Tracy...

Believe me...I certainly have my fair share of blurry/out of focus photos. My photo moto..."I have to take a lot of pictures to get just one good one!"

Day 4

We booked a flight on Pegasus Airlines from IST to Izmir that left around 8:30 am, so we asked the hotel manager to book our cab. We got to the airport with plenty of time to spare so I decide that I need a magazine. I stroll over to the newspaper kiosk, pick up a Marie Clair (one of the few English language mags available) and hand it to the cashier. He tells me the price, I get out my lire, and then all the sudden it hits me...I'm getting charged over $14 USD for a freaking magazine! Uh, no thanks.

Pegasus Airlines, for those that don't know, is a low cost carrier that flies within Turkey. We booked out tickets back in December and our flight to Izmir was about $30 per person with taxes. I wasn't sure how the planes would look, but they were very modern and large and clean. The flight left promptly on time and soon we were flying over Istanbul. DH and I both fell asleep but the flight was very short and before I knew it we were landing. We picked up our bags and proceeded to the National Car Rental counter. I booked with economycarrentals.com. We used them once before, on our trip to Croatia in 06, and were quite pleased. We usually go with AutoEurope, but the rates were significantly lower. My only complaint is that they leave you with very little gas. This wasn't a problem in Izmir, as there is a nice large gas station right outside of the airport, but in Dubrovnik it was downright panicky because it took awhile ot find a gas station.

Anyways, off we are. Our plan is to drive to Selcuk to find our hotel (too early to check in) and then immediately head to Ephasus. The scenery is quite beautiful and much more mountainy than I anticipated. The drive from Izmir to Selcuk was short; maybe 40 minutes or so. We get to Selcuk and have a difficult time finding our hotel at first (as I said in my first post, I failed to get exact directions) but all ended well.

Ephasus is within 10 minutes or so of Selcuk. We park our car and take one of the taxis waiting in the parking lot up to the second entrance, at the top of Ephasus. This was recommended in my Rick Steves guidebook. I'm not sure if it was really necessary, as I didn't find the site to be that steep, but it is a rather large site and it was nice to not have to backrack. We purchased a guidebook that we used along the way and it was very helpful.

With everything else on this post, I won't go into great detail on Ephesus since its been covered in depth on other posts. Let me just say that it is an amazing site. We chose Turkey partly because we wanted to see Ephasus, and we contemplated just spending the week in Istanbul since its such a short amount of time but decided that we really wanted to see Ephasus and that idea got nixed pretty early on. We both love ancient history and ruins and Ephasus doesn't dissapoint. And, of course, there were lots of cats around to keep me busy in between sites. Afterwards we ate at one of the small restaurans just outside of the gate, where we both had mini siskebabs and fries.

We head back to the hotel to check in. As I mentioned above, the hotel is going through some renovations and we were put in a much smaller room. It wasn't that big of a deal though. Anyone who reads my trip reports knows that we aren't really into luxury hotels and tend to book more budget-friendly hotels that have character. This place was pretty nice. The owners were delightful to chat with, and our room, though small, was very cozy and pretty with handknitted detailing around the perimeter of the cealing and a large modern shower. My only complaint is that the room always felt cold to me. It had one of those systems where the electric only came on when the card key for your room was inserted into the slot. Since the heater was electric it didn't run unless we were in the room which meant that we often came back from a day of sightseeing to a very chilly room.

For dinner that night we went to a small place recommended by our hotel owner called Ege Kofti. It's on the main street, on a corner a few blocks away. While it wasn't much too look at, the hotel owner said that the food was good and not catered to tourists. I had the kofti and an appetizer of the lentil soup. The soup was wonderful and hit the spot since it was a chilly evening. Matt had the mixed grill platter and ate everything on his plate so I'm assuming it was tasty.

We decided to explore town a bit afterwards. Selcuk is very nice and a great base. There are several pedestrian-only streets that run through town, and these streets are filled with bars, cafes, restaurants and kebab stands, shops, etc. We found a small baklava shop and purchased a few pieces to take back to the room with us and then headed back. The baklava was just delicious. We then headed up to the rooftop terrace (covered in the winter), which had a nice fireplace, and enjoyed a cup of hot apple tea before heading to bed for the night.

