Turkey

2018 Dec. Ephesus. Pamukkale. Fetiye. Cappadocia. Safranbolu. Istanbul. Turkey.

Been wanting to visit Turkey for ages, when it finally happened, it was way more than I had imagined. Such an amazing country with so much rich history and culture, beautiful architecture and landscape, fresh produce and friendly people. Truly East meets West, and more. This was a 2-week free-and-easy trip covering Ephesus, Pamukkale, Fetiye, Cappadocia, Safranbolu, and Istanbul, by bus across the country, and accommodation booked on Agoda.

Flew into Istanbul with connecting flight to Izmir, then bus to Selcuk. Beginning the trip with ancient ruins Ephesus, and saving modern Istanbul till the end of trip. While waiting for bus transfer at the airport, we started to indulge in the tea and coffee culture in Turkey, and lovin’ it.

First day impression… beautiful sun drenched country with promising good food. First meal at Ejder Restaurant was so simple, prepared and grilled right in front of our eyes. The chicken kebab and whole fish turned out nicely flavoured, wonderfully juicy, and so delicious. This little gem is truly deserving of its rave reviews, highly recommended. Dinner the following day however, though also shortlisted from internet research, was not worth mentioning.

We stayed at Akanthus Hotel, a short walk from town centre, nestled in a neighbourhood on a slope which turned out to be very nice and cosy. Breakfast in Turkey, as we found out in the following weeks, is always an awesome elaborate spread, everywhere.

Early next morning, we set off for Ephesus Archaeological Site. This minibus, or dolmus, honked and picked us up when the driver saw us walking on the street, how nice! We got on, without knowing if it was heading to where we wanted to go, blind faith worked. 🙂

Ephesus is an ancient city near modern-day Selçuk. Its excavated remains reflect centuries of history, from classical Greece to the Roman Empire. Tips: Go early to avoid huge tourist groups, start from lower gate and head for key sights like Library straight, pay extra to visit Terrace Houses, and hydrate yourself. I’m really not a ruins fan, but Ephesus was pretty enough to keep me snapping away the entire morning. Very nice archaeological site I must say, from someone who was completely bored at Pompeii many many years ago.

The Library of Celsus, one of the key highlights of the archaeological grounds.

Upper and Lower Agora and Odeon near the upper gate.

More interesting sights in Ephesus. The footprint is the sign pointing towards the brothel.

The 6 terrace houses are worth a visit, at a small additional fee.

The Grand Theatre is the most magnificent structure in Ephesus, with good views of the surroundings.

After visiting Ephesus in the morning, we took a cab to Sirince, a nice little small hillside village about half an hour away. Definitely more interesting that Selcuk town itself.

Lunch at Sedir, a small family restaurant with nice outdoor seating.

Nice walk around Sirince, checking out the shops and views.

Back to Selcuk and took an evening walk to St John Basilica, which is another key highlight in Selcuk centre.

Walked around Selcuk town and tried this sweets store Tugba, OMG the turkish delights are heavenly, loved the one with pomegranate juice and pistachio. There have many outlets all over the country, their turkish delights is still my favourite after trying many others.

Following day, we went to the bus station, or otogar in Turkish, and bought tickets to Pamukkale on the spot. Travelling across Turkey by bus is common, convenient and easy, even for tourists. There are many bus companies and services are frequent. I usually go for the bigger companies with newer fleet and more comfortable seats. We arrive Pamukkale in the afternoon, checked in to the hotel, and was driven to the site entrance on the hill leading to the vast Hierapolis.

The ancient Cleopatra’s pool looked awkwardly out of place with its modern upgrade, now more like a tourist trap to dip into the water. More ruins at Necropolis, city of the dead. Feeling a bit of ‘ruins overload’ already at this point…

And here is why we came to Pamukkale… the jaw-dropping surreal landscape, despite the poor weather.

Pamukkale means “cotton castle” in Turkish, referring to the natural formations inside Hierapolis archaeological site, famous for the carbonate mineral left by flowing water.

Weather was cold, not walking barefooted on soft white snow as it seemed, but travertine that was rock hard and painful. Beautiful and interesting natural landscape, with stunning lighting conditions in the background. We walked downhill to the town centre below. Dinner was a hit at a nondescript place serving excellent pides (similar to pizza) and casseroles. One of the best pides on this trip.

The following day we travelled by bus to Fetiye. Not quite my type of travel destination though hugely popular with UK tourists in the summer, but because I really wanted to see the Aegean Sea so here I was. Would probably skip this place entirely, if I revisit Turkey in future.

Other than the hotel breakfast, all the food places I tried here were miserable misses, not one single hit, arghh! And restaurants by the fish market were just tourist traps that overcharge, stay away!

Overnight bus to Cappadocia. Excited to see that it was snowing when we arrived after a long 13 hour bus ride. Very unique and amazing landscape in Goreme, Cappadocia. Interesting room layout and cosy ambience staying in a cave at Kelebek Special Cave Hotel. Rooms are pricey but definitely a unique experience to remember!

Had a good Anatolian lunch at Cappadocian Cuisine Restaurant, which we returned for another meal. Dinner at another fancier restaurant was mediocre.

Beautiful night view from hotel roof patio! The next morning… wow.

The sun is out today and made Cappadocia even more amazingly beautiful, like a fairy tale. Awestruck is the word. The hotel’s breakfast area had the best panoramic view. Our biggest disappointment was the highly anticipated daybreak hot air balloon tour was cancelled day after day, 3 days in a row due to windy weather. I can only imagine how beautiful the view must be.

Resident cats at the hotel, in fact, cats are everywhere, and I mean EVERYWHERE in Turkey, a LOT of them! I am not a cat person particularly, but the cats in Turkey are really fluffy and pretty, unlike local ones in Singapore.

