Prague, Istanbul, and Turkey Coast Trip report
Jul 5th, 2008 | 01:25 PM
#1
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
Prague, Istanbul, and Turkey Coast Trip report
Hi all,
I’m sitting here on the plane to Moscow and I thought I’d bang out the trip report, since a couple people asked for it.
So, to provide some context for this report, I was in the middle of switching jobs and my old employer said they only needed only two days from me. And the new employer did not expect me to start for about 2 weeks. So, I hoped on the Delta website to see where my miles might take me. Bali was out, Hawaii was out, Tahiti was out, and Thailand was out. So I started to check out Europe and after realizing that my Delta miles could get me to Paris from San Francisco, I realized I could go anywhere in Europe.
The last two European cities on my list that I have not been to that are on my list were Prague and Istanbul and I wanted to take a swim in the Mediterranean too. So, after spending some time in Barnes and Noble and posting on this board for advice (some good along with a little joshing), and three long, but helpful conversation with Delta Skymiles agents, I ended up with a trip. I started planning on Wed for Sunday departure. And as luck would have it, I could fly business class the whole way – this was my first time flying business class to Europe. It so rocks!
This trip was clearly by the seat of my pants and I never appreciated the Rough Guide, Trip Advisor, and the Eyewitness guide more. Lets get started.
<b>PARIS (for a seven hour layover)</b>
I’ve been to Paris a couple times, but I never made it to the Louvre, so this is was my chance. While I was a little jet lagged, I hopped in a cab and met a friend for lunch that lives in Paris. We ate at Le Voltaire across the street from the Louvre and by the water; it’s classic old French food and a nice way to start my trip. Then I went off to the Museum where clearly I did not have enough time to see everything, but I caught some highlights.
<b>PRAGUE (for three days)</b>
Prague is a very beautiful city and is called a “city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city. Personally, and I mean this as a compliment, if Disney were to build a European city it would look like Prague. In fact, tons of movies have been filmed there since the buildings look like a walk back in time. You have seen in t in Amadeus, Mission: Impossible, The Bourne Identity, Shanghai Knights, Les Miserables and many others. The other nice thing about Prague is it’s small. You can see most of it in a few days and you can walk everywhere.
Where I stayed:
• The Golden Well
• Review - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...e_Bohemia.html )
• Price - $350 a night
• I chose this hotel because it was all the books, had a Michelin rated restaurant and won a Trip Advisor award. It’s a really nice hotel. A river divides Prague and this is on one side of the river, right by the Prague Castle on a hill that overlooks the other side of the river. The views are spectacular as you look out over a city that has spires galore, fine old churches, towers, and beautiful red roofs
• I’d would absolutely stay here again, but you need to be in shape to walk up the hill. I saw an old couple stuggling with the hill.
• Oh and there was a secret passage to the castle
<b>The highlights of the town.</b>
• Prague Castle is a complex that has a beautiful gothic Church with the nicest stain glass windows I think I have seen. It also has a nice palace though, it’s not ornate like Versailles, but they had jousting torurments inside the grand hall and I though that was cool You can also walk down the Golden Way (a street inside the castle complex), which has charming little houses. And the gates to the complex have huge beautiful statues of the battle of the Titans. And of course there are sweeping views of the city and it’s beautiful spires
• The Charles River Bridge. This is perhaps the most famous landmark in Prague. It’s a pretty old bridge but what makes it special is it has 12 statues on the sides of the bridge that are nice and there is a big tower with a opening for a gate that the bridge goes thought.
• I also took a boat ride, which, as always is highlight of any trip to Europe. Why Prague is small, I thought this boat ride was in the same class as the one in Paris, though it’s much shorter.
• St Nicholas is a stunning Baroque Church that will leave you breathless.
• There is music everywhere much like Vienna, which is really nice. You can see a concert every night. I went to the big concert hall which has frescos and alike from Prague artists at the beginning of the 20th century. Everyone chipped in and helped make it beautiful. You can also see concerts in some of the churches and synagogues. I saw two concerts in three days. It was great (though a little pricey)
• The communist museum really gave a feel for how different Prague was then. There is an model integration room you get to see (creepy) and just some interesting history. And for a bit of historical irony, there is a McDonalds right out side the communist museum. ;-)
• I thought the most interesting area was the Jewish quarter. Prague had the first Jewish Ghetto in Europe, which was really interesting. You can can go on a tour of six synagogues ranging from the oldest synagogues in Europe to one of the most beautiful, which is based on the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The walls and ceilings look like the ceilings in the Alhambra. There is also the old Jewish Cemetery where 100,000 people are buried in one block. The bodies are stacked 12 people deep ad gravestones are on top of each other. This was the only place Jews could be buried for about 250 years. In the early 1900’s much of the Jewish quarter was torn down and buildings were replaced with beautiful Art Nouveau mansions. Now, this area is the hip part of town with all the high-end shops and restaurants.
