Turkey Travel Tips: 2004
Ancient cultures, delicious food, and warm, sunny beaches: We love and Turkey! What tips do you have for your fellow travelers to the East Mediterranean?
Middle East Travel
I had a fabulous time in Turkey. I guess I'm not allowed to tell you the tour I went with, but it is out there. It was during the days of the Bosnian War and the Kurdish Uprising. Turns out that everyone else on the tour had chickened out.I arrived all by myself in Ankara, only to be told by my hotel concierge that, "Madam, you are alone." The dinner in the hotel was great.
Next morning I was met by car and driver and guide. We drove to Cappadocia. Same arrangement to Ephesus. My guide in Istanbul was an archaeology student, so we had a great time in the museum. I went to the palace and the famous market.I was a tour of one, and it could not have been better.Visiting a Muslim courtry is like stepping into another dimension. You have got to go. If you are brave enough, go to Israel.
Ann
USA Sun 11/21/2004
Yalikavak, Post Tour Destination
Consider the village of Yalikavak and the Hotel Lavanta for your post ETBD tour plans. We met Tosun and Maria the owners and were invited to join their friends for a special dinner that night. Tosun is Turkish and Maria hails from Germany. Their property is set high on a hill over-looking Yalikavak with awesome views of the Aegean Sea and spectacular sunsets every night. The dinner here is not to be missed! The mezes were some of the best we had in Turkey, rivaling many of the best meals we had on tour.
There are good hiking options from Lavanta that included a two mile walk to the Greek ghost-town of Sandima. Sandima used to be a hidden, fig growing village situated high in the hills to avoid the plundering pirates that often raided the coastline. However, the villagers later realized that they could grow limes down in the valley that were worth more, so the village was slowly dismantled and abandoned. There are still a few people who live there including several artists, goat herders, lazy dogs, and a caf?. The walk takes you cross-country through aromatic hillsides filled with scrub oaks, tortoises and many native plants.
The village of Yalikavak is a place for romantics. There are golden sand beaches, a palm lined promenade, and many good fish restaurants on the harbor to keep both locals and travelers well fed. This is a good place to visit if you are looking for laid back Turkey. Yalikavak also makes a good base to explore Bodrum and the other villages of the Bodrum peninsula from. Bodrum is just a quick 20 minute drive over the pass and there are lots of cool views from the roadside. This was the perfect Turkish destination after the tour if you want to kick back and perfect the art of doing nothing.
David Antieau
Shoreline, WA USA Fri 11/12/2004
2005 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES - Izmir / Turkey
[url=http://izmir.owns1.com]2005 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES - Izmir / TURKEY[/url]
Bill Rose
Izmir, TR Turkey Sun 10/17/2004
2005 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES - Izmir / Turkey
Well... 2005 World University Summer Games are in Izmir / Turkey. We are waiting for sweet + tough students and their families. Here is my humble web page with some info & tips :2005 WORLD UNIVERSITY GAMES - Izmir / TURKEY
Bill Rose
Izmir, TR Turkey Sun 10/17/2004
Selcuk-Turkish Carpet
We just retuned from Turkey! During the planning, I contacted a Guest House in Selcuk (Artemis Guest House... Jimmy's Place
( enquiries@artemisguesthouse.com ).... Jimmy's girl friend , Brom, (Australian), suggested that we come to Selcuk first and use their library and their knowledge to plan the rest of our trip!!!... I wish we had done just that!! It is complete with articles, Pixs, etc. and they have a great rate... I believe they were recently written up in, or soon will be, in the 'Back Packers Guide?, .. Also, has a swimming pool! . . TV room complete with English DVD movies and great jazz ? great Pensione/Guest House. . . Selcuk is very close to Ephesus which is the best ruins in Turkey.. They will drop you off and pick you up!! Also, the best breakfast we had in Turkey .. Can have about anything you like for breakfast . . . either, English/American/Turkish/etc or combination of all!
If you are interested in carpet.. we found that Jimmy has the best price for very good quality that we found and we shopped in several places in Kayseri, Capadocia (Avanos, Urgurp, Goreme), and Istanbull... as a matter of fact, we first purchased carpet in Avanos and because of the quality, styles, colors, prices with Jimmy, we bought additional carpet. . . just couldn?t say ?No? to the price and quality!
