Diane60030

Hi Chepar,

Each site was a mix of guided time and independant time. They would take you to the site. Buy your tickets, take us in, depending on the layout of the site it would vary. Some times we would have a little lecture and time in that area, some times it was the whole lecture and 1-3 hours to look about.

For me it was good, because I like to know what I am looking at without having to stick my nose in a travel guide to read about it.

Diane60030

I forgot the bus question. There were 35 people on a bus that seated 42. The guide used the first seat so that left 40 for the rest of us. Even in bulky winter coats it didn't seem like a problem.

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luvtravelin

Hi Diane,

You probably remember me – I had posted the questions about the Gate1 tour to Turkey. We finally did book it and are leaving in May. I knew you were also taking a similar tour so I was eagerly waiting for your trip report. We will be taking the 14 days Turkish Treasures tour and it seems the only difference is that we will visit Antalya instead of Konya. I have really enjoyed reading about your experiences and have some questions for you:

1. You mentioned there being 100+ people on the tour and 3 buses – so do you stay with the same group of people and the same bus the entire tour? How about the tour guide – was it the same person for the entire trip or did they switch?

2. Hotel Oran in Istanbul – any advice on anything I should try to request (i.e. upper level floor, room with a view, etc).


3. How safe was it around the hotel in Istanbul and how late could you stay out without feeling unsafe?

4. How was the Turkish bath in the hotel? How much, was it separated by gender? Would you recommend it?

5. What time was the welcome dinner the first night? I am trying to figure out how much time we will have to site see before gathering with the group since it seems like everything closes early in Turkey.

6. So did you get to see anything in Gallipoli? It is listed on the itinerary but I wasn’t sure if they actually stop there, or do you just pass through?

7. Troy – how much time were you given since you were with the group? Could you site-see independently here or you have to stay with the group?

8. What time did you reach Cannakale? I did some research on what to see there but wasn’t sure if we would get there early enough to do any site-seeing that evening.

9. How much time do you get at Pergamum? Again, can you independently site-see a bit? Or is a structured tour?

10. Izmir – On the 1st night, did you get there early enough to go out in the evening?

11. Did you do Ephesus on you own or the optional tour? If you took the tour, how was it – was lunch included? What time do you get back by to Izmir? I am hoping to see a bit of Izmir in 1 of the 2 nights we are there.

12. You mentioned that you were able to wade in the pools at Pamukkale – any advice about this…what to pack, how much time do you have, are there any pools that are better than others, should we try to break away from the group to find more amazing pools, views, etc?

13. Did you book your optional tours before you left? Can you change your mind and join a tour once you are there or is it usually booked up?

14. Any other advice about the places you already reported on?

I am looking forward to hearing about the rest of Cappadocia, Ankara and Istanbul!!

Diane60030

Hi Luv,

I do remember you and I'll try to answer all your questions.

1. Do you stay with the same group of people and the same bus the entire tour? -- Yes

How about the tour guide – was it the same person for the entire trip or did they switch? -- For most of tour. For the night optionals were fewer people were going they would consolidate the buses. Bus C's guide did the Kabop Diner and Bus B&C did the Whirling Dervishes. Bus A did the Jewish Hert Tour.

2. Hotel Oran in Istanbul – any advice on anything I should try to request. -- I don't think you'll have any options. It is a old building (all of Old Istanbul is Old) an all of the rooms are odd. If you do get a choice away from the front street is best. There is a disco and it is open LATE.


3. How safe was it around the hotel and how late could you stay out? - I never felt unsafe, but then with the jet lag I turned in by 11 pm or earlier most nights. I can tell you that I did go walking in the neighborhood by myself (short single woman) and didn't feel uncomfortable at any point. It was just like walking in any large US city.

4. How was the Turkish bath in the hotel? How much, was it separated by gender? Would you recommend it? The bath offers several services. If you are guest and want to bath yourself it is free. If you want an attendant to scrub you down it was 14 YTL, the sauna was 10 YTL, and a 90 min massage was 20 Ytl. I had a scrub and a massage and with tip I spent 35 USD. You have your choice of mixed or single sex. When I was there, it just happened to be only women. I had a great experience.