• The Mucha Museum, showcases the Art Nouveau works of Alfons Mucha. You know his work. He created a lot of the pretty Parisian Art Nouveau posters.
• The Astronomical Clock is on a tower by the town square and every hour on the hour a statue of the angel of death pulls a chain and the 12 apostles dance in four windows.
• The town square has beautiful Renaissance buildings around it.
• Wallenstein Garden is in a palace of the same name where the parliament meets and there are nice gardens and fountains, but to me the highlight were the peacocks prancing around on the lawn and one was even all white and beautiful.
<b>Food and drink</b>
No one goes to Prague for the food, and I would agree with that. The food is very gamey meats, sausages, creams, and starches. I had one Czech meal at my hotel which was a Michelin rated restaurants and that was enough for me. The next two nights I ate Sushi and Chinese. However, that said, I did have kiwi sorbet for the first time (I’ve never seen it anywhere else) and it was really, really good. And their street hot dogs are really interesting. The Czechs drill a hole in the piece of French bread the long way and slide the hotdog and mustard in it like a hot dog cocoon. It’s much easier to eat than our street hotdogs though not as tasty.
Making up for the food is the beer. It’s great beer and you can find good brew everywhere. The wine was good too.
<b>People, language, and final thoughts</b>
The people are super friendly and everyone and I mean everyone speaks English. Prague’s number one industry is tourism and the people there clearly understand that.
What I found a little sad about the town is the tourist part of the town is only full of tourists. It made me think that over time, part of the town would consists of only tourists like Venice which I found a little sad.
And the one other thing to note is Prague is not as inexpensive as I thought it would be, but thank goodness it’s not on the Euro yet!
I’m sitting here on the plane to Moscow and I thought I’d bang out the trip report, since a couple people asked for it.
So, to provide some context for this report, I was in the middle of switching jobs and my old employer said they only needed only two days from me. And the new employer did not expect me to start for about 2 weeks. So, I hoped on the Delta website to see where my miles might take me. Bali was out, Hawaii was out, Tahiti was out, and Thailand was out. So I started to check out Europe and after realizing that my Delta miles could get me to Paris from San Francisco, I realized I could go anywhere in Europe.
The last two European cities on my list that I have not been to that are on my list were Prague and Istanbul and I wanted to take a swim in the Mediterranean too. So, after spending some time in Barnes and Noble and posting on this board for advice (some good along with a little joshing), and three long, but helpful conversation with Delta Skymiles agents, I ended up with a trip. I started planning on Wed for Sunday departure. And as luck would have it, I could fly business class the whole way – this was my first time flying business class to Europe. It so rocks!
This trip was clearly by the seat of my pants and I never appreciated the Rough Guide, Trip Advisor, and the Eyewitness guide more. Lets get started.
<b>PARIS (for a seven hour layover)</b>
I’ve been to Paris a couple times, but I never made it to the Louvre, so this is was my chance. While I was a little jet lagged, I hopped in a cab and met a friend for lunch that lives in Paris. We ate at Le Voltaire across the street from the Louvre and by the water; it’s classic old French food and a nice way to start my trip. Then I went off to the Museum where clearly I did not have enough time to see everything, but I caught some highlights.
<b>PRAGUE (for three days)</b>
Prague is a very beautiful city and is called a “city of a hundred spires" and "the golden city. Personally, and I mean this as a compliment, if Disney were to build a European city it would look like Prague. In fact, tons of movies have been filmed there since the buildings look like a walk back in time. You have seen in t in Amadeus, Mission: Impossible, The Bourne Identity, Shanghai Knights, Les Miserables and many others. The other nice thing about Prague is it’s small. You can see most of it in a few days and you can walk everywhere.
Where I stayed:
• The Golden Well
• Review - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...e_Bohemia.html )
• Price - $350 a night
• I chose this hotel because it was all the books, had a Michelin rated restaurant and won a Trip Advisor award. It’s a really nice hotel. A river divides Prague and this is on one side of the river, right by the Prague Castle on a hill that overlooks the other side of the river. The views are spectacular as you look out over a city that has spires galore, fine old churches, towers, and beautiful red roofs
• I’d would absolutely stay here again, but you need to be in shape to walk up the hill. I saw an old couple stuggling with the hill.
