Turkey

The climate in October would be very nice, probably around 70 in the day, low 60's at night. However, Turkey is a large country, so that would be variable.

The people are incredibly friendly. Istanbul is one of the world's great cities and easily deserves three full days. Other sights you should try to see:

Ephesus (ancient Roman city)
Cappadocia (amazing scenery, unique in the world)
Ankara (mausoleum of Attaturk, Museum of Anatolian Civilizations)

There are many other sights, but this would be an excellent introduction to the country. Here is an idea:

Day 1- Leave USA
Day 2- Arrive Istanbul
Day 3- Istanbul
Day 4- Istanbul
Day 5- Istanbul
Day 6- Morning high speed train to Ankara. See Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
Day 7- Cappadocia
Day 8- Cappadocia
Day 9- Fly, drive, or otherwise get to Kusadasi (Ephesus)
Day 10- Ephesus
Day 11- Transfer up to Istanbul, maybe visit Troy or Gallipoli on the way.
Day 12- Fly home

PM me for more info.

I think that October would be a great time to go to Turkey and yes, the people are very friendly. We went last May and spent 15 nights. After much research, our itinerary looked like this:

* Istanbul-5 nights (Hotel Sultan Hill.)

* Selcuk-2 nights (Hotel Bella to visit Ephesus.)

* Cirali-2 nights (Hotel Canada.)

* Goreme-1 night (Wouldn't recommend the hotel we stayed in.)

* Urgup-3 nights (Esbelli Evi-Cave Hotel.)

* Istanbul-2 nights.

For planning your trip can get lots of great information on this site and also at http://turkeytravelplanner.com/

we went this past october and the weather was lovely. our last evening it was a little cooler and rainy. it was jeans and short sleeve weather - and i'd bring along a light sweater with me each day just in case. we live in atlanta and the weather was similar to home for us. we went down the coast and it was warmer as we went south, but not hot. enjoy!!