Buckley Trip Report
May 28th, 2008 | 04:00 AM
#1
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Buckley Trip Report
So much has been written here about Turkey in trip reports that I will emphasize the information that particularly sticks out in my mind rather than provide a day-to-day replay of what my wife and I did.
<b>Istanbul</b>
I had been concerned that spending 4 days in such a large city might be too stressful, that my wife and I might want to do a day trip to get away from Istanbul even when considering that one of our four days was planned to be spent on the Bosphorus. The city was so interesting and it was so easy to be laid back that that concern proved to be unwarranted. In fact, we enjoyed the city so much that we didn't take the time to take the Bosphorus trip. We spent four days in Istanbul seeing many of the major sites. That wasn't enough time to see all of them, which explains why we decided to forgo the Bosphorus.
For those interested in returning each day to an apartment with a separate bedroom and living room containing a modest kitchenette, as opposed to a hotel room, I recommend the Sultanahmet Suites. The amenities in our apartment were less than luxurious and more than spartan, though drab. However, I saw the uppermost apartment, which is an efficiency with an adjoining private terrace that is more upscale though with less interior space. Living at Sultanahmet Suites placed us in the middle of a residential neighborhood full of at least three generations of family life including young children that thankfully were more than happy to interact with us. The stores in the immediate area cater to the locals, not the tourists, which gave us access and insights typical tourists don't enjoy.
Our best meal in Istanbul, possibly the best in Turkey, was at the Asitane Restaurant, which is located in the Kariye Hotel and is immediately adjacent to the Kariye Museum. (The museum is a former church that contains incredible frescoes well worth taking the taxi cab ride to visit.) The lunch included the best borek of our trip which was light and flaky, not at all greasy or oily. We also enjoyed delicious giant anchovies, which if you haven't ever had them are fish that are about 6 inches long and 1 inch wide and not nearly so salty as the anchovies generally associated with Caesar's salad. The smoked salmon salad was presented with a hard-boiled egg in the center of the plate topped with caviar. They also had the best wine list of any restaurant we visited in Turkey.
<b>Cappadocia</b>
The single highlight of our trip was the 1 1/2 hour balloon ride in Cappadocia. Very, very expensive and worth every penny. On the one hand, it was so good that we might change our mind and do a second one somewhere else in the world. On the other hand, we're hesitant to do so because it will be so difficult to equal the Cappadocia balloon ride, much less top it.
Our overall favaorite part of the trip (which included three days in Rhodes) was also Cappadoccia. My wife and I rarely visit a place twice, but we plan to return to Cappadoccia for a full week. I won't write anything about the Esbelli Evi other than to confirm that all of the superlatives written throughout this website about Esbelli Evi are fully warranted.
Our favorite Cappdocia meal was at Dibek, which is located in Goreme. Only two years old, it has the ambiance and history that comes with sitting on the floor or on comfy lounges with comfortable pillows while dining at low tables. The food is true home cooking in the sense that the wife in the family that owns the restuarant prepres the recipes, one of which one a local cooking countest the week before we arrived. Of all the dishes we had in our two-week trip, our favorite was a pasta prepared at Dibek's, which has a consistency and flavor that is far better than traditional Italian pasta. This is a dish that was to die for.
<b>Izmir to Marmaris</b>
Because we had seen Ephesus in a previous one-day trip to Turkey years ago, we decided to visit three "lesser" antiquity sites instead. Wow! We were SO pleased with our decision (though I encourage everyone to see Ephesus if you can only see one such site). We loved the variety of Didim's Temple of Apollo, which is usually referred to as Didyma in the guide books. The huge amphitheater at Miletus is second only in size to the theatres at Samos in Greece and Ephesus in Turkey. One advantage it offers over the theatre in Ephesus is that the tunnels underneath the seating remains in tact and can be walked through. We also enjoyed Prienne, a series of anqitiquites that reminded me of Greece's Oracle at Delphi on a much smaller scaller.
For a drop-dead view of the Temple of Apollo at Didim, plan on eating directly at the Asik restaurant, an open-air facility located directly across the street from the entrance gate.
Best fish of our trip -- Asik restaurant: Wine is important to me so I asked earlier in the day to see the wine list. I was shown two lists probably totalling at least 30 wines, which is a lot by Turkish restaurant standards. Yet when I showed up for dinner later in the day, the restaurant had only four wines for sale (two whites, a rose and a red). I noticed that fish is not mentioned on the menu though it is prominently displayed so you can hand pick your own particular fish. I asked to be served grilled veggies with it. Nope, our waiter insisted that no restaurant in America, France or anywhere serves veggies with fish. That's when I decided to change waiters to the much more helpful gentleman who had helped me earlier in the day. Indeed, our fish that was cooked to tender, juicy five-star perfection (I'm a perfectionist when it comes to cooked fish) was accompanied by deliciously grilled onions, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Sometimes we tourists simply have to be politely persistant.