5. What time was the welcome dinner the first night? - We arrived at the hotel at about 3:ish. By the time I got my room and luggage and freshened up it was 3:45. Ours started at 8 pm. I am not sure what you mean about Istanbul closing early. The historic sites close about the same as everywhere else I've traveled but the rest of the city doesn't got to bed until the wee hours. I think your trip actually arrives in Istanbul on a Friday, which is the main Muslim holy day so you might want to take that into account if you are going to visit any mosques.

6. So did you get to see anything in Gallipoli? No Gallipoli is a pass through. You actually eat lunch in the village of Gallipoli, but don't tour the battlefield.

7. Troy – how much time were you given since you were with the group? - Our time there was cut down by the horid weather. A three hour drive took almost 5 so our time was less than usual. As it was we still had over an hour, although it was so cold we were glad to be back on the bus.

Could you site-see independently here or you have to stay with the group? You can site see independently. Just stay with the guide long enough to get your ticket or enter with the group and find out the departure time and then you can go about your way.

8. What time did you reach Cannakale? -- Once again I will reference our bad weather. In addition to the longer drive from Istanbul, our bus had to put on chains and the police had the road closed due to several jack knifed trucks and cars. We didn't get there until 7:00. But in May I doubt you'll have those problems so I would guess you'll be there 4:30 ish. They have the horse from the recent movie Troy, and they have a very nice walkway along the seafront.

9. How much time do you get at Pergamum? Total, I think we had 2-2.5 hours. The guide gave us our option of how long we would like to stay as a group, but with the weather it wasn't all that nice for seeing. Again, can you independently site-see a bit? Just like before. Our guide had several stops at important parts going up the hill, and then in the main accroplis, gave us a few other interesting facts and turned us loose. I found the structured time very enlightening and enhanced my enjoyment looking at the rest of the site.

10. Izmir – On the 1st night, did you get there early enough to go out in the evening? - If you have the energy. We got there a little after 5pm I think. We were the last bus because we stayed the longest at Perg.

11. Did you do Ephesus on you own or the optional tour? If you took the tour, how was it – was lunch included? I did do the optional. Lunch wasn't included. We stopped at a very nice truck stop (for lack of a better description - remined me a little bit of a Luby's cafe if you are familiar with that). Technically you can do Ephesus on your own from Izmir, but by the time you take a taxi to the bus to Selcuk take a taxi to the sites, pay the entrance fees and reverse it back to Izmir you don't have a lot of time.

What time do you get back by to Izmir? We got back about 3 pm. You will be staying in downtown Izmir about 5 blocks from the seafront. Ismir is a completely modern city. It felt more like Chicago than and excotic foreign land.

12. You mentioned that you were able to wade in the pools at Pamukkale – any advice about this…what to pack, how much time do you have, are there any pools that are better than others, should we try to break away from the group to find more amazing pools, views, etc?

Pamukkale is a world heritage site and is protected. There is one and only one area that peole are allowed to wade in on the cliffs. It is good sized, but the pictures you see of people walking all over the area are decades old. All of the human traffic was destroying the formations.

There is a pool where you can swim in the ruins. It is a very nice site, you can rent a locker there to put your stuff and they have changing rooms. I don't know how much a ticket is.

This is one of the sites where I don't know what to advise you with staying with the group as to just seeing it. I would lean toward seeing it on your own if you aren't a history person.

Check with the guide, but you should be able to get a taxi or ride to the hotel and stay until the site closes for the night. I would guess it is a 20 minute walk from the park to the hotel (if you knew the way).

If you intend to take a dip, I would bring a suit, you can rent a towel. Many Russians and Germans visit and they more often go natural.

There is a board walk along clift face. You'll walk on it or the road as you move from the "spa" to the necropolis. Stop along that and turn to look back. Those are some of the most amazing views.

13. Did you book your optional tours before you left? I've been on tours before and this is the only company I know of that let me book them before. And actually I did. I know my travel tastes pretty well and when I'll get the point of needing alone time. So I did.

Can you change your mind and join a tour once you are there or is it usually booked up? You are able to sign up for them there. The only caveat is that if you want to put them on a credit card it will have to be more than 200 USD. They always accept cash.

14. Any other advice about the places you already reported on? I'll have to give that some thought. I'll probably post some random thoughts when I get to the end.

Hope that helps.

Diane60030

Cappadocia

I think before I begin with the day's adventures I should explain for those who don't know why Cappadocia is so special.

