Turkey


Western Anatolia

Once we left Cappadocia we started driving back towards Izmir, with a sightseeing stop planned in Pamukkale. As mentioned in the car section I got a speeding ticket in one of the straight and boring roads between Konya and Aksaray. Local people recommended us the route that goes via Akşehir, and then just after passing Cay turning left and drive straight to Pamukkale/Denizli. It was a great tip, roads were good and totaltime and mileage were lower.

Akşehir: after a long drive we decided to spend the night at Akşehir. We slept at the best hotel in town Grand Bal Otel (recommended in the LP guide). The hotel is clean and modern. Price was 100TL breakfast included. Breakfast was good, better than average, served in the hotel top floor, with views.

Even if it was just a needed overnight stop it was quite enjoyable and with a couple of anecdotes. When we arrived in town we could not find the hotel, so we stopped in a petrol station and asked for directions. Surprisingly, one of the employees there asked me to let him drive (he did not speak any English) and he drove us to the hotel!!. After thanking him he replied (in Turkish) something like: “if you have problems go back to Total Petrol station”.

After we checked in at the hotel we went to a barber shop in front of the hotel. The barber was a Kurdish young guy called Chain, and he had a friend there who (luckily) spoke some english. They were really friendly. I got a almost-bald sharp haircut, he trimmed my nose, tried to trimmed my very bushy eyebrows (did not let him) and he used some kind of cotton bud in flames to “trim” by 2 day beard. I have to admit that I panicked a little bit. The haircut was just 7.5TL and we had a great time.

Following local recommendations we had dinner in a fantastic place called Şehir Lokantasi ( I think Hidirlik Orta Gazino was the name of the street as it was in turkish, so not sure, very close to the hotel anyway), tel 8135217. It was a beautiful old house. We had the best Kofta in the whole trip. Really recommended if you are around Akşehir for dinner. Price for several beers and 4 dishes for 2 persons was 45TL.

Pamukkale: after checking some of the places recommended by people and LP, like Venüs Pension and Koray Hotel (both were good and clean, and very cheap, they reduced the price up to 40TL per 2 persons breakfast included), we were looking for a spa type place and stayed at

PAMUKSU BOUTIQUE HOTEL, PAMUKKALE, TEL +90 258 272 2818

e-posta:info@pamuksuhotel.com                        http://www.pamuksuhotel.com

Price was 80TL including breakfast for 2 persons and extra 10TL per person for buffet dinner.

It was a poor choice. The hotel looked ok and it had a thermal bath. Once we checked in we found that the hotel was in urgent need of a full renovation, with faulty taps, worn out carpets and stained painting, the “thermal bath area” (just a warm water indoors swimming pool) was literally falling apart and rusty…and the breakfast was just ok. My wife had a massage and she found it not very hygienic and not very professional. I’d recommend avoiding this hotel and choosing somewhere else.

Eating: we had dinner at Venüs pansiyon          (www.venushotel.net)

Food was excellent and atmosphere really nice. Price was 53TL.

The visit to the archaeological site Pamukkale/Hierapolis was simply wonderful. Ticket price was 20TL per person. I found it very expensive and no single brochure explaining anything was given. Although it is well known that the famous travertines are running out water and dirty,  I think they are getting back in shape, with more water than what we expected after reading the LP guide. The travertines close to the south entrance were crowded as they let you walk around inside some if them and even lay down in shallow water areas. Still, there was a ward checking that people were not going outside the allowed areas.

The nice surprise was Hierapolis , the Roman Spa town. They ruins were beautiful and fairly well preserved, specially the necropolis, my favourite part, with amazing tombs and sarcophagus. The impressive size should not be so surprising as so many people went there to try to heal and it simply didn’t happen. We started the visit in the northern gate and walked down all the way to the southern gate. I think is better like this as the crowded area was the southern gate and you can get a better view of the city ahead. Our visit lasted over 3 hours.

After Side we hit the road heading into the inlands on our way to the Cappadocia. We left the coastal highway after Manavgat and drove over 150Km through a mountainous area with beautiful landscapes. The roads were still good, almost empty. When we were closer to Konya the road turned completely flat and straight, easy to drive although some bits of the road were not as good as before and under roadwork. This was the case during most of the drive from Konya to Göreme. From Side to Konya there are some 240Km, from Konya to Göreme roughly another 240Km. The whole journey was around 5:30-6hs, breaks included and not pushing the gas too much.

