Turkey [2024]

Apr 30, 2024
12 min read

Wanting to travel with Ashley's brother and his SO, we finally landed on meeting up in Turkey. We'd heard great things, and the trip still managed to exceed our expectations. The people are super friendly, travel/driving is easy, and the country is an interesting blend of Europe and the Middle East. If you're considering a visit, we honestly can't recommend it enough.

Pre-trip Notes

Museum Pass: Economically, this worked for use since we planned on seeing many of the sites listed under this particular (countrywide) pass. There are others for specific cities, as well. We'd recommend looking into the cost of one of the passes vs. the entry cost for each of the sites you plan to visit (that are on the list of covered sites). You can purchase these ahead of time or at some of the sites themselves.
Driving: Was surprisingly easy. While we had long stretches between sites, we felt the driving scene was safe and straightforward to navigate. We'd say parking was spiciest in Antalya.
Timing/Scheduling: We found we needed to pre-plan which days we'd see certain things since not everything was open everyday.
Cabs: We generally tried to avoid them, but sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and accept you'll need it, be prepared for over charging. We were able to pre-book a cab (via our hotel) to the airport in Istanbul, so that's a helpful option in some places!

What We Did

Cappadocia

Derinkuyu Underground City: The city itself could hold around 20,000 people and was initially built around 7-8 BCE. The city was then used on-and-off as a haven from other threats, such as the later Mongolians and Ottomans. Aside from family abodes, there were rooms that resembled possible churches, schools, etc. We walked around here for about an hour and found the amount of tunnels both dizzying and a bit haunting. Side note, we bought our museum passes here.
Gümüşler Monastery: Believed to have bee built around the10th Century, this monastery has several rooms built into rock faces and well-preserved Christian frescoes. We used our passes and were even able to walk up the hill on top of the monastery for a view of the surrounding area.
Ortahisar Castle: While we were only passing through for a photo, the fairy chimney structure has become an iconic landmark for the area.
Carus Cave Hotel: It seems you can't really go wrong with these cave hotels, and we really enjoyed this one! Driving some of these streets was quite tricky, so be prepared for small streets and lots of people. Haruna Restaurant: There was a café at the rooftop of our hotel, which had a really nice Turkish spread of cheeses, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, fruits, etc.
Pigeon Valley: There was a small restaurant we stopped at to have toasties and a tea at this popular viewpoint. From here, we walked down into the valley to see some of the dovecotes that are cut into the rocks. We loved exploring the rock formations up close and even climbed up a few of them for spectacular views of the city.
Uçhisar Castle: This admission wasn't included in the museum pass, but we still paid to enter to see the small museum and get the good views at the top. We also got a delicious hot wine at a nearby café before heading up.
Butterfly Balloons: While we'd heard you can save quite a bit by booking on location, we had a tight schedule and decided to pre-book. That said, Butterfly Balloons was honestly top-notch. We were picked up from our hotel (EARLY) and taken to get a light breakfast. Then, we were taken to our launch spot to see several dozens of balloons being fired up in the early morning darkness surrounded by hundreds of people. Our basket held 16 people with our pilot, Mehmet in the center. This guy was a pro, taking pictures with his 360 camera, our cameras, and even pumping fire for the balloon to the beat of the music. We topped out at 920 m elevation and 30 km/hr over the course of about 1 hour and 20 minutes. The experience absolutely exceeded expectations. The views were stunning. Once landed, we were able to walk inside the deflating balloon, and they offered us champagne and strawberries. Highly recommend these guys!

