Kja,

I will read your trip report later if I have not already done so..
I have read many, thanks

I do not know what to say re your "revering" my suggestions. :))

Just a few additional notes :

- Bursa can also be a day trip from Istanbul, since it takes about 150 minutes to get to the city center from Istanbul, same as Iznik.

- Bursa has some good (not like the one I stayed many years ago) spa hotels with natural hot mineral water pools, massages and treatment which you probably would appreciate after long hikes at Cappadocia.

- The train from Ankara does not get all the way to Istanbul but drops you off about 30 miles away at Gebze and then the traffic is bad, unless you can find an ido.com fast commuter ferry connection from Kartal or Bostanci.

- The Princes Islands may be rather desolate in November and possibly better left to your subsequent visit with tge limited amount of time you have in Istanbul, but you can decide on the spot since the ferry takes about 90 minutes each way to Buyukada, the largest island.

- The only public buildings Ottomans constructed were mosques, some educational facilities attached to them a few baths, a few caravanserais and palaces in addition to fortresses (the last were mostly restored ones left from earlier inhabitants, some dating a few thousand years). There were no imposing government offices as we see in European capitals.

- Private individuals were not allowed to own property except for homes for Christian and Jewish minorities and hence would not build large, showy homes, except away from the eyes of the Sultan and if they were regionally allowed feudal lords with their own standing army. Even then there are very few examples of these mansions. The one interesting example is Ishak Pasha Palace at Dogu Beyazit, near the Iranian border in the East.

otherchelebi

Hi, sorry i meant to say reversing the itinerary by flying to Kayseri/Cappadocia first..

Thanks for all your help, your comments and suggestions are much appreciated.

I think I will skip Bursa for now and spend more time in Istanbul
I am sure there will be tons to do and see.

Best,

Sam.

@ otherchelebi – thanks for your answer: Now I can see why Bursa isn’t your favorite location! I agree about the traffic, but didn’t find Bursa claustrophobic, and for my interests (which may not be anyone else’s!), it made for a nice stop.


@ samuell – I would NOT recommend flying straight on from Istanbul to Kayseri if your intention is to immediately rent a car to go on to Goreme. One consequence of jet lag is a substantial increase in microsleep episodes, which are so short that you aren't even aware of them, but that are strongly associated with car accidents. And do NOT trust caffeine to solve the problem – caffeine does NOT appear to eliminate microsleeps. If you have an interest in visiting Ankara, then go on to it and wait AT LEAST a day before renting a car. Or reverse your route.

Kja,

Thank you for all your help..
I think I will be flying to Kayseri after three day in Istanbul
Pick up the rental car and go from there..

Best,
Sam.

after review of Kja's Turkey trip report - I am still pulling for the coast for a few days?!

IST - 2 nights
Cappadocia - 4 nights (rental car)
Konya - 1 night
Antalya/Kas 4 nights
Ist - 3 nights

Comments?

Why Konya?

just to break up the drive to the coast?

My understanding -- which could easily be mistaken -- is that driving in / around Konya is not fun and the city itself a bit too conservative for comfort. I choose to stop in Beyşehir en route from Cappadocia to Antalya -- doing so worked for me, but then, I had a specific interest in seeing a few things in Beyşehir. If you don't have a specific interest for routing through Konya or Beyşehir, then I think you would be wise to search this board for suggestions from otherchelebi that I suspect would be even better -- I know he's offered them!

For a first-timer with 2 weeks in Turkey, my suggestion would be the "standard" figure-of-eight trip, with 1 week between İstanbul and Cappadocia and 1 week for the drive from İzmir to Antalya:

İstanbul - fly to Cappadocia - fly to İzmir - drive to Antalya - fly to İstanbul.

Or in reverse.

I see Pegasus have very cheap direct flights from Kayseri to İzmir (maybe 3 days a week, e.g. 70TL on 10th Nov) - http://www.flypgs.com/en/

Croesus,

Very good suggestion - my original itinerary was
Istanbul - fly to Dalaman, drive to Izmir via Antalya - fly to Kayseri - fly back to Istanbul...

We can certainly fly into Antalya - drive along the coast to Izmir.

Would it be too fast?

Thanks.

Kja,

thank you for sharing your thoughts on Konya..

I think your original plan was pretty good, except for flying into Dalaman.

"Would it be too fast?"

Difficult to say, it's a little over 800km from Antalya to İzmir - https://goo.gl/maps/mfgya

One drawback is the length of the days, sunrise is 06:30 and sunset is 16:45 in Nov, so you would need to start out fairly early. And try to get evening flights.

Hi everyone,

After looking at the map Croesus sent, I am leaning to do exactly what he had suggested, the figure 8 tour.

İstanbul - fly to Cappadocia - fly to İzmir - drive to Antalya - fly out to Barcelona via İstanbul.

Take full advantage of the cheap direct flight on Nov 10 from ASR-ADB

Nov 3-5, Istanbul 3 nights (will be back)
Nov 6-9, Goreme, Cappadocia 4 nights afternoon flight to ASR
Nov 10 Selcuk, 1 night, evening flight from Kayseri
Nov 11 Visit Ephesus, drive to Denizli, 1 night
Nov 12-14, visit Pamukkle, drive to Kas, 3 nights (visit Oludenie, Bay of Kekova)
Nov 15-16, drive to Antalya, 2 nights (visit Olympos,Termessus)

Nov 17 morning flight to Barcelona

As Kja had said "if I had to shortchange a place - Istanbul" (presuming I will be back)
The seven nights driving trip from Izmir to Antalya is fast, and rush but it will give me an overview of the area, I think i can manage 800 Km in six days...

Comments and suggestions are appreciated..

Definitely doable. Good for the season.

If, weather is as usual you should be able to kayak, snorkel and/or swim at Kekova.

Olympos is on the way to Antalya. Prefer to visit Myra and if you have time Arycanda rather than Olympos. Google all three names plus Phaeselis to make your decision.

From Antalya, you may also consider Perge, Aspendos, Side depending on time available.


Take both warm and beachy clothes. Cappadocia and Termessos will be cold, istanbul and Denizli may be cool and drizzling wet. Ephesus fine and Antalya quite warm. Antalya, Kas, Kekova sea temperature should be quite pleasant.

Otherchelebi,

I will book my first two domestic flights tomorrow just incase I change my mind again...

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions...if you think of anything else, please do share!!

Best,
Sam.