Tracy, since you have now seen both Ephesus and Pompeii, which was YOUR favorite?

I have to admit mine is Pompeii. I did not expect to want to be there for more than a few hours, but we just did not want to leave and spent more than 7 hours looking around.

Ephesus did not catch my imagination as much. If I had seen it first I think I may have felt differently.

Happy, funny you asked this question because Matt and I were discussing this very subject last night. Matt prefers Pompeii and I'm leaning towards Ephesus. Pompeii was better preserved, but Ephesus had the Library of Celcus which I thought was awesome. We haven't been to Pompeii since 04, though, so its tough for me to remember exactly what Pompeii was like. And both are amazing sites, obviously, so it's tough to compare! I think I need to return to both and do a careful analysis...

So, where are you off to next? We have a few things in mind but nothing set in stone at this point.

Tracy, what a great report! I've only taken a quick look at your photos, but I'm getting an idea of the rest of your itinerary and enjoying them too. I've been following your earlier posts, so I knew you were going and was looking forward to this.

I'm in the initial stages of planning a similar trip in the fall--maybe October--and have lots of questions. But I'll start with a couple for now.

About Selcuk: in my initial research, I also came up with Hotel Bella and Economy Car Rentals. Something about "great minds thinking..." Maybe the hotel remodeling will be done by then. Did you see any of the other rooms?

Did you find driving fairly easy? I've driven in Western Europe as well as Croatia and Slovenia with no real problems--except getting turned around here and there. The only map I've found so far is a Globetrotter Travel Map. Not that I need to know now, but if there are any tips on getting around, I may ask for your thoughts later if you don't mind. You may even be covering them as you continue your report. Speaking of, was the map on the hotel website not detailed enough? I may even try to fly into Izmir from the States and driving to Selcuk the first night before going to Istanbul.

I'll probably stay longer in Istanbul, but probably spend 3 nights in Selcuk. Did you feel that was about the right amount of time? Was there any reason to have a guide at Ephesus or any of the other sites? It seems that every hotel has day tours they'd like you to take. But, like many Fodorites, I pretty much like doing these things on my own.

Jeff,

You should DEFINITELY go to Turkey! It really was an amazing experience. Here are the answers to your questions:

The renovations at Hotel Bella were mostly done. From what I understand, they hired someone from central Turkey to handcarve the beds and due to the weather (lots of rain) the beds were still waiting to be stained. I peaked in the room across the hall from us, as the door was cracked open one evening, and it looked finished (recently painted and floors stained) but no furniture. I do highly recommend this hotel. The room was small but cozy and the owners were very nice. And as an added bonus we could easily walk into the little downtown area in about 5 minutes and to the Selcuk Museum and the ruins of St. John's in about 5-10 minutes.

The driving was super-easy, although we stayed true to our "no driving in larger cities" moto. We found the driving in Turkey, at least the areas we were in, to be easier than many parts of Italy. The roads were in good shape and the signage, especially for the tourist destinations, were more than adequate.

I printed off the little map from the hotel but I forgot to include it in our itinerary packet that I created, so the only directions I really had were from the hotel website based of if you were walking from the train station. We never did see the train station, so these directions weren't very helpful! But Selcuk is a small town and the hotel wasn't too difficult to find.

I was going to save this comment for later in my itinerary, but since you brought it up I'll add it...my one huge regret was not looking into flying into or out of Izmir. I hated flying back to Istanbul for one day/night. When we booked our trip to Turkey we weren't 100% sure of the itinerary. Had I known, I would have definitely looked into flying into Izmir so very good idea if you can get it!

3 nights was sufficient in Selcuk, I think. We were able to spend adequate time in Ephasus and the sights within Selcuk, and we spent one day driving to Priene, Milatus and Didim (highly recommend). Sirince is nearby, up in the mountains and a beautiful drive. Overall we found Selcuk to be a great place to base.

