September saw us set off for Turkey, a new destination for me, and one I knew little about. The more research I did the more I realised how much there is to this fascinating country. We had just two weeks and wanted to combine sightseeing, relaxation and some city exploration all the while photographing and eating our way across the country. Two weeks gave us time to just scratch the surface – here’s our itinerary…
After flying into Istanbul we took a flight to Kayseri in the centre of the country. We then transferred to Goreme in a region called Cappadocia in central Anatolia and stayed three nights here, the first in a ‘Fairy Chimney’ in the most charming boutique cave hotel. We explored underground cave towns, hiked through some incredible volcanic rock formations, had the best breakfast of my life and took a dawn hot air balloon flight with around 80 other balloons – a memory I’ll always treasure.
Rose Valley, Cappadocia
From Goreme we took a pretty gruesome 8.5 hour drive by night bus to Pamukkale, Denizli. It was worth every bone crunching, sleep-deprived minute to see Pamukkale’s incredible Cotton Castle. The white terraces are formed from calcium carbonate which eventually hardens and forms travertine pools. People have bathed here for thousands of years. Nearby is the archeological town of Hieropolis with amphitheatre, necropolis, monumental gates and ancient ruins. We had just one night in Pamukkale, in a lovely little family run hotel, in a room that looked like a set from a 70s soft-porn film. (Not that I would know….) The gigantic four-poster bed swathed in burgundy sequinned drapes and bedspread need to be seen to be believed!
Travertines, Pamukkale
From Pamukkale we travelled down to the coast at Bodrum – another bus journey but this time only 4.5 hours and in daylight which meant we could take in some of Turkey’s scenery en-route. We had five nights in Bodrum and a chance to kick back and relax. We also spent time wandering the town searching out little bars, a day on a boat and a day in the hospital. Best laid plans…
Turkish eyes – watching your back
From Bodrum we flew back to where we arrived; Istanbul was the destination for our last two nights. We crammed a lot into two days; The Haga Sophia and Blue Mosque, the curiously creepy Basilica Cistern, a boat trip on the Bosphorus, a morning at Topkapi Palace – which wasn’t nearly enough, The hectic Spice Bazaar and the bustling Grand Bazaar as well as general wanderings and explorations.
Sultan Ahmed (Blue Mosque), Istanbul
This is the route we took – straight lines are flights, wiggly lines are road routes.
Do stay posted as I’ll soon be assailing you with travel tales, photos and epicurean Turkish delights.
If you liked that you may like this too…
- Goreme – Fairy Chimneys and Cave Hotels (the-travelbunny.com)
- Göreme – Love Valley and Tree of the Evil Eye (the-travelbunny.com)
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What a great itinerary! Will have to bookmark this to remember how you filled up your 2 weeks, which will most likely be the same amount of time I have! Thanks for sharing!
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Really good info. Is a good tip for Holidaymakers in Bodrum
Thank you
Dear Suzanne, I know you’ve already got it but I’ve nominated you for the ‘Blog of the Year 2012′ Award…your blog is one of my favorite so I decided to nominate you anyway… to check it out please visit my post at http://autumninbruges.wordpress.com/2012/12/16/really/. I’ll be glad if you accept it.
Congratulations on your awards – all so deserved for your lovely blog
Thank you for nominating me too and I’m delighted to accept.
Thank you! Am glad you accept the nomination!
What a fantastic adventure you had! I’m really interested in learning about Turkey so I’m looking forward to hearing more. Your pictures are beautiful!
Thanks Meg – keep posted for lots to come on Turkey
Sounds like a wonderful trip and your images are lovely. I have never been to Turkey but I would love some day to visit Istanbul – the interior of the Blue Mosque looks spectacular, hopefully I will get to see it one day.
I hope you get to see it too – I’d love to go back as there is just so much to see and experience. The food
is amazing too. I still have to get to Dublin some day!!
Beautiful and I’m missing Turkey so much, absolutely loved your pictures – thanks for sharing
Thank you
I’ve always wanted to go to Cappadocia – very jealous!
Lovely photos. Looking forward to seeing more.
Thanks Kathryn
Bring on the dancing girls? (more photos would do!)
No dancing girls this time Jo but heaps of photos (you know me!)
Looking forward to seeing some more pics and reading about the delicious Turkish food in the coming weeks. Is two nights in Istanbul enough?
Not nearly enough Richard – could have done with a week!
Happy travels and Happy Holiday.Thanks for sharing nice travel articles.
We also have taken a surprising trip to Turkey since it was so much more than we expected. We liked it so much – we went back again! We went to the same places with a few more thrown in but I think you definitely hit the high points. You might be interested in seeing our blog for what we did in Turkey…Thanks for the good memories!
Hello and thanks for stopping by
I’m about to hop over and take a look at your Turkey posts now…
Hi! How did you like the Bosphorous cruise? I am going to Istabul in 2 weeks and we are considering doing that.
Hi Nikki – this was something we did last minute as we were short of time. We were out about 2 hours and it was a good way of getting a different perspective of the city. I’d recommend it. I can’t remember which boat we took though. Thanks for dropping by