• Oh and there was a secret passage to the castle
<b>The highlights of the town.</b>
• Prague Castle is a complex that has a beautiful gothic Church with the nicest stain glass windows I think I have seen. It also has a nice palace though, it’s not ornate like Versailles, but they had jousting torurments inside the grand hall and I though that was cool You can also walk down the Golden Way (a street inside the castle complex), which has charming little houses. And the gates to the complex have huge beautiful statues of the battle of the Titans. And of course there are sweeping views of the city and it’s beautiful spires
• The Charles River Bridge. This is perhaps the most famous landmark in Prague. It’s a pretty old bridge but what makes it special is it has 12 statues on the sides of the bridge that are nice and there is a big tower with a opening for a gate that the bridge goes thought.
• I also took a boat ride, which, as always is highlight of any trip to Europe. Why Prague is small, I thought this boat ride was in the same class as the one in Paris, though it’s much shorter.
• St Nicholas is a stunning Baroque Church that will leave you breathless.
• There is music everywhere much like Vienna, which is really nice. You can see a concert every night. I went to the big concert hall which has frescos and alike from Prague artists at the beginning of the 20th century. Everyone chipped in and helped make it beautiful. You can also see concerts in some of the churches and synagogues. I saw two concerts in three days. It was great (though a little pricey)
• The communist museum really gave a feel for how different Prague was then. There is an model integration room you get to see (creepy) and just some interesting history. And for a bit of historical irony, there is a McDonalds right out side the communist museum. ;-)
• I thought the most interesting area was the Jewish quarter. Prague had the first Jewish Ghetto in Europe, which was really interesting. You can can go on a tour of six synagogues ranging from the oldest synagogues in Europe to one of the most beautiful, which is based on the Alhambra in Granada, Spain. The walls and ceilings look like the ceilings in the Alhambra. There is also the old Jewish Cemetery where 100,000 people are buried in one block. The bodies are stacked 12 people deep ad gravestones are on top of each other. This was the only place Jews could be buried for about 250 years. In the early 1900’s much of the Jewish quarter was torn down and buildings were replaced with beautiful Art Nouveau mansions. Now, this area is the hip part of town with all the high-end shops and restaurants.
• The Mucha Museum, showcases the Art Nouveau works of Alfons Mucha. You know his work. He created a lot of the pretty Parisian Art Nouveau posters.
• The Astronomical Clock is on a tower by the town square and every hour on the hour a statue of the angel of death pulls a chain and the 12 apostles dance in four windows.
• The town square has beautiful Renaissance buildings around it.
• Wallenstein Garden is in a palace of the same name where the parliament meets and there are nice gardens and fountains, but to me the highlight were the peacocks prancing around on the lawn and one was even all white and beautiful.
<b>Food and drink</b>
No one goes to Prague for the food, and I would agree with that. The food is very gamey meats, sausages, creams, and starches. I had one Czech meal at my hotel which was a Michelin rated restaurants and that was enough for me. The next two nights I ate Sushi and Chinese. However, that said, I did have kiwi sorbet for the first time (I’ve never seen it anywhere else) and it was really, really good. And their street hot dogs are really interesting. The Czechs drill a hole in the piece of French bread the long way and slide the hotdog and mustard in it like a hot dog cocoon. It’s much easier to eat than our street hotdogs though not as tasty.
Making up for the food is the beer. It’s great beer and you can find good brew everywhere. The wine was good too.
<b>People, language, and final thoughts</b>
The people are super friendly and everyone and I mean everyone speaks English. Prague’s number one industry is tourism and the people there clearly understand that.
What I found a little sad about the town is the tourist part of the town is only full of tourists. It made me think that over time, part of the town would consists of only tourists like Venice which I found a little sad.
And the one other thing to note is Prague is not as inexpensive as I thought it would be, but thank goodness it’s not on the Euro yet!
Jul 5th, 2008 | 01:29 PM
#2
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
<b>ISTANBUL</b>
I loved Istanbul, I absolutely loved it. Did I mention I loved it? ;-) It has multiple layers of history, much like Rome and it’s as interesting as Rome. And like Rome, you cannot see it in three days, but I was sure was going to try. I also met a very cute Italian guy and we spent a few evenings together dining and then going out dancing. It was nice to not be alone at night. (He said he’d come visit me in San Francisco – hooray!)