We didn't have a guide in Ephasus. I think you could definitely get more with a guide, but we were content doing it on our own. We picked up one of the guidebooks for 10 lira outside of the gate and used it as we walked along. There are also audioguides that can be rented, but the booth was closed when we were there. I'm not really into goup bus tours, and we saw several large tour groups while we were in Ephesus.

If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to ask. I had tons of questions myself, and fodors is a great tool.

Tracy

Thanks Tracy. I'm hoping to get an afternoon flight from Munich direct to Izmir with UA FF miles. I'd then like to fly direct to Cappadoccia and do Istanbul last.

I'd sure like to avoid the group bus tours. Were you able to miss any of them in Ephesus by getting there early in the morning or later in the afternoon? Maybe I could just hang out with one of the local cats until they're out of the way so I can take photos.

Outside of not being able to take the Bosporus cruise would you have liked to stay longer in Istanbul? Did you refer to the Rick Steves' Istanbul book as guide for daily itineraries and agree with his recommendations?

"I think I need to return to both and do a careful analysis.."

LOL, I think you have hit the nail on the head. What is not to love in either Italy or Turkey? It is like a discussion on which fine chocolate is more delicious!

Where are we going next? Heading off at the end of May for a week in London, then Scotland for another 10 days. I am looking forward to something a little tamer than the last trip. We were in Bangkok last November when a political group took over both airports for 8 days and trapped 300,000 tourists. Ok, we were not exactly suffering. We ended up hiring a car and driver to take us the 9 hours to Phuket and we managed to get along ok at the 5 star JW Marriott Resort I am still majorly ticked off that we could not get to Angkor Wat and the other temples there.

After that I don't know what we are going to do. I don't have any strong feelings any direction right now which is rather odd. Poland and/or some of the Baltic States? Costa Rica? Somewhere in South America? Hmmmmm....

PS - Barb - You should definitely give Turkey a try. I think you would like it!

Jeff, you won't have any trouble driving in Turkey. Glad you are including Cappadocia too. Really an special place on earth.

Thanks for the encouragement HC. I'm thinking of at least 3 days in Cappadocia. Is that enough? I'd like to rent a car there, too--probably at the Kayseri Airport--unless it makes sense to take a shuttle to the hotel and then pick up a car.

The agencies and hotels make it sound like taking one of their tours is the only way to go. I'd like to think that I could it on my own, see just as much--probably for less--and enjoy it more. Any thoughts?

And let's see if we can get Barb out of Dubrovnik for a few days.

Jeff, I travelled with an Insight tour group in Turkey in Oct 2007. We visited Ephesus early in the morning probably 9 am in mid Oct. There was only one other tour group, german at that time. I understand it becomes very crowded when thecruise ships are there. Actually we saw a huge one pulling into the harbour as we were leaving our hotel. The cruise ships seem to be there every day, one left the night before.
It might have been more crowded last Oct since Insight was running 2 busses for the first half of Oct.
I enjoyed Ephesus very much and wished I had known about the terrace houses being open. It was cool that morning and it was not crowded at all, I did not see any groups from the cruises, I don't know what time of day they visit. All I know is that our guide made us leave for Ephesus earlier than most of the other days of the tour.

Jeff, unfortunately I can't give you any advice on cappadocia because we didn't make it there. The weather was a concern, and we basically decided that Cappadocia would be just too darned cold.

For guidebooks, I used Rick Steves Istanbul and Fodors Turkey. Both proved to be very helpful!

Happycheesehead, I know what you mean. We have so many places that we want to see, and they are scattered all over the place. My mood changes all the time...whenever I think I made up my mind I'll see a photo of somewhere else and then it starts again. Right now we are thinking of an October trip to a) the Dordogne, b) the BO in Switzerland, c)China or d) Romania. Ridiculous! And I just saw a friends pictures of St. Petersburg and now I'm kind of fixated on that....we'll see. Thailand is high on my list, so I'm envious of you!

