Hello,
First off, I AM exploring all the various posts on Turkey and Greece and the islands, and will continue to do so, but it's all a bit overwhelming, too. The good thing is that right now, we are almost completely open on everything--timetable, departure/arrival airports, and what to do, where to go.
The only definites are: 1) we want to travel Sept/Oct, 2) seems best to go into or out of Istanbul as--lucky us--we will be staying there for a week or so with a great friend and native Turk who will plan our itinerary for there, and 3) as much as there is to see and do, and as sad as it will be to miss most of it, the trip has to be fairly undemanding, physically. My husband is not disabled, but he will be 78 at that time, tires fairly easily and doesn't sleep well even at home, so destinations have to be kept to a minimum, travel days need to have at least one recovery day afterwards, and ruins/historic sites will have to be narrowed down to only a few. As much as I've always wanted to see the Acropolis, skipping Athens is okay with us unless it makes sense as a departure or entry point.
Rather than seeing a lot, we'd like to have a trip that gives us the 'feel' of the places, with ample time to relax and enjoy food, people, and scenery. I'm pushing for four weeks; husband trying to keep it to three. Best departure/entry airports for us (and they don't have to be the same) are DC, Atlanta, or Boston. As mentioned, we'd like to either start or end the trip with Istanbul. Renting a car at any/various points is certainly doable, but we would rather not, if possible.
Do not necessarily have to do two islands, but it would our preference. Our friend recommended sticking to the Dodecanese, and said her favorites are Patmos and Leros. We definitely want to avoid the most touristy islands and are not looking for late-night nightlife, but certainly want a place with some bars and restaurants to go to. Would like to get a hotel or rental with sea frontage but, in keeping with the non-touristy goal, we don't have an unlimited budget, either. Simple is not only fine, it's preferable, as long as it's clean.
I had booked roundtrip flights from Boston to Santorini, originally, at a great price, with the intention of having just a couple of days there, but British Airways cancelled the third leg, and I (possibly stupidly) just decided to cancel the whole thing and start over. Point being that Cyclades are okay too, for one of the two stops, if that made sense.
Any suggested itineraries/islands would be greatly, greatly appreciated. I know I need to make some reservations fairly soon. Thank you!