Göreme village: we decided to stay in Göreme and make it our operations base. What an amazing and unique place!! When we arrived we couldn’t stop looking around with our mouths opened.

Accommodation:

As a way of sightseeing we decided to see all the hotels and pansiyons in Göreme, as we were very curious about how the rooms would look in the caves. In the end we spent over 3 hours visiting quite a few hotels and rooms, it was really interesting, recommended.

Finally stayed at Arch Palace Hotel (mentioned in the LP guide):

http://archpalace.com/en/index.html

Gaferli Mah. No:14 – 50180 Goreme / TURKEY               Tel: +90 384 271 2575      Fax: +90 384 271 2698

info@archpalace.com

We partially disagree with the comments in the LP guide. It was clean, the rooms were good (we didn’t feel that the place was worn out), the terrace was really nice and its best asset is the owner Mustafa Yelkalan, incredibly helpful, very knowledgeable, extremely nice…but it was dead at night, not much atmosphere. Still, good value for money (price was 80TL per night for 2 persons breakfast included).

Some other accommodation we saw:

–          Kelebek Hotel: beautiful hotel, nice location and great views. They were full and offered us a room in another building, quite far from the main one and quite overpriced.

–          Canyon View: good location and views, it was full

–          Fairy Chimney Inn: average hotel, very overpriced

–          also checked Legend Cave, Göreme House, Cappadocia Cave Suites (really beautiful, very expensive), Anatolian Houses Göreme (outstanding, too expensive, 200€ per night, although they accepted to bargain)

Eating:

Sedef Restaurant: in Bilal Eroglu Cadessi No3, in front of the Ottogar, not in the LP guide. It was recommended to us by locals. We did not like it very much. Also it was overpriced. We paid 49TL for 2 drinks and 2 dishes.

Orient Restaurant: (in the LP guide): the other one recommended by locals. Really good, best food we had in Cappadocia. Agree with the LP comments. Price was good value for money: 39TL 2 dishes and 2 drinks.

Cappadocia Kebap Center: mentioned in the LP. Great place for a quick  good and cheap bite. 2 Kebaps and 2 drinks 17TL.

Apart of the visits once you are there,  Göreme is a wonder in itself. Unique and different to any other thing I had seen, just walking around makes you feel you are in an amazing place.

Göreme Open Air museum: primitive caves turned into delicious churches with exquisite frescoes. Ticket was 15TL per person. No brochure or extra info, although the most important caves have background info on a panel outside. We went around 2pm and there were not that many tour groups, so the visit was pleasant. Do your best to avoid the crowds as when one group goes into one of the caves there is hardly space for anyone else! We spent there around 2hs, what is enough for a relaxed visit.

Hot air balloon ride: Mustafa from the Arch Palace arranged the hot air balloon ride for us. The company we did it with was Kaya Balloons (the anagram has a plane circled in red with the letter THK 1925)

Kaya Balloons, Kayseri Casddesi 20, 50400, ürgüp, +90 384 341 20 21, www.kayaballooning.com

Price was 150€ per person if paid in cash (650TL both).

We really liked them. We were picked up at the hotel around 6am. The day was cloudy and it was drizzling. When we arrived at the take off place they informed us that we were suppose to leave at 7am, but we were going to wait to see how the weather would develop. We finally departed at 8am when the weather had cleared and even some sun rays had showed up. By that time most of the other companies had their balloons in the air, some were starting to land, so they did the whole ride raining, what I think it is not ideal, they seemed more greedy than our company.

Our pilot was really skilled and he was able to circle around the chimneys and we could see all fantastically well. Also the ride lasted 1h15min and not the hour they said. We felt very satisfied with their professionalism and I recommend them.

The hot air balloon ride was one an absolute highlight of the trip. It was the first time for both of us on a hot air balloon. So smooth, so peaceful, so stunning…expensive but worth it!!

Ürgüp and Mustafapaşa: decided to take a drive around these 2 smaller and not so touristy cappadocian villages.

