Turkey itinerary - is this crazy?
I am very interested in ancient and Byzantine history and wanted to do a very detailed tour of a part of Turkey over the 2 weeks I would be there. I have no idea how long some of these ancient sites take to tour - 1 hr? 3 hrs? 5 hrs?
I am willing to get up at 5 AM and leave at 6 or so and arrive at hotels at 8 PM or so, so definitely willing to put in 14 hr days to see as much as possible in western Turkey I drafted a brief itinerary and wanted to see if anyone here has had experience with visiting these sites and what is realistic or not. What would you recommend skipping? Any tips on how much time to allocate or expect to allocate to different things? Day 1-3: Istanbul Day 4: drive to Hellespont/Gallipoli, Kilitbahir Castle, Alcitepe view, war memorial, drive back up and stay overnight in Canakkale hotel - 243 miles driving Day 5: Canakkale, Troy, Troy museum, Alexandria/Troas, Assos, drive to Bergama, see Bergama sites - 168 miles driving Day 6: Drive to Akhisar/Thyatira, then go to Alasehir/Philadelphia, then drive to Sardis, then back to Manisa/Magnesia and down to Izmir/Smyrna - 217 miles driving Day 7: Izmir sites, drive down to Ephesus/Selcuk and see sites, drive to ruins of Tralles/Aydin and see sites, drive back to Kusadasi, see castle, Kaleicii mosque - 138 miles driving Day 8: Drive to Kursunlu monastery, then to Priene, then to Miletos, then to Didyma, then to Labraunda ruins, then to Milas, then to Bodrum/Halicarnassus - 139 miles driving Day 9: Bodrum sites, drive to Kaunos, Kaunos rock tombs/Dalyan, Amyntas tomb, Oludeniz beach and vista, back to Fethiye - 211 miles Day 10: Drive to Tlos ruins, then Sidyma ruins, then Xanthos, then Letoon, then Patara, then Demre Lycian toms and stay at Demre - 129 miles Day 11: Drive from Demre to Termessos ruins, then Perga ruins, then Antalya Museum, Hadrian's gate, Kesik Minare Mosque, Clock Tower, Konyaalti Beach, Antalya Hotel - 161 miles Day 12: Drive to Sagalassos, then Salda Lake, then Aphrodisias ruins, then Laodicea, then Colossae, then Hierapolis ruins, then Pamukkale hotel - 295 miles Day 13: Pamukkale travertine, drive to temple of Zeus Aizanoi, then to Midas Sehri, then Eskisehir hotel - 276 miles Day 14: Drive to Bursa, Great Mosque of Bursa, Green Mosque, then drive to Iznik and see Hagia Sophia Iznik, city walls of Iznik, southern gate of Iznik, drive to Istanbul - 227 miles |
Too ambitious! This sounds like a check off list rather than an enjoyable visit delighting in visiting interesting sights. You will need to research how much each location takes to reasonably visit and each place's visiting hours, days of closure, etc.
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Welcome to Fodors. Unfortunately, with this plan, several days you will spend more time in the car and checking in/out of hotels then actually seeing/doing things.
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I think things will start to blur together and half way through you will not remember much of what you see. Are you doing this solo?
Turkey is a wonderful and interesting country. I urge you to take some time to enjoy their great food and experience and appreciate some of the culture. |
I know all the historical places you mention. A somewhat serious visit of them takes a lot of time, even if you want to see only the most important buildings.
The problem is not the time you spend on highways or intervillage roads, but the last mile to the sights and the time you will spend there.It doesn't make sense to run through huge fields of ruins without having visited the local museum before and reading a guidebook or explanation panels or hiring a guide. All that takes time Days 1-6, 9-10 and 13.14 are possible if you don't want to relax in restaurants or on a beach (you mention Olu Deniz). The program of the other days is frarnkly impossible. |
I just got back from the trip to Turkey and wanted to update with the itinerary which I think was realistic - obviously missed some details but can always check those things out another time. I'm putting it here so people can get a sense of what is realistic if perhaps a bit of a grueling paced trip. I didn't feel that any particular place was rushed while I was there and had time to read/skim through the placards and see everything I found of interest at a particular monument.
