We are going to Turkey!

[CJ2008]

Oh how I wish I could have seen this thread a few days earlier. I am an Istanbulite! I hope it's not too late to write a few words!

I'd recommend you to skip the Asian side. I think a boat ride in Bosphorus will be good enough. The boats are located near the main bus stops in Eminönü. You can see the beautiful waterside mansions, Dolmabahçe and Çırağan Palaces and the Maiden's Tower- in which my husband proposed to me over dinner- in a 1,5 - 2 hour boat ride.



The real Istanbul experience for me is in the old part of the city - The Eminönü - Sultanahmet - Süleymaniye area. In addition to Topkapi Palace, Basilica Cisterns, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Grand Bazaar, Istanbul Archeology Museum one should also visit the Süleymaniye Mosque. It was built in the time of "Suleiman the Magnificent". It would be a waste to come to Istanbul and not visit this beautiful mosque. The garden of the mosque also has a great view. If you're planning to visit Süleymaniye, be sure to at least stop by the doors of Istanbul University (it is right across Beyazıt Mosque). It was founded in 1453 and has this great looking entrance. It has a special place in my heart because I spent 4 years there This is the main entrance:



Cihangir is across Haliç - an area close to Taksim which is now mostly populated by the "artsy" people. Taksim and mainly Istiklal Street was quite popular in the early 1900's. It's still a nice place to visit. I have to warn you though- the street is extremely crowded. If you're not a fan of crowds you may want to skip it altogether. I'm not a fan as I prefer a historical atmosphere. This is a picture of the Istiklal Street:



If I were you I'd spend my first day in the old city and visit Taksim and Dolmabahçe Palace and Ortaköy in my second day. It's so easy to go there as you have lots of transportation options. Oh and now it's time for the İstanbul Tulip Festival, would be worth it to see the numerous types of tulips in Emirgan. Us locals prefer to go to Bosphorus for breakfast on Sundays, have a nice walk by the sea and then go on with our day. I may be blabbering but I am IN LOVE with this city and get excited even when I'm talking about it.

One last thing or two- when you're in Sultanahmet and want to drink tea the Turkish way go to "Çorlulu Ali Paşa Medresesi". They have tea, coffee and water pipes of course. There are lots of places to drink tea but I think this is the most original looking place.

-Hamdi Restaurant in Eminönü has great kebabs and their baklava is really good too.

-If you want to buy Turkish coffee you need to go to "Kurukahveci Mehmet Efendi". It is also in Eminönü. You can see the people waiting in line to get coffee and I'm sure you will also smell the coffee aroma in the air.

Well, I know it is late but really hope this will be helpful for someone.

No, it's not too late at all! We're not going until June!

Thanks so much for all these "insider" details I am so looking forward the food, and the tea, and the cofee...

Cihangir looks cool! I'd love to see it.

Do you have any "hidden gems" as far as hotels in the Sultanahmet area - we don't mind spending a little more for something nice.

 

[MrsAkin]

Oh I didn't realize you'll be visiting in June! Silly me! The thing is I know where to eat, where to go for specific things but really don't have a clue about hotels. By the way if you're planning to stay in Sultanahmet if won't take so much time to go there from the airport. I don't know what the taxi driver who took justginger to her hotel was up to but it literally is impossible to spend so much time when there's no traffic. It's less than 20 kms! He doesn't seem like an honest person

 

[Octavia]

Oh I didn't realize you'll be visiting in June! Silly me! The thing is I know where to eat, where to go for specific things but really don't have a clue about hotels. By the way if you're planning to stay in Sultanahmet if won't take so much time to go there from the airport. I don't know what the taxi driver who took justginger to her hotel was up to but it literally is impossible to spend so much time when there's no traffic. It's less than 20 kms! He doesn't seem like an honest person