Though I spend more time than most tourists at sites due to being an avid photographer with expensive gear, we were able to comfortably see all three sites (Didyma, Miletus and Prienne). We picked up our rental car at the Izmir airport at about 3:00pm and arrived in Didim before 4:30pm. We saw all three sites beginning at 9:30am and ending at 4:00pm. We drove to Marmaris, arriving at about 7:00pm, of which the last two hours is especially beautiful mountain driving.
<b>Special Note</b>
This was our 25th anniversary trip, so I need to mention that it was a particularly important trip for us for which we were willing to spend more time and money than usual. Having spent most of it in Turkey, we weren't disappointed in the least.
Actually, that's not entirely true. We were disappointed that we didn't get to meet Murat, but I will save that for a separate post.
People who have been religiously following the threads know that it was also Happy Cheesehead's 25th anniversary trip. We had a fabulous time meeting Cheese and her spouse over dinner in Cappadocia and I can't wait to see her trip report (hint, hint!) once she returns from Santorini.
<b>Istanbul</b>
I had been concerned that spending 4 days in such a large city might be too stressful, that my wife and I might want to do a day trip to get away from Istanbul even when considering that one of our four days was planned to be spent on the Bosphorus. The city was so interesting and it was so easy to be laid back that that concern proved to be unwarranted. In fact, we enjoyed the city so much that we didn't take the time to take the Bosphorus trip. We spent four days in Istanbul seeing many of the major sites. That wasn't enough time to see all of them, which explains why we decided to forgo the Bosphorus.
For those interested in returning each day to an apartment with a separate bedroom and living room containing a modest kitchenette, as opposed to a hotel room, I recommend the Sultanahmet Suites. The amenities in our apartment were less than luxurious and more than spartan, though drab. However, I saw the uppermost apartment, which is an efficiency with an adjoining private terrace that is more upscale though with less interior space. Living at Sultanahmet Suites placed us in the middle of a residential neighborhood full of at least three generations of family life including young children that thankfully were more than happy to interact with us. The stores in the immediate area cater to the locals, not the tourists, which gave us access and insights typical tourists don't enjoy.
Our best meal in Istanbul, possibly the best in Turkey, was at the Asitane Restaurant, which is located in the Kariye Hotel and is immediately adjacent to the Kariye Museum. (The museum is a former church that contains incredible frescoes well worth taking the taxi cab ride to visit.) The lunch included the best borek of our trip which was light and flaky, not at all greasy or oily. We also enjoyed delicious giant anchovies, which if you haven't ever had them are fish that are about 6 inches long and 1 inch wide and not nearly so salty as the anchovies generally associated with Caesar's salad. The smoked salmon salad was presented with a hard-boiled egg in the center of the plate topped with caviar. They also had the best wine list of any restaurant we visited in Turkey.
<b>Cappadocia</b>
The single highlight of our trip was the 1 1/2 hour balloon ride in Cappadocia. Very, very expensive and worth every penny. On the one hand, it was so good that we might change our mind and do a second one somewhere else in the world. On the other hand, we're hesitant to do so because it will be so difficult to equal the Cappadocia balloon ride, much less top it.
Our overall favaorite part of the trip (which included three days in Rhodes) was also Cappadoccia. My wife and I rarely visit a place twice, but we plan to return to Cappadoccia for a full week. I won't write anything about the Esbelli Evi other than to confirm that all of the superlatives written throughout this website about Esbelli Evi are fully warranted.
Our favorite Cappdocia meal was at Dibek, which is located in Goreme. Only two years old, it has the ambiance and history that comes with sitting on the floor or on comfy lounges with comfortable pillows while dining at low tables. The food is true home cooking in the sense that the wife in the family that owns the restuarant prepres the recipes, one of which one a local cooking countest the week before we arrived. Of all the dishes we had in our two-week trip, our favorite was a pasta prepared at Dibek's, which has a consistency and flavor that is far better than traditional Italian pasta. This is a dish that was to die for.
<b>Izmir to Marmaris</b>
Because we had seen Ephesus in a previous one-day trip to Turkey years ago, we decided to visit three "lesser" antiquity sites instead. Wow! We were SO pleased with our decision (though I encourage everyone to see Ephesus if you can only see one such site). We loved the variety of Didim's Temple of Apollo, which is usually referred to as Didyma in the guide books. The huge amphitheater at Miletus is second only in size to the theatres at Samos in Greece and Ephesus in Turkey. One advantage it offers over the theatre in Ephesus is that the tunnels underneath the seating remains in tact and can be walked through. We also enjoyed Prienne, a series of anqitiquites that reminded me of Greece's Oracle at Delphi on a much smaller scaller.