Ürgüp had a lively city centre full of shops, despite being a monday there were many people in the street, almost of all them locals. There were some remarkable old houses mixed with more modern ones. We went up to Temenni Wishing Hill and the views of the area were very nice.

Mustafapaşa was very laid back. We really liked the main square, surrounded by old greek houses, some of them crumbling down but still with their charm and pride intact. Compared with Ürgüp (and not to mention Göreme) it was really quiet, with no tourists at all, a totally different atmosphere, more like a still village.

The drive between both villages was also very beautiful. Parked the car and walked towards the churches mentioned in the LP. A lovely walk away from the crowds of Cappadocia

Underground cities: we visited 2 underground cities, Kaymakli and Derinkuyu. Entrance was 15TL per person for each of them. They were both very impressive and also very different.

Kaymakli was a never-ending maze of tunnels and chambers, narrow most of the time and opening up to full size rooms at some points.

Derinkuyu had much wider rooms and chambers, even with a big church. The second one was much more crowded at the time of our visit, being difficult to move around.

It is hard to believe that up to a few thousand people could live over 6 months in any of these cities,  even taking their animals with them, waiting for the enemy to leave. It is worth stopping at some of the chambers and think how they could stay there and live daily. On the other hand, I found that to be a world heritage site everything was poorly informed and presented. They should have given a brochure with recreated images and even have some of the chambers with models showing how things could have been in the past. Definitely good and recommended, but could have been so much better.

Ihlara Valley: entrance was 5TL per person. I did not have time enough to hike all of it so I decided to go in through the middle entrance at Ihlara Vadisi Turistik Tesisleri, where most churches are.

I think it was a mistake. It is the main entrance and it was full of bus tours and literally packed with people, mostly families and tour groups. I found the valley stunningly beautiful but difficult to really enjoy it . Too busy, too noisy. I’d strongly recommend to visit some other part of it, or try to go during the week. When driving down the road by the valley it reinforced my opinion that it is a really beautiful place.

When driving from Selimiye to Kaş, we stopped and took a break at Iztuzu beach. As mentioned in the LP guide is a nice fine sand beach, good for swimming and sunbathing. Downside (for me) is that there were quite a few buses with tourists, so it was crowded, but the beach was big enough to find a spot that was quiet.

Entrance to the beach is 5TL for parking the car. We had a kebap at the snack bar and it was ok, paid 20TL for 2 beers and 2 kebaps.

The drive along the coast till Kaş was quite beautiful, not as much as the Marmaris area, but still worth it.

Kaş: we chose Kaş as the base to explore the area and stayed there for 3 nights / 4 days. It was a great choice, as it is a lively, beautiful and charming village. Very recommended as headquarters.

Accommodation: stayed at Kale Otel and Pansiyon (recommended in the LP guide).

Price was 50€ per night for 2 people breakfast included. It was a very good place to stay. Rooms were a bit small but big enough and very clean, with sea views. Staying at the hotel allowed you to use the “beach”(a concrete platform with a ladder) at a nearby restaurant, with beach towel included and that was a real added value. Starting a day with a swim from the hotel platform was wonderful. The best breakfast buffet we had in the trip, with gorgeous views and really pleasant garden area.

Also, we checked Kaş Otel (mentioned in the guides) but did not like it that much , rooms were a bit worn out.

Internet in Kaş costs around 2TL per hour.

Eating:

Çinarlar Pzzeria (recommended in the LP guide): nice courtyard, good Turkish pizzas, friendly staff. Starter +2 turkish pizzas + drinks=45TL.

Natur-el Restaurant (recommended in the LP guide): followed advice from local people and tried manti (turkish ravioli) and they were sooo good!! Very friendly staff. Starter + 2 ravioli dishes + 2 drinks=44TL.

Tried also a random Kebab place. Kebap was good and price was 10TL including drinks.

Patara Beach: Spent a wonderful half day at Patara beach and ruins. Entrance ticket was 5TL per person and parking was 1TL for the whole day.

The beach was one of the best we saw in Turkey: a wide and long  stripe of fine sand, surrounded by bushy hills. It was fairly crowded but as it is so big you only need to walk a little bit to be almost on your own. Rented an umbrella for 3TL.

