coolgreycity

Hi All,

My wife and I are going to Turkey for 12 days at the end of November (first time there). So far we are planning a few days in Istanbul and 2-3 days in Cappadocia.

We're looking for one more amazing destination. The problem is there appear to be dozens and dozens to choose from! The amount of info on this forum and in the guidebooks we've read is just overwhelming.

So my question to you seasoned Turkey travelers is where is the one spot you would not miss?

A bit about us...

- 40 yrs old (i.e. not young partiers anymore)
- Fairly experienced travelers (Asia, Oceania, Europe, Sth America)
- Love food and wine
- Enjoy the outdoors (medium intensity hikes, etc)
- Enjoy getting off the beaten track at times
- Enjoy just checking out how people live as much as "tourist attractions." Going to the supermarket and riding the subway is always on our list when we go to a new country for instance. But we also like to take in historical sites.

So where would you go?

Thanks!

Chads

go to a market not a supermarket. Try Berlin and try to go to some of the regional areas of Germany . I do not know much about Germany but is just an idea.

otherchelebi

End of November is a colder time, with the additional issue of shorter daylight hours.

In recent years we did two trips in early December, both of which we enjoyed:

Mardin, a city at the Northernmost tip of Mesopotamia, with a mix of cultures, turkish,Kurdish, Arabic and two different sects of islam and all three major Christian sects. Two terrific operational very old monasteries just outside Mardin and outside Midyat. An exceptional antique site, Hasankeyf, which will disappear under the waters of a dam soon.

The city of Urfa, towards the Syrian border is also known to be worth a visit but we did not have the time.

We rented a car at the airport from Avis.

The second was a driving trip from istanbul to Sardis, Bozdag, Golcuk and Birgi, visiting Aizanoi on the way back.
We have two slide shows from that visit. They are available on webshots on my wife's site, 'esercelebiler'. I also have a very recent trip report to the area on Fodor's lounge combined with Lykia.
I think there is a Mardin presentation also. these trips may have short reports on trip Advisor. Go to my profile and find them among older posts if you wish to read about them.

Another good location with regards to the weather is "Antakya"
which has a terrific mosaic museum, two very interesting Christian sites and some remains of the antique city of Antioch at samandag. The Harbiye district is very svenic with a narrow valley full of waterfalls and restaurants serving spicy hot food and the fabulous dessert, 'kunefe' as well as shops selling silk items.
A rental car will be a good idea again, to visit Saint simeon Stilit monastery and Samandag.
Antakya also has a large alevite population, thus making it the most modern city east of Adana.

The above are outside the areas usually traveled by fodorites.

For
other more traveled locations, i will recommend Kas/Uchisar/Kekova, or Fethiye/Oludeniz, or Selcuk/Bafa. These have more sea and mountain views but less in terms of local culture.

Check the weekly street market locations and days whereever you visit, asking the hotel.

If in Mardin, check, erdoba konaklari for accommodation. In Antakya, we stayed at sabun hotel which was fine, but there may be other cheaper or better ones.

coolgreycity

Thanks for the great information otherchelebi!

I have a couple of follow up questions for you...

If we do the driving trip from istanbul to Sardis, Bozdag, Golcuk and Birgi, visiting Aizanoi on the way back, about how long would that take? I ask because we'll probably have no more than 3 days available. Also - if we do that trip, would you recommend booking hotels ahead of time or do you think we could find places to stay along the route easily enough?

If we do Antakya, would you recommend flying from Istanbul or could we drive from Cappadocia?

Thanks again!

Michel_Paris

We drove along the Turquoise Coast, spending time in Kas (small fishing village) and visiting Ephesus (great ruins). We drove there from Cappadocia.

coolgreycity

Hi Michel_Paris -

How long of a drive was that from Cappadocia? And did you then drive on from there to Istanbul? Or did you drop the car off and fly out?

ellen75005

I think it would be hard to go to Turkey without going to Ephesus. And there's a lot to see in the general area of Ephesus, although we didn't have time. There's a lovely little hotel in Selcuk (the city closest to Ephesus) called the Hotel Bella which has the best roof lounge and cafe - ever.

We also drove along the Turquoise Coast which was beautiful, but in late November the weather may not be the best for that drive. I obviously don't know where you're from, but parts of that drive along the coast reminded me of the Pacific Coast Highway in California.

otherchelebi

Coolgreycity,

although you can do this drive with ony one overnight, it is too much driving. Also, do not forget that the days are short.

If you fly to Izmir and rent a car there, you can do Ephesus plus Sardis,Bozdag, Golcuk and Birgi with two overnights comfortably and without very long drives.

You can check on a map and if you have problems gauging distances, i will work them out for you.

