I have 4 weeks to work with. I would like to travel Istanbul to Bursa to Ephesus to Dalyan, Quanos, Fethiye stopping in Antalya.
However, I don't to miss Cappadocia with the Ilhara valley, the troglodyte caves and underground cities.
Is this doable in 4 weeks?
If not I will simply skip the coast and travel inland via Ankara to Cappadocia.
Don't skip the coast.
If you plan your itinerary well, you should be able to do it in 4 weeks.
It looks like 6 stops; so plan an average of 4 days for each stop and allow the other days for travel.
Create your itinerary by making a page listing each day down the left side and then show all of your activities for each day. Then analyze every day for best use of time.
I think 4 weeks is plenty of time for a full itinerary in Western Turkey. Here is one approximate itinerary--I have left out Quanos because I don't know where it is or what you plan to do there, so I couldn't factor it in.
Istanbul--seven days.
Bursa--one day.
Travel back to Istanbul and flight to Izmir and then travel to your hotel base for Ephesus--most of the next day.
Ephesus--two days (add one day if you want to visit Sirince or other Aegean ruins like Didyma, Prietus or Miletus).
Fethiye--two days.
Mediterranean coast between Fethiye and Antalya--three days, including time in Dalyan, and leaisurely stops along the coast such as Kas, Kalkan, Demre (Lycean tomb, St Nicolas church), Cirali (unspoiled beaches with Byzantine ruins, turtle hatchings) and Patara (long, golden sand beach.
Antalya--two days (Kaleici old walled city, archaeology museum).
From there I would travel inland:
Konya--one day (historic mosques, Mevlana tomb and museum, Islamic culture).
Cappadocia--four days (hiking, the caves, dawn hot air balloon ride, Goreme open air museum). On the road between Konya and Cappadocia, stop at one of the preserved caravanserais and contemplate the old Silk Road).
After Cappadocia, I would travel to Ankara next:
Ankara--one day (Museum of Anatolian culture, Ataturk mausoleum.
Overnight train back to Istanbul.
Back to Istanbul before leaving Turkey.
This itinerary is three weeks total and I think easily doable and not a forced march at all. Add in Quanos and additional time along the way for the things you like to do and you have great tour of Turkey.
One thing you might consider adding is Pamukkale between Ephesus and Fethiye--there are excellent ruins there at Hieropolis and at Afrodesias on the way (and the ones at Afrodesias are much less touristed than those at Ephesis) and the travertines at Pamukkale are a unique experience. That would be worth an extra day.
Thank you for your encouraging replies. They are very helpful.
I would like to avoid booking pensions/hotels ahead of time for maximum flexibility. (I am not picky about where I stay) Is this approach feasible for this itinerary? We are traveling April 21 - May 18 so it is not peak season.
You should have no problems that time of year not booking in advance. You might want to for Istanbul, however, since a lot of pensions will include a free pickup at Ataturk Airport if you are staying for more than a couple days. Although it is possible to get from the airport to Sultanahmet via public transport, it is extremely inconvenient, so most opt for a taxi. Saving the cost of a taxi might be worth booking in advance.