I was just going to say the same thing regarding travel times -- on the rare occasions when traffic on the Bosphorus bridge isn't terrible, we can get from where family lives on the Asian side to Ataturk airport in about 1 hour 15 minutes. Going to the Sultanahmet area shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic. I'm not very familiar with hotels, as we generally stay with family, but my parents once stayed at the Crowne Plaza when they visited. It's a little further away, past the Grand Bazaar and close to the Tulip Mosque, but it's right on the streetcar line so they found it easy enough to get around. It was created from a few historic buildings around a courtyard, so it's kind of neat looking despite being a chain hotel. When I have stayed in hotels, they were in/around Taksim Square, which probably isn't where you really want to be. One more tip, though, is don't underestimate the jet lag -- you will want to try to stay up until 9 or 10 before you fall asleep so you can get over the time change more quickly, but it can be really, really hard. Having some sort of activity planned to distract yourself is a good idea, but I wouldn't venture too far from your hotel and I wouldn't make your plans overly energetic that first evening...

MrsAkin, merhaba! Türkmüsünüz? Ben Amerikalıyım, ama benim eşim Türk. Türkçe yavaşça öğreniyorum -- çok zor! Nice to see you on the forum, I can't think of any other members who actually live in Turkey!

 

[MrsAkin]

MrsAkin, merhaba! Türkmüsünüz? Ben Amerikalıyım, ama benim eşim Türk. Türkçe yavaşça öğreniyorum -- çok zor! Nice to see you on the forum, I can't think of any other members who actually live in Turkey!

Octavia, Size de merhaba! Evet Türküm ve İstanbul'da yaşıyorum. Açıkçası çok şaşırdım, bir an benim gibi başka bir Türk var forumda diye düşündüm. Kendi anadilini görmek insanın hoşuna gidiyor. Öğrenmeyi istemeniz çok güzel, başlamışsınız ya gerisi gelir zaten. Ne kadar zamandır Türkçe öğreniyorsunuz?

 

[April20]

April20, thanks so much for all your wonderful tips!

I already scheduled the shuttle bus from the airport to Goreme via the company you told me about.

I already scheduled the 1.5 hour balloon ride. YEAH! (DH agreed right away, it was a must to do!)

We have reservations at Kelebek - so we're excited about that too. I (and DH too) am so picky when it comes to hotels. It really does seem - based on the pictures I've seen of the rooms - that the Kelebek does have nice rooms. I'll keep the Spelunca in mind as a second option. I really wish people on Trip Advisor would post pictures of their ROOMS instead of the views - that is often how I make my choice of hotel, by seeing other people's candid pictures. Retouched pictures that the hotels offer don't mean anything to me.

And yes, I cannot WAIT for the food!

Please post pictures! Would love to see some.

Any hotel recs in Istanbul?

When we were in Istanbul, I used my Hilton points for the hotel. We stayed at the Conrad. It was very nice, but it's a bit far from everything and you don't have a ton of time so find something more centrally located for sure. We had to walk a couple blocks down to the train and then take that for a bit. You can't beat free though! And they upgraded us, so I didn't mind the walk.

I'll get on DH's computer in a bit and post some photos. As is typical with me, they're probably mostly food. Ha ha ha. We just came back from two weeks in the UK (with a small side trip to Paris) and I'd say 50% of my photos are food markets and distilleries!

 

[April20]

Oh I didn't realize you'll be visiting in June! Silly me! The thing is I know where to eat, where to go for specific things but really don't have a clue about hotels. By the way if you're planning to stay in Sultanahmet if won't take so much time to go there from the airport. I don't know what the taxi driver who took justginger to her hotel was up to but it literally is impossible to spend so much time when there's no traffic. It's less than 20 kms! He doesn't seem like an honest person

We took public transportation to Ataturk from our hotel and if I remember correctly, it was slightly less than an hour and that was with a million stops along the way. So yeah, I think that taxi drive took them for a ride. Literally and figuratively.

 

[justginger]

Oh I didn't realize you'll be visiting in June! Silly me! The thing is I know where to eat, where to go for specific things but really don't have a clue about hotels. By the way if you're planning to stay in Sultanahmet if won't take so much time to go there from the airport. I don't know what the taxi driver who took justginger to her hotel was up to but it literally is impossible to spend so much time when there's no traffic. It's less than 20 kms! He doesn't seem like an honest person

We took public transportation to Ataturk from our hotel and if I remember correctly, it was slightly less than an hour and that was with a million stops along the way. So yeah, I think that taxi drive took them for a ride. Literally and figuratively.

