Istanbul has a great deal to wander around and wonder about also.

And the distance makes it unlike choosing to stay an extra day in Madrid or visiting Toledo. For crazies like us who kept on photographing street names and name plaques on houses, it was a tough decision and we did prefer the day outside Madrid and not only in Toledo.

I do not mind missing a museum but will try to see the smallest archeological or natural site.

kmh, reading between the lines and recognizing your short stay and dilemma, I can see that :

- you will be back again
- you probably should give Iznik a miss this time around.

kmh7

Thank you Otherchelebi and saige I appreciate your advice. With so much to see I will skip it this time. I am of the same mindset. What a wonderful place Turkey looks to be, I am overly excited for our time there. Know of any great tile/ceramic shops or just areas they might be found I'd love that advice as well. Thanks again

kawh

again-- i would start a new topic with your tile question and the word istanbul in the title.