Göreme Open Air Museum: After using our museum passes, we checked out the Buckle Church first. It was so blue inside! Note: some of these small rock-cut churches don't allow you to take photos inside. Overall, the place is a maze of churches and dwellings of people from about 1,000 CE, which included long rock dinner tables and benches, as well. For an extra cost to non-pass members (so, we were covered), we visited the Dark Church, which was also decorated with beautifully colored art.
Love Valley: Named for the phallus-shaped rock formations, this place is a really fun place to walk around. The viewpoint we stopped at first didn't have a way down, so we had to drive to the valley entrance to be able to hike in. We think we hiked from around here.
Rose-Red Valley: In hindsight, we should have pre-loaded the trail (you can try this one), because it is not well marked. For the start, we parked at what we thought was the beginning and had to get intel from a guy at a nearby café on where the trailhead was. Once we got down into the valley, we got more directions from a guy at a hut to go right to see the church and follow the red arrows to connect to the Red Valley. When we ran out of arrows, we tried several different offshoots but wound up on a path with a lot of hand-written "stop," "do not enter," and "X" signage near what appeared to be a farmer's property. So, we gave up on the loop. However, the views and rock formations/colors were still insanely beautiful and it was a weirdly fun adventure. Once we got back to the car, we found a good sunset spot. During sunset, what seemed like hundreds of tourists started motoring around on ATVs Mad Max-style. It was noisy XD

Hot Air Balloon Viewpoint: We went to see the balloons just after sunrise from this spot (for a fee of 20 TL lol).
Monk Valley: More fun-shaped rock formations here :P Smaller but nice spot to wander amongst these unique rock dwellings one more time. We were able to use our museum passes here.

Zelve Open Air Museum: Another place with an impressive amount of rock dwellings (originally constructed in the 1,000s). There were some churches but mostly living quarters here (photos not allows inside but on paths is okay). Overall, really nice paths throughout the park. Monks lived here until the 1950s until it was deemed unsafe to continue living.

Istanbul

Sublime Porte Hotel: Nice boutique hotel amidst all the attractions we wanted to see during our few days here.
Hagia Sophia: This is included in the museum pass. All mosques we've visited so far have been free to enter, so this one is an obvious exception that requires payment without the pass. While not as ornate as the Blue Mosque, the inside of this historically iconic place is impressive. Originally a cathedral, then turned mosque, the you can see the mihrab oriented obliquely to the otherwise 90* angles to the original church's walls. Some of the original church frescoes and mosaics remain, but most have been destroyed.

Istanbul Archaeological Museums: We could use our passes for this one, but unfortunately due to time constraints, went through it quite quickly. However, we always love a good museum and this was still worth the quick visit!
Galata Tower: It was under renovation during our visit, but we still dropped by for some photos from the outside.
Taksim Square -> Ortaköy: Had a leisurely walk through the square, and stopped at Dolmabahçe Palace on the way to Ortaköy for photos. We missed the last ferry back to Sultanahmet but walked/taxied back.
Basilica Cistern: SO COOL. One of the highlights of Istanbul for us. We purchased tickets in advance to avoid the massive queue (not included in museum pass).

Hodjapasha Cultural Center: Recommended by a friend who'd lived in Istanbul. It's regarded as one of the best places to see a whirling dervish show. We enjoyed it!
Süleymaniye Mosque: Beautiful mosque with friendly attendants happy to answer any questions :)
Balat: "Jewish Quarter" - Hip and funky neighborhood with lots of color!

Topkapi Palace: Actually went in this one and really enjoyed it. 15th Century palace complete with gorgeous rooms and squares.
Blue Mosque: A stunning mosque with some of the most beautiful ceiling work.

Selçuk

Ephesus: INCREDIBLE. We were able to use our passes here, and it was super crowded. We'd have preferred to visit early in the day, but we didn't have much wiggle room. So, don't visit in the afternoon, especially during EID XD The Celcus Library was an obvious highlight, as well as the amphitheater, but we also loved seeing a more active excavation site/building that had beautiful mosaics that were so well-preserved.

Temple of Artemis: Only a pillar really remains, but still neat to visit one of the Ancient Wonders of the World.
Ephesus Museum: Could again use our museum passes, with the highlight being the 10-foot statue of Ephesus Artemis!