<b>This is where I stayed</b>
• The Seven Hills hotel
• Review - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...-Istanbul.html
• Price - $250 a night
• I was nervous about this hotel, but everywhere was booked, so I tried here. As it turned out, it was perfect. The location was perfect in Sultanahmet and they even upgraded me to a suite with sweeping views of the Haigia Sophia and the Bosporus. In addition, the roof top restaurant has 360-degree views that sweep over the Bosporus, the Blue Mosque, the Bosporus and other city sites and I would stay here again. If you are going to Istanbul, I would stay in this area.
<b>Highlights, but I did more</b>
• Topkopi Palace is where the sultans lived and this building complex for me was up there with the Alhambra, Versailles. You get to see and learn about the Harem, see all these religious artifacts from Islamic culture such as swords of Muhammad, see the clothing of the sultans, the treasury with amazing jewels and such, as well as see the living quarters, the school, etc . If you go there, make sure to get a tour though.
• Blue Mosque is very pretty and nice mosque.
• Hagia Sophia is breathtaking. It was the biggest Church in the world for over 1000 years and has beautiful Byzantium mosaics. It was turned into a mosque.
• Archeological Museum has a bunch of interesting stuff including a cool sarcophagus and some nice Roman Statues
• Bastia Cistrin is the nifty underground water storage building built by the Romans and has these medusa heads statues.
• The City Walls are HUGE! no wonder no one got through them until 1453.
• I went to see these spinning dancers called the Whirling Dervish ( Dervish is a spiritual sect of Islam) at the old Train station, which was the end to the Orient express. It’s pretty.
• Domabahac Palace is the newer of the Sultans palaces and it looks a bit like Versailles. The ballroom is huge like a cathedral and is the biggest room I think I have ever seen outside a church or an arena
• The Boat ride up the Bosporus let me tsee all the old palaces on the water.
• The Grand Bazaar was really unique. I did not think I was going to like it the bargaining process and all the aggressiveness of the merchants, but once I figured out the game, it was pretty fun. I spent way more money than I should have, but I knocked out my Christmas shopping for my family and friends.
• I posted what to do my last day in Istanbul here and everyone said to go to the spice Bazaar, so I went. It’s really nice, but if you have seen spice Bazaars in Morocco, southern Spain, it’s pretty similar.
• Chora Church is amazing and I went at the suggest of Travel Talkers. It’s hard to find, but it has all these really stunning well-preserved Byzantium mosaics. It was actually one of my favorite sites of the whole trip.
• Oh and lets not forget the Turkish bath. I went to Hammam Cagaloglu which was a bath given to the city by a Sultan. Turkish baths are basically a massage and someone giving you a sponge bath and then you get to lie on a hot big warm stone surface. It was interesting and I’m glad I did it, but I like Arab and Roman baths better. And it was a bit hot for this.
<b>Food and Drink</b>
Turkish food is great and clearly made up for the Czech food. It’s lot of Mediterranean appetizers, such as hummus, Babaganoush, yogurt with fresh herbs and garlic, kabobs, fish and grilled meats. I found so much liked. I did not like Turkish delight however. The beer and wine were average for this part of Europe.
<b>People, language, and other thoughts</b>
The people are great, warm and friendly, not everyone speaks English though enough do.
People are aggressive about to parting you and your money. People will try to pull you into stores, restaurants, etc. At first it was overwhelming and then I just started to ignore it and it was fine.
Beware of the cab drivers. They have two different meters rates, one for tourists and one for locals. It took me a getting ripped over twice to figure this out. The other thing is a cab driver said to me gives me a 50-lira bill and I’ll give you back a 20-lira bill, but then he switched the bill and said I had only given him a 5. I agued with him, but it was too late and I just walked out of the cab. But these things happen while traveling. But in any event, I loved Istanbul, it’s super fascinating with lots to do and see.
To digress for a second, when I was in Spain, I found the history pretty depressing (though the culture full of life). The Moors lost the wars and left, the Jewish were kicked because Queen Isabella wanted to get into heaven and this started the decline of Spain.
Istanbul took in a ton of Jews and I read a quote from the Sultan who said the Jewish helped him build the empire and he had no idea why Spain would kick out such an industrious bunch, which made me laugh since my last trip was to Spain.
I will definitely go back to Istanbul to see more, but I had a grand time. Did I mention I loved Istanbul.
I loved Istanbul, I absolutely loved it. Did I mention I loved it? ;-) It has multiple layers of history, much like Rome and it’s as interesting as Rome. And like Rome, you cannot see it in three days, but I was sure was going to try. I also met a very cute Italian guy and we spent a few evenings together dining and then going out dancing. It was nice to not be alone at night. (He said he’d come visit me in San Francisco – hooray!)