When we negotiated for the carpets, it was agreed, that they would be shipped by boat/ship. A dock strike occurred in Istanbul. I contacted Jimmy, asked why I had not received my carpet, he immediately tracked them down, had FedEx picked up and shipped them to us by air . . . That?s not just good service, It?s GREAT SERVICE.
When you contact Brom or Jimmy, tell them Jim and Mary said Hello (Also, tell him his Uncle Jim sent you ..and inside joke, we have the same name!).
If we ever go to Turkey again, we will use a central town as a point and take a Dormis mini-buses to the outlying attractions... Selcuk would be a great town to use as a central point... and ?dormis' to places like Pamukkle, Sirence, etc.
Questions,? Jim and Mary ( jimar@Ij.net )
Jimar
Tampa, FL USA Fri 07/09/2004
Cappadocia
We were looking for information and ?How To?s? on Cappadoica including a hotel in the Cappadocial area. My plans were just not coming together! For example, how to get from Istanbul to Cappadocia, if by bus, what bus and when, and how do I get tickets and where? What tours were available in Cappadoica, at what price? Where do we go from Cappadocia? What were the possibilities and what were the attractions and on and on. Even when we finally arrived, Cintia and Moose (The name he suggested we use)?they both speak very good American) continually solved our problems regardless of the size or type. From simple to complex, they would always find the best solution, i.e., batteries, banks, keyboard, translation, Carpets, etc. For example, after the first day on the tour, I had a problem with my digital camera. The camera requires a storage card for the pictures. The card was full! The only way I could continue to take pictures was to have the pictures on the card placed on a CD. I asked Moose if he knew of a camera store in the area that might handle this. Moose wasn?t familiar with this digital camera but knew of a store and offered to take the camera to them, have them place the pictures on a CD and return the camera to me with the CD the next day . . . and he did!! One couldn?t ask for a more attentive guide!
Also, at the beginning of the 2nd day of touring, we suggested to Moose that Mary was having a problem walking long distances and rather than go to both of the underground cities, would it be possible to just visit one and replace it with other Cappadocia attractions. You wouldn?t have known that it wasn?t the regular tour? the day, as the previous day, was very pleasant, most enjoyable, with lunch at the right place and time? just a great experience!
I recall Cintia hanlding handling all sorts of situations; travel plans (Cappadocia to Selcuk), Laundry, Phone calls, just too many to count. Each time you replied, ?Thanks, but that?s my job?. And I?ll tell you right now, it maybe your job, but I can assure you that many others we were in contact with relative to our trip certainly didn?t handle it with the attention to detail, confidence, kindness, and attitude that you and Moose did for us.
If you require assistance and suggestion, recommendations, guide,etc. in visiting the Cappadocia area you should contact Moose (Mustafa) and Cintia ? Moose will give you Cintia?s email address Moose is a local guide, has lived there all his live and will take you to places off the tourist track? and Cintia can and will certainly assist with any(and I mean any!) problems you have while there and in getting there. Mooses email address is karagozmustafa@hotmail.com
Question; Jim/Mary ?. jimar@ij.net
Jimar
Tampa, fl USA Fri 07/09/2004
men get ahair cut and shave about 5$ a real nice local back door experience it would cost 50$ in NYC great hair cut & i met student who spent next6 hours with having that bd experience we really want
brangwin
USA Mon 07/05/2004
Great rooms near Kusadasi
Love Turkey! Found the greatest lodging just outside of Kusadasi, called Hotel Yetis. It's a family run place, right on the Aegean, sandwiched between 2 big sterile hotels. For around 20 Euros a night (?) you get a clean comfortable room and 2 meals (amazing food!). The people that run this place are warm and friendly. There is a cafe downstairs for drinks, and the views from the dining areas are breathtaking. Yes, it's a bit outside of town, but it is so worth it. A lovely place, and so much more of the Turkish experience than staying in some chain hotel or mega-resort!
J Gerboga
San Diego, CA USA Mon 06/07/2004
Turkiye: ?ok g?zel!!
I totally concur with Pete's remarks. I just got back from a 10-day trip to Turkey and had a fantastic time! I experienced the gamut of accommodations, from cheap pensions to 5-star hotels -- all were great. Ditto the food. And the nice people -- I made no attempt to conceal my nationality (American), and no one gave me any "attitude" whatsoever. The worst thing about Turkiye was having to leave! But I'll definitely be back.