A very long time ago, two volcanoes on either end of a broad plain erupted. Over time layers of lava and ash built up one on top of the other. Two things happened. 1) the ash compacted and became a material called Tufa. Tufa once you break through the hard outer crust is very carvable. With a good stick or spoon you can did out an entire room. 2) Rain and wind started to erode those layers. The ash being softer than the lava it left behind layers of lava supported by a dwindling pinnacle of Tufa beneath.

When human entered the area they carved into the tufa for shelter. Over time their carving became more and more sophisticated. Eventually in addition to underground cities used in time of defense, winter or storage, they became every day dwellings. Even communities, churches, monastaries, pigeon coops, all of life's buildings.

It wasn't until the 1980's that the government persuaded people to leave their caves for houses. The Tufas errosion was becoming unstable (for what had already been carved) and the area still subject to earthquakes. Most people really only moved 30-40 feet. They build their new houses with in feet of the old.

So that is a bit of why the region is so unique.

When the guide said that he had called the balloon company and that the weather would be nice enough for a flight I was escatic. I had ballooned over the Valley of the Kings in Luxor and knew how fanstatic this could be. So by the time got to my seat to ask about the balloon trip I was nearly bouncing out of it.

The wake up call wasn't too bad 5:20 am. There were 22 people from the three buses that decided to go. We were picked up in 2 vans and taken to the balloon office. There we made our payments and had a nice cup of tea and a cookie before the flight.

The weather could not have been nicer. It was clear and calm. Between the white of the snow, the gray and brown of the rock and the brilliant blue of the sky the yellow of the balloon inflating on the plain was striking.

As we settled into our balloon. There were 14 people per balloon (we had been joined by some travel agents from the states checking the country out). With just a slight puff. We were aloft.

It was just the most amazing feeling. We went up 2500 ft above the valley floor and floated over the town of Avenos, the Red River, and another little village.

We could see the balloons of the other companies in the distance they would go up 1000 feet and into the nearest canyon. You could see them all following each other through the towers.

Our balloon guides had other ideas. We went north and west through a different series of mesas. Any description I could give would be in lacking beyond measure. We would decend in the middle of formations and the pilot would rotate the balloon so everyone got to see the formation. It was amazing. You didn't want to come down.

The pilot even landed the balloon on the bed of the trailer that came to pick us up when we were done. The biggest obstical was climbing back out the basket. Once we were all out the pilot gave us our "flight certificates" and sent us on our way back to the hotel. It was 8;15 and the all day excursion started at 8:30. They know exactly how much time it takes to get every body back to their hotels.

So will just a few minutes to rush to bathroom and grab a granola bar it was off for the day.

Our first scenic overlook was the Camel Fairy Chimney. Really they looked like a camel. T

hen it was on to the Goreme open air musuem. WOW. This is pretty high on the scale of neat. We saw three carved churches dating back to the 700-800s AD. Several of them still had their original frescos, one had a restored fresco and a couple had the original artwork before the fresco exposed. They carved the altar, pews, baptismal font, railing, pillars and dome out of tufa. The planning that went into these carvings is amazing. And not a bit of the decoration is necessary for structural support. The pillars are decoration only.

In several places you can see nails wedged into the ceilings. That is for vistors protection. Like all tufa these churches are slowly erroding away and over time fissures develop portenting a crack and collapse. A nail is stuck in those cracks, and if it should fall, that is the signal for everyone to get out NOW!!!

The government and UNESCO are trying to come up with ways to protect and save these historical treasures, but so far they haven't come up with any thing that has lasted a season.

In addition to the churches you can see the monastary eating rooms with the table and benches carved in. Quaters, other chapels, and rookeries. If there hadn't been so much snow some of the other areas would have been more accessible, but we had 90 mins or more on our own to explore.

Then it was off to scenic view point. This one you could walk around the base of the chimneys. At each of these stops there will little souviener stands and food shops.

Then it was time for the carpet factory. This was a big operation. We started with a very informative tour. The manager showed us how the various carpets were made, what the materials were and how the women kept their pattern and place. They had several ladies there doing demonstrations. Their work is impressive. Then it was into the next room to learn how the silk is harvested from the cocoons. It was interesting how some of the old methods entwined with modern technology.