I wouldn't be surprised but it did seem like very direct route. All I know is that at 10 pm, after two international flights, $100 was worth not navigating public transportation.

 

[CJ2008]

Oh I didn't realize you'll be visiting in June! Silly me! The thing is I know where to eat, where to go for specific things but really don't have a clue about hotels. By the way if you're planning to stay in Sultanahmet if won't take so much time to go there from the airport. I don't know what the taxi driver who took justginger to her hotel was up to but it literally is impossible to spend so much time when there's no traffic. It's less than 20 kms! He doesn't seem like an honest person

Food is just as crucial to a good vacation!

Good to know about the transfer - I know I can arrange it via the hotel - but are there any reputable taxi or travel companies you can recommend? Even located within the airport?

 

[CJ2008]

Oh I didn't realize you'll be visiting in June! Silly me! The thing is I know where to eat, where to go for specific things but really don't have a clue about hotels. By the way if you're planning to stay in Sultanahmet if won't take so much time to go there from the airport. I don't know what the taxi driver who took justginger to her hotel was up to but it literally is impossible to spend so much time when there's no traffic. It's less than 20 kms! He doesn't seem like an honest person

I was just going to say the same thing regarding travel times -- on the rare occasions when traffic on the Bosphorus bridge isn't terrible, we can get from where family lives on the Asian side to Ataturk airport in about 1 hour 15 minutes. Going to the Sultanahmet area shouldn't take more than 30-45 minutes, depending on traffic. I'm not very familiar with hotels, as we generally stay with family, but my parents once stayed at the Crowne Plaza when they visited. It's a little further away, past the Grand Bazaar and close to the Tulip Mosque, but it's right on the streetcar line so they found it easy enough to get around. It was created from a few historic buildings around a courtyard, so it's kind of neat looking despite being a chain hotel. When I have stayed in hotels, they were in/around Taksim Square, which probably isn't where you really want to be. One more tip, though, is don't underestimate the jet lag -- you will want to try to stay up until 9 or 10 before you fall asleep so you can get over the time change more quickly, but it can be really, really hard. Having some sort of activity planned to distract yourself is a good idea, but I wouldn't venture too far from your hotel and I wouldn't make your plans overly energetic that first evening...

MrsAkin, merhaba! Türkmüsünüz? Ben Amerikalıyım, ama benim eşim Türk. Türkçe yavaşça öğreniyorum -- çok zor! Nice to see you on the forum, I can't think of any other members who actually live in Turkey!

Thanks Octavia - I want to totally ignore the reality of jet lag because we're so short on time but I know we can't maybe just a nice dinner and walking around would be the best bet

By the way - what can we expect as far as weather and how do people dress?

 

[CJ2008]

April20, thanks so much for all your wonderful tips!

I already scheduled the shuttle bus from the airport to Goreme via the company you told me about.

I already scheduled the 1.5 hour balloon ride. YEAH! (DH agreed right away, it was a must to do!)

We have reservations at Kelebek - so we're excited about that too. I (and DH too) am so picky when it comes to hotels. It really does seem - based on the pictures I've seen of the rooms - that the Kelebek does have nice rooms. I'll keep the Spelunca in mind as a second option. I really wish people on Trip Advisor would post pictures of their ROOMS instead of the views - that is often how I make my choice of hotel, by seeing other people's candid pictures. Retouched pictures that the hotels offer don't mean anything to me.

And yes, I cannot WAIT for the food!

Please post pictures! Would love to see some.

Any hotel recs in Istanbul?

When we were in Istanbul, I used my Hilton points for the hotel. We stayed at the Conrad. It was very nice, but it's a bit far from everything and you don't have a ton of time so find something more centrally located for sure. We had to walk a couple blocks down to the train and then take that for a bit. You can't beat free though! And they upgraded us, so I didn't mind the walk.

