We had a great trip: Istanbul and Cappadocia then drove from Antalya to Izmir. Would love to help if anyone has any questions.

Hi, Jade. I am going to Turkey between April and May 2000 (we're going for ~ 2.5 weeks). I am really looking forward to the holiday, however an concerned about the damage to Turkey's infrastructure as a result of the recent (and tragic) earthquakes. <BR>We would like to travel along the Aegean Sea and perhaps along the Meditterian Sea if time permits. It also depends on what conditions are like when we arrive in the country (we may spend time along the Black Sea). <BR>We are travelling on a budget! I would appreciate any info regarding itineraries and hotels you may recommend! <BR>Feel free to email me! <BR>Thanks, <BR>Michelle

I might be able to give you some info about my country. <BR>You an have also some ideas about Ertquake in my web pages <BR>www.lesartsturcs.com <BR>Best wishes from Istanbul and Turkish painters <BR>Nurdogan <BR>

Thanks for the help offer. We will be arriving in Istanbul, flying to Cappadocia and renting a car there (also staying three nights at Esbelli Evi). From there we are driving to Antalya. Too far for one day?? Stay over in Konya or Lake Egidir (spelled that wrong, I know). We are then following the coast only up to Kusadasi for three nights before taking a boat to Samos and continuing on through Greek Isles. We plan six days along the coast between Antalya and Kusadasi. Any nice hotel suggestions?? Other advice?? We will be doing this in May. We thought maybe two nights each in Antalya, Kaz, and Bodrum?

Patrick, <BR> <BR>We spent 4 full days in Istanbul, 2 on each end of the trip. Day 1: Blue Mosque and relaxing. Day 2: Aya Sophia and Topkapi Palace. End of trip: Taksim Square (walked down Istikal Caddesi and the small side streets). 2nd day: Bosphorus cruise. <BR> <BR>We stayed 4 nights at the Esbelli (say hello to Sevgi for us). We didn't rent a car while in Capadoccia there but rather arranged day trips with Argeus Tours located in Urgup. http://www.argeus.com.tr/ <BR>I highly recommend a guide for the surrounding areas/sites of DEVRENT, ZELVE, PAŞABAĞ, AVANOS, GÖREME, <BR>UÇHİSAR. We had Suleyman as a guide and he was excellent. Another day we visited Kaymakli (underground city) and hiked in the Ihlara Valley. Had our driver (did not chose to have a guide that day) drop us at one end of the valley and meet us with the car at the other end of the valley. We loved taking a hot air balloon ride, well worth the money. http://www.kapadokyaballoons.com/ May (esp late in the month) should be very pretty with wildflowers covering the hills. <BR> <BR>We drove from Cappadocia to Antalya. It's not too far for one day if you get a fairly early start. We stopped in Konya to figure out where to stay. After Urgup, it seemed like a large, charmless city though I have read the Mevlana Museum is interesting. We got a late start and stayed in Beshehir (which I don't recommend). Lake Egidir was more out of the way but it sounds nice in the guidebooks. We stayed in smaller towns/villages along the coast. We really enjoyed Olimpos and stayed at the Hotel Odile. We did stop and see Aspendos on the way to Antalya but would have liked another day in that area to see Termessos. Antalya was too big a city for me. <BR> <BR>If you stay in Kas, I suggest a day trip by boat to see the sunken city and climb the fortress. We stayed in Ucagiz, a mall village located near these sights. There's not much in terms of accomodation there and it is a long way from the main road. I think it'd be better to stay in Kas and sail over. <BR> <BR>

To Michelle, We had a great guide/lecturer for Ephesus and Istanbul in November 99. We were very pleased with his knowledge etc. If you would like to contact him...it's NejatIncedogan at [email protected]. I hope it's o.k. to mention that he has pictures of Ehpesus http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ephesusmydream. <BR> <BR>On our next trip we would like to do Cappadocia and Bodrum, also with Nejat.