Hello everyone:<BR><BR>My wife and I just returned from 16 days in Turkey - first time for both of us - and it was just spectacular. <BR><BR>Flew Air France via Paris and stayed at the Ciragan Palace in IST. 3 delightful days on the front end doing the standard tourist things. Some restaurant recommendations: Park Fora on the Europe side and Korfez across the Bosphorus (best way to get to Korfez - their water shuttle). Also Tugra at the Ciragan is outstanding.<BR><BR>We then flew Turkish Air to Bodrum and stayed at the ADA Hotel in nearby Turkbuku, on the Aegean. Day trip to Ephesus will remain with us always. <BR><BR>If anyone is wringing their hands over whether to visit this (literally) awesome place, let me offer a loud, ringing endorsement - of GOING FOR IT. EMail me with any questions, though I am no expert.

My sister and I are leaving for Turkey next week. We will stay at the Ciragan Palace, rent a yacht to go from Gocek to Marmaris, stay in Bodrum 3 days and 3 days in Cappadocia. We aren't particularly religious and wonder if Ephesus is worth the trip for us. What recommendations do you have for us? Thanks.

Ephesus is much more than a religious destination, it is better thought of as an archeological destination, like going to the Roman Forum or the Greek Acropolis.<BR><BR>You'll love Cappadocia, which could also be interpreted as religious. Our Turkish guide knew more about Christian history than we did, and joked that we were not very good Christians. But Cappadocia is more about geology and civilization.<BR><BR>PJ, I loved Turkey last year. I can't believe that people aren't flocking there!

Leaving for Istanbul in two weeks. Would be most grateful for more details on your stay in Istanbul. Did you have a visa in advance? Did you bring dollars for small transactions? ATM in the airport? Guide at Topkaki? Tell all! Thanks.

I think you have to get your visa at the entry point. It is useful to have American $ for it, as you can't get Turkish lira outside of Turkey, and they will rip you off on exchange with other currency. We entered at Marmaris so I can't say about the airport for ATM's for hte visa. There are ATM's virtually everywhere, but they would often limit the transaction to 100 Million lira at a time. Luckily, this goes a long way.<BR><BR>We did not get a guide at Topkapi, but wish we had. The tour of the Harem (extra) includes a guide.

Great that you had a good time in Turkey PJ.<BR>Kay I agree with Carol, Ephesus is one of the must see places in the Aegean coast. Cappadocia is another story and just amazing. My suggestion would be to visit Cappadocia at first part of the trip since you will be mostly at coastal area and ending with a Gulet trip will be like cream on the strawberry cake <BR><BR>enjoy yourself and have a great time in Turkey

MJ, you can get a visa ahead of time if you live in a city with a consulate (probably can also do by mail) but not worth the hassle in my opinion. The visa process took about 30 seconds in the airport, hand them the money, they put the visa in your passport, no questions asked. I believe the visa fee is now $65, up from $45 earlier this year (tied into the reciprocal visa for Turks into the US). Having exact change will make the process even easier.<BR><BR>ATMs are everywhere but I didn't use one at the airport. If you don't find one, you could probably use US cash for a taxi, s/b around $10 US to Sultanahmet. All the zeros on the currency make it easy to make a mistake if you're not careful.<BR><BR>Kay, Ephesus is definitely worth the trip, it's the best preserved Roman ruins we've seen. We hired a guide in Cappadocia and thought it well worth the money. He took us to some places off the beaten path, we got to watch women making bread and some men and women packing potatoes and did some hiking we wouldn't have done on our own.<BR><BR>The best day we spent in Istanbul was the day we took the cruise on the Bosphorus. It costs all of $2US (3 million lira)for the return trip. Pick up the ferry at Eminonu dock #3. The ferry stops for lunch on the Asian side and then comes back, I had the most wonderful calamari sandwich there and the waffle for dessert was pretty tasty too!<BR><BR>And if you're there on the 2nd or last Sunday, try to catch the performance of the whirling dervishes at the Galata monastery. You can get tickets in advance the day of the performance but they will likely be gone if you go over closer to the performance.