Went on the guided ‘Green Tour’ and visited Göreme Panorama, Pigeon Valley, Derinkuyu Underground City, Ihlara Valley and Selime Cathedral. Stunning views on a beautiful sunny day. Click to view video.

Derinkuyu is the largest excavated underground city in Turkey, large enough to have sheltered 20,000 people together with their livestock and food stores, historically used as places for hiding from wars and refuge over different eras. Very interesting attraction, but not for the claustrophobic or oversized, as you have to climb though several tight and low tunnels, seen in this video.

Short hike down in the Ihlara Valley.

Climbed up Selime Cathédrale for a good view. It was one of the largest religious structure carved into the volcanic rocks in Cappadocia.

Dinner was excellent at Topdeck Cave Restaurant, deservingly the best rated restaurant in Cappadocia.

We spent the next day exploring Cappadocia on our own, hiking to Uchisar Castle and taking a local bus to Fairy Chimneys. Grey sky again unfortunately.

Next stop was Safranbolu, really glad to have included this charming UNESCO world heritage Ottoman town in my itinerary. Read about it online and got interested in its architecture and small town feel, turned out to be an enjoyable and pleasant stay. Wise choice to book Hotel Peri Konak, housed in a traditional Ottoman building at the entrance of historical old town, to experience its unique interior.

The super tiny closet was the hidden toilet cum bathroom! Hardly any room to move inside, ended up it was our excuse to go to the traditional Turkish Bath to wash up every day instead. Interesting experience being scrubbed and massaged at the bath, very traditional scrub and go, just like a piece of meat, haha.

Chanced upon this quaint little place brewing traditional Turkish coffee outdoors, and heard music from inside. Went in and was treated to this wonderful infectious ambience by both the performers and customers, even though we didn’t understand a word throughout. Click to view video. Ordered a coffee, and it came as an elaborate set with masti, turkish delight, pomegranate juice and coffee! The bill was 10TL which is S$2.50, double surprise! If you visit Safranbolu, be sure to check this place out!

Safranbolu is a nice place to walk around and wander freely, especially when staying near the historical old town.

From the old town, you can walk across the valley trail to reach the new town in half an hour, or there is a local bus shuttling between. There are better restaurant options in the new town. Found Haci Erol 1967 that served excellent food, and we went back there again for dinner to avoid another mediocre meal. Not easy to find a good restaurant although everywhere sell similar food.

Satisfying lunch at Haci Erol, and back again for dinner to try the pide and more kebab variety.

Spent the afternoon exploring the commercial streets and quiet alleys of the old town, ended with a walk up the hilltop to take in the stunning view of Safranbolu at dusk. If you want to buy souvenirs and stuff, Safranbolu prices are generally much cheaper than in Istanbul for the same thing.

Video of Safranbolu panoramic view

Next and last stop of the trip, Istanbul. Booked a nice historical hotel as the finale of the trip. Pera Palace is made famous by its famous guests like Agatha Christie and Alfred Hitchcock. Very grand lobby, almost museum-like, guest room interior was alright nothing impressive, ours had a balcony with a glimpse of Golden Horn, at higher room rate of cos. Agoda messed up the booking, but issue was resolved promptly after the trip.

Guided tour of Agatha Christie’s room.

Sweets and snacks along the main shopping Istiklal Street near to the hotel. So tempted to eat them all…

Hagia Sophia is an important architecture masterpiece that I have been wanting to visit since I learnt about it back in college. Finally got to see it in person after more than 20 years. Click to view video.

Another key attraction Blue Mosque is right in front of Hagia Sophia. Unfortunately it was undergoing renovation and much of the interior was covered up.

Basilica Cistern is the other must visit in the same compound. These few places are naturally packed with tourists.

Visited Grand Bazaar just to look see look see. Had lunch at a local place and was completely ripped off. DO NOT walk into Tarihi Subasi Locantasi. The cafeteria style food tasted decent and I quite enjoyed it, but when the bill came, it was the most expensive meal I have eaten in my entire two weeks in Turkey, compared to even nicer fancy upmarket restaurants. It is a tourist scam, no doubt about that. Check on Google and there were more victims.

Watched traditional Turkish dance & whirling dervishes in a cultural centre Hodjapasha, housed in a 15th-century bathhouse.

Weather was rainy and gloomy the entire time I was in Istanbul. Visited Dolmabahce Palace the next day, raining again.

Lunch at a popular pide place Hocapasa Pidecisi. Turkish food gets a bit boring after a while, kebab, stew, or pide, always, pick one.

Dinner, same same pick one, haha. Food quality at Tatbak, with good online reviews, was decent.

Last full day in Istanbul and thankfully it finally stopped raining. Went back and forth Europe and Asia today along the Bosphorus and also visited Prince Islands. Quite fun to explore Buyukadar of Prince Islands on a horse carriage.

Kadikoy is on the Asia side of Istanbul, and had a more laid back feel. The bustling fish and produce market and commercial areas were more inviting and fun to explore I find.

Had to check out the traditional patisserie Baylan and try its popular Kup Griye. Yummy.

Managed to buy tickets to get on the twilight cruise at dusk departing from Eminonu near Spice Bazaar to view the Bosphorus. While waiting for the cruise timing, quick shopping at the Spice Bazaar. The dried fruits and nuts looked so enticing. Wish I could buy more of the goodies to bring home.

Finale cruise along the beautiful Bosphorus, ferry departing from Eminonu (Turyol).

Dinner at Bilice Kebab near the hotel was very good and enjoyable, highly recommended. So glad that our last dinner in Turkey turned out to be delicious and an enjoyable treat. Like I said, everywhere sells similar food, but not always easy and lucky to hit a good one!