The ruins were much better than we could expect. And almost empty, so you can wander around on your own. They are definitely in the process of being refurbished, with lots and lots of marked marble bits in the main esplanade. They are scattered in a fairly big area and good hour or hour and a half is needed to see most of it.

Kayaking around Kekova and Kaleköy: as recommended in the LP guide we decided to take a day tour kayaking around Kekova and the sunken city. Such a great day out!

After checking a few companies we booked the excursion with

Xanthos Adventure, Ibrahim Serin Sok No 5/A, 07580 Kaş. Tel +90 242 836 32 92, www.xanthostravel.com, info@xanthostravel.com

We were quite satisfied with them. Price was 60TL per person (most of places were the same price, just one of them was 55TL). Guide spoke very good English and he was fun and professional. Buffet in Kaleköy was ok. Kayaks were fairly new and easy to use. Help boat was following us all the time.

Left for Kekova at 8:30, once there we had a kayaking briefing. After paddling for an hour and a bit we stopped in a wonderful cove with transparent water where we could swim. After that we paddled over the sunken city (not that much could be seen, imagination needs to work a little bit) and stopped for lunch in Kaleköy. After lunch we had an hour to climb to the fortress on top on the hill, where the views were great. We were back at the hotel around 15:45.

Diving: after checking a few places I decided to go with

SIRENA DIVING CENTER (Hakan Nalcaci), Dogruyol Caddesi No. 35, 07580 Kas Antalya / Turkey

hakan@sirenadive.com        phone +90 242 836 3995       mobile +90 536 316 1327

http://www.sirenadive.com/ (they are also in facebook)

Price for one single dive was 50TL paying cash, including all the gear and some snacks onboard. Everything went perfect and I would definitely recommend them. I have the PADI but I´m still a beginner and I did the diving with an instructor for myself. Instructors and crew were very easy going and friendly. The diving spot was called flyfish and was beautiful, mostly the underwater landscape, although not many fish.

From Kaş we drove along the coast passing Demre, Finike, Kemer and Antalya. Before heading to the inlands we decided to take a break and spend the night in Side.

Side: really difficult to classify and to judge, bittersweet Side was one of the surprises of the trip. We are astonished by the beautiful ruins, the size and preservation of most of them  and the fact that you can wander around them with almost no restrictions or barriers. But we were also sadly surprised about what resorts and mass tourism have done to Side. The evening we arrived in Side had been pouring rain for hours, so by the time we made our way through the city all was flooded. We checked a few hotels and the rooms and the hallways were soaked, with huge puddles and all looked gloomy. We decided to go a bit into the new built hotels and horrible developed areas around Side and finally we managed to find a fairly tacky all included Hotel resort that was dry, clean and with nice rooms.

Hotel Loyal, Mah.inonu Cd. Antalya 7 07040 Side Turkey

http://www.myturkeyhotels.com/reservation/detail.asp?id=370

Price was 60€ per 2 persons, all included (wristband type). Dinner was really bad, breakfast was a bit better and after we had seen decided to skip lunch. In the all included was the beer…so basically you could drink as much Efes as you could handle. We were happy to find a dry, clean, new hotel but I would not recommend it unless you love mass tourism. The “activities” of the hotel were mainly closed or unavailable (table tennis, disco, pool…). Also, without a car you are trapped there as there are not many things around (Side is at least a pair of km away with nothing in between).

Dilek National Park: On our way south after visiting Efes area we stopped at Dilek National Park. We entered the park from Guzelcamli. Driving down from Kusadasi the park is really well signposted and difficult to miss.

Entrance to the park is 5TL, they provide a detailed map.

http://www.dilekyarimadasi.gov.tr/tr/? (in turkish)            +902566141079         kusadasi@ dilekyarimadasi.gov

Admission times: spring and summer 8am-7pm, autumn and winter 8am-5pm.

It was really nice. Fantastic half day. Very recommended mostly if you have a car. The park was quite empty. A pity we did not have time to explore further and hike. We visited 3 beaches: Içmeler (the only sandy one but also the most crowded), Aidinlik (almost empty, big pebbles but fantastic water, we had lunch at the small restaurant there and it was the beach we liked the most),  and Kalamaki (even emptier, another restaurant here). Short after Kalamaki there is a police point check and it is not possible to drive further as it is a protected area. You cannot drive past that point but that area of the park is reachable  using the hiking trails.