<b>This is where I stayed</b>
• The Seven Hills hotel
• Review - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...-Istanbul.html
• Price - $250 a night
• I was nervous about this hotel, but everywhere was booked, so I tried here. As it turned out, it was perfect. The location was perfect in Sultanahmet and they even upgraded me to a suite with sweeping views of the Haigia Sophia and the Bosporus. In addition, the roof top restaurant has 360-degree views that sweep over the Bosporus, the Blue Mosque, the Bosporus and other city sites and I would stay here again. If you are going to Istanbul, I would stay in this area.
<b>Highlights, but I did more</b>
• Topkopi Palace is where the sultans lived and this building complex for me was up there with the Alhambra, Versailles. You get to see and learn about the Harem, see all these religious artifacts from Islamic culture such as swords of Muhammad, see the clothing of the sultans, the treasury with amazing jewels and such, as well as see the living quarters, the school, etc . If you go there, make sure to get a tour though.
• Blue Mosque is very pretty and nice mosque.
• Hagia Sophia is breathtaking. It was the biggest Church in the world for over 1000 years and has beautiful Byzantium mosaics. It was turned into a mosque.
• Archeological Museum has a bunch of interesting stuff including a cool sarcophagus and some nice Roman Statues
• Bastia Cistrin is the nifty underground water storage building built by the Romans and has these medusa heads statues.
• The City Walls are HUGE! no wonder no one got through them until 1453.
• I went to see these spinning dancers called the Whirling Dervish ( Dervish is a spiritual sect of Islam) at the old Train station, which was the end to the Orient express. It’s pretty.
• Domabahac Palace is the newer of the Sultans palaces and it looks a bit like Versailles. The ballroom is huge like a cathedral and is the biggest room I think I have ever seen outside a church or an arena
• The Boat ride up the Bosporus let me tsee all the old palaces on the water.
• The Grand Bazaar was really unique. I did not think I was going to like it the bargaining process and all the aggressiveness of the merchants, but once I figured out the game, it was pretty fun. I spent way more money than I should have, but I knocked out my Christmas shopping for my family and friends.
• I posted what to do my last day in Istanbul here and everyone said to go to the spice Bazaar, so I went. It’s really nice, but if you have seen spice Bazaars in Morocco, southern Spain, it’s pretty similar.
• Chora Church is amazing and I went at the suggest of Travel Talkers. It’s hard to find, but it has all these really stunning well-preserved Byzantium mosaics. It was actually one of my favorite sites of the whole trip.
• Oh and lets not forget the Turkish bath. I went to Hammam Cagaloglu which was a bath given to the city by a Sultan. Turkish baths are basically a massage and someone giving you a sponge bath and then you get to lie on a hot big warm stone surface. It was interesting and I’m glad I did it, but I like Arab and Roman baths better. And it was a bit hot for this.
<b>Food and Drink</b>
Turkish food is great and clearly made up for the Czech food. It’s lot of Mediterranean appetizers, such as hummus, Babaganoush, yogurt with fresh herbs and garlic, kabobs, fish and grilled meats. I found so much liked. I did not like Turkish delight however. The beer and wine were average for this part of Europe.
<b>People, language, and other thoughts</b>
The people are great, warm and friendly, not everyone speaks English though enough do.
People are aggressive about to parting you and your money. People will try to pull you into stores, restaurants, etc. At first it was overwhelming and then I just started to ignore it and it was fine.
Beware of the cab drivers. They have two different meters rates, one for tourists and one for locals. It took me a getting ripped over twice to figure this out. The other thing is a cab driver said to me gives me a 50-lira bill and I’ll give you back a 20-lira bill, but then he switched the bill and said I had only given him a 5. I agued with him, but it was too late and I just walked out of the cab. But these things happen while traveling. But in any event, I loved Istanbul, it’s super fascinating with lots to do and see.
To digress for a second, when I was in Spain, I found the history pretty depressing (though the culture full of life). The Moors lost the wars and left, the Jewish were kicked because Queen Isabella wanted to get into heaven and this started the decline of Spain.
Istanbul took in a ton of Jews and I read a quote from the Sultan who said the Jewish helped him build the empire and he had no idea why Spain would kick out such an industrious bunch, which made me laugh since my last trip was to Spain.
I will definitely go back to Istanbul to see more, but I had a grand time. Did I mention I loved Istanbul.
