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input on Turkey travel planning

Posted by (KS, USA) on

My husband and I will be traveling to Turkey for the first time in late September, early October. Getting excited! Would love input on a few things.

For Instanbul, we will only have 3 full days (4 nights). Shorter than I would like but I do hope to return. Wanting to make the most of our 3 days with a taste of Istanbul. Any thoughts/suggestions as to what we have planned?

Thursday October 5: RS Historic Core Walk (Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, & Hagia Sophia plus other stops on walk). The first portion of RS Old Town Back Streets Walk (ending our day with the Grand Bazaar).

Friday October 6: Topkapi Palace, Istanbul Archaeological Museum, Suleymaniye Mosque. Finish second portion RS Old Town Back Streets Walk, ending our day in the Egyptian Bazaar. If the timing and weather works out, take the Eminonu ferry to Kadikoy to try to catch the sunset. Could eat dinner in Kadikoy if we do this.

Saturday October 7: Cross the Galata Bridge, go up the Galata Tower. What are your thoughts on walking the pedestrian street Isitklal Caddesi to Taksim Square? Which would you consider more interesting, walking this area or exploring Kadikoy? We may not make it to Kadikoy the day before so this could be a back pocket option. If we do explore Isitklal & Taksim instead of Kadikoy, we could do this in reverse and follow RS New District Walk. End our day with a 4:45 sunset Bosphorus Cruise departing from Kabatas.

I am considering purchasing the Istanbul Museum Pass. I did the math and we won't quite break even on the sights we are planning to visit - but I've read that we should get skip-the-line privileges (excluding security), which I'm guessing might make it worth it. I don't mind spending a few dollars to save time. Thoughts?

Are we completely missing out if we don't visit a hammam or attend a whirling dervish show? My husband isn't too keen on the idea of the baths in the first place, whereas I think it sounds fun. I think we would both be interested in the whirling dervishes. But, it seems like we have more than enough to fill our days.

I've narrowed down to four hotel options in Sultanahmet: Henna Hotel, World Heritage Center Hotel, Magnaura Palace Hotel, or Hotel Amira. They all look great, have good reviews, and are reasonably priced; I'm having a horrible time trying to pick between them. If anyone has any insight to help me narrow down and decide, I'd love to hear it!

Lastly, how much time would you estimate we need to visit Hierapolis? How much time would you estimate to visit Aphrodisias? We want to visit both on the same day, so we need to have a set departure time from Hierapolis in mind. We will have a rental car. I have tried contacting Aphrodisias via email and phone to see if they will have transitioned to their winter hours by the time of our visit (October 3) but have not been able to get through to anyone. I've even queried with my hotel but they haven't responded in regards to this matter, either. It could be something we could determine while we are there, but I'd like to try to have a plan in place before we go.

Thank you so much!

Posted by
700 posts

Hi Julie, it sounds like you have done your homework and planned an excellent trip. Overall, it sounds like a good plan.

A few thoughts:

  • You might want to group Suleymaniye Mosque with the Grand Bazaar. They are very close to each other. (If you are a morning person and like photography, the view of Istanbul from Suleymaniye at sunrise is amazing.)

  • Istiklal Street has a very 19th century European feel. Although I haven't been to Kadikoy, I get the impression it has a much more local feel. Either one would be great to visit.

  • I love hamams and usually go multiple times every time I visit Turkey. I simply can't get enough of them. When I was in western Turkey for three weeks in April, I think I made seven hamam visits. My idea of heaven would be to root around ancient sites during the day and visit a hamam in the evening. Of course, your mileage may vary.

  • I am glad I went to a Dervish ceremony. Some of the ones in Istanbul are more traditional and some are more theatrical. The one I attended was in Cappadocia, and so I can't comment on the ones in Istanbul.

  • I stopped at Aphrodisias on the way to Pamukkale/Hierapolis. I spent a whole day at Pamukkale/Hierapolis, but you could do it in hal a day, maybe less, easily. It's a big site. You can hit the highlights fairly quickly, or you can wander for hours. It's about an hour and 20 minute drive from Pamukkale to Aphrodisias. Where are you planning to spend the night after Aphrodisias?

Posted by
2344 posts

I'll be in Istanbul for the first time on a RS tour about when you are, so unfortunately I can't help much, other than to note that two of your hotel options are very near the one I chose for myself (Agora Guesthouse) and one of the hotels RS uses for his tours (Acra). So the neighborhood is, I hope, a good one. As for your activities, they look like very busy days with plenty of walking, which is similar to the RS tour itinerary. Hope you have a great time!

Posted by
610 posts

Unfortunately for assisting you my second trip to Istanbul isn’t until next month. I’ll travel there in September and then return there again in late October. After extensive research (and considering the needs of a group of 8) I’ve chosen the Magnaura Palace Hotel in Sultanahment for one of my stays and the Ferman Port Hotel in Karaköy for the other. I am looking for a traditional whirling dervish experience as opposed to a touristic program. Have seen a couple of options. The Galata neighborhood as well as pedestrian street Isitklal and Taksim square in my opinion were worth the visit and I long to return there. During my visit in 2009 we took the Bosphorus sunset cruise. The cruise was in June and it got very cold on the boat after sunset.

Posted by
676 posts

Hey Marie, thank you so much for your thoughtful input and suggestions! Is Suleymaniye open early in the morning to see the sunrsie then? I checked and it appears sunrise will happen around 7 am while we are there. In regards to our Aphrodisias/Hierapolis plans - we will be staying in Denizli the night before and may have the opportunity to explore some of Pamukkale that same night. If we can manage that, that would give us even more time for exploring the next day. We will be driving on to Ephesus after Aphrodisias.

CL, I believe Sultanahmet is supposed to be great for a first-time visit, especially a short one. I've read that other neighborhoods can be less touristy with better dining options, but I think it's so central to everything we will be seeing that it's perfect for this short visit. Yep, we are very used to lots of walking - we like to experience cities by foot when we can! I hope you have a wonderful trip, too! :)

Raymonelee, thank you so much for your input on my third day - glad to hear you enjoyed those areas of Istanbul! After some more research, I'm planning to go ahead and spend our Saturday in the Galata/Karaköy neighborhoods. I'll definitely be packing a jacket for our sunset cruise as I get cold easily. You may have already come across this one - the Galata Mevlevihanesi Müzesi - it looks like a beautiful venue for a traditional whirling dervish program. Unfortunately, it's temporarily closed right now, and it appears the shows are only run on Sundays which is our departure day. Maybe it would be an option for you though, especially by late October? Could be worth an inquiry to see if they have an opening date in mind.

Posted by
700 posts

Hi Julie, it looks like I was at Suleymaniye around 7 a.m. The courtyard, which has the wonderful views of the Golden Horn and the Bosporus, should definitely be open. The mosque itself is closed during prayer times. It was open when I was there.

https://mariematthews.smugmug.com/Egypt-and-Istanbul/Istanbul/i-TDJs7H9/A

One more thing. We bought the museum pass even though we didn't quite break even on it. No regrets.

Posted by
22 posts

Hello Julie,

It's really worth to walk from Karakoy to Taksim Square via Istiklal Street.

Only official website of museumpass is https://muze.gov.tr

There is no skip-the-line service in Turkey. By purchasing your ticket online, you will have a QR code and only pass ticket queues.

To Visit Hierapolis(closing at 17.00) takes around 3-4 hours, Aphrodisiacs (closing at 17.30 in winter) 1-1.5hrs.

You can have a guided tour departing from Denizli Airport and finishes at İzmir Airport to take your flight to Istanbul.

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