thanks dina! yes, we had a great map that withstood much refolding: International Travel Maps (www.itmb.com) Istanbul map. It was a day long walk, but we made a lot of stops! By the time we had the smoke at Sultan Selim camii it was late afternoon-- we probably began around 9:30. We let ourselves get lost and found along the way. Also, if you will be driving we used the geocenter euromap / turkey and its very good, all the sites are marked. apparently its hard to get good maps while youre there so amazon it here if you can. have a great trip!

Margot, I also agree that it's such a great report that you've posted. I'm sure it will help a lot to those who are planning to make a more comprehensive visit to Turkey than the usual west/south coastal visits that many others do.
Dear Mohan, I may also make a pretty "modest" suggestion for your trip: during your stay in istanbul, i believe you should also see a bit more of the Boshphorus, which is one of the most stunning views that my eyes have ever witnessed-lucky me! particularly the view at night, or during the day if the sky is clear and is a sunny day. For instance, you may like the idea to enjoy the view from Bebek or Ortakoy (both are easily accessible districts from Besiktas) in one of the hundreds of cafes or restaurants that are laid alongside the sea. when you pass Besiktas, on both sides of the main street along the bosphorus, there are many nice spots to take a break, when you are fed up with the never ending traffic jam all along the way, till Yenikoy.You may book in advance a table to dine out in one of the fish restaurants, where you can enjoy the meze, raki, and fresh fish. or also for a brunch in Hisar, again to enjoy the typical rich turkish breakfast. There are beautiful "yali"s (like mansions) along the Bosphorus both in the European and the Asian part of the city. And, what I also think is worthwhile to observe is the dramatic difference between the older and the more western/modern districts in the city. For instance, when you go to Sultanahmet, you find a different atmosphere, more traditional in a sense. However, when you go to zones like Etiler, Baghdat Street (on the asian side, which is an extremely long and expensive street full of branded shops, cafes, bars, restaurants, etc. and extremely modern looking, fashionable young people) or even Bebek, you'll see that it's no different than many other modern European cities. It's quite an interesting experience to find out this type of diversity in one single city. At least for me it was! Hope this helps.. Enjoy your trip-btw no need to say for sure you will!!!

One of the best travel reports I've ever read. 'Travertine' is a word I've never seen in a report

I went to Istanbul/Ephesus/Cappadocia in 2007, and I must say you had a much deeper experience than we did.

How did you plan all of this? You seem to have gone to some interesting places that I had not heard of.

Thanks, it was a pleasure to read this.

One final recommendation; I truly agree with the comment that almost every single person in Turkey-even in big cities- are very friendly and helpful, however, you should still take a bit more care with the taxi drivers, particularly in istanbul. When you need to take a taxi, make sure you ask the guys in the hotel call a cab from the station (sort of radio-taxi). And before taking the cab, you should tell them where you wanna go and also ask for some advice about the shortest possible destination. In this way, you can pretend as if you know the city well. tell the driver that you wanna go to (Taksim for instance), but through a specific route-if you can. Otherwise, when you take a random taxi on the street, the drivers tend to take you to your destination through the longer way, as they will immediately spot that you're a tourist. Certainly not all of them would try to cheat you, but just a small tip..Anyways, the cost of taxi in Turkey is pretty low.
Ciao, Elena

thank you Michel_Paris and milanist! Michel, I used the internet! This forum is wonderful-- full of very informed and generous people. There is also turkeytravelplanner, and also friends of friends who were turkish or had been to turkey. I also read a few books about the history of turkey/anatolia, and took turkish lessons over the summer at the turkish cultural center in new york (which was great fun). Travel for me is about immersion, and because i dont have the luxury of being able to spend months at a time somewhere, i end up doing a lot of it in my head. The rewards of being a dreamer... and Milanist, all of your advice makes me want to be on an extended Bosphorus visit!