leela

We're just back from a wonderful trip (2 wks) to Istanbul, Selcuk/ephesus, cappadocia, and the antalya area. Too crammed with sights, experiences, flavors and wonderful people to describe it all here, but i received so much help from this board in planning my trip that I wanted to post and will be happy to answer any questions. Turkey was incredible and far surpassed my expectations (which were high to begin with)!!<BR>Hotels we stayed in everywhere were excellent:<BR>Istanbul - Blue House (ideal location and rooftop terrace is great)<BR>Selcuk - Kalehan (make sure it's a room at the back)<BR>Cappadocia - Gamirasu Cave Hotel. There've been a lot of posts regarding this hotel, and it definitely lived up to all the praise. I don't think our Cappadocia experience would have been quite as magical anywhere else. They've created a warm and friendly, family-like atmosphere in a beautiful setting, making for a one of a kind experience.<BR>Antalya - Marina Hotel (kaleici area, great location right by the Marina).<BR>I planned the itinerary I wanted and chose the hotels myself, but decided to use a travel agent for booking internal flights withing Turkey, for booking some of the hotels, and also for booking a car and driver to get from cappadocia to antalya and also to have at our disposal for 2 days around antalya. I used Ekol Travel/Turkish Tours Central, which I found on the web. We were very happy with them - they were extremely efficient, cars were comfortable their drivers were pleasant, friendly and knowledgeable, and their prices were reasonable.<BR>A last word for those hesitant to travel to the region given what's going on in the world these days - I felt safer than at home (NYC). So go!

Susan

Thanks for posting - your trip sounds wonderful.

Ann

good info, thank you.

linda

leela, I hope I didn't miss this on a post prior to your vacation, but what was your schedule (nights per city)? Is there anything that you would adjust if you could do it over? What was your focus regarding how you spent your time (historical sights,markets, dining)?<BR><BR>A quick sketch would be helpful and interesting.<BR><BR>Glad your trip was so wonderful!<BR><BR>linda

leela

We had 2 weeks in Turkey (left NYC Saturday May 4, returned Sunday May 19. Our goal was to see as much as we could but not to feel hurried and to have as much time as possible to feel we'd really got to know each place. Because of this, and since time was a constraint, we flew between most destinations (not the most economical way of doing it, but definitely optimizes time!) So our schedule was as follows:<BR>4 nights in Istanbul (gave us 3 full days and 2 half days, which was perfect). Saw all the sights on our own - Blue Mosque, Hagia sophia, Topkapi Palace, archeology museum,Chora Church (wonderful frescoes and mosaics)and Eyup and the Golden Horn, Spice Market, Grand Bazaar, lots of mosques, day cruise up the Bosphorus on the public ferry all the way to the last stop on the Black Sea. Also went to a whirling dervish ceremony. We had time to wander the back streets and explore.<BR>2 nights in selcuk (flew istanbul-izmir, were picked up and driven to selcuk) - arrived late evening, next full day in ephesus and the surrounding sights with guide, short trip to Greek village of Sirince, time to explore the small town of selcuk in the evening. WE had a car and guide the whole day.(I'd stay in Selcuk and not Kusadasi, unless you particularly want a cruise ship port type experience with a beach.)<BR>Flew from Izmir to Kayseri (cappadocia) - not ideal, since there's no direct flight and you need to change in istanbul, but it did save some time. All turkish airline domestic flights were on time, so that wasn't an issue).<BR>Picked up by gamirasu hotel at Kayseri, spent 4 nights i.e. 3 full days. 2 days is the bare minimum to see all the major sights, but 3 was nice to see some of the off the beaten track places. We used a car and driver provided by Gamirasu the entire time, and couldn't have been happier with them. We saw the Goreme Open Air museum, an underground city, hiked in the Ilhara valley (beautiful!) and also visited some smaller towns and valleys.<BR>Drove from Cappadocia to Antalya through the toros mountains (we had a car and driver from Ekol travels), with a stop in Konya to see the Mevlana museum - takes pretty much the entire day.<BR>3 nights (2 full days) in antalya - an extra day here would have been nice, but had to get back to work! Visited the ruins in the area - aspendos, Termessos (which involves a 2 hour hike, but has an incredible setting and was one of the highlights), olympos, phaselis, Side. Kaleici, the old town, was also charming to walk around.<BR>Flew back to Istanbul for one night - did last minute shopping, had a Turkish bath, a special meal - and headed for home in the morning!<BR>Couple of points :<BR>1) May seems to be an ideal month to visit - the weather is gorgeous, there aren't too many other tourists, and there's a riot of wildflowers everywhere.<BR>2)Though Turkey is cheap compared to the rest of Europe in terms of hotels, food, etc, I was really shocked by the price of admission to ruins, museums, etc. For example, a complete visit to the Topkapi place cost $45 per person ($15 each for general, harem and treasury). I believe this price hike just occurred recently - hopefully they'll rescind this soon.<BR><BR>

abc

LEELA<BR><BR>How much dolars did you pay for this trip?<BR><BR>thanks for advance<BR><BR>ABC

Prot

Leela, sounds like you had a great trip. I want to do a very similar trip next spring? Was it expensive to hire a car and driver from Cappadocia to Antalya? Also if you are a shopper what kind of buys did you notice? Are things cheaper in the Grand Bazaar or is one better off buying merchandise in the smaller towns? Were flights expensive and did you arrange the flights there and on your own or while at home? Glad you had a great time.

kav

Leela<BR>Sounds lovely...<BR>I went to Istanbul a few years ago, and sat in a restaurant as a homemade bomb went off just outside the window (yes I do mean just outside - and the windows shattered, luckily only a few minor injuries, it could have been worse, those of us inside were OK). <BR>The holiday (minus that) was wonderful and your list of sights brings it back.<BR>Thanks for sharing your feedback.<BR>Kavey

Murat

I am glad to hear positive comments about Cappadocia where I live. There are so much to see over here. If anyone plans Cappadocia in their itinerary better calculate at least 3 days here...<BR>

leela

Prot:<BR>The best way to book flights within Turkey is to use a travel agent in the country, since they're much cheaper booked domestically than from the US. Most flights (ist-izmir, antalya-istanbul, etc, were $85 each). Izmir-cappadocia was more since it involved a stop in istanbul (around 115).<BR>We didn't do a lot of shopping, but it seemed like Istanbul was the most convenient place - everything under one roof in the Grand Bazaar. But if that's your focus, there were definitely things we saw in certain regions that were harder to find in Istanbul. The Selcuk area had a great, and unusual selection of carpets.<BR>Car rental cappadocia - antalya was reasonable - prices vary depending on season, etc, so you'd need to contact the agency to find out. Like I mentioned earlier, EKOL travel was really efficient and flexible, as well as very reasonable in terms of cost.

Len

The web sites used by Leela Engineer www.turkishtourscentral.com they are the United States representative for Ekol travel in Turkey. Their toll-free number in the United States is 1-866-887-5396. They are a division of World Wide Travel Services www.worldwidetravelservices.com