xyz99

The flight is booked (going in the first half of Oct for a total of 15 nights in Turkey), so now I have to work on details. We will land in Istanbul, leave from Antalya, and here is the general plan, although not set in stone yet:
• 5 nights/4 full days in Istanbul with a day trip to Ephesus (or 4 in Istanbul and 1 in Selcuk)
• 4 nights/3 days in Cappadocia
• 6 nights on the Mediterranean coast (3 in Cirali, 3 in Kas) – we will rent a car for this portion

We are not city people, and not beach-goers – but love history, ruins, scenic views, coastal views and walking on the beach, photography, nature and good food.
This post will focus on Istanbul, and our time there. I know 3 days is not a lot, but knowing us, it will be enough for the big “must do” things, then we will be ready to move onto more quiet, nature-oriented settings.

Ideally, we would like to fit all these in 2 ½ days (Topkapi, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilic Cistern, Suleymaniye Mosque, Grand Bazar, Spice Bazar, Rustem Pasa, Galata Tower and Bridge, Yeni Cami, Chora Church, Ortakoy Mosque and Dolmabahce Palace), and spend another ½ day on a Bosphorus cruise.

I am not counting on the first afternoon in Istanbul, we will be jet-lagged and probably we will just walk around a little. We will stay somewhere in Sultanahmet, close to the main attractions. Is all the above doable? If not, what should we eliminate? The main question for now: should we stay 5 nights in Istanbul, and do a 1-day trip to see Ephesus? Or 4 nights in Istanbul, fly to Izmir, drop bags at hotel in Selcuk, visit Ephesus, fly the next day to Cappadocia from Izmir?
What makes more sense?

If this matters, we will land in Istanbul on a Sat, so we have there Sun, Mon, Tue (or maybe Sun, Mon, Wed, if we see Ephesus as a day trip). Thanks.

mes2525

If you do Ephesus from Istanbul, it is a long day. The site is 4-5 hours and if you go to Mary's House, St. John's Basilica and the museum in Selchuk, add another 3-4 hours, plus time to get from Izmir to Selchuk and back. I stayed in Selcuk 2 nights and saw everything and went on a daytrip to Didyma, Miletius, etc. that your hotel can book for you. I know it is tempting to try to see everything on your wish list, but Turkey is huge and requires several trips to begin to see everything.

tower

xyz:

These represent nearly a month in Turkey...perhaps you can get an idea or two of the territory, which is quite vast. It ain't Rhode Island or Delaware. There is no trip report. I rarely if ever do them..but hopefully they will serve as a familiarization aid to your planning. Whatever, you do, I promise you will love Turkey...Stu Tower

https://picasaweb.google.com/stuartt...nesOfIstanbul#

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuarttower/ScenesOfTurkey#

tower

try to include a brief visit to the Pierre Loti Cafe, take the Bosphorus boat trip and if practical manage to see Pamukkale/Aphrodisias. Ephesus is half-day IMO, but very unwieldly to do as daytrip from Istanbul

Michael

<i>I am not counting on the first afternoon in Istanbul, we will be jet-lagged and probably we will just walk around a little.</i>

It might be the right time to take the Bosphorus cruise.

BKP

We did Ephesus as a day trip from Istanbul.

We hired a private guide to take us straight from the airport. He went at our pace. We saw Ephesus, stopped for lunch (at a carpet place, of course. But no pressure), on to the Temple of Artemis and then back to the airport.

We actually got back to the airport earlier than we expected but we sort of wizzed through Ephesus. Our 7 year old was interested for only so long!

xyz99

Michael,
That's a great idea, haven't thought of it, thanks. Still on the fence about Ephesus...

Doing it as a day trip (private guide, like BKP did) will save as packing/unpacking. Doing it overnight, will probably give us more time there...

Stu, great pics, thanks for sharing. Unfortunately we cannot fit in Pamukkale/Aphrodisias this trip. Unless we take a day from the coast, and at this point, I don't think we want to. It seems to have enough to see/do for 6 days.

Debs

In my opinion, 2-1/2 days is not nearly enough time to 'fit it' everything ... Chora Church is quite a distance in one direction from the Sultanahmet area, while both Orkatoy Mosque and Dolmabache Palace are some distance in the opposite direction. The grounds of Topkapi Palace are wide spread and condusive to strolling rather than rushing through. You might want to consider visiting the Blue Mosque in the afternoon/early evening of your arrival. It is jaw droppingly beautiful inside. Utilize the trams in Istanbul as they're inexpensive, clean and run frequently. Ephesus will be an incredibly long day as a day trip from Istanbul. The beauty of Turkey will surprise you! ENJOY!

cd

We were in Istanbul 2 1/2 days before a cruise and we had time for Topkapi, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazar, Spice Bazar, Galata Tower and Bridge,and ½ day on a Bosphorus cruise. You will have a great time! While in Istanbul please have for dinner a Testi Kebab, it is cooked in an earthan jug and wonderful! The Grand Bazarre is huge and crowded. We walked there from our hotel, did the Spice Bazarre and then the Grand Bazarre and got lost. We took a cab back because we did not know where we were. The cabbie WAY over charged us and is the only negative report I have on touring there. We did go to Ephesus after boarding our ship and if there is any way you can work it in, you will love it. The history and the ruins are fascinating!

kja

I agree with Debs - I would have found it extremely difficult to fit everything you want to see in Istanbul into just 2.5 days. It took me closer to 4 days to see what you listed! It obviously depends on your preferred pace of travel, though, and I admit that I took my time visiting these sites (except for the markets, which I only visited very briefly).

Michael's idea for taking the Bosphorus cruise the afternoon you arrive is a good one.

I was very glad that I saw Ephesus and very glad that I didn't try to do it as a day trip.

Hope that helps!

xyz99

Ok, so it seems better to fly from Istanbul to Izmir, see Ephesus, spend the night in Selcuk and next day, fly to Cappadocia.

I was actually wrong…we don’t have 2 ½ days in Istanbul, but 3 ½. Hopefully that will give us some extra time to see not necessarily everything (I know that’s not possible), but more.