An interesting itinerary could be:

-early morning flight to Izmir
-take car, drive to Salihli/Sardis (apprx 2 hours)
-drive up to Bozdag and Golcuk (40 minutes)
-drive down to Birgi. (20 minutes)
- 0/n at Cinaralti pansiyon in Birgi (has central heating)
- Drive through Odemis to Selcuk (90 minutes)
- Visit Ephesus, Basilica, museum.
- Drive to Kapikiri village (herakleia) on lake Bafa
- O/N at a B&B (possibly electric heater in room)
- You can hike in the area or drive back to izmir airport, visiting Prienne on the way. (two hours) for flight back to istanbul.

For Antakya, driving from Cappadocia can be done in about 6-7 hours mostly on divided highway and motorway (about 500 kilometers), through Nigde, Tarsus, adana, Iskenderun.
there is an early Ottoman inn and mosque before you get to Iskenderun, but that is on the slower coastal highway.

In that case, you would be dropping the car at Adana airport to fly back to istanbul. If you can arrange that car return, it makes sense to do it because otherwise you would be flying back to Istanbul or driving to Ankara to pick a flight and then renting car at Adana airport for more driving anyway.

the only issue i would envision with driving, besides the short daylight hours, is if you hit roadworks and rain at the same time. Actually all threehappened to us between Adana and Antakya. It was dark, there was heavy rain and there was major highway construction with the abundant traffic having to use mostly dirt diversions. I still dream of being surrounded by heavy trucks on a hill with everything covered in mud in the dark and headlights not being able to do their job.

I hope you will have a chance to make more trips to this travelers' paradise of a country and visit the places you miss this time around.

ash318

I did the same trip you did and did "Antalya" at the end, then took a domestic flight back to Istanbul and flew out.

We went in the summer, so we stayed at a resort- Mardan Palace , it was great fun. We drove from Cappadocia to Antalya.

Michel_Paris

We left one morning from Goreme, stopped at underground city, hiked Ilhara valley, then spent night in Konya. Next day, reached Antalya and spent 2 nights there. Next day, attempted to go to Olympos, overnight Kas. Next day, boat tour of of Kas, overnight Kas. Next day, drive and visit of Ephesus, then night at Bursa. Next day ferry to istanbul.

We were 3 adults and four kids, two cars.

coolgreycity

Thanks everyone! This is so much good information.

otherchelebi - if we do the Cappadocia - Antakya drive (which we are leaning toward), where would be a good place to stop for the night to break it up?

otherchelebi

Do not plan it, but consider Adana for an O/N.
we had hilton points and that is where we stayed but it is usually expensive. however, there may be promotions which you can check on the Hilton site.
The problem there is that entering and leaving Adana, although not difficult, will be quite time consuming.
Let us both look for some lodging easily accessible and reasonably priced.

it is meaningless to stay in iskenderun, because you will be so close to antakya that you may as well do the few more kilometers that day.

otherchelebi

I made a mistake and gave you the name of the antakya hotel in its Turkish translation. It is called "Savon Hotel"
there is also a newer small boutique hotel called Liwan hotel, i think and the very traditional old city hotel, Buyuk antakya oteli, again i think. Savon is luxurious but away from city center. The city hotel will be cheaper and you will experience the 1950's Turkey there. I have not been to Liwan or any other hotels.

i said, do not plan for adana, because you will be driving and would probably be able to find lodging without previous reservation with no trouble. And maybe you will see somewhere on the route that you like.

coolgreycity

Ok. Our plan is finally coming together! Here is what we are currently thinking...

Nov 19 SFO - MUC
Nov 23 MUC - IST
Nov 28 IST - Izmir
Rent a car, drive to Ephesus
O/N in or around Selcuk
Nov 29 fly from Izmir - Adana
Rent a car in Adana and drive to Antioch or Silifke
Dec 1 Drive from Adana region to Cappadocia
Dec 4 Fly Nevsehir or Kayseri to Istanbul
Dec 5 IST - MUC - SFO

First - do you see any issues with this outline of an itinerary? Second - should we book our internal Turkey flights and rental cars now or when we get into the country?

Thanks again for all your advice. Getting very excited for this trip!

otherchelebi

It looks terrific, different and suitable for the season.

I hope everything will go well.

Buy the internal flights as soon as possible. they will be cheaper.

I hope you can get a direct flight from izmir to Adana.

Do not rent a Fiat, they are extremely under powered.

otherchelebi

Had to rush away,

Reserve a car but do not pay in advance. This will give you the chance to negotiate a better price or a better car when you land, if not with the rental agency of your initial choice, with others on location.

This recommendation is more valid for the off-season, like November.

acocan

I am totally agree with otherchelebi on every points,
From İzmir to Adana there are several flights of Turkish Airlines on Nov 29, you better buy online tickets asap (prices are very reasonable these days).
Just one thing to say, I would prefer Antioch instead of Silifke. Town itself, mosaic museum and meals are all worth to see and taste.

Hope you have a nice time.