For a drop-dead view of the Temple of Apollo at Didim, plan on eating directly at the Asik restaurant, an open-air facility located directly across the street from the entrance gate.
Best fish of our trip -- Asik restaurant: Wine is important to me so I asked earlier in the day to see the wine list. I was shown two lists probably totalling at least 30 wines, which is a lot by Turkish restaurant standards. Yet when I showed up for dinner later in the day, the restaurant had only four wines for sale (two whites, a rose and a red). I noticed that fish is not mentioned on the menu though it is prominently displayed so you can hand pick your own particular fish. I asked to be served grilled veggies with it. Nope, our waiter insisted that no restaurant in America, France or anywhere serves veggies with fish. That's when I decided to change waiters to the much more helpful gentleman who had helped me earlier in the day. Indeed, our fish that was cooked to tender, juicy five-star perfection (I'm a perfectionist when it comes to cooked fish) was accompanied by deliciously grilled onions, tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. Sometimes we tourists simply have to be politely persistant.
Though I spend more time than most tourists at sites due to being an avid photographer with expensive gear, we were able to comfortably see all three sites (Didyma, Miletus and Prienne). We picked up our rental car at the Izmir airport at about 3:00pm and arrived in Didim before 4:30pm. We saw all three sites beginning at 9:30am and ending at 4:00pm. We drove to Marmaris, arriving at about 7:00pm, of which the last two hours is especially beautiful mountain driving.
<b>Special Note</b>
This was our 25th anniversary trip, so I need to mention that it was a particularly important trip for us for which we were willing to spend more time and money than usual. Having spent most of it in Turkey, we weren't disappointed in the least.
Actually, that's not entirely true. We were disappointed that we didn't get to meet Murat, but I will save that for a separate post.
People who have been religiously following the threads know that it was also Happy Cheesehead's 25th anniversary trip. We had a fabulous time meeting Cheese and her spouse over dinner in Cappadocia and I can't wait to see her trip report (hint, hint!) once she returns from Santorini.
May 28th, 2008 | 04:32 AM
#2
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Joined: Aug 2003
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The edit feature wasn't working at the time I posted the above message, so I'll apologize for the typos and add a couple clarifications.
<b>Izmir to Marmaris</b>
I didn't make it clear that our visit of the three antiquity sites -- Didyma, Miletus and Prienne -- occured beginning in the morning following our arrival at the Izmir airport the previous afternoon.
<b>Omitting the Bosphorus</b>
I know, I know. Seeing the Bosphorus is such an important part of Istanbul that people might understandably think we were crazy for skipping it. We were having so much fun seeing the details of Istanbul from within the monuments and streetlife, that we decided to spend all of our time doing exactly that. Even so, we still didn't get to see and do everything of that nature, as others who have been to Istanbul will easily understand.
<b>Izmir to Marmaris</b>
I didn't make it clear that our visit of the three antiquity sites -- Didyma, Miletus and Prienne -- occured beginning in the morning following our arrival at the Izmir airport the previous afternoon.
<b>Omitting the Bosphorus</b>
I know, I know. Seeing the Bosphorus is such an important part of Istanbul that people might understandably think we were crazy for skipping it. We were having so much fun seeing the details of Istanbul from within the monuments and streetlife, that we decided to spend all of our time doing exactly that. Even so, we still didn't get to see and do everything of that nature, as others who have been to Istanbul will easily understand.
May 30th, 2008 | 12:50 PM
#4
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,556
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Mike,
I too ate at Dibek at Murat's recommendation. The food was very good, but not as nice as some other palces I ate at in Turkey, including another very local restuarant that you'd never find a tourist within 5 miles of that Murat, Pinar, and I drove to with their friends.
However, you cannot beat Dibek for the 'restaurant-in-a-home' atmosphere ! From the sitting-on-the-floor experience (with padded cushions) to the food cooked in burnished and ancient-looking clay pots on an open fire, to the sights, scents and turkish music... great stuff.
I spent almost 3 hours there, the last two spent having one of the most interesting conversations (and I had many such all over Turkey) with the young chap who supposedly owned and ran the restaurant, telling me of his family's history in the area and showing me their antique paintings, carpets and other crafts and artwork in the place. Did you meet him ?
I too ate at Dibek at Murat's recommendation. The food was very good, but not as nice as some other palces I ate at in Turkey, including another very local restuarant that you'd never find a tourist within 5 miles of that Murat, Pinar, and I drove to with their friends.