Herakleia: we continued driving down south and, following LP advice, we decided to spend the night in Herakleia. It was a great tip and we loved the village. Rural Turkey at its best with nice scattered ruins here and there by lake Bafa. Peaceful and charming.  Spent a couple of hours sightseeing next morning around the village, time enough to see all the remains.

Spent the night at

Agora Pansion , 48234 Kapkiri Koyu Milas, tlf 2525435445, info@herakleia.com, www.agora.pansiyon.de,

(recommended in the LP guide):  it was the best place around but definitely quite pricey. One night for 2 persons + Dinner + Breakfast was 150TL.

Still dinner was excellent, one of the best we had during the trip. Breakfast was also very good. A drink in their roof terrace looking at the stars and enjoying the sounds  of nature was an absolut plus. Owners were really nice and helpful. Mithat gave us tips for the places we had go later and also recommended us some hotels and pansiyons in our route.

Hisarönü peninsula: after Herakleia we continued driving south, skipping Bodrum and its Peninsula. In my personal opinion, the drive between Mugla (where you are on top of the mountain and start seeing the sea) and Selimiye, passing Marmaris was an absolute wonder. An absolute highlight of the trip.

The road by the stunning sea, the views, first from the top of the mountains and then crossing the coves, the transparent waters, lots of tress, not that developed (we were expecting something much much worse)…all that made the drive and our arrival to Selimiye one of the best moments of the trip. We did not see any other comparable coastline in Turkey.

In some guides is mentioned and praised, but still the comments don’t do all the justice it deserves. Marmaris and its bay was far too developed, despite how beautiful the place is, but Hisarönü peninsula was quite empty: almost no  tourists and we hardly saw a house or a flat. Problem is it is not so easy to reach unless you have a car…or a yacht.

Selimiye: we skipped Marmaris, passed through Orhaniye and finally stayed in Selimiye. It was beautiful, quiet, lovely…quite a few yachts.

We had lunch in one of the restaurants recommended by LP: Aurora Restaurant. The food was great, the very best calamari we had in the entire trip. The lady owner was sooo nice and helpful. A must if you come to Selimiye…although it was very expensive compared with other places in Turkey: a few starters (and not that much quantity) were 85TL.

We spent the night in a bungalow in front of Sardunya Restaurant and Bungalows (they were full and they took us there), price was 80TL, no breakfast, payment in cash. It was good, with a lovely terrace, nice owner, clean and with TV.

For dinner we went to a really good place in a back street called Özcan restaurant and café, Ali Demirci,  tlf +90 252 446 42 33.

Three fish dishes that were really tasty (great grilled octopuss) and plenty of drinks were just 50TL. In addition, we did not have enough cash at the moment and the owner insisted that we paid next day. Easy going person. Very much recommended.

Pergamum Acropolis: Although I definitely liked it, I was a bit disappointed, maybe because it was the last big site I visited during the trip and I liked more other places.

The location is superb and the views fantastic. My favourite parts were the remains of Trajan’s temple and the theatre on the steep side of the hill, both really impressive, but the rest of the archaeological site is not as good.

I found Efes (Ephesus) much more beautiful, complete and interesting (I have compared them with Efes as they are supposed to be in the same league, and that was not my impression).

Visit still highly recommended, but if you have to choose between Pergamum and Efes…clearly Efes.

Foça: for our last weekend in Turkey we decided to go to Foça, looking for some relax by the seaside and good food. It was a great decision, as Foça really is a lovely and charming place. Perfect atmosphere, not too crowded, friendly people and enough things to offer to relax and enjoy a couple of days at least.

Sleeping: After checking a few hotels and pensions we stayed at Iyon Pansiyon

www.iyonpansiyon.com

email bilgi@iyonpansiyon.com

Very nice pension, sitting in a old house and just a few meters from the marina. The staff was incredibly nice. I got sick after getting cold in the boat trip and they were very kind and helpful. Thanks to their attentive help I managed to get better in just 24hs. Price was 70TL room for 2 breakfast included. Very recommended.

Eating:  we asked the pension owner for the best restaurant in town and he pointed us to Fokai Restaurant.

