Comments on 6 weeks in Turkey during August and September '94


Safety: We had several occasions in late evening to walk dark, almost empty,
rural lanes and Istanbul side street and were never threatened at all. Local
men even carry their wallets in the back pocket of their pants without
concern for theft. Every traveler we met agreed with us that we felt safer in
Turkey than in our own home towns.

Water: No one drinks from the tap and good bottled water is cheap and
available everywhere.

Prices are extremely low by US standards: outside Istanbul, it was hard to
spend $5 each for dinner, and pleasant but simple pensions averaged $14
double with private facilities and breakfast. Even in Istanbul, the well
located, pleasant Hotel Historia cost only $45 double (see Istanbul below);
while a dinner with elegant service, fine wine, delicious appetizers, entres
and desserts, plus lovely piano music cost less than $13 per person at the
Citadel Restaurant.

Turkish inter city buses are on-time, air-conditioned Mercedes Benzes with
great suspension systems and amazingly low fares. (A comfortable 6 hour trip
costs under $20, shorter ones much less.)

Southwestern coastal towns are lovely with their archeological ruins,
beaches, and waters. All-day boat rides and mini-bus tours often included
lunch and cost about $12 per person. Highlights included: the Seluk area for
sightseeing the ruins of Ephesus, Priene, and lovely Pamuak Beach lined with
1 and 2 bedroom housekeeping bungalows for $30 and $40 per night; and Dalyan,
with views of Lycian rock tombs from the roof patio of the inar Sahil
Pension, and the pensions boat trip to the Caunus ruins, Turtle Beach,
thermal mud baths, and a swim in clear Lake Kyceriz. Pretty Kas had our
favorite all-day swimming and ruins-viewing boat ride, as well as pleasant,
unpressured browsing in its handicraft shops.

Pamukkales Palmiye Hotel provides perfect views of the areas beautiful and
unique natural thermal pools set in white travertine terraces. Entry into one
of these pools from the back door of our room was a real plus! (All this,
including breakfast and in-room refrigerator cost just $50 - our biggest
Turkey splurge, and well worth it.)

Egirdir: Major highlights of our trip were this cool, mountain lake village
(2 1/2 hours north of Antalya) and the pleasures of simple Halleys Pension 
overlooking the lake. (Telephone in Turkey: 246/ 312-3625.) Here we enjoyed
the beach, lake swimming, row boating, delicious home cooked dinners with our
fellow guests, a colorful Sunday market in a nearby smaller village, and a
fine all day taxi-tour during which we hiked through shady andir Canyon
taking time to swim in cool waters at the base of beautiful waterfalls. (The
pension cost less than $15 double with half-board, and the tour was $12 per
person including barbecue lunch.)

Cappadocia is fascinating  with its fairy chimney rock formations, houses cut
into the soft lava rock, and three underground cities (each can house up to
20,000 people!) which were carved in the rock 1,000 years ago by Byzantine
Christians protecting themselves from invading Ottomans. The whole area makes
for fascinating sight-seeing and/or hiking.

Ankara is Turkeys capital and was the noisiest, smoggiest, costliest,
dirtiest city we saw in the country! Despite its fine Museum of Anatolian
Civilization, we do not recommend staying here except as a quick overnight to
cut the long bus trip from Cappadocia to Bursa or Istanbul.

Bursa is a charming city with fine architecture, gardens, mausoleums of the
earliest sultans, and excellent public transportation. Dont miss the scenic
cable car ride up Uludag mountain where you can hike for miles along quiet
trails through the pines. We also enjoyed the Turkish baths, separated by
sex, at the lovely old Eski Kaplikalari Hamam near the Hotel Karavansary
Terminal. (I enjoyed bath, massage, and body scrub for $6.) We stayed in the
centrally located Cesmeli Hotel ( has elevator and is not far from the
tourist office and listed in the "moderate" section of Lonely Planet) for
$14/night with breakfast.



Istanbul is a fascinating, world-class city.The Sultanamet area, where the
Blue Mosque, Aga Sophia Church, Topkapi Palace and numerous other city
highlights are located, is the best place to stay. We enjoyed the friendly
Hotel Historia with its elevator and lovely lobby chatting area. Its address
is: Mimar Mehmetaga Cadessi, Amiral Tafdil Sok. No. 23, Sultanahmet, 34400
Istanbul. Telephone in Turkey: 212/ 517-7472, Fax: 212/ 516-8169. (When
calling from the US, dial 011-90 first.)  Although the sign at the desk said
$90, a bit of friendly bargaining brought it to $45 double with breakfast. It
is within a 10 minute walk of the sites mentioned above, and only 10 to 20
minutes from most of the others - including the ferry docks. (When tired, we
took the convenient tram.) We also recommend seeing the Whirling Dervishes
perform their riveting religious ceremony at 5 pm the last Sunday of most
months in their Museum of Divan Literature. Most guidebooks dont mention it.
Call 212/ 245-4141 to verify date and time. 

Turkey, A Travel Survival Kit by Lonely Planet was my primary guidebook. The
Travel Survival Kit series is my favorite in every country for its
outstanding maps, information and recommendations. However, due to an
unfortunate error, the November 1993 edition of Turkey lists obsolete phone
numbers outside Istanbul! If you plan to make advance reservations, also
bring a Rough Guide or similar book until a later edition of the Survival Kit
is published. (Correct Turkish phone numbers are like ours: a 3 digit area
code plus a 7 digit local number.)


If your travels in this area include Thessaloniki, Greece, dont miss the
magnificent Archeological Museum containing the remains of the unlooted tomb
of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great. Discovered by a Greek
archeologist in the 1970s, this tomb had never been opened since Philip was
placed in it 336 years before Christ! The workmanship of the gold tiaras,
masks, jewelry, armor and carved and painted vessels is exquisite.

Should you have questions or want more suggestions, feel free to contact me
via e-mail to:  gail_anderman@lamg.com,Internet.




From: Gail_Anderman@lamg.com (Gail Anderman)
Subject: Turkey and North Greece (1/2)
Date: 24 Jul 1995 00:41:19 GMT