Then came the famous flying carpet display. We got the whole education on rugs and kilimns. Wool on cotton, wool on wool, 24 knots, 36 knots. silk on cotton, 48 knots, 100 knots. Whoa. The detail on the best of the best was just like a painting.

After we had just about been overwhelmed they brought in lunch (for free) and took our drink orders. Soda, tea, coffee, wine?

Then its was time to shop if you were interested (or just ask questions), maybe provide moral support for some one who was shopping or just admire the handy work.

I'll admit, I did end up buying a rug for my dinning room. It should be here in the next 3 weeks.

Then it was on to our next scenic stop. No matter where we stopped it was amazing (probably why we stopped there). That stop had an elderly gentleman and his very large camel. Several members of our group took the camel ride around the bus and enjoyed it, gushed about it in fact. I'd ridden a camel at Giza so I opted to take pictures instead.

The fourth scenic overlook was over the edge of a cliff. It was amazing and so was the ice cream. The guide swore it was the best in Turkey and I'd agree it was pretty good. And the show that went with every cone was hilarious. The more serious you are the more outrageous the act. It made every one smile. I'm smiling just remembering it.

Since we didn't have to go back to the underground city we headed back to the hotel with one last stop. After six hours of fairy chimneys they begin to all look the same.

Besides after the 5 am wake up it was a bit of rest before dinner.

<<I just realized I left out our stop at the Sultan Han on the way into Cappadocia the day before. The Hans were "the Howard Johnson’s" of the silk road. They were the locations where merchants stopped and resupplied and sold their wears under the protection of the Sultan.>>

The reason that came to mind is because that night was dinner and the Whirling Dervish demonstration, which happened to be at a reconstructed Han.

Dinner was at the hotel and was just as good as the night before.

Then it was on to the bus for the Dervish demonstration. I am calling it a demonstration because it isn't really a show. In fact that is a bit disrespectful of the whole activity.

On our way there our guide explained the symbolism of the hat, boots, and (I can't remember the name of the jacket). What the proper behavior was. Do not applaud at the end. Talked about the music, the procession, and the roles of the different people and a bit about the mysticism.

If found it to be very riveting. After a long day a few people fell asleep, quietly. But most of us were intrigued.

The bus ride back was very quiet.

The next day would be a drive into Ankara.

Diane60030

Ankara

The weather was starting to warm and the snow melt. It was a clear beautiful day and the sun danced off the snow.

Our route doubled back on part of the road we came into Cappadocia on. The nice part is that we had our morning break at the same truck stop. The fruit stand was open and we bought some lovely fruit. Oranges, pears, grapes and one I never did find out what it was.

Anakara was a village of about 15, 000 people when Ataturk made it the capital. Today it is 4 million and a very lovely city. The region is hilly so the city is a bit like a land locked San Francisco.

Our first stop was the Tomb/Memorial/Monument of Kamel Mustafa Ataturk. It is a striking building complex. Its construction was interupted by WWII, but it was well done. It is simple in design, but has a presence. Under the tomb area is a musuem which chronical's Turkey's war of independance and the heros and losses of the event. It is quiet well done. This a manditory trip for all Turkish school children. We were there on the weekend and saw many parents their with their children.

If you have the time walk the whole grounds they have some lovely botanical gardens around the edge and other interesting bits to see.

Our hotel that night was lovely. It was done in a Victoria style. It was just beautiful. Each room even had a small balcony.

The neighborhood was very walkable and quite nice. Dinner was on our own, but I didn't feel like a big meal so I stopped by a small grocery for a snack and tucked in.

Our morning was the excursion to the Anitolian Civilization Musuem. It is a great place. They have chronicalled from prehistoric through the neo-hittite era. And they picked good pieces (not every thing) to show. They had several mock ups of what they believe places to have looked like and nice clear descriptions in English so after the main tour with the guide you to look on your own.

People came and went from the lecture when there was some thing they wanted to see. The grounds had greek/roman statuary.

I must admit this was my favorite gift shop. They had wonderful books, cook books, book marks, and post cards of the items in the musuem. Plus they had little replicas of different items.

Our drive from Ankara to Istanbul went smoothly. This section or road is the only 4-6 lane highway we travelled on. For a Sunday there seemed to be a lot of traffic. We stopped at another Truck stop for lunch and had what was possibily the best lambchops I've ever had. My goodness.

