my wife and i are considering an october trip to turkey. we are interested in 2-3 week stay. what suggestions for cities to use as base for side trips in turkey?? what neighboring countries should we consider? any inexpensive airlines to check? rent/drive through turkey?

thanks for for your help.
denny

You might post this on the Europe board if you have not done so already. Turkey is usually considered Europe or Asia.

thanks, i just finished doing this before your message came. any experiences traveling in turkey?

Turkey is a very large country. It's kind of difficult to base in one place, i.e., Istanbul, when there is much to see in/around Izmir (Ephesus, the Aegean coastal cities), Ankara (the capital), Cappadocia (for the underground cities and fairy chimney landscapes), and along the Med Coast.

With 2-3/weeks, you can certainly rent a car and drive. Intra-country flights usually transit thru Istanbul, but you should check schedules (it's been quite a few years since I've been). Roads are well marked, English signage, in good shape, but distances can be long from one area to another. Pick up a map to get an idea of where major sites can be found and distances whether by air or ground.

As above poster, you'll find more detailed info on the Europe Forum.
Believe, the closest neighboring countries are Syria and Iraq, farther east in Turkey.

It sounds as if you are planning to do an independent trip, but I have to say that I hugely enjoyed my OAT trip to Turkey. I took their 19 day tour with a 5 day extension in the Adana area. I think I saw a lot more than I would have by myself. We were a group of 13, and took 4 internal flights, and also spent 4 nights on a gulet, and one night in the home of a local family.
OATs Boston office is very annoying, but the trip itself was incredible, the guide was fascinating, the itinerary was interesting, and the driver was professional.

Here are some particular recommendations. They are pretty far away from each other, however:
--Istanbul
--Ephesus
--Cappadocia
--Mt Nemrut
Adana as a base if you are interested in Mt Nemrut and Harran and Antioch, but it is pretty far east unless these places really interest you.