Turkey

[barnesisgenius]

I'm going to Turkey in late December for 10 days. I'm a 24 year-old single male who will be travelling by myself for half the time and with some family for the other half. Any advice on the following or any comments on Turkey would be appreciated:

- What 2 cities should I visit other than Istanbul? Unfortunately, I don't think the beach will be an option in December.
- Can I get around by train or do I need to rent a car?
- Where in Istanbul should I stay?

 

[CTGA_Horn]

- What 2 cities should I visit other than Istanbul?

There are an absolute ton of things to see in Turkey, there are 300 ancient cities, never mind the other stuff. Most visitors see Istambul and the Aegean Coast - some of the big sites are Ephesus and Troy (off the top of my head).

Cappadocia is a unique region in C Turkey (should be perfectly safe) of unique rock formations and rock houses.

the Med coast of Turkey, centered on Antalya, is considered more of a beach resort area (but not in December) but also has far more cool places than you could ever see.

- Can I get around by train or do I need to rent a car?

Maybe neither? Most people use the extensive bus system to get between places. There are also a plethora of flights between the farther flung cities (which might be reasonable).

- Where in Istanbul should I stay?

on the european side at least. there are some hotels right on the "horn" (i stayed at one), but then most hotels are a little north of there (which should be fine).

 

[ghost]

My family and I stayed at the Best Western in Sultanamet (neighborhood/district/whatever of Istanbul), which is right by the Blue Mosque. It was a fantastic location. We walked every where and took an occasional taxi or bus. Getting some help on the later two methods of transportation was a little hard. The only bad thing about our hotel was the fact that it was so close to the Blue Mosque. The Blue Mosque is still active, so call to prayer is 5 times a day and that can get rather annoying.

 

[3rd Degree]

Since you only have 10 days, I would not bite off too much in terms of travel. You will want to spend at least 3 or 4 days in Istanbul - guaranteed. There is so much to see there. Check out Sultanahmet (Topkapi, Blue Mosque, Haghia Sophia, the Cisterns, etc), the Golden Horn (spice market, Galata tower, etc), and Taksim (Pera Palace, Cicek Pasaji for dinner, and Istiklal Caddesi in general), and Ortakoy (huge night spot and open air market). The area over by Bogazici University is also good to see. Oh, and the Princes' Islands are a great day trip.

For your remaining days, I would recommend perhaps taking a tour out from Istanbul to Troy and Gelibolu (Gallipoli battlefield). Also, if you are going to go all the way to Ephesus, you will probably want to fly (or bus) to Izmir, which is a good city to visit from all accounts, but I haven't been there. For a good party (I think even in December), check out Bodrum. I also really love Antalya, but you will definitely want to fly there, given your time constraints. Oh, and Capadoccia is incredible, but is also a bit tough to reach in a short amount of time. I took the bus from Ankara, but you might be able to fly into Kayseri. I am not sure. You will have to prioritize where you want to go.

I would NOT recommend renting a car in Turkey. Turkey has some of the highest traffic fatalities in the world. Traffic signals and striping in the road are merely suggestions for most Turks. I would take the bus or fly for longer trips. The train is an option, but the bus system is MUCH better. The bus depot in Ankara looks like an international airport.

3rd Degree

 

[Bernard]

You probably don't need a car in Istanbul, but I HIGHLY recommend one for the rest of your trip. You only have 10 days. I wouldn't waste a single hour waiting for a damn bus. I drove around Turkey for over two weeks in 1991 (age 22) and had a blast. Driving was no problem at all.

No matter what you do in Turkey, do the following:

1. Have dinner at the Sarnic Resturant in Istanbul. It's on a little street very near the Hagia Sophia. The main dining room is underground in part of the ancient system of underground water cisterns. Very unique dining experience.

2. Visit Termessos. Arrive early in the morning. In December you'll have nearly the entire place to yourself. It's an ancient city in ruins, but it hasn't been all put back together for bus loads of tourists like Ephesus. I felt like I was the first one to discover it. Incredible amphitheater. You'll hear lots about Alexander the Great while in Turkey. This is the one city he didn't conquor. The city is tucked way up the mountains. Alexander took one look up the mountain, declared them his friends and kept marching.

Find a way to extend the trip. You won't regret it.

Bernard

 

[kbrown]

Isn't the fabled "Troy" in Turkey somewhere? At least what Schliemann called the ruins of Troy.

 

[milk_monitor]

If you're a good driver, I would recommend just renting a car to drive along the Aegean coast, and see Ephesus, Pergamon, etc. You'd have to be insane to drive in Istanbul.

 

[Napoleon]

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[bluto]

my buddy is on his way to Turkey now for that whole 'teaching conversational english' program. he said they are in a tremendous drought right now where you can't even use water on certain days for anything. and even then, you are advised not to drink too much of it b/c of the quality.

 

[chadpnm84]

the water situation is only really bad in ankara, which is not a usual stop on the gentleman's tour of turkey. istanbul and the resorts are fine for the next few months, the last i heard. i've heard good things about bodrum, i'll actually be there at the beginning of september. aren't you planning a trip to turkey sometime soon, bluto?

 

[Napoleon]

I was in Bodrum for 2 days somewhere around September 10th-15th back in 1997.

My first night I was awoken at 5:00am by a knocking sound on the wall that lasted until 5:30am. It was accompanied by moans and it was coming from the couple one floor down from me. I think that it was the guy and girl that ran the pension that I was staying in. DAMN THEM!! I wanted to be doing that.

I really think that the first weekend in September is the LAST of the Bodrum summer. (Or at least it felt that way 10 years ago.) It's that feeling when everything is on sale, there are tons of boat charters... but hardly any customers. Tons of available deck chairs for sunning by the water and waiters standing around wishing they had customers to serve.

Bodrum is pretty cool. There's an old fort near the edge of the marina. The water is crystal clear. It was fairly cheap at that time and I'm sure that it still will be.

Try to take one of those half day/all day boat excursions. The clear water makes the experience like little/nothing else you will find in the States.

Enjoy.

 

[shakahorn]

whatever you do, don't try to smuggle heroin out there by taping it to your body.

 

[chadpnm84]

Also, bring an adequate supply of immodium. hate to break it to you, but youre probably going to have the worst case of the runs for the first 8 days or so of your trip, even if you stick to drinking bottled water. I don't know if it's the water used in cooking food or the oil used in cooking food or what, but whatever it is, it gives the unsuspecting foreigner major league mud butt for a good week.
The Link

 

[Napoleon]

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[hullabelew]

When I saw the thread title, I thought of this.
Lots of fun, the best I can recall.