And, here is a link to Day 3 photos. I'm a little disappointed with my Topkapi pictures, the low light made it hard to take good shots with my 35mm lens. Ajit's pictures are really good however, but who knows when he's going to finish them. ;-)

http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...f-To/i-2pxV87z

Here's Day 4:
http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...nd-a-shopping/

Enjoy!

I really enjoyed your trip report. Excellent read and a great level of fun and detail. Turkey is wonderful and I don't think I will ever forget my visit to Goreme, especially the hot air balloon. Your great narrative brought it all back! Thank you!

Beautiful pictures! Thanks for sharing. How ill I ever wait u til September?

Thanks for sharing. We too stayed at Esbeli Evi and loved it - now one of our favorite hotels ever, Turkey vies with Italy and Spain for favorite country.

Thanks so much Bostonblondie, soods and Sassafrass! I'm trying really hard to get all the pictures done before I leave for India next Friday. I'm bleary eyed from sitting at the computer all day at work and then all evening at home.

soods - I owe you some info on jewelry shopping. I haven't forgotten and will get them to you soon.

Here's Day 5:
http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...-cruise-down-/

Next Up: Cappadocia

This is a fabulous and very helpful report. You have included so much varied and detailed information for travelers to Turkey.

Thanks HappyTrvlr!

Here are pics from our first day in Cappadocia.
http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...the-otherworl/

Love your detailed report,especially the shopping adventures!!have to look up items you mentioned. i am a sucker for linens and fabrics. Next time i am at Cost Plus Imports, i'll think about your trip report,lol!

Haha Indogirl! And thanks. Etsy is another good source for fabrics, at least to get a good idea of the different types.

Pics from our second day in Cappadocia.
http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...f-hiking-thro/

@soods & @jdc26 - This is the day we hiked with Mehmet & Saki, so will be of special interest to you both.

Should have pics from our last 2 days up either today or tomorrow.

Seemaskt your pictures are beautiful. I'm so excited about our hike. I hope our skies are as blue! Don't rush to send me the shopping info as you seem to be pretty busy right now! I have until September, so whenever you get a chance is fine. You've done an amazing job. Thanks so much

Seemaskt, as you must have realized by now, it is trip reports like yours which whet people's appetites, help them plan, find more about their interests and get down to serious details. These can be done only by previous travelers rather than a local like me.

I can only help with out of the way places, hidden gems, special tastes, cultural-political-social-psychological-historical-literary-philosophical-archeological information, issues and specifics for those who have interests which relate to those areas.

Otherwise, I try to stay out of the picture, except for notes of appreciation and correction.

Your report, as I mentioned before, deserves a great deal of appreciation. So thanks again.

And I hope that I am not upsetting any previous report writers because each report has something unique that gives a different perspective and some special bit of information and would always appeal to a large variety of future visitors.

So, here are more thanks for all previous report writers also, which have made Fodors Turkey Forums one of the most useful forums on the web.

I'm sure your hike will be fantastic, soods!

OC - Thank you for your very kind comments. And you're absolutely right about how travelers can help versus locals. It's the same with me when people ask me about NYC or India.

On our next trip to Turkey, I will be reaching out to you for tips on out of the way places and hidden gems along the western coast.

Day 3 in Cappadocia:
http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...-ride-and-qui/

Be back tomorrow with pics from our final days in Turkey.

seemaskt, I have so enjoyed your trip report and pictures. I'm definitely looking forward to my walk with Mehmet and Saki. Look Soods, I too am hoping for clear blue skies. Thank you.

jdc

You're welcome jdc. Have a great trip!

Here are the last of my pics.
http://culturesconnected.smugmug.com...-an-end-but-n/

There aren't too many, but this wraps up my report. I'll be back with an update when Ajit uploads his pictures.

Thanks to all of you for reading along! Wishing you a wonderful holiday season!

Fantastic! I've only been able to skim your report but look forward to reading more as I'm planning a trip for next fall. Your photos are beautiful! Thank you for the helpful report.

This is great! I am on the verge of planning a 9 day trip to Turkey so this is really helpful.