BootsnAll Travel Community

I know this may sound like deja vu, but here I am in Fethiye at the Villa Daffodil looking out at that gorgeous view and enjoying the wifi!!

You are all right, this is not an "out there" country at all so far. We will take a gulet in the morning for that 4 days , 3 night cruise to Olympus and then head to Cappadocia when it feels right.

So far we are really enjoying ourselves..and you were all right...I WAS worrying too much. LOL!!

I am really glad that we added the short stays in Chania Crete and Rhodes and it was a very easy cross and entry ( just an hour by fast ferry). We will exit via Samos so will see how that one works.

So far it is great!!

See - we told you you'd love Turkey! Sounds like things are going well - keep us posted!

They should be waking up to get on the Gulet soon, so we'll have to wait for an update.
I don't like waiting!

Hey,

When you arrive to Olympus, there is a place called "Ulupinar" close to there.. You can have one of the most enjoying meal there, (it is fish, tough). The thing is, this place is like a forest restaurant and you are having your meal ona a table that's located on the river(your feet will be in there)... You can feel refreshed there! But sorry wait, the place called "Cirali" is right next to Olympus, and you can walk there from the beach.. I mean if you like fish, first go there, it is closer!
OHH! I am being confusing, sorry! Enjoy it ok? This is the best I can do AT WORK!

Have Fun!

Gokce

Sorry we mıssed that great lıttle restaurant...but ıt sounds nıce. Forgıve my errors, I am on a Turkısh keyboard here at the Local Cave House ın Gorme after a lovely day tourıng wıth the manager.

We also dıd not make ıt to çirali altho that was the plan,but we ended up stayıng ın Olypos at Turkman ın an AC bungalow. Thankfully ıt was too slow and quıet for any party atmosphere and my daughter loved havıng pızza ın the ottoman style tree hangouts.

We had a fabulous captaın and crew on the gulet cruıse, but be warned ( as even one of theır own told me thıs) do NOT go wıth a group of teachers. I hope thıs ıs not typıcal but thıs group was pure "ugly Amerıcan" and were not satısfıed no matter how much the generous captaın and crew dıd and also hated chıldren...so a bıt of a bummer as they were the fırst negatıve people we have run ınto ın 11 months on the road. ( two were nıce).

Oh well we stıll managed to have fun wıth the captaın, hıs kıwı gırlfrıend and the extremely hard workıng crew. THe bıggest prıncess of the group had them all upset ın the end by puttıng "inapproprıate touch" on the feedback form because the captaın affectıonately pınched her cheek. Twas really a shame and shameful sınce we had lucked out wıth such a nıce boat and crew. It really hurt to see them upset the crew and even my chıld wondered " why are they so mean to them".

We saw some fabulous sıghts from the boat and one tıny vıllage near Kas was my favorıte. The cook made some amazıng meals whıch ıs mındblowıng gıven hıs space. We dıd run ınto some bad seas on the fırst day wıth several gettıng seasıck and upchuckıng...but thankfully ıt calmed.The captaın let my daughter steer the boat and taught her to fısh whıch she really loved. We ıgnored the ıgnorant ones, but next tıme we would splurge and do a prıvate boat. We dıd not get much sleep untıl we got to Olympos as the beds are not too comfy on top ,too hot ın the cabın and there was lots of boozıng at nıght and sunrıse wakıng mornıngs as ıt ıs hard to sleep ın the sun.

We are addıng a few days onto Cappadocıa as we love ıt here and ıt ıs not as hot as ıt was on the coast. We are goıng to spluge at Esbellı Evı to check out ıf ıt ıs as good as all the raves one hears.

We are LOVING the Turkısh people,ıt ıs not crowded anywhere yet and the food ıs delıcous. We went to Flıntstones last nıght just because of Statıc and the name...very cool.

So far we fınd ıt much more lıke Greece and Europe and not at all lıke Morocco ( not nearly as harsh as that country can be)

I am stıll ın process takıng ın and decıdıng my take on thıs country,but ıt certaınly ıs ınterestıng so far. We have not found ıt as excıtıng as Morocco but we have not seen ıt all yet. Lookıng forward to seeıng more!

Hi, WT - glad you're having a good time! By the way, you might want to check the computer - many allow you to toggle between a Turkish and English keyboard. Look down at the system tray in the lower right-hand corner and there may be a toggle for TUR and ENG (or something like that - I can't remember). If there is, it makes life a whole lot easier when you get your dotted "i" back. You can also go into the control panel to change it, which I did at one cafe, but it was hit or miss at the time, since everything was in Turkish, and I got lucky and hit it. I don't know that I'd remember enough to direct you there.