However, you cannot beat Dibek for the 'restaurant-in-a-home' atmosphere ! From the sitting-on-the-floor experience (with padded cushions) to the food cooked in burnished and ancient-looking clay pots on an open fire, to the sights, scents and turkish music... great stuff.
I spent almost 3 hours there, the last two spent having one of the most interesting conversations (and I had many such all over Turkey) with the young chap who supposedly owned and ran the restaurant, telling me of his family's history in the area and showing me their antique paintings, carpets and other crafts and artwork in the place. Did you meet him ?
May 30th, 2008 | 02:35 PM
#5
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Joined: Aug 2003
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Mathieu,
No, I'm sure I didn't meet the young person you mentioned.
Part of the immense pleasure of dining at Dibek's was that Mehmet Kunt, the guide that Murat hooked my wife and me up with, took us to there. He knows the owners and promised that it was the ideal place for lunch.
Mehmet was such a pleasure to spend the day with. He is such a great conversationalist because he speaks better English than I do and is so well versed in history, travel, wine, food and the various religions that continue to impact Cappadoccia. Being able to talk with him over lunch was ideal because we could focus entirely on everything he was telling us, as opposed to the rest of the day when we would divide our attention between him and everything he took us to see.
I've gotta stop typing this post. Otherwise I'll never get the memory of that pasta dish at Dibek's out of my mind!
No, I'm sure I didn't meet the young person you mentioned.
Part of the immense pleasure of dining at Dibek's was that Mehmet Kunt, the guide that Murat hooked my wife and me up with, took us to there. He knows the owners and promised that it was the ideal place for lunch.
Mehmet was such a pleasure to spend the day with. He is such a great conversationalist because he speaks better English than I do and is so well versed in history, travel, wine, food and the various religions that continue to impact Cappadoccia. Being able to talk with him over lunch was ideal because we could focus entirely on everything he was telling us, as opposed to the rest of the day when we would divide our attention between him and everything he took us to see.
I've gotta stop typing this post. Otherwise I'll never get the memory of that pasta dish at Dibek's out of my mind!
May 30th, 2008 | 02:41 PM
#7
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Joined: Aug 2003
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<b>Wine<b>
I forgot to mention in my trip report that if enough folks express an interest in details about Turkish wine, I'm happy to write a separate post about the major wines that are readily available to tourists, what to pair with it, etc.</b></b>
I forgot to mention in my trip report that if enough folks express an interest in details about Turkish wine, I'm happy to write a separate post about the major wines that are readily available to tourists, what to pair with it, etc.</b></b>
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May 30th, 2008 | 05:51 PM
#8
Joined: Nov 2003
Posts: 2,478
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Mike,
My next trip is to Atlanta next weekend for a Fodors get together!
And then 3 weeks in France at the end of September/early October.
After that it's Rome for Christmas and New Years 2009!
And then...a week in Tuscany in May 2009! Yup, I've got the travel bug bad!
Oh, and I'm thinking Buenos Aires for November 2009.
My next trip is to Atlanta next weekend for a Fodors get together!
And then 3 weeks in France at the end of September/early October.
After that it's Rome for Christmas and New Years 2009!
And then...a week in Tuscany in May 2009! Yup, I've got the travel bug bad!
Oh, and I'm thinking Buenos Aires for November 2009.
Jun 1st, 2008 | 06:29 PM
#9
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 1,293
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Hiya Mike! I was wonderful to meet you and the lovely Joellen in Urgup and have dinner. I only wish your day had been a little less exciting, LOL.
The rest of our trip was just grand. I know why people visit Santorini. It was perfect for a romantic anniversary. You would probably have a field day with your photography skills!
The rest of our trip was just grand. I know why people visit Santorini. It was perfect for a romantic anniversary. You would probably have a field day with your photography skills!
Jun 1st, 2008 | 06:47 PM
#10
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Joined: Aug 2003
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Good to hear from you, Cheese! It's good to know that Santorini was so special for you and John. Joellen and I went there but unfortunately didn't get to Osiah (is that anywhere near the correct spelling?), which has a classic scene that I missed of a church overlooking the ocean.
Jun 4th, 2008 | 11:25 AM
#11
Joined: Jan 2003
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Hi Mike,
Close - we were in Oia, which was just lovely and romantic. I am sorry you did not get there. I could have copied your pics and pretended they were my own!
Looking forward to more picture links from you on your other thread.
Close - we were in Oia, which was just lovely and romantic. I am sorry you did not get there. I could have copied your pics and pretended they were my own!
Looking forward to more picture links from you on your other thread.