Jul 5th, 2008 | 01:35 PM
#3
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
<b>KAS/TURQUOISE COAST IN TURKEY</b>
I love the Mediterranean because it’s so different than our beaches here. You can see ruins and then go the beach all in the same day. I really wanted to go the beach and I found this nice beach resort named Kas on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. It has the flavor of a beach town but with ton of things to do near by.
This whole area is simply beautiful. And the major road hugs the coastline like roads at Big Sur or the Amalfi Coast and like those places, there are mountains rise up out of the water. There are pine forests on the mountains and rugged rocky sun kissed shores with beaches every once in a while and the water is a beautiful Turquoise.
Kas itself was a nice fishing town and became a nice little tourist town that has not been ruined yet by to many people because it’s 3.5 hours from any major airport. You can walk everywhere and there are good places to eat. I choose this area because of all the activates you can do which I’ll get to in a second. You can even see a Greek island from the shore of the harbor. Most people come and take boat cruises in this area but I did not figure that out until after I got there.
As a note, this area was actually not in fact Greek, but was Lycian and the culture was a little different.
<b>Where I stayed</b>
• Hotel Gardenia
• Reviews - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...l_Kas-Kas.html
• Price - $100 a night
• It’s a nice hotel with a great family running it , but given I had to walk up 75 steps to get to my room, I’ll pass on it next time.
<b>Activities</b>
• My first day there, I went of to Saklikent Gorge which is the second longest gorge in Europe and a national park. It has huge cliffs and it reminded me of walking the river at Zion National Park, but without the red rock. There is a metal walkway that is attached to one side of the canyon I walked on for a little while as I looked down on the rushing water below. You also can walk up the canyon a little and take a mud bath. By the mouth of the Gorge there are some restaurants by the waters edge that are on platforms that hang out over the river and you can hang you legs over the edge and put your legs in the water. The tables are short and you see cross-legged on cushions. It’s pretty nifty.
• I also went off to Xanthos, which is a Lycian town where I saw a pretty well preserved theater; some ruined buildings with Mosaics on the floor and you could even see some water pipes ruins for plumbing in the buildings. There were also goats wandering around the ruins, which I thought was pretty amusing.
• The last thing I did that day was go off to Pateria beach which is the longest beach in Turkey and go for a dip. There are also some ruins right near the beach and I saw another theater and some buildings. These both were much better preserved than anything I had seen before in Italy, Spain, France, or Greece.
• The next day, I went off and spend the day sea kayaking by Kekova Island. Around 100 BC a town was sunk by an earth quake and you can kayak over the ruins. I went with a group and we spend the day kayaking and swimming.
• I woke up early the next morning and went paragliding from the top of the mountains in Kas, which is parachuting from a mountaintop and then floating down for the next 45 minutes. I never did this before, it’s pretty cool.
• Then, I went off to Myra and saw the Lyican Tombs that are carved into the rock. They look like mini Petras. I’d never seen anything like it. There was also another nice theater there.
• I also went to the Church of St. Nichols where St Nic was a Bishop in the fourth century although this Church was built in the 10th century and has some nice frescos. St. Nic is an important saint for the Russians and you could see that a ton of Russians were there praying to the statue of St Nic and kissing what is thought to be his sarcophagus, though my travel book said his bones are in Bari Italy. It was 110 degrees and all I kept on thinking is St. Nic never saw snow in his life and he would have never seen a white Christmas or reindeers.
• Finally I drove 3.5 hours back to the airport and the scenery was amazing. There were 5000-foot mountains straight out of the sea and pine forests the whole way back.
<b>Food and Drink</b>
Food is much like Istanbul, but there is a lot more fish and I had the most interesting seaweed salad. I wish we could make it here.
<b>People</b>
Talk about mellow friendly people. Everyone lets everything just slide off their back. It’s really nice.
I’m writing this on the flight to Moscow and we just are about to land and the sun is finally setting at 11:30 a night. I’m on Aeroflot and this is the oldest plane I’ve ever been on, I’ll be glad to land.
This was an awesome, awesome trip with lots of variety. I would highly recommend Turkey to anyone. It’s just great and Prague is nice too, though does not have as much history, however, it's super charming. This was my favorite solo trip of all time (I’ve done about 4 or 5 at this point)
I wanted to thank everyone who helped me put this trip together at the very last minute! It really helped! I wrote this trip report for you all and to show my friends Bob the Navigator, St. Cirq, longboat key, Amsdon, brotherleelove 2004, there are lots of different ways to travel. ;-)
The only bummer now, is I have to go to work on Monday. All good things must come to an end.