Sahil Cadesi 11, tel: 8122186

It was a perfect dinner. The quality of the fish was great and the restaurant was really charming. Price was 110TL for 3 persons including plenty of food, wine and beers.

Boat trip: we took boat trip and it was a great day out. Asked in several places around the marina but there were not many going out next day as it was almost low season at the time. Finally we took the tour with:

Delphin Gezi teknesi

Küçükdeniz

Öğretmen Evi karşısı

Foça

0 535 5197578

Delphinyacht@gmail.com

Price was very cheap: 25TL (the same everywhere we asked), including food and tea. All tours did the same itinerary. Tour left at 11 and returned at 17hs. The journey was beautiful, with several stops for swimming and snorkelling. We even saw dolphins and the captain took it easy sailing close to them so we could spot them better. Lunch was grilled fish with salad, fresh and tasty. Tea and biscuits also included.

Hammam: pension owner strongly recommended hammam Belediye, run by Mehmet Esen. My girlfriend went with her girl friend and they loved it. I did not go myself. There is only one masseuse (the owner) so waiting times may vary.  It seemed to be very much in demand with quite a lot of regulars that say they always go when they make it to Foça.

Ephesus (Efes): From Izmir we drove down the highway to Efes area. Toll price was 1.75TL, road in very good conditions. Recommended to take the highway (just 1 hr to Efes).

Ticket was 20TL each, debit/credit cards accepted. As most of the archaeological sites in Turkey is quite pricey, at least in Efes we got an interesting brochure.

Efes was not too crowded. We did the visit in the early afternoon. Explored the site for nearly 4hs, I found it impressive and inspiring. Most tours arrive early or mid morning, so after 1pm or so many were leaving and that improved the visit. There were a group of actors hired by a tour operator dressed as romans and playing a gladiator fight. It was ok, but they repeated it every 10 mins for over an hour! Groundhog day!

Definitely a must see. Nothing else to add.

Selçuk: After visiting Efes we spent the rest of the day and night in Selçuk. It was a really nice surprise in every sense. Beautiful and with many things to see, good value for money in accommodation, not too touristy, friendly people…a hidden highlight.

Stayed at Akay Hotel (www.hotelakay.com), it was an excellent choice (we liked it much more than for example, Lonely Planet’s author’s choice Naz Han, maybe cuter but quite overpriced). Checked most of the guides recommended hotels and pensions and this was the best value for money one. Price was 80TL breakfast included. The swimming pool was handy. The terrace was really nice, wide and ideal in a warm night. Lunch and dinner at the hotel were good, but not great. Price was around 30TL for 2 people each meal.

Sightseeing around Selcuk was very attractive, special mention to the small-but-cute Ephesus Museum (5TL) and the peaceful Isa Bey Camii mosque. The visit to the Temple of Artemis was bittersweet: the place is really meaningful (It is one of the Ancient Seven Wonders) and I had read about it many times, but there is almost nothing left. Besides, the site is shabby, dirty and semi abandoned…a place full of history and no present at all.

I’d definitely recommend to spend half day in Selcuk after visiting Efes.

Sirinçe: just 8km from Selçuk going uphill. A real disappointment. The village is cute but literally ALL the villagers were selling stuff in stalls in the street. No own life whatsoever. In my eyes totally ruined, even if the houses, the location, the streets are nice. It was hard to feel cosy or the charm of it as the view of the houses was spoiled by the stalls. It is recommended in most guides, it just did not work for me.

Only one thing was great: Artemis Sirinçe Sarapevi Restaurant. Outstanding building, magnificent views of the village and the mountains around, perfect drink and bite outside in the terrace under a tree…and cheap!! 7TL for an excellent gozleme and a couple of teas! Worth going to Sirinçe just to have eat something here and admire the views.

Kusadasi: famous for being the harbour where big cruise liners stop to do the Efes visit. It has a reputation of completely spoiled village. We decided to go there and see it with our own eyes and…after 50 min we were rushing back to peaceful Selçuk. Worst version of the UK but abroad…skip it if possible.

Pamucak Beach: not as nice as other beaches in Turkey but good enough to spend a few hours swimming and relaxing. Very close to Selçuk if you have your own vehicle.

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