I'll get on DH's computer in a bit and post some photos. As is typical with me, they're probably mostly food. Ha ha ha. We just came back from two weeks in the UK (with a small side trip to Paris) and I'd say 50% of my photos are food markets and distilleries!

Thanks April - yeah we'd want to be as central as possible.

Would love photos - even of food, that would excite me too! - when you get a chance.

 

[April20]

Here are some pics of our trip. I took 1200ish photos, but I cannot find them! I pulled these off my FB page.

This first set of pictures are from Goreme. Spelunca Hotel- with a picture of the room. Also, picture of the exterior (typical cave hotel) and the view from there down into the village.

 

[April20]

Here are a couple from our balloon ride and the inside of the underground city at Kaymakli.

 

[April20]

This is from one of the cafes in Goreme. It's a nice place to hang out. You can't miss it, it's next to the used book store/internet cafe.

The food was good here!

 

[April20]

This was taken in Bursa. I know you're not going there, but I saw similar set ups in restaurants in Istanbul. I have NO idea what this is called, but it was one of the best things I ate!

 

[April20]

Okay, last ones. The first one is the view of the ships lining up to enter the Bosporus from the Black Sea. This was taken from the top of the hill in the little village where are cruise docked for a few hours.

The next picture is from a food shop in the Grand Bazaar. Charcoal grilled to order. It was delicious!

The last one is Istanbul at sunset. So pretty!

 

[justginger]

This is from one of the cafes in Goreme. It's a nice place to hang out. You can't miss it, it's next to the used book store/internet cafe.

The food was good here!

The food WAS good there!

 

[CJ2008]

Thank you for all the awesome pictures, April! I appreciate the one of the room, too And I am definitely going to look for the "best thing you ever ate" as well as have one of those sandwiches!

 

[Octavia]

By the way - what can we expect as far as weather and how do people dress?

June in Istanbul will be pretty warm but probably not unbearable yet -- probably low 80s, though it could be a tad cooler or warmer than that. I don't know about Cappodocia. I don't wear anything too out of the ordinary (for me), generally jeans/tees/sweaters in cooler weather and skirts with tees or sometimes tank tops when it's hot. You'll see Turkish women in anything from burqas to skimpy minidresses and everything in between, and most of the men dress very much like men in America or Western Europe. Younger people in particular can be very fashion-forward. Definitely bring comfortable shoes for walking. If you're planning to visit mosques, make sure to wear either pants (for both sexes) or a longer skirt (for women) and to wear a shirt that covers your shoulders (or add a cardigan) -- it's considered rude to show too much skin and some of the stricter mosques might not let you in if they don't like the way you're dressed. Also, bring a pashmina to cover your hair, some mosques will lend one to you if you don't have your own but that always seems kind of icky to me.

Dress codes tend to be more conservative in rural areas and places that rely less on income from tourists. The other area in Turkey where I've spent a fair amount of time, aside from Istanbul, is sort of a "riviera" popular with Europeans and pretty much anything goes there. And Istanbul is so huge and busy, and the areas you'll be in so frequented by tourists, that you don't really have to worry about clothing choices for the most part. I can't speak to Cappodocia, but if in doubt I just err on the side of caution (meaning a knee-length skirt rather than a mini, capris and not Daisy Dukes, a tee instead of a spaghetti-strap tank top, etc). Hope that helps!

 

[MrsAkin]

April20, the "one of the best things you ate" is called Gözleme. It can be made with cheese, mashed potatoes or spinach and goes great with tea. It's past 1.30 am. in here - I wish I hadn't checked this thread. Sooo hungry Did you have a chance to have Bursa's special "İskender Kebap" and candied chestnuts? And did you get to see the 600 years old plane-tree? It's a great city filled with lots of historical places and yummy flavors!