Cheers,
Beth
I love the Mediterranean because it’s so different than our beaches here. You can see ruins and then go the beach all in the same day. I really wanted to go the beach and I found this nice beach resort named Kas on the Turkish Mediterranean coast. It has the flavor of a beach town but with ton of things to do near by.
This whole area is simply beautiful. And the major road hugs the coastline like roads at Big Sur or the Amalfi Coast and like those places, there are mountains rise up out of the water. There are pine forests on the mountains and rugged rocky sun kissed shores with beaches every once in a while and the water is a beautiful Turquoise.
Kas itself was a nice fishing town and became a nice little tourist town that has not been ruined yet by to many people because it’s 3.5 hours from any major airport. You can walk everywhere and there are good places to eat. I choose this area because of all the activates you can do which I’ll get to in a second. You can even see a Greek island from the shore of the harbor. Most people come and take boat cruises in this area but I did not figure that out until after I got there.
As a note, this area was actually not in fact Greek, but was Lycian and the culture was a little different.
<b>Where I stayed</b>
• Hotel Gardenia
• Reviews - http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...l_Kas-Kas.html
• Price - $100 a night
• It’s a nice hotel with a great family running it , but given I had to walk up 75 steps to get to my room, I’ll pass on it next time.
<b>Activities</b>
• My first day there, I went of to Saklikent Gorge which is the second longest gorge in Europe and a national park. It has huge cliffs and it reminded me of walking the river at Zion National Park, but without the red rock. There is a metal walkway that is attached to one side of the canyon I walked on for a little while as I looked down on the rushing water below. You also can walk up the canyon a little and take a mud bath. By the mouth of the Gorge there are some restaurants by the waters edge that are on platforms that hang out over the river and you can hang you legs over the edge and put your legs in the water. The tables are short and you see cross-legged on cushions. It’s pretty nifty.
• I also went off to Xanthos, which is a Lycian town where I saw a pretty well preserved theater; some ruined buildings with Mosaics on the floor and you could even see some water pipes ruins for plumbing in the buildings. There were also goats wandering around the ruins, which I thought was pretty amusing.
• The last thing I did that day was go off to Pateria beach which is the longest beach in Turkey and go for a dip. There are also some ruins right near the beach and I saw another theater and some buildings. These both were much better preserved than anything I had seen before in Italy, Spain, France, or Greece.
• The next day, I went off and spend the day sea kayaking by Kekova Island. Around 100 BC a town was sunk by an earth quake and you can kayak over the ruins. I went with a group and we spend the day kayaking and swimming.
• I woke up early the next morning and went paragliding from the top of the mountains in Kas, which is parachuting from a mountaintop and then floating down for the next 45 minutes. I never did this before, it’s pretty cool.
• Then, I went off to Myra and saw the Lyican Tombs that are carved into the rock. They look like mini Petras. I’d never seen anything like it. There was also another nice theater there.
• I also went to the Church of St. Nichols where St Nic was a Bishop in the fourth century although this Church was built in the 10th century and has some nice frescos. St. Nic is an important saint for the Russians and you could see that a ton of Russians were there praying to the statue of St Nic and kissing what is thought to be his sarcophagus, though my travel book said his bones are in Bari Italy. It was 110 degrees and all I kept on thinking is St. Nic never saw snow in his life and he would have never seen a white Christmas or reindeers.
• Finally I drove 3.5 hours back to the airport and the scenery was amazing. There were 5000-foot mountains straight out of the sea and pine forests the whole way back.
<b>Food and Drink</b>
Food is much like Istanbul, but there is a lot more fish and I had the most interesting seaweed salad. I wish we could make it here.
<b>People</b>
Talk about mellow friendly people. Everyone lets everything just slide off their back. It’s really nice.
I’m writing this on the flight to Moscow and we just are about to land and the sun is finally setting at 11:30 a night. I’m on Aeroflot and this is the oldest plane I’ve ever been on, I’ll be glad to land.
This was an awesome, awesome trip with lots of variety. I would highly recommend Turkey to anyone. It’s just great and Prague is nice too, though does not have as much history, however, it's super charming. This was my favorite solo trip of all time (I’ve done about 4 or 5 at this point)
I wanted to thank everyone who helped me put this trip together at the very last minute! It really helped! I wrote this trip report for you all and to show my friends Bob the Navigator, St. Cirq, longboat key, Amsdon, brotherleelove 2004, there are lots of different ways to travel. ;-)
The only bummer now, is I have to go to work on Monday. All good things must come to an end.