No. 10 Hotel: Cute boutique hotel with a nice breakfast!
Pamukkale: We parked near the Hierapolis and were able to use our passes here for entry. We first walked by numerous sarcophagi at the necropolis, then made our way to the amphitheater and Plutorium. The Plutorium was seen as the opening to the underworld, because death by natural earthly gases. We got some food near Cleopatra's pool and did not bother trying to swim, because the line was ungodly slow. The real highlight, though, were the terraces! Pro tip, only walk where others are walking lol (we got big yelled at, as we didn't see the sign).

Bodrum

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus: While similarly underwhelming as the Temple of Artemis, visiting another Ancient Wonder of the World was still pretty surreal (could also use museum passes here).
Bodrum Castle: Used our passes here, and we all enjoyed this more than we thought we would. Lots of the stone had been taken from the mausoleum, and there were several artifacts from local historical shipwrecks.
Caunos Tombs of the Kings: We stopped here to break up our drive to Ölüdeniz, so just viewed the tombs from across the water. If you want to visit them, you have to pay for a boat to take you to them.

Ölüdeniz

Butterfly Valley: We took a touristy boat ride to Butterfly Valley with a few stops to and fro. We don't necessarily recommend it, since it didn't leave until 11 am and drinks (including water) were not included (they wouldn't even let you bring your own water). So, read the fine print if you decide to do one of these. That said, we did have some fun stops/activities, which included: a nearby cave to swim into (very cold water), Butterfly Valley (had to pay to hike back to waterfall (40 TL?), nice lunch on the boat, an island (Gemiler?) with a church with an entrance fee (~130 TL but we realized later we may have been able to use our passes here), cold water pool plunge where we think Nick was attacked by plankton (came out with several very itchy spots), and lastly a rocky beach to swim (tough on the feet!).

Saklıkent Gorge: We were all really glad we did this. It gave us Wadi Mujib/Narrows vibes. The water was cold, but we got used to it and hiked in until water would have gotten to chest level. Apparently, there is a waterfall a bit further back. Also, there are water shoes for rent/purchase before entering if you need them! Don't recall the name of it, but we stopped at a café just outside the park entrance. The food wasn't notable, but it was a good spot to watch the tubers float down the river!

Kaş

Dragoman: Our initial intention was to scuba dive with Dragoman, but none of us were feeling particularly energetic enough at the time. So, we opted for a kayak tour instead which ended up being really fun.
- The trip started with a swim at a nearby beach with ruins (dear god they're everywhere lol) of Lycian, Greek, and Byzantine.
- The highlight was seeing the sunken city by kayak! We learned the Lycian people were pagan before the Byzantines and any remaining after the Ottomans arrived migrated to Greece. We also had a little hike to see a nearby castle and necropolis with lots of sarcophagi.
Lycian Rock-Cut Tombs of Myra: It was an absolute maze to get to these, as you have to wind your way through a massive amount of greenhouses. But, once there, we could use our passes and explore the area. Highlights included tombs, an amphitheater, and a church. Fun fact: the local river once diverted flow here and covered much of the site under 20' of sediment!

Antalya

Mount Chimaera: Eternal flames from metamorphic-derived gases (honestly blew our minds). Lots of little pockets of fire naturally coming right out of the hillside!

Termessos Ruins: These were our favorite ruins of the trip! We were able to use our passes and saw several sarcophagi and the crown jewel: the amphitheater with a mountainous backdrop. The reason this place is so special is because it's relatively untouched/not excavated, and it's not very popular. It's tucked up in the mountains and is such a cool place. We ran into a guide who mentioned that in the 27 years he's visited, the site hasn't changed much.

Antalya Archaeology Museum: One more museum where we could use our passes :D We. particularly enjoyed the bronze statues from Perge.
Yivli Minaret Mosque: Stopped in to see the fluted minaret, as well as see the interior glass casing that showed ancient "pipework" for hot and cold water underneath the current structure which was built on top of an older religious building.
Hadrian's Gate, the port, & Hidirlik Tower: Had a quick walk around the sites for some photos and to stretch our legs. Would have properly explored if we had more time!

Food