Turkey advice sought (again)
 

Hi all. Was directed to the forum while looking for reviews of Turkey guidebooks, and there was such excellent advice in the post, I decided to join so I could ask for more of it.

I was hoping I could get visitors to Turkey (and otherchelebi, obviously) to crowdsource our itinerary for us. We will have 5-7 days after flying in to Istanbul either in the first half of August or the second half of September. I'm open to any recommendations at all, including restaurants and hotels, but figure you've all already posted a lot of that in the forums here, which I can continue to look through. What I came here specifically to ask is where we should go, and for how many days.

Painful, possibly overlong special snowflake info that might be helpful to anyone interested in helping: Our favorite things to do on vacation are walk around to see the sights (churches, architecture, natural wonders, ruins, and especially interesting parks, probably in that order) and eat. The missus isn't big on museums, and we're not big nightlife people, although if it's got a cultural aspect to it, like flamenco in Barcelona, we enjoy it. Normally I would say that while beaches are nice, we wouldn't plan a trip, even a day trip, around them. But we've never seen the Riviera, so a trip to the coast wouldn't be a non-starter. We like a diverse itinerary, too; once we saw the Roman Forum and Colisseum, we didn't feel compelled to see more ruins on that trip.

I only know the most surface of places: Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Cappadocia. I'm interested in everyone's opinion of the must-sees, no matter how far out of the way, although with only a week instead of two, bonus points might be awarded for two places close enough to each other to combine. Our budget isn't meager, but we probably can't afford more than a couple of domestic flights. We might have to miss certain beautiful sights based on how much of our vacation time we want to spend on buses; three or four hours might be worth it to us where nine might not. Not opposed to renting a car.

We're pretty relentless tourists, willing to spend most of the day walking, so we might need less time in a spot than someone else who wants to soak in details, spend a few hours at a museum, etc. That's not to say that we'd be sitting there in the balloon over Cappadocia tapping our feet, wonder when the thing was going to land, but we might not plan to spend the day in Pamukkale, for example, when a few hours would do us fine. As a measuring stick, we did London in 48 hours, and in all the times I've been back since, I haven't seen very much I thought my wife would regret missing. We did a trip where we were in Paris for three days and spent the fourth going to Bruges and Brussels (luckily I'd already been to Paris and gone to the d'Orsay and Louvre), and saw Barcelona in essentially two-plus days with a couple of day trips.

One other random question I wanted to ask: I feel like this is the closest I'll ever get to Iran and Iraq. If there were a way to get to the border of either that didn't take very long, wasn't very expensive, and involved other interesting sights in the area, I'd be very interested. But with a week or less for the trip, I'm guessing that's not going to be recommended.

Thanks to anyone who's read all this, and anyone who weighs in. It's much appreciated.

With five days, easy--only Istanbul.
I'd also recommend spending seven days in Istanbul, but you seem to have your heart set on seeing another place. I recommend only one--either Ephesus or Cappadocia. Keep in mind that the weather is likely to be scorching.

You've answered most of your questions yourself.

here's something to help you sort out your preferences:

1. Fly to Mardin or Urfa for the day (you may need to stay overnight to take the same flight back. These two towns are in mesopotamia. Usfa is close to the Syrian border. I will not recommend that you get close to the Iraqi border or the Iranian border under any circumstances, due to major risks. Both of the towns are very different. There is a major Syrian Orthodox monastery near Mardin, which you would enjoy as well as the great tea they serve in their cafeteria (buy some to take back with you). There is another Monastery, quite similar but older and built on the remains of a pagan temple still partially present in Midyat which you would visit if you go to Hasankeyf the troglodyte castle and city ruins soon to be covered by the waters of a new dam on the Tigris river.

2. Fly to Kars to visit the "Ani" ruins just across from Armenia. and if you feel adventurous take a private tour South to Dogu Beyazit to visit Ishak pasha Palace and see Mount Ararat where the guided and the misguided have been trying to find Noah's arc for the last three hundred years. Stay at Kar's boutique hotel. (we loved it)

3. There are many visitors expert on Cappadocia and also previous posts on ephesus to which i cannot add much.

4. A day trip to Nicea where the famous first ecumenical council meeting took place in the 300s, would also be interesting with a guide or driving a rental. Only 150-180 minutes from Istanbul.

5. Flying to Balikesir Korfez Airport and visiting Pergamom and possibly Assos and even Troy is another idea. You can do Pergamom on your own but may need a local guide with driver to take you to the others.

Which month will this odyssey take place?

6. Fly to Hopa at the Northeast corner of Turky near the Georgian border. Take car to drive up to Macahel and Black lake at Borcka (kara Gol) for the most fabulous lush vegeetation, at the georgian border, the garden of eden lake and possibly a walk to a beautiful waterfall. Lots of tea plantations, streams, small waterfalls. Check our blog (the first blog we made when we were infants in this business:

www.eserahmetcelebilerblackseatrip1.blogspot.com (also 2, 3 and 4)

We used the Dersaadet Hotel in Istanbul. www.hoteldersaadet.com I can highly rec'd. Its a converted Ottoman house in a residential area with a roof top restaurant that looks at the Blue Mosque. Great city for walking. It has been 4 years since we'e been there but I rec'd it to my sister & she & her husband went last year and the cutomer service was the same. Enjoy Chris

Carsambaman,
Not sure that Fodor's wants advertising here.

I'm sorry, otherchelebi, I only now saw your question. We'll likely go midway through September. Midway through October might also be an option.

Thanks very much to you and others for the recommendations. I'm wavering on traveling too far east now; some of what you list definitely appeals to me (Mount Nemrut too), but I'm starting to think that with two or three days in and very near Istanbul, the four remaining days will barely get us to Cappadocia, Pamukkale, and more than a couple of the other amazing options (say, Assos, Ephesus, and Olympos).