Tracy

Tracy, I am really enjoying your trip report. I would love to rent a car but am getting on in the years and DH is a lousy navigator, he hates driving. It is very interesting to read how you managed on your own. The advantage is of course that you don't have to visit carpet factories and leather outlets, all very expensive. Oh I forgot the pottery place in Avanos, it was beautiful but expensive.

MarieLouiseB, I think that for certain people the convenience of an organized tour makes them feel more comfortable. I think its great that you visited Turkey, and if it was better for you to do it by tour than I think that is fine too. My husband and I tend to be more do-it-yourselfers and neither of us like crowds which is why we avoid tour groups. But I will say that I would not like to be forced to visit carpet factories or other shops. That would really irritate me. If I'm going to go shopping, I would rather it be on my own time, at my own pace, and by my own choice. I saw several busses outside of a carpet factory near Ephasus and just rolled my eyes. I hope you still had a great time in Turkey!

Day 5

This is the day that we made the Priene-Milatus-Didim circut. We woke up to a rainy, dreary day but decided to make the most of it. We had a yummy breakfast at the Hotel Bella that included made-to-order omelets with that yummy white cheese. We sat and chatted with the son of the owners for awhile and learned a great deal about the Turkish culture. I honestly could have sat and chatted with him all day but we had ruins to see and so we said our goodbyes and were on our way.

Our first stop was Priene and was a short hour or so drive from Selcuk. The drive was very easy, on well-kept roads. Signs for historical sights are in brown, and we just followed the brown signs to Priene. Warning: it's quite a hike to the site. I work out several days a week and am in relatively good shape and I was huffing and puffing by the time we got to the top. Obviously, it was worth it though. The site is perched in such a way that lead to very nice views of the plain below. With the exception of one British family we had the place to ourselves to explore.

Stop number 2 was Milatus, about a half hour drive or so from Priene. Again, following the brown signs made it easy to find. Milatus is really cool! From the outside it looks like a large fortress. It's only after you get in that you realize that you were looking at the back of very well-preserved stadium. We had the added bonus of having a "guide" with us in the shape of a darling yellow mutt. He seemed to know his way around the place quite well. We saw the British family again as we were heading out. There were a few souvenir shops near the main gate, and we stopped for some fresh-squeezed pomegranate and orange juice that was delicious and a bargain at 2 lira.

The weather was starting to turn really ugly so we decided to leave. Good thing, too, because we got maybe 3 minutes up the road before all hell broke loose. The rain was absolutely pouring on us, and within minutes it started to hail. We had to pull over because we couldn't see a thing and the road was starting to flood. I was worried about the family at the site, because they had two young children (maybe around 4-5 years old) with them and were still in the middle of the site when we left. Hopefully they found shelter!

After the rain subsided a bit we slowly made our way to Didyma, where Didim is located. We were starting to get hungry for lunch, and luckily Didim is a large enough town that there were plenty of places to eat. We parked along one of the main streets in town and popped into a pide and kebab place to try Lahmacun, the Turkish pizza with minced meat. The pizza was very good and the price was even better at 2 lira apiece. We walked around town a bit because the sun was starting to come out, and then made our way to Didim.

Unlike the other two sites, Didim was right in town. However, the site was pretty amazing. We petted a few of the cats hanging around the place and then wandered the site a bit.

All three sites were very cool and definitely worth a visit. And the added bonus that they are all three pretty close, and close enough to Selcuk, made it a great day trip. We stopped in the touristy town of Kusadasi on our way back to Selcuk. Stu (tower) gave us a nice rec for a place to stop and eat but the weather was turning ugly again and the views wouldn't have been that great so unfortunately we'll have to save that rec for next time. We walked along the waterfront for a few minutes before the chilly weather got the better of us and then headed back to Selcuk.