Cost was around $6500 for 1 person, which I think was reasonable all things considered Day 1 Flew into Istanbul Day 2 Went to Fener Greek Orthodox Church of St. George for Divine Liturgy (Palm Sunday) Went to Fener Greek Orthodox College Chora Church/Kariye Camii outside Theodosian walls - walked along these all the way from North to South Tekfur Palace/Palace of Porphrogenitos Mihrimah Sultan Mosque Wall gates: Silivri -> Belgrad -> Golden Yedikule Castle Day 3 Forum of Theodosius Hagia Sophia German Fountain Hippodrome - Obelisk of Theodosius, Bronze Snake, Obelisk of Porphyrogenitos Museum of the Great Palace (closed for renovation) Hagia Irene Topkapi Palace and Harem Istanbul Archaeology Museum Day 4 Grand Bazaar (brief visit) Nurosmaniye Mosque Theodosian Cistern Little Hagia Sophia/Kucuk Ayasofya Boukoleon Palace (closed for renovation) Ahirkapi lighthouse Viewed Bosphorus from waterfront Crossed bridge across Golden Horn to Beyoglu Galata tower outside (interior closed for renovation) Dolmabahce Mosque Dolmabahce clock tower Dolmabahce palace and harem Ortakoy Mosque Uber to Rumelihisar Fortress (closed for renovation) Uber to Kadikoy/Chalcedon Agia Efimia Church (4th ecumenical council) Day 5 Drove towards Dardanelles Kilitbahir Castle Alcitepe baki terasi - view/lookout of the Dardanelles Anzac memorial Lighthouse Turkish war memorial Drove up to Canakkale across bridge (couldn't make it to ferries, which would have been faster) Stayed in Canakkale Day 6 Canakkale waterfront Trojan Horse model Old clock tower Castle (outside, closed for renovation) Drove to Troy area Troya museum Troy ruins Drove to Alexandria Troas ruins and viewed Drove to Apollon Smintheion ruins and viewed Drove to Assos ruins and viewed Drove down to Assos harbor and viewed Drove to Bergama/Pergamos Red Basilica and Pergamon Bridge Stayed in Bergama Day 7 Gondala ride up to Bergama acropolis Bergama acropolis - Temple of Zeus, Athena, Trajan, library, agora, heroon, sanctuary of Demeter, theater Gondola ride back down Drove to Asklpeion ruins and viewed Drove to Akhisar/Thyateira ruins and viewed Drove to Sardis - Gymnasium, synagogue, church, temple of Artemis Drove to Alasehir/Philadelphia ruins and viewed, St. John's church Drove to Manisa/Magnesia (didn't stop) Drove to Izmir/Smyrna Good Friday service in Smyrna Orthodox church Stayed in Izmir Day 8 Izmir waterfront Smyrna agora, viewed ruins Drove to Selcuk Selcuk castle, St. John's church and St. John's tomb Temple of Artemis Drove to Grotto of the Seven Sleepers (closed for renovation) Drove to Ephesus ruins and viewed, library of Celsus, Temple of Trajan, baths of Scholastica, Harbor, stoa, amphitheater Church of Mary (3rd ecumenical council) House of Mary Ephesus museum Drove to Kusadasi Kusadasi Castle Stayed in Kusadasi Day 9 Drove to Priene and viewed ruins Viewed Meander river (Buyuk Menderes) Drove to Miletos and viewed ruins, stoa, baths, amphitheater Miletos museum Drove to Didyma, viewed temple of Apollo Drove to Euromos, viewed temple of Zeus Drove to Bodrum Mausoleum of Halicarnassus Amphitheater Myndos Gate Bodrum Castle Stayed in Bodrum Note: everything is closed in Bodrum on Mondays, so avoid being there that day Day 10 Drove to Labraunda ruins and viewed Drove to Dalyan, crossed river with ferry Viewed Lycian tomb ruins of Dalyan, walked to Kaunos Kaunos ruins viewed Drove to Fethiye Fethiye museum (closed for renovation) Telmessos (closed for renovation) Amintas tomb Fethiye castle (outside) Drove to Oludeniz - couldn't find the lagoon Stayed in Fethiye Note: would try to see Kayakoy and Lagoon in future, and closed things as well if there again. Needed better GPS directions for Lagoon (Tabiat Parki) Day 11 Drove to Tlos ruins and viewed Drove to Letoon ruins and viewed Drove to Xanthos ruins and viewed Drove to Patara ruins and viewed Drove to Kas, viewed amphitheater Drove to Demre and Myra ruins and rock tombs and viewed Drove to St. Nicholas church museum complex, viewed church, tomb Drove to Antalya Stayed