My husband and I will be traveling in Turkey this summer; we are flying into Istanbul and then want to see as much as possible before proceeding to Greece. Rick's DVD on Turkey showed some wonderful churches in caves, I think in Cappadocia. We would like to go there, but don't have a lot of time. We have driven a lot on other trips and find that we can cover a lot of territory, but sometimes the local roads take longer than you would imagine looking at a map. I am wondering how long it would take to get to Cappadocia, and would you recommend going through Ankara to get there, or another route? Once there, how do you find the churches? I would also like to see the pottery at Guzelyurt; are there any other sights (churches, etc.)there? After seeing that area, we want to get back to Pammukale and Ephesus. How long would that take and is there a route you would recommend?
Posted by
Atlanta
3262 posts
Hi Sally,
We had the same dilemma when planning our trip to Turkey--the country is huge! Here's what we did:
We spent 5 nights in Istanbul and then flew (one hour flight) to Izmir on Atlas Air. From Izmir we took a dolmus (small van), to Selcuk to see Ephesus, etc. After 2 nights in Selcuk we took a Kamel Koc bus to Antalya (all-day bus trip arranged by the Hotel Bella staff.) From Antalya we took a dolmus to Cirali for a 2-night stay on the coast. Then, back to Antalya for a night bus trip to Goreme in Cappadocia (Suha Bus Line arranged by the staff at Hotel Canada in Cirali.)
We loved our stay in Cappadocia--especially our 3 nights stay at Evi Esbelli in Urgup. The hotel staff arranged for a driver for us for 2 days ($80.00 per day and worth every penny.) He took us to many of the cave churches, an underground city, and would have taken us to Guzelyurt if we had requested it. We flew Turkish Airlines from Nevishir Airport in Cappodicia to spend our last 2 nights in Istanbul. Our total trip lasted about 18 days and we had a fabulous time!
The airfare on the flights was inexpensive and saved us a lot of time compared to driving and/or bus trips. We considered renting a car but decided against it after seeing the aggressive drivers.
I know you'll have a great time!
Posted by
Hoboken, NJ, USA
112 posts
Hi Sally. It sounds like you want to drive so this might not help but here it goes anyway. I Stayed in Istanbul for a few days and then flew from Istanbul to Nevishir (90$ roundtrip). The hotel arranged a pickup at the airport and everything went smoothly.
I stayed in Goreme, the town is usually featured in advertisements for Turkey . Most of the sites are nearby and the hotel can help you find them. It's easy. (I stayed in Goreme, the town is usually featured in advertisements for Turkey.
There is an Open Air Museum which contains many cave churches with frescos from the Byzantium era. The area also contains many areas to hike (which I love) and in the middle of nowhere you can also find cave churches with frescos. I found this experience far more rewarding than the very crowded museum.
One more thing, most people in the tourist areas speak English, Language is not a problem.
Cheers.