You start hitting the outskirts of Istanbul about 2 hours before you get to the heart of the city. This was the area that was hard hit by earthquakes a few years ago so there are a lot of new houses.

As you pull into old town Istanbul you really get the sense of a modern thriving city squeezing into a old space. There are turns the bus can't make and roads to narrow so your route to the hotel is about round about.

We are back at the Oran with all of its odd shaped rooms. Dinner is on our own. Mine is a sandwhich from a little shop down the street.

Tomorrow will be the Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace.

LCBoniti

Thank you for continuing this very enjoyable trip report. The sights you describe are fascinating to me. It certainly sounds like your tour was a good one.

alyssamma

Diane, thanks for posting this. This is one of the best trip reports I've read.

luvtravelin

Diane – Thank you SOOOOO much for taking the time to reply to each of my questions. I have been super busy with work and haven’t had a chance to get onto this site in a long time. All your responses were very informative and I have taken notes based on your answers to update our itinerary.

As for your trip report about Cappadocia and Ankara – loved it! It is so helpful in planning our trip.

So ofcourse, I have some more questions based on your updated trip report:

1.In Cappadocia – how much was the balloon ride? I know it is not offered by Gate1 so I was surprised you were able to take the ride through them. We are still toggling with the idea of spending the money to take it or not.

2.So would you say the Whirling Dervishes optional tour is NOT worth it? We already weren’t too excited about this one but weren’t sure if we were missing out on something major here. If we opt out, are there places to eat and walk around locally by our selves?

3.In Ankara, we were planning on not doing the Anatolian museum tour they are offering. Would you recommend it? What else can you do on your own in Ankara instead of their tour?

4. Based on the places you have written about already – what you say is the best way to dress (for a man and woman). It seems like sneakers are a must (esp in Cappadocia). Can us women wear shorts or should we stick to long pants, khakis, etc?

Thanks once again for all the helpful responses. I am really looking forward to reading about the rest of your trip. Will you be posting photos as well?

Diane60030

Istanbul.

Just the name of the city conjures the exotic. East has meet west here for thousands of years and the city maintains that energy.

The core of what I'll call old Istanbul is located on the "golden horn", which is a peninsula along the Bosporus. At the very tip is three of the best known sites in the world. The Blue Mosque, Haiga Sophia, and Topkapi Palace. Also in the immediate area are the Hippodrome, Underground Cistern, and several museums. It is a pedestrian oriented area. There is very, very little room for parking so taking the tram, taxi, or walking is the best bet for transportation.

If you are on a tour you will most likely be dropped off at the Hippodrome area. This area once housed the area's race track, but today the oval is for busses, taxis and cars.

In the center are three sites to see. The first is original Egyptian granite Obelisk. They suspect it is from Luxor, but in order to transport it from Egypt they cut off the last few feet of the obelisk, which would have contained the attribution to the pharaoh who funded it.

The next item is a trio of bronze serpentine pillars. They represented the hydra. They used to have golden snakeheads on the pillars, but over time more than one disappeared. The last one is in the museum near by. So you sort of have empty pillars. A little odd, but pretty metal work.

The last item is a reconstructed pillar. It is well cone, but I don't remember much else about it.

From there you cross the street to the main gate of the Blue Mosque. It is a fully functioning Mosque and has services 5 times daily. Friday is the main holy day so the service at noon is HUGE. Many of the college students from the nearby university come for prayers.

First Note. The Blue Mosque isn't blue. The Blue refers to the original tile decoration on the interior. Also the local populace doesn't refer to it as the Blue Mosque. It has a proper name, which I can't spell, named after the Sultan who had it built.

The sultan tried to out do the Haiga Sophia next door. The difference in technology and building techniques cut down on the time and the amount of labor used, but the building is still a little smaller. Although unless you told me I wouldn't have realized it.
It is a magnificent structure. Now I understand when I was in Egypt why they said the M. Ali Mosque at the citadel was modeled after this one and that it was "Turkish".

When you enter you'll go through the main gate and head around to the right. There you'll take off your shoes (put them in a recycled bag) and enter the building. When you are done, you'll exit across from where you entered and put your shoes back on.


The view from that direction is of the garden leading to the Haiga Sophia.

The Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays, which is why we went to to Topkapi Place next on the tour. Topkapi is closed on Tuesdays.

