Hello All

Hope everyone is safe and well in these challenging times !

Whilst the title of the thread seems like what we would cook over the Christmas holidays... I am actually considering a one or a two week break starting the 3rd week ( 21st onwards ) in Turkey. This is however dependent on the situation with the Covid19 virus both here in the UK & in Turkey and the travel guidance from the FCO etc...

Ideally , we would like to spend a week in Istanbul ( at leisure ) and then travel to one or two places eg Izmir or Bodrum or Marmaris etc. Cappadocia seems a little far as we would like to undertake land & water travel. The idea is to stay away from the tourist circuit and explore the sights, culture, cuisines etc. We are a family of 4.

Would you please suggest/guide as to what can be a good itinerary in both the formats 1 & 2 weeks , day trips.. any information is more than welcome. Can the weather play a spoilsport because we are trying to escape that too this time ?

Thanking you all and here's wishing everyone that we see the back of this pandemic as soon as..

Stay safe.

I also thought the thread was about food but will watch this space with interest. Are you in the U.S. DharmeshBuch? Hope travel is OK'd no matter where you live.

T Dudette , thanks. The title was certainly not with a plan to confuse. I am in the UK. As on date, the travel to & fro for Turkey is OK'd but it is a wait & watch.

All depends on your interests.
Izmir is close to many archeological sites whereas I can't see what you want to do at Bodrum or even Marmaris in winter.

Thanks neckervd. We are looking for a few days where we can see a city at leisure ( eg Istanbul ) and also visit archeologically significant places ( hence Izmir) and would like to end it with a few days near the sea ( eg Bodrum/Marmaris ). Yes I understand it will be far from sun-bathing temperatures but we just want to stay and enjoy leisurely walks and local seafood & cuisine , be it gray weather no problems. This is over 10 days though.

Any interest in Ephesus?

For archeological places, you may fly to Izmir, rent a car at the airport, drive to a base nearby, like Selcuk, Aydin or the sea resort of Kusadasi and do day trips from there to Ephesos, Priene, Dydimae, Aphrodisias - Pamukkale or so.
For usually warmer and sunnier weather, you could fly to the coastal resort of Antalya instead and visit the archeological places of Side, Perge, Aspendos, Phaselis, Termessos.....

Good choice. We took our family to Istanbul several years ago between Christmas and New Year and it was a terrific holiday. Unfortunately we did not venture beyond Istanbul so I can't help with that issue. Enjoy your time there. Hope it all works out for you.

Definitely Joannyc. I was actually checking driving times last night. Looks like a day trip from Izmir. Many thanks.

Glad you mentioned Ephesus, joannyc. DH and I visited there from Greece in the 1980s and it was great. I understand that more excavations have occurred.

Thanks neckervd , you might have just suggested 'The' itinerary ! Did consider Antalya but then put it on the back burner for a summer time trip. My three musketeers are wired for all things volcanic and they will jump at the suggestion of Pamukkale.

JmVikmanis, thanks. We definitely want to start off with Istanbul , perhaps spend 5 days in there. So any suggestions on what to do, where to eat etc are more than welcome.

Certainly sounds like a must do.

We enjoyed seeing the ancient site of Pergamon, north a short distance from Izmir. We visited Ephesus one day and Pergamon the next.

If you come to turkey this Christmas you might want to avoid istanbul, 40% of all covid cases in Turkey are in Istanbul

Been there a few years back! It is much better to stay away from big clouds and find hidden gems instead.
Most likely the crowd will be at cappadocia due to it instagram fame. Have fun and stay safe

Thanks for the heads up jamesasher9416. I have been tracking that too and is a cause of concern. We might have to put this trip back to Easter2021 the way the Covid19 is going at the moment and hope that it is safe to travel April next year !

That is the idea, Mile67. Stay away from crowds..

Thanks for this HappyTrvlr , we will keep that in mind.