As far as specific tips are concerned, I can only comment on the area between Antalya and Fethiye as well as Istanbul. For me, the highlights were: the Chimaera near Olympos; the ruins of Arykanda way up in the Lycian mountains; the coast between Kas and Kalkan; the incredibly fabulous Hillside Su hotel in Antalya; dinner at the rooftop Doga Balik restaurant overlooking Istanbul; the Grand Bazaar; and the Ortak?y boardwalk at sunset.
Not that Turkey is without its flaws: driving is nerve-wracking, to say the least, and if you're at all upset by poverty or chaotic (yet safe) squalor, you should consider going elsewhere. But just like anywhere else, Turkey is what you make of it. For me, it was one of the best trips I've ever taken -- and that's saying a lot!
Peter
Amsterdam, NL Sun 06/06/2004
Turkey Seni Seviyorum!
I've been to Turkey about three times, for about a month each time and it was absolutely amazing. There is something that catches you, as soon as you arrive in the airport, maybe the turkish music playing in the background, or on your way to the city that makes you feel so at home.
Istanbul is hands down the most beautiful city EVER! the people are a plus 10, the food is amazing, at night time walk the bridge from Sultamahmet into Taksim and just look out to the Bosphorus and all the mosques shining brightly, relfecting on the Bosphorus is so breath taking, I wanna go back now! I'm 22 years old, and have been to many cities, party wise I also loved Turkey, I basically partied every night I was in Istanbul, and turkish music is great. Then again so is raki, the bazaar, the people are hot and beautiful....
This year I wont be able to go back, I will be going to Greece, but perhaps maybe I'll jump from from a greek island on to Turkey! Go to Turkey, there arent any friendlier people I have met yet, dont let peoples perceptions ware you off such an amazing country, I also travelled all around, so if you have any questions feel free to email me. Turkey is my second adopted home, I love you Turkiye!!!
Pete
New York, NY USA Tue 06/01/2004
WE LOVE TURKEY AND SO WILL YOU
WE LOVE TURKEY
We went for 2 week in may 2004 i it was the best two weeks of our lives we went to lighthouse bar where we met lots of freinds and also Salt n peppa and barx is you want to have a good time go to these bars the best service and people going also if you want a good meal go to the Prontos restuarant on the seafront we went there almost everynight they are brillaint people XxX The turkeish people are the msot friendlsiet people you can meet they made us feel so welcome, dont let some people opions of turkey put you off try it first it is brillaint we will be bakc next year XxXPAULA AND JADE SCOTLAND
Paula and Jade
EDINBURGH, UK GB Tue 05/25/2004
Visa fee reduced
According to this site (http://tinyurl.com/3ejrm), which seems pretty authoritative, the visa fee for Americans visiting Turkey has been reduced to $20 as of April 1.
Peter
Amsterdam, NL Tue 05/04/2004
ISTANBUL, BUSES, TOURS, PAMUKKALE AND GUIDEBOOKS
We just got back from Turkey and it was an amazing trip. I live currently in Switzerland, but grew up in the USA and it seems that Turkey is not such a popular destination for Americans as it is mistakenly thought of as in the Middle East and very dangerous. Nothing and nobody I met in Turkey seemed a bit threatening and it was far more European than I had imagined, but with a definite eastern flair.
ISTANBUL
Julie
St. Gallen, Switzerland Tue 04/20/2004
Istanbul - just visited!
My husband and I just returned from a trip to Istanbul - fantastic city! I am actually an American expat living in Italy and I was suprised to find much more anti-american feelings here in Italy than I did in Istanbul. The people were all so kind! We stayed at the Apricot Hotel and Hakem was very gracious and helpful! He is also a tour guide, which is a bonus when planning your trip. We paid Euro 35 per night - talk about making the dollar go a long way - the hotel is fantastic, highly recommend it! www.apricothotel.com. Ask to stay in rooms on the upper floors for better views and a bit more quiet - rooms 201, 202, 301 and 302 are located by the stairs and you can hear people walking in & out. Breakfast was great - custom omlets every morning with fresh squeezed juice!
Amanda
Chicago (living in Milan), IL USA Wed 03/24/2004