I am not sure what I expected at Topkapi. Palace always conjures multi-storied buildings with soaring vaulted rooms. While there is some of that, it wasn't what I expected. But then again constructing like that wouldn't survive in an area with earthquakes either.

Topkapi is a complex of buildings and gardens. Parts of the complex are devoted to museum displays of Chinese porcelain, silver, and kitchen works, then another section to the portraits of the sultans, holy relics, and the famed treasury. The objects in the treasury are fabulous. It reminded me of the Faberge Egg collection. There are several rooms with tapestries and armor as well. It is really easy to spend 1/2 day or more here. And that doesn't even cover the architecture or the views.

The Harem, which is more of a complex of official rooms, quarters, and functional spaces than just a place where the sultan kept his family. It is a separate ticket, but if you love architecture, tile work or woodwork, you will enjoy this area. Fortunately they have velvet ropes guiding you through the area otherwise I would have been lost.

When I mentioned palaces before I think this is where you really got a feel for what was "Ottoman". In Europe most of the castles had smaller rooms with lower ceilings. Heating the space and defensive measures were most important. Topkapi shows off how much air was needed to keep the buildings cool. It was unusual to see a fireplace and everywhere had broad windows to let the breeze blow through. Another thing that I noticed is that there were fountains/taps/sinks everywhere.

I guess what I really want to say is don't rush or short change Topkapi. They have a little cafe and you can have lunch and sit with a view of the Bosporus and watch the ships and the people.

Our guided tour wrapped up after the orientation to the main museum areas. I spent another 3 hours there on my own and would have stayed longer, but I had a Turkish bath appointment waiting for me.

I walked back to the hotel. It was a nice stroll. It probably took me a total of 20 mins walking time. There was some time spent on looking at tourist goodies along the way.

Tomorrow it is the Spice Bazaar, Underground Cistern, Haiga Sophia and Grand Bazaar.

Diane60030

Hi Luv,

I understand. Work does get in the way of our favorite travel.

1.In Cappadocia – how much was the balloon ride? The balloon ride was 243 YTL or about 200 US. Kappadocia Balloon is the biggest balloon operator there. Technically, it wasn't offered through Gate 1. The guide said if you want to go here are the details. There are several other companies, but their rides are shorter and less interesting. Too me this was one of those once in a life time experiences so to me worrying over 25 or 30 dollars isn't worth it.

2.So would you say the Whirling Dervishes optional tour is NOT worth it? - I enjoyed it, but I like spiritual and religious demonstrations. If that isn't your cup of tea, forget it.

If we opt out, are there places to eat and walk around locally by our selves? Yes, although it is a good walk to the "village center" where you'll find more shops and restaurants. The hotel is kind of in the valley between the two parts of the village.

3.In Ankara, we were planning on not doing the Anatolian museum tour they are offering. Would you recommend it? I thought the musuem was wonderful. There is a reason it was voted the best musuem in Europe in 1997. It is an impressive collection and well curated.

What else can you do on your own in Ankara instead of their tour? Not much. The bus picked up the people not going on the tour at 10:30 am, and us at the musuem at 11:15, so we could be on the road to Istanbul. So figure you'd have to be at one site or the other at those times. Or you'd be transporting yourself to Istanbul, because you missed the bus.

4. Dress - Anything goes. Really the Turks are western in most of their dress. You'll see shorts and bare middles combined with scarves, and then jeans so tight you think they are sprayed on. Just think about where you are going. If you are going to a mosque then khakis and a shoulder covering blouse/shirt as a sign of respect is better than shorts and a tank. A skirt covering the knee is fine. For the ruins or secular sites shorts are fine.

I do strongly recommend closed toe shoes for the ruins. It is uneven and rocky. Flip flops are unsafe for so many reasons. For the city dress shoes are fine, but you'll be walking on cobble stone so spikes are at your own risk. Much ado is made of the American white tennies, it is a bit informal for dinner, but for walking around it fine.

While I can't speak for the whole country, I can say every Turk I met was absolutely thrilled I was an American and visiting. (and not just because I was spending money)

travelchat

Diane60030
I have a question about how Gate 1 supervised the seating on the coach. Was there a set way of assigning and changing everyone out each day?

I was on a Colette Tour this past year and every morning our tour guide would place the name card on the new seat.

It was three rows back every morning, so at the end of the tour you ended up where you had started out. It was a very good way to keep everyone happy and under control!