I was dying to check out Sirince, as we almost stayed there (budget restraints made us choose Selcuk), so we decided to have dinner there. The drive up to Sirince is absolutely gorgeous. There are olive and fruit trees covering the mountain, and everything was so green and lovely. The town itself is small and very nice and quaint. We walked around the little town a bit and stopped to sample some fruit wine and purchased a bottle of quince fruit wine to bring home with us. Dinner that night was at the Han restaurant, I believe, right across the street from the large parking lot. As we were checking out the menu they told us that they only had manti, kind of a Turkish tortellini, on their menu for that evening. It sounded perfectly good though, so we went for it. Yum...good choice! The manti is filled with ground lamb, and it's covered in yogurt sauce and a kind of olive oil and red pepper blend that was really good. We topped it off with some local white wine as we gazed out the windows.

I should have said this above, but I'll say it now. We really enjoyed Istanbul but its the coast and countryside that drew us in. Selcuk and Sirince are just the kinds of small towns we prefer. I'm not much of a city girl (with the exception of Rome, which holds a special place in my heart) and the mountains and orchards and atmosphere of the coast and it's ruins made me fall in love with Turkey.

Tracy:

I forgot to ask....did you come across that "shocking sight" as you turned off the main highway onto the Priene road?

stu t.

Tracy, we had homemade manti in Cappadocia. It was soooo good. I can't remember how many were supposed to fit in a spoon for them to be right... like 50 or so. In any case NO WAY would I have the patience to make them myself.

If you do ever get to Thailand, make sure you make time for the temples at Angkor in Cambodia. I have an unused book you could use It is really easy to get there from Bangkok by plane. Well, most of the time it is anyway, if the stupid PAD is not barricaded in the airport.

I am almost tempted to go back to SEA just to see them, because it feels like they won't be as accessible in the future as they are right now. It is a really really long flight tho.

Tracy - and anyone else who has been to Turkey - did you use cell phones while you were there. I have a United-Mobile sim card which I've used successfully in many European countries. United-Mobile lists Turkey as one of the countries that it works in. But I just read on a Turkish website that they block all sim cards that aren't registered with the government. Any first hand experience?

Hi Tracy,

I've just discovered your trip report and it's excellent. Well done. You've captured the wonderful essence of Turkey (its food, sites and people) spot on. And funnily enough, I have many of the exact photos that you have too. I never got down to writing a trip report but almost feel like doing one now (I still have all the notes and photos to help) after reading your very charming report.

It also brings back fond memories of my own trip there in October 2006 which almost mirrored yours. I started with 3 days in Istanbul, then flew to Izmir, hired a car at the airport from National and drove from there to Selcuk/Ephesus (2 days) and Sirince (2 days and loved it !). Then drove down the 'mountain' and back to Izmir to fly to Cappadocia and Goreme for 3 days before flying back to Istanbul for a day and then home. I went at the tail end of Ramadan and the Sultanhamet area was a-buzz with festivities. Food and fresh juices galore !
Aren't the breakfasts the best ? They set you up for the day and can easily replace lunch. I loved the tahini and peach jam with the flat breads, and also their fresh white cheeses and dried berries with the yoghurt.

Turkey is a wonderful country and the people are the best.
I'm sure you'll want to visit again, especially the turquoise coast area.
Glad that you and your husband had a good time and looking forward to reading more.

Mathieu.

Stu, I was on the lookout for the shop you mentioned but I didn't see anything! We did get turned around a bit when we first left Priene though. I'm glad you brought it up because I meant to ask you what it was! So, what is in the shop?

I also really wanted to try your rec for the Pierre Loti cafe for tea but by the time we got done sightseeing it was too late and I knew they would be closed. Bummer because I really wanted to visit!

Matthieu, thank you so much for your compliments! The breakfasts were so great. We ate lunch almost as an afterthought most days because breakfast was so filling and good! We absolutely want to go back. There is so much I still want to see that it would take a lifetime of trips to complete it all.

isabel, we did not use our cell phones so I cannot answer your question. We are still a little old fashioned and just use a standard phone card but we don't call home too often.

Happycheesehead, I'm assuming that means you didn't make it to Angkor Wat? How horrible if thats the case! I would love to do a combined Thailand/Cambodia trip. I was never too into Asia until we went to Japan...now I'm dying to return!

Tracy