CJ2008, I'm pretty much sure the weather will be hot in June. Not likely to be so unbearable like July - August. Junes here are sunny and bright around 25-30 degrees. We're just in the beginning of May and lots of people were walking in t-shirts today. Nights are still cold but we have the best weather in Istanbul during the day. I don't really get what you want to know about the way people dress. Are you curious about the way people dress in general, like a dress code? If so be comfortable and dress as you normally would. Just try to be more modest when you're going inside the mosques. If you were asking about the way you should dress in June weather I'd say bring summery clothes but pack light layers too. Keep in mind that it will probably be hot in the day and cold at night in Göreme. I was there in the beginning of November- 2011 and it was so cold this one lady's leather bag literally started to crack like the way our skin reacts. Istanbul was not cold at all when we came back!

 

[CJ2008]

By the way - what can we expect as far as weather and how do people dress?

June in Istanbul will be pretty warm but probably not unbearable yet -- probably low 80s, though it could be a tad cooler or warmer than that. I don't know about Cappodocia. I don't wear anything too out of the ordinary (for me), generally jeans/tees/sweaters in cooler weather and skirts with tees or sometimes tank tops when it's hot. You'll see Turkish women in anything from burqas to skimpy minidresses and everything in between, and most of the men dress very much like men in America or Western Europe. Younger people in particular can be very fashion-forward. Definitely bring comfortable shoes for walking. If you're planning to visit mosques, make sure to wear either pants (for both sexes) or a longer skirt (for women) and to wear a shirt that covers your shoulders (or add a cardigan) -- it's considered rude to show too much skin and some of the stricter mosques might not let you in if they don't like the way you're dressed. Also, bring a pashmina to cover your hair, some mosques will lend one to you if you don't have your own but that always seems kind of icky to me.

Dress codes tend to be more conservative in rural areas and places that rely less on income from tourists. The other area in Turkey where I've spent a fair amount of time, aside from Istanbul, is sort of a "riviera" popular with Europeans and pretty much anything goes there. And Istanbul is so huge and busy, and the areas you'll be in so frequented by tourists, that you don't really have to worry about clothing choices for the most part. I can't speak to Cappodocia, but if in doubt I just err on the side of caution (meaning a knee-length skirt rather than a mini, capris and not Daisy Dukes, a tee instead of a spaghetti-strap tank top, etc). Hope that helps!

Thanks Octavia

Shucks I'm disappointed I won't be able to wear my Daisy Dukes

This helps a lot - and thanks so much for warning me about the pashmina - I'd definitely want to bring my own.

 

[CJ2008]

April20, the "one of the best things you ate" is called Gözleme. It can be made with cheese, mashed potatoes or spinach and goes great with tea. It's past 1.30 am. in here - I wish I hadn't checked this thread. Sooo hungry Did you have a chance to have Bursa's special "İskender Kebap" and candied chestnuts? And did you get to see the 600 years old plane-tree? It's a great city filled with lots of historical places and yummy flavors!

CJ2008, I'm pretty much sure the weather will be hot in June. Not likely to be so unbearable like July - August. Junes here are sunny and bright around 25-30 degrees. We're just in the beginning of May and lots of people were walking in t-shirts today. Nights are still cold but we have the best weather in Istanbul during the day. I don't really get what you want to know about the way people dress. Are you curious about the way people dress in general, like a dress code? If so be comfortable and dress as you normally would. Just try to be more modest when you're going inside the mosques. If you were asking about the way you should dress in June weather I'd say bring summery clothes but pack light layers too. Keep in mind that it will probably be hot in the day and cold at night in Göreme. I was there in the beginning of November- 2011 and it was so cold this one lady's leather bag literally started to crack like the way our skin reacts. Istanbul was not cold at all when we came back!

Ooooh MrsAkin thanks for letting me know what that's called - it sounds delicious.

Yes, in general...I was wondering how casual people get (although I'm not too casual of a dresser myself, and for example, never wear sneakers unless I'm going to the gym). I wanted to know what people find "acceptable" to walk around the city in.

And thanks for the layering advice for Göreme!

 

[April20]

'I brought a pair of jeans, a pair of khakis and a jean skirt along with assorted shirts. I brought a dressier skirt too should I need it and I never wore it. There are tourists everywhere.... and pretty much everyone I saw, tourists and residents alike were basically dressed like I was.