Thank you for an awesome trip report.

Diane60030

We rotated around the bus. You skiped a row each day so with in the trip you sat in every part of the bus. We had a couple of college students who REALLY liked their back seats so we happily skipped around them.

rfbk50

What a wonderful trip report. I'm using it to help convince my husband that he would enjoy Turkey.

One more question please. You mention long bus rides and bathroom stops, but do these buses have the
"emergency bathrooms" that some of the other tour company books mention? Thanks

mercy

I'm not Diane, but I've been on enough tours to know that even tho most busses do have "emergency" bathroom, that is exactly what they are for--emergencies. The problem is that the "deposit sites" for the busses are few and far between--in Western Europe anyway, and I'd imagine that in Turkey that might be the case even more. The emergency space is not at all attractive and if used a lot, becomes quite fragrant.

In Russia, on occasion, we had what our TD called "bush stops" when specific rest areas were not available at appropriate times. And there were always busses from other companies pulling in to these little wooded glens, for necessary stops, with the bus occupants scattering into the woods--women to the right, men to the left!!!

The time between stops is usually about two hours. But that depends on the direction taken and the roads traveled. I hope this gives you an idea of what to expect. Ciao!!mhm

luvtravelin

Diane - Once again thank you so much for replying back to all my questions. We are going to start thinking about what to pack, etc and we really need to select our optional tours. You've really helped out with both of these tasks! So it seems like you thoroughly enjoyed Topkapi Palace. Did you have a chance to do the Bosphorus cruise?

Looking forward to hearing about the rest of Istanbul!

Diane60030

Hello.

The "pit stops" were about every 90 minutes. The only time we missed that window is when we were held up by the ice outside of Canakkale. Most busses in Turkey Do NOT have the emergency facility on the bus. There isn't a lot of "dump" facilities so the bus companies usually don't even install the facility, it is just a closet.

If there is a NEED, just let the guide know. There are a goodly number of gas stations long the route. They may just not be as welcoming to tour buses as others.

Diane60030

I will admit I am a dreadful sailor. You couldn't get me near the cruise.

But all of the people who did go on it really enjoyed it. One comment that stuck out was "it was all I hoped it would be, plus more."

Gate 1 gets their own boat so you don't have to share with other groups or have a lot of stops.

Diane60030

Spice Market, Underground Cistern, Haiga Sophia, Grand Bazaar.

Sigh - It is our last full day in Istanbul.

This morning takes in the last two main historical sites on the Golden Horn and SHOPPING!!!! For some people this is a wonderful thing. For me it is a bit of a chore. I have my list of what I need for the people back home and I don't tend to get much else.

At any rate off we go to the Egyptian Spice Bazaar. Now you may be wondering why the Egyptians would have a spice bazaar in Istanbul. Centuries ago (3-400 years ago) the sultan's mother was building a new mosque and on a visit saw the poor merchants (most of who were allegedly Egyptians) trying to sell their wears in very poor conditions and felt sorry for them. She directed the architect of the mosque to use the left over materials to build them a proper place to sell their wears.

So if you thing the stone in the mosque and the stone for the bazaar looks similar. You are right.

After visiting Egypt and seeing the bazaars there, I was pleasantly shocked with what I experienced. It was clean, very clean, can I hire who ever cleans this place to do my house clean. There was a shopkeeper who wanted you to stop and look as his wares, but they didn't chase you down the mall they way they do in Egypt. It was actually a nice shopping experience.

Around the exterior were a good number of other stalls and shops. They weren't quiet as neat and orderly, but still fascinating to browse through.

It is in a busy area so the bus only gets to pull into the bus stop for a limited amount of time. Don't keep the bus driver waiting because he'll get a ticket for sure.

Then it was on to the Underground Cistern. To understand what makes the cistern special you have to understand the construction of the Haiga Sophia across the street.

When the Emperor decided to build his new church he order that unused materials from around the empire be collected and brought to Constaneu for the church's construction. After the construction of the church the left over materials were used in the construction of the cistern.

So in what you would normally expect to be a very plain space, you have Corinthian columns, Ionian columns, carved medusa, columns that are stacked to reach a uniform height. Well, it is an interesting and extraordinary space. If you've seen the James Bond movie from Russia with Love, the opening scenes were shot there.