turkish tornado !! please help wise ones!
 

Hello Fodorites..

Around 10 days in Turkey first time, amateur photography interest , love exploring.single man travelling solo.
Arrive Istanbul early morning on 30th August ...coming out 8th September noon.
Need help to curb my greediness but also be sympahetic and see if I can do what I seek..

Till now thought
first Cappadocia . shd reach by noon as I will fly .stay 30th
31st
1st
What do I do if I want to take in the better sights at best times for photography..or just take a guided tour.What to do first day as I would have missed out on them by the time I reach. Thinking of a balloon ride..when is it best for photography and how best to guarantee a flight over the chimneys?Also where do I see the drvishes ..is it worth going to caravanserai for it in an evening? What do I do in Cappadocia for the evening...has anybody tried the midnight trek at rose valley...?which spot for taking snaps of ballons against a grerat backdrop?

2nd Sept Thinking of bussing it out at night to Kas or Fethiye to reach 2nd Monday. Essentially trying to get a gulet and quaint fishing village ..poor swimmer but like by the waters..maybe a ruin or two..
3d night set off for Pamukkale
4th trip to Pamukkale can i do pamukkale and aphrodisia..is the latter worth it?
5th morning see Ephesus and take flight to Istanbul afternoon.
6th
7th Istanbul.
Writing this I can see I shd stay at least a day more in Istanbul. Which means I might have to give up on Fethiye .

I would really appreciate your advice.Please feel free to alter as you please..also any tips you think is valid. Thank you in advance....

(Also is it better to stay at sultanahmet..my airport going out is sabiha gocken and flight at 1.30 pm. )

we did not make it to fethiye on our recent trip... but i do think you will want more time in both cappadocia and in istanbul. so very much to see and do in both areas... you will want most of a day in cappadocia for a walk along the rose valley alone. the whirling dervishes (the more authentic one, which is quite long) in capp. are only a few nights a week-- so would have to look that up and time your stay accordingly. as far as i know, all of the balloons leave at about the same time in the very very early morning.

pamukkale is great-- and has some fab ruins as well-- and i highly recommend a dip in the ancient pool if you can find the time. (i'm no help... i'm adding things for you to do!)

maybe, maybe you can miss aphrodesia if you are seeing ephesus (you will want lots of time there) and the ruins at pamukkale.

there's just never enough time, is there??

As kawh said, the hot air balloons in Cappadocia all leave at about the same time very, very early -- usually right along with the sunrise (assuming the weather allows). So you pretty much automatically get that "golden hour" for photography. Nothing is guaranteed with the balloons, but I can't imagine that a reputable company would take off if the winds weren't auspicious for flying over the fairy chimneys. You might consider paying the extra for the longer flight just to give you more time and angles. As I said in my trip report (which you can find by clicking on my name), I chose to go with Kapadokya Balloons even though it is more expensive than some of its competitors in part because it has more take-off and landing sites than most companies, giving it a better chance of taking off on any given day and a greater chance of staying aloft for a longer period. (Or at least that's what my research led me to believe.) If you are interested in a balloon ride, you would do well to consider booking well in advance and booking for your first full day there because if they don't fly that day, you'll still have a chance of getting aloft on your second day.

Other particularly photogenic places in the area include the Devrent Valley and Pasabag.

I'm not sure whether you have a realistic chance of a gulet on the 2nd - you'd have to check the bus schedules carefully and you might need to be prepared to hire a boat just for yourself, since most groups would likely depart in the morning. But I could be mistaken.

I don't see why you can't visit both the travertines and ruins at Pamukkale -- I don't think there's a closing hour for the outdoor sites, so your time is only really limited by the sunset. BTW, I got some stunning photos there around sunset! The museum and thermal baths do have opening/closing hours, so if you want to visit them, check the hours.

I thought Aphrodisias well worth seeing. You'll have to decide whether it is of sufficient interest to you to fit into your compressed time frame.

Ephesus can easily take hours and hours, so if your plan is to fly to Istanbul that day, pay attention to the time! BTW, I thought the Terrace Houses well worth the extra charge (but they aren't overly photogenic).

I thought Istanbul deserved at least 5 full days; with only a couple of days, you'll do well to think through your priorities in advance. At least Istanbul is easily reached by air, so you can return to it more easily than some of your destinations. Oh, and I also got some great shots from the Galata Tower around sunset.

Hope that helps!

Can't do it all in 10 days. I'd spend3-4 night in Capppadochia and the rest in Istanbul. Lots of tours in Cappadochia to see valleys ,rock formations, cave houses and churches. The underground cities are a must. A friend told us to hire a private driver for a tour. The woman who ran the place we stayed suggested we just hire a taxi. she called them. We were picked up at 9:30, she told him where to take us. We went to an underground city, he waited in parking lot for us and then went to other areas which were fabulous. we were the only people walking along a trail, looking at various cave houses and churches. We got back at 4:30 pm. Cost- $90. US. we gave significant tip though, as this was one of our highlights of turkey.
You could spend weeks in Istanbul. So much to see and do.

kawh, kja, leuk2 thank you for your responses. think i need to take a few things off ..
i know ephesus can take hours.thinking of skipping it as it can be crowded too. pamukkale is sunset that sounds unmissable. yes want to spend at least three days in istanbul as two can be too rushed. also seems you are suggesting three days for cappadocia leaving three days..two for fethiye, one for pamukkale. as i am travelling solo and not confident biker, have to depend in tours isnt it? or are you suggesting i just focus on specific places by bussing it instead of taking a tour. wide angle seems necessary..pondering on the expense..:(. if only...
thanks for galata tower sunset suggestion too.

Some things would be difficult to do without a car except by tour; other things can be done by bus. The Rough Guide and the Lonely Planet each offer information that would likely help you figure out your options -- check your local library, bookstore, or amazon.

mister e--
i would really really not have wanted to miss ephesus... it was one of the highlights. still... if you've been to greece ( i have not) then perhaps you have seen your fill of ruins. but these ruins are truly special. tough choices.

kawh, no i am yet to visit greece..but i feel so tempted by the boat trip or the gorge , market, peoplein fethiye..but you may be right. i have to be ruthless and accept i need to take fethiye out. specially as it seems 1 and half days in cappadocia isnt enough.so..cappadocia..pamukkale..ephesus..istanbu l. wish somewhere i had a day lazing on a boat in the sun. :) kja..yes will get the kindle version of either or rick steeves today. thanks both.

Afrodisias? Definitely worth it!! You can take a bus from Goreme to Nazili, keep your bags with the tour company, go to Afrodisias, come back and proceed to Ephesus.
You can go through my blog, http://ashwinbahulkar.wordpress.com/...o-turkey-trip/
You'll get an idea of the things you could do in Cappadocia, IStanbul and Ephesus(and SE Turkey if you have time). And you need atleast 3 days in Cappadocia, there's loads to explore.
Worth going for the Dervishes tour,they dont allow photographs to be taken during the ceremony, BUT from what I;ve heard, the Mevlevi museum at IStanbul allows pictures to be taken, but it's just once or twice a week.
The Asian side of IStanbul is a great place to take pictures of the Sultanahmet just before and after sunset. You get the silhouette view of all the mosques, and then they are beautifully lit.

i downloaded the kindle version of lonely planet in my ipad but it seems only showing the highlights .any ideas?thanks folks. thanks ashwinb lovely photos, where dd you go fr the galata in evening shot?

I went to the Galata tower, go a little before sunset, and wait for atleast sometime after it.

Go through this: http://www.bigboytravel.com/
The Istanbul walking tour suggestions look very good.