If you only had a week visiting Turkey what cities are a must and why? Should we just stay in Istanbul or should we add another. Thanks

I can't think of any cities outside Istanbul that are a must, but I have not been to Ankara. Izmir is a way to get to Ephesus and Kayseri is the gateway to Cappadocia. Konya, a city of a million, was not particularly attractive at first glance. I would stick to Istanbul.

michael so let me get this straight if you had to do it over again while visiting Turkey you wouldn't venture to Cappaducia or Ephesus you would just stay in Istanbul and explore? Do you say just stay in Istanbul because of the length of my trip.How long was your trip. Enjoyed your trip report , love the detail of the Istanbul leg of your trip. Thanks for your advice.

Istanbul is fabulous (been 3 times) but I also loved Ephesus (been twice) and Cappadocia (been once). Turkey has so much to offer, unless your time was very short I would not limit it to Istanbul.

I have only been to Turkey once and that was on a tour (which we usually don't do, but I wasn't quite up to doing Turkey independently). If it had only been to Istanbul, I think it would have been a terrible shame. Cappadocia and Ephesus are great. Also the Troy archaelogical site and Pamukkale (hoping these are correct spellings).

There's so much to see in/around Istanbul to keep busy for 7/days, but you can certainly visit Izmir/Ephesus or Cappadocia, if you fly between. Not by road... distances are just too great.

I would go to Cappadocia and Ephesus, but these sites are not cities, and you asked about cities.

I'm sorry I didn't clarify when I said cities and sights. I"m guessing since Cappadocia and Ephesus are "sights" far enough to fly from Istanbul that you can't do them as day trips from Istanbul, meaning you have to sleep elsewhere from Istanbul. Since I only have a week should I reserve Turkey for a trip when I have more time to spend. Cappadocia, Ephesus ?? Thanks again everyone. Michael I guess I'll reread your terrific trip report.

With only one week, you'll have to choose what you want to see besides Istanbul. You can't do justice to Roman ruins and Cappadocia with the limited time you have. I would choose Cappadocia because it is so different from other sights. Roman ruins can be seen almost anywhere in the Mediterranean basin.

I agree that Istanbul + Cappadocia + Ephesus is tough in a week (altho do-able at a quick pace - I did it the first time). I think Ephesus can be done as a day-trip from Istanbul, but I would opt to spend the night in either Kusadasi or Izmir.

thanks everyone for your input. We're the kind of travelers who like to see one city in depth rather than try to fit in more towns more sights. Whereas some might say they have 3 weeks they could do 6 countries we would rather take our time and stay in one country.

Mo - We also hate hopping around from place to place and try to avoid it. You could easily spend a week in Istanbul (shoot - I could spend several days just wandering the Grand Bazaar!), but I think a day trip (or even an overnight trip) to see Ephesus would be worthwhile.