Cheers,
Beth
Jul 7th, 2008 | 06:22 AM
#4
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
Interested to read your trip report on Istanbul. I am just about to book tickets to take my daughter there and will probably have an almost identical itinerary to you for our 3 days.
I plan to watch the Whirling Dervish performance at the station on the Wednesday evening - how long does it last and do you need to get tickets in advance?
Any tips on which boat trip might allow you to see most?
Thanks.
I plan to watch the Whirling Dervish performance at the station on the Wednesday evening - how long does it last and do you need to get tickets in advance?
Any tips on which boat trip might allow you to see most?
Thanks.
Jul 7th, 2008 | 12:29 PM
#5
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 166
Likes: 0
you do need to get tickets in advance and your hotel should be able to do it. It's lasts about an hour plus.
As for the boat ride, it depends on what you want to do. You can take the city ferries up the Bosporus or you can take a tour. I took a tour because I wanted a day where someone took me to what I wanted to see. I saw a bunch of other things that day. But I missed some sites I would have liked to stop at one the Bosporus though.
Hope that helps.
As for the boat ride, it depends on what you want to do. You can take the city ferries up the Bosporus or you can take a tour. I took a tour because I wanted a day where someone took me to what I wanted to see. I saw a bunch of other things that day. But I missed some sites I would have liked to stop at one the Bosporus though.
Hope that helps.
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Jul 7th, 2008 | 09:50 PM
#8
Original Poster
Joined: Mar 2008
Posts: 166
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linawood!
Yes, this place looks sooooo good. They were full when I went.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...house-Kas.html
I really, really, really wanted to stay there.
Also, I thought Hotel Hera looked pretty good and they have their own beach.
Yes, this place looks sooooo good. They were full when I went.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...house-Kas.html
I really, really, really wanted to stay there.
Also, I thought Hotel Hera looked pretty good and they have their own beach.
Jul 8th, 2008 | 09:26 AM
#9
Joined: Feb 2006
Posts: 659
Likes: 0
We're booked!!
galaxygrrl, I will definitely get my hotel to get us tickets for the Whirling Dervish show in advance. Should we arrive at the station early or is their loads of space to watch?
I'm so looking forward to going. This time in 5 weeks we will be there!!
galaxygrrl, I will definitely get my hotel to get us tickets for the Whirling Dervish show in advance. Should we arrive at the station early or is their loads of space to watch?
I'm so looking forward to going. This time in 5 weeks we will be there!!
Jul 8th, 2008 | 09:53 AM
#11
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,523
Likes: 0
Nice report. I was in Turkey for 2 weeks last August and realize I must go back because I only scratched the sufrace.
I'm glad you went to Kas, it was one of my favorite places in Turkey.
For a hotel, we stayed at the Kas Otel. It is just west of the downtown. We got a room overlooking the Med, so close you could hear the waves crashing. They also have a nice patio and you can swim in front of thee hotel (but not a beach, just al deer into the ocean). They also had a nice restaurant overlooking Med.
It was reommneded in the Lonely PLanet guidebook "one of the best locations, right above the water[ the sea's so close you can hear it lapping from the pleasant terrace.The sea views are great too and its not as noisy as some". That sums it up nicely.
We also did the cruise and swim day to the Lycean tombs.
I'm thinking an ideal vacation would be Kas and Istanbul, with a touch of Cappadocia.
I'm glad you went to Kas, it was one of my favorite places in Turkey.
For a hotel, we stayed at the Kas Otel. It is just west of the downtown. We got a room overlooking the Med, so close you could hear the waves crashing. They also have a nice patio and you can swim in front of thee hotel (but not a beach, just al deer into the ocean). They also had a nice restaurant overlooking Med.
It was reommneded in the Lonely PLanet guidebook "one of the best locations, right above the water[ the sea's so close you can hear it lapping from the pleasant terrace.The sea views are great too and its not as noisy as some". That sums it up nicely.
We also did the cruise and swim day to the Lycean tombs.
I'm thinking an ideal vacation would be Kas and Istanbul, with a touch of Cappadocia.
Jul 8th, 2008 | 05:56 PM
#12
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 321
Likes: 0
Thanks for the Kas hotel suggestions. I saw the Kas Otel in Lonely Planet and was interested but couldn't find a website or listing on Tripadvisor, so I am glad to get a personal positive report. We will be traveling in October - Istanbul, Cappadocia, and Kas - 17 days.
