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Adu We spent about the same length of time in Turkey last May and loved every minute. We flew into Nevisehir as it was closer to Urgup. We stayed at Esbelli Evi for 5 nights and believe it was one of the best hotels we have ever stayed in with service second to none. Tom Brosnahan of Turkey Travel Planner was there when we arrived and it was very clear in speaking to him that Esbelli Evi well deserves its excellent reputation. After staying there we can echo that sentiment. On our overnight stay in Istanbul before returning home we also stayed at Deniz Konak. It's clean, comfortable, well located and the service is good. The price was also quite reasonable. Hope this helps.

Thank you again for the suggestions.

As this is our first trip to Turkey we will see the major sights but explore as well. Some of our favorite places have been the antiqiuties in Sicily and the temples in Tikal, Guatemala. We are taken the shapes and textures of Capapdocia. On the other hand, we love walking a city to feel the pulse, color, and perspectives
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Thank you Gruezi, I still owe you an excellent hamburger and the best pizza in NYC.

Re antiquities in Turkey, my favorites were the Lycian tombs, Aspendos, Hattusas and of course, Ephesus.

I loved all the church art from the Aya Sofya to the caves in Capadoccia and the church of St. Nicholas in (or near) Myra. The Chora Museum in Istanbul is beautiful and in an interesting neighborhood.

I liked the Basilica Cistern, very atmospheric, but did find the whirling dervishes contrived, but I saw them in Cappodoccia, not in Istanbul. Actually that was probably the only disappointment in a two week trip, so not a big deal.

Turkey will be a feast for an artist and a photographer. Enjoy.

Thanks Luisah. We travel with an open mind and a closed pocketbook.

Here's another off-beat suggestion. I don't think a lot of people do this:

http://www.turkeytravelplanner.com/g...ara/index.html

South of Cappodoccia and south of the city of Aksaray is the Ihlara valley, which involves a very scenic and rustic hike through a river gorge with dozens of small chapel and monastery caves. We hiked it as a day trip and were all alone in the entire valley except for some sheep herders. I believe that there are tours from the main cities in Cappodoccia. We simply took a bus from Askaray to Ihlara and went from there.

Thanks again, we shall see if that fits our itinerary.

"We travel with an open mind and a closed pocketbook."

I travel with an open mind but still need to learn to "close my pocketbook." There is a lot of temptation in Turkey, biggest for me was the fabrics.

I don't know when you're going but when I was there in October we had wonderful fresh fruit: pomegranates, melons, figs. I also enjoyed the teas, both pomegranate and apple. I do wish I'd bought a set of the tulip shape glasses. I will next trip.

Luisah, check 'tulumba.com' for those tea glasses.You may be able to order them from new york.

Buy the ones manufactured by "Pasabahce"

Woyseck,
Good one. We were in Turkey in the month of August and it was hot. We had left Goreme, had visited an underground city, and went to Ilhara. Countryside around us was barren (but beautiful!). Left the main road, went through a really old village, down windy road to valley and boom, in a lush area with trees. We had lunch on a platform over the little stream, just big enough for the lot of us, floor covered in a Turkish carpet, cool breeze...ah... After a nice fish meal, we hiked along the little stream to one cave church, and crossed over stream to another. Some climbig to get into them. Amazing how old they were and how many there were in this valley. My one frustration was the fact that people had graffitied their names on these places (I'd propose what to do to these people!).

There is also another entrance to the valley, where you walk down steps into the valley (hotel side?). This is closer to the churches, but then you'd miss the other things we enjoyed the most.

Stunning views around this area.