in Antalya Note: drove long distance at night to Antalya not by choice but because of hotel problems in Demre - not a good place to stay overnight Day 12 Toured Antalya harbor, Hadrian arch, old city walls, Kesik Minare Mosque, Yivli Minare Mosque Drove to Sagalassos ruins and viewed Drove to Burdur, viewed museum Drove to Lake Salda, viewed Drove to Perge ruins and viewed Stayed in Antalya Note: main thing I skipped here was Termessos and Phaselis, would try to see these if I were there another time Day 13 Antalya museum Viewed Konyaalti beach overlook Drove to Afrodisias ruins and viewed, temple of Aphrodite, stadium Drove to Hierapolis/Pamukkale ruins and viewed, rock tombs/necropolis, museum, amphitheater, Arch of Frontinus Martyrion and Tomb of St. Phillip Pamukkale travertine Stayed in Pamukkale Note: Hierapolis and Pamukkale are 1 big complex which I didn't realize so you have to view in one block Day 14 Drove to Laodicea ruins and viewed, church, amphitheater, Nymphaeum of Trajan Drove to Colossae, viewed Drove to Phrygia/Midas ancient site ruins and viewed (multiple tombs especially the one called Midas' tomb, one you have to drive down a road to get to) Drove to Aizanos ruins (closed before my arrival so couldn't enter temple of Zeus) Drove to and stayed in Eskisehir Note: Colossae is basically just a hill, if not interested in it for the Biblical history can skip - no real ruins to see; Aizanos site may close earlier in summer than some others Day 15 Eskisehir archaeology museum Drove to Iznik/Nicae Hagia Sophia Iznik (1st and 7th ecumenical councils) Waterfront Green Mosque/Yesil Camii Lefke Gate Museum Drove to Istanbul and returned car Uber to near Grand Bazaar, shopping Stayed in Istanbul Day 16 Blue Mosque/Sultan Ahmet Camii Basilica Cistern Went to Kalenderhane Camii/Kyriotissa (closed with no attendant there, no obvious renovation) Uber to Chora Church/Kariye Camii Viewed Chora Church mosaics and frescoes Uber to Taksim Square, viewed Walked down Istiklal street to Galatasary Uber back to central Istanbul Uber to airport Flew out of Istanbul Note: thankfully Chora Church reopened when I was in Turkey so I was able to see the amazing mosaics and frescos. Overall I was very happy with the trip tempo, variety, and costs. I got a bit saturated by the ruins but would eagerly view more and different sites if I had time. I'm not a beach person so I did not take time to enjoy that aspect of the Aegean/Mediterranean. I think I saw 70% of the things to see in Istanbul (would see more mosques and explore more of the Asian side next time) and most of the things to see in this western corner of Turkey. Istanbul was surprisingly cloudy/foggy/chilly. May was a great time both in terms of weather and not too many things closed for renovation, as apparently that happens a bit later in the spring/summer. Strong recommendation: buy the museum pass card for 15 days coverage of most museums/sites for 165 Euro - I did not until about day 5 (in Bergama) and would have saved easily $100+ if I had bought and used it earlier. |
I am glad you enjoyed your trip.
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Thanks for reporting back
" . . . if perhaps a bit of a grueling paced trip" It was a bit grueling to even read :( In your OP you said " . . . wanted to do a very detailed tour of a part of Turkey". This does seem more 'drive-by' than detailed. But glad your enjoyed yourself. |
You visited almost everything along your itinerary, except
Teos Kinidos (Datca) Mastaura Nysa Tersane sunken city of Kekova (boat trip) Andriake ancient site and Lycian Civilisation Museum aantic theatree of Finike Olympos Side Aspendos (as well as Ermesso snd Phaselis that you mentioned). BTW: Demre has an excellent Hotel (Andriake Beach Club) The offer at Adrasan, Olympos and Cirali isn't bad too. May be next time you will proceed up to the cstles of Alanya and Anamurion ..... or include Cyprus thanks to the Tasucu - Kyrenia ferry.. |
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