Discovering Türkiye 🇹🇷

We arrived in Istanbul at about 5:30am following an overnight Thai Airways flight. It took some time to make our way through the large airport and collect our luggage before ordering an Uber. Unfortunately the Uber driver was using a GPS spoofing app to make it look like he was in the pickup queue when in fact he was a long way away. We ended up having to walk several hundred meters to find him. Then during the trip to our hotel we almost got rear ended when he made a u-turn into oncoming traffic. It wasn’t the best first impression, however after we arrived at our hotel, things started looking up.

We were able to check-in to our room after a complimentary breakfast, which was great to get a bit of rest before heading out to explore the local area. We were staying at the Weingart Istanbul (AU$122.71 per night) in the Karaköy district. It was a really good location, close to a lot of restaurants and bars, and a short walk to the Galata Tower.

After an early night to catch up on sleep, we had brunch and visited the Galata Tower. We then walked along İstiklal Street, a pedestrian shopping promenade not too far from our hotel. At midday we headed to an Irish Pub to watch the second State of Origin (Queensland won!). We had an amazing dinner at a nearby restaurant Kapı Karaköy.

The following day we met with the group that we would be spending the next two weeks with on the Intrepid Best of Turkey 15 day tour. There were ten people, mostly from Australia, with one couple from New Zealand. After the initial meeting, we caught the tram to the old town and visited the Grand Bazaar, Sultanahmet Square and the Blue Mosque.

The next day we woke early to catch a public bus to Canakkale. When we arrived, we had lunch and took a private shuttle bus to the Gallipoli peninsula where we visited ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair, and the Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment Martyrs’ Memorial. It was a really solemn experience visiting sites that held such an important role in Australia’s early history. Later that afternoon, we caught a ferry to the village of Canakkale where we stayed at the Grand Anzac Hotel.

The next morning we caught a private bus to the ancient city of Troy where we spent about two hours walking through the ruins of the various cities which occupied the site over thousands of years. We then travelled to Selcuk, where we would spend the next two nights at Hotel Akay. We had dinner before a few of us found a nice Irish Pub to watch the Australia vs USA FIFA World Cup match. Unfortunately, Australia went down 2-0.

The following morning we visited the ancient city of Ephesus. Neither of us had heard of Ephesus before, so our expectations weren’t high, however it turned out to be one of the highlights of the tour as the city was fairly well preserved and we were able to gain a bit of an understanding of what life was like for the residents of the city. After the tour, we had some traditional Turkish Gözleme for lunch before visiting the Temple of Artemis, and returning to our hotel for some free time. Bernii and I went for dinner at a nearby rooftop restaurant Pizza Kallinos, which was very good.

We departed Selcuk on a train bound for Pamukkale, where we checked into the Bellamaritimo Hotel. In the afternoon we went to the ancient city of Hierapolis. After Troy and Ephesus, we were getting a bit ancient citied out, so we quickly visited the spring water terraced travertines, before I walked back to the village for a beverage or two, and Bernii spent some time swimming in the Cleopatra Ancient Pool.

The next day we caught a private bus to Kayaköy in the Fethiye district, where we spent two nights at the Makri Hotel. In the afternoon we walked to the nearby Abandoned Village of Kayaköy, a ghost town that has been abandoned since the 1920s.

The following morning I was looking forward to hiking a section of the Lycian Way to the village of Oludeniz, however the Forestry Commission had closed the trail due to the risk of wildfires, so we instead caught a bus to Oludeniz and visited the Blue Lagoon. Bernii went for a swim while I had a few beers at a nearby bar and watched the paragliders come in to land right out the front. That evening we had a Turkish barbecue dinner at our hotel and enjoyed a few local beers.

We caught a bus to the seaside village of Kas where we spent the next two nights at Hotel Linda. We went for a walk through the city centre before heading to a local bar, Cafe Barcelona, for a few beers and then joined the rest of the group for dinner at a local restaurant Cinarlar Garden Restaurant. The food was really good, so we returned again the following night.

On our second day in Kas, we caught a bus to Kekova where we boarded a gullet (a traditional Turkish boat) for a few hours on the water. We went swimming in the clear turquoise Mediterranean water and had lunch on the boat. In the afternoon, we returned to our hotel before again visiting Cafe Barcelona before dinner.

The following day was a long drive to the city of Konya, a conservative city in the central Anatolia region. We arrived in the afternoon and checked in to our hotel, the Ramada Encore. We then went for a walk through the city to the Mevlâna Museum. We had an early night that evening and departed for Cappadocia the following morning.

It took about four hours to arrive to Cappadocia. On the way, we stopped at the Kaymakli Underground City where we spent 45 minutes exploring the tunnel and cave systems of the underground city. We then continued to Cappadocia where we checked into the Urgup Konak Hotel. We drove to the nearby town of Göreme where we had some lunch and visited a PTT ATM to withdraw cash to pay for the following morning’s hot air balloon trip, before heading back to our hotel for some free time. I caught a taxi back to Göreme where I hiked the Red Valley/Rose Valley trail. It was about 10km and took roughly three hours to complete. It was very scenic, with cave churches and spaces carved into spectacular the rock formations.

After the hike, I returned to Göreme and went to the same PTT ATM that others had used earlier in the day, however it refused to give me any cash, and swallowed my debit card. Fortunately I have a backup card, however it will be a pain getting the replacement card delivered to me as ING don’t post replacement cards internationally.

The next morning we woke for a 4:00am departure for our sunrise hot air balloon trip over the Rose Valley and Cappadocia region. It was an amazing experience and definitely a highlight of the trip. There were 140 hot air balloons in the air around us and at times we drifted close to the ground and at others we soared high above everything. The photos won’t do it justice. When we finished, we had a glass of champagne and headed back to our hotel to get some rest before heading back to Göreme and the Love Valley where we walked amongst the ‘fairy chimney’ rock formations. We then had dinner at a local family’s house, where they prepared bread and dips, a delicious vegetable casserole, chocolate cake, and Turkish tea.

A long drive saw us arrive in Eskisehir the following afternoon, where we checked into the Tymbris Hotel and went on a walk through the city to the Odun Pazarı village. Bernii and I had dinner by ourselves this evening as the group dinner was scheduled a little too early for us. We then had a few drinks with the ‘Efes crew’ (a group of six of us).

The next day saw us walk to the train station and board a train bound for Istanbul where we would return to the Weingart Istanbul for the last night of our tour. Unfortunately, two members of the group had to depart for the airport as soon as we arrived back in Istanbul, so they missed out on the final night. We went out for an amazing dinner at Tershane Karaköy, a restaurant with a fantastic view of the Golden Horn and bridges, as well as multiple mosques, including Suleymaniye Mosque, Yeni Mosque and Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Once again, the Efes crew (minus one member) headed out for some beers and to watch some FIFA World Cup matches. Three of us made it home around 2:00am… one last hurrah for the tour!

Bernii and I spent the next five nights in Istanbul where we had some amazing food and drinks. Bernii also enjoyed an authentic Turkish Hammam at Amethyst Turkish Bath. The three hour long package began with a relaxing swim in the cave pool and unwinding in the sauna. It was then followed by an invigorating traditional scrub and foam ritual that was unlike anything she had ever experienced before. It concluded with a rejuvenating full body massage and mud mask facial. She absolutely loved the experience and can highly recommend it to anyone visiting Istanbul.

Türkiye is one of our favourite countries we have visited on this trip. The history, scenery, culture, people, food, and drinks make it a special place that we hope to return to someday.