I was in Turkey for the first time at the end of June and absolutely loved it. I was there for a week, splitting my time between Istanbul and Cappodocia. I have blogged extensively about my trip at http://www.travelogged.com/travelogged/turkey/ and I will put links to relevant posts in this trip report.

Day 1:
We arrived a little later than planned because our flight was delayed from NYC. We took Air France and had a very brief layover in Paris. We missed our connecting flight, but luckily there was another going to Istanbul so the whole thing went rather smoothly. The Ottoman Empire Hotel (which was very modern, clean, and ideally located for sightseeing) gave us a free pickup because we were staying more than 3 nights. When we got there around 5 PM, we went to sleep for a few hours. We got up in time for a late dinner and took a cab to Beyoglu (abt USD$10). It’s a fun area full of outdoor cafes that reminded me of Barcelona. We ended up eating at Flamm, which was Turkish/Mediterranean and very good.

Day 2:
We had a big day of sightseeing. We went to the Aya Sofia, Blue Mosque, the Sultan’s Tomb and the Basilica Cistern. Don’t miss any of them – they are some of the major highlights of Istanbul. Here’s my blog post abt the Basilica Cistern:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...e-outside.html

We had dinner that night at the Balikçi Sabahattin, an upscale fish place in the Sultanahmet area. This was probably the best meal we had in Turkey.

After dinner, we went to the bar at Seven Hills Hotel to take in the fabulous views. There are hardly any tall buildings in the area, so if you want great views, check it out:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...-istanbul.html

Day 3:

Another big day of sightseeing. We started out at the Topkapi Palace -- we especially enjoyed seeing the jewels in the Treasury, although the whole palace is so beautiful as well.

Then we went to the Grand Bazaar, which was somewhat overwhelming, particularly to an indecisive shopper such as myself. I still regret not buying a rug:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...in-turkey.html

Our next stop was to take the ferry at the Galata Bridge to Uskadar. The 15-minute ride is the cheap and quick answer to a Bosphorous cruise. Plus, you get to say that you went to Asia! There isn't all that much to see in Uskadar:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...or-just-3.html

That night for dinner, we returned to the Beyoglu area and ate at Refik, a traditional Turkish place that's in all the guidebooks. The food was good but nothing spectacular.

Day 4:
It was our last day in Istanbul. We began our day at the Archaeological Museum that is at the entrance of the Topkapi Palace. It has a really incredible collection -- yet another don't miss! Then we went to the Spice Bazaar, a smaller version of the Grand Bazaar that focuses on spices. Next stop was lunch at the Han Restaurant, which was near the Topkapi Palace and our hotel. Delicious gozleme pancakes with cheese...

We walked around the area a bit more and then it was off to Sabiha Gokcen airport (nearly an hour-long taxi ride) to catch our flight on Air Pegasus to Kayseri to explore Cappodocia. Our flight was delayed at least an hour, but we got to Kayseri eventually. We had arranged a pick-up through our hotel, Sultan Cave Suites, which is owned by the same people as the better-known Kelebek hotel. The ride to Goreme, the town in which we were staying, was at least an hour. We got there around 10pm and luckily the town was lively enough that plenty of restaurants were still open.

Day 5:
I woke up around 6am and eagerly went outside to take in the incredible landscape, which I hadn't gotten to see the day before because it was dark when I arrived:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...appodocia.html

I also got to see the hot air balloons in flight -- that's a popular activity in Cappodocia, although we ride it, just watched. Went back to bed, and then woke up a bit later to have breakfast at the Kelebek hotel (Sultan Cave Suites doesn't serve its own breakfast, but you can eat breakfast for free at the sister hotels).

Then we went to the main attraction in Goreme -- the Goreme Open Air Museum. It has the caves, the "painted churches" and fabulous vistas:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...ir-museum.html

That night, we went to see the Whirling Dervishes, which we had booked through our hotels. I was really excited to see this performance, but it was sort of a disappointing. I guess I didn't really know what it would be like, so I thought that the dancing would be more dramatic and instead it was more trance-like. It was still interesting to learn more about the culture.

Day 6:
We did tour through the hotel -- the History & Adventure tour (http://www.goreme.com/group-cappadocia-tours.php). We loved it.

The highlight was a trip to Kaymakli Underground City -- yes, you can visit on your own, but I would not have wanted to...
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...in-turkey.html

I also loved seeing Monk's Valley & Imagination Valley, which both have beautiful rock formations:
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...wo-camels.html

That night, we had dinner at Ala Turk, which was quite good.

Day 7:
This was our last day -- we had a late evening direct flight to Vienna on Pegasus Air. In the morning, we hiked around Love Valley, which is walking distance from town. Then we took a cab to Uchisar (the next town over) to see Uchisar Castle. If you can, take the bus because it's much cheaper. We were worried abt having enough time, so we took a cab. Uchisar Castle is a must- see, be sure to climb to the top for amazing views.
http://www.travelogged.com/travelogg...lly-rocks.html

Then, we relaxed by the pool at Kelebek (it was very hot the whole time we were in Cappodocia). Soon it was time to go to Kayseri airport.

As you can see, I loved my time in Turkey. If you have any questions, please ask!

thanks,
Liz

Liz, I don't have time right now to look at all the links but thanks for the great report !

Bookmarking to read later. Thanks for posting! Very timely--we are starting to plan something similar for next spring.

Liz, I thoroughly enjoyed your report and pictures. We're going to Istanbul, Cappadocia, and the Aegean coast in late October and I can't wait. We're also staying in Sultanahmet (Faros Hotel) and in Urgup in Cappadocia. I'm particularly interested in the underground cities in Cappadocia and had thought a tour was probably best, but you confirmed it. I'm bookmarking your information. Thanks for your posting and links!
Ellen

Thanks for the report! May I ask for more info on your stay at Sultan Cave Suites? It's on my short list of places for our Turkey trip but there are very few reviews.

Bookmarking

Hi! It's nice to hear that people are finding the trip report useful.

PegS, I liked Sultan Cave Suites. It's owned by the same people as Kelebek (and they seem to own some other hotels too). I think that Sultan Cave Suites was built recently and the suites are quite nice, although they are a little claustrophobic in the sense that they go back like a cave so there aren't a lot of windows. But it's a very cool experience to stay in a cave!

The one negative of Sultan Cave Suites is that there isn't that much service there -- we had to talk to people at Kelebek to get any kind of service. Staying at Kelebek may be more convenient because that's where you eat breakfast (and there's a restaurant for other meals) and it also has a pool and a computer for guests, etc. Basically, SCS is an annex of Kelebek, but I think SCS might have nice rooms. Hope that helps....

Thanks lbw! That certainly helps.

Ellencmog, if you're looking for a tour that will take you to an underground city then you should consider the one I took -- a full day tour that also included hiking. etc. Here's the link: http://www.turkishheritagetravel.com...ocia-tours.php -- I took the History & Adventure tour. Even the lunch was good, which is sometimes not the case on group tours.