On the tech support note - even if the TR/EN switch isn't there, you can hit Alt-Shift to change keyboard layout.

Anyway, glad you're having a good time. It's too bad about the group on your boat...it just pains me when people respond to friendliness that rudely.

I agree about Turkey being more like Europe. We entered from Syria, and the closest stop to the Syrian border, Antakya, was even more European feeling than most of the other spots we visited in Turkey. The change in culture over the space of only 100km or so accross the border was really shocking to us.

Nice to hear back from you guys. Enjoy it. There is a lot to enjoy in Turkey.

Ahhhh yes we ARE enjoying it! We decided to splurge and spend a few days at Esbelli Evi which really does set the standard for cave houses and is one of the best boutique hotels in the world.


We really enjoyed the Local Cave House ( and their restaurant) in Goreme, but this is like having our own house or a good friend that lives in Cappadocia. My 6yo was literally jumping for joy when he upgraded us to a huge suite and she had her very own gigantic cave room.

This is the kind of place we could stay for weeks, but alas our budget will not allow it. The beauty and simple luxury is so special here ( the kilms are his Grandmothers!!) we did not even want to leave our room ( and the great wifi) and just ordered pide ( Turkish pizza) in!

It was a bit of a thrill today when they let us out in the middle of no where in traffic...yikes!! I guess we were on the wrong bus from Canakale to Bergaman...live and learn ...altho it was a bit scary as a gimp and with a kid.

But it all worked out...a taxi finally came ( a few busses passed us by).

Istanbul is a beautiful city ( well the parts we were in ...altho like most big cities we also saw some not so nice places on the way out).

We were VERY glad that we stopped at Troy as we had a great early morning tour with an EXCELLENT guide who wrote a book that they use in the classroom in Australia ( so I was told) and teachers other guides. He was born in Troy,speaks several languages and has a passion for the place.

There were less than 10 people with us and it was great fun for my 6yo daughter who has a passion for Troy and anything to do with Greek Myths or Homer.

We will be focusing on more ancient sites for the rest of our time in Turkey ( about a week).

The night sleeper train was MUCH netter than the night bus ( we took it from Ankara to Istanbul) and it was a new form of transport for us ( sleeper car). We also took a bus that went on a ferry!! Yet another first. We enjoyed coming by ferry with the morning commuters from Asian side to Sultanhemet in Istanbul after the night on train.


We have met wonderful Turkish people..they really are so warm and caring for the most part. We have also met lots of other great people from many countries.

You were all right...we are really glad that we came. Looking forward to some more, but also excited to get back to Greece. We did all get sick...my poor child was up one whole night in Istanbul ...vomiting. Dh got severe dysentary and we were careful with food and water...but not as careful as we were in Morocco. Medicine at pharmacy (and from a fellow tourist in Cappadocia) helped turn things around quickly.

We did not book anything in advance and it has been very easy to find places as we go.
It is hot and I am heat sensitive, but more doable than I imagined ( we usually head to AC, pool or shade during heat of day).

It is a country that more people should see!!

I forgot to mention the other strange thing that happened. Suddenly out of the blue on the large bus ride from Istanbul to Canukale, two soldiers with rifles got on the bus, kicked a few passengers out of thier seats and entered with another man handcuffed to one.


Weird!!

Luckily there was a Turk who has been living in France for ten years ( who was one who was kicked out) who later told me that it was very unusual. I guess the guy had done the equivilent of going awol.

Still it was strange to do this on a public bus...from our perspective and between that, a the drivers and a few minor things, I have not always felt a hundred percent safe in Turkey.

Mostly tho, we have felt safe ...I was just relieved not to have a loaded gun so close to my child. I kept worrying that the captive might grab the gun until they finally got off an hour or two later.

I also kept wondering why they did not have another means of transport...strange.

I may visit Turkey soon, is it easy to buy alcohol in smaller towns if I visit? cant imagine travelling and not drinking

Yes, it is incredibly easy. Turkey is not uptight about booze, and Efes lager is a great beer. The local red wines are drinkable, the whites not at all. Watch out for Raki. (Don't ask me how I learned this)

quote:

cant imagine travelling and not drinking

Funny, as I can ..since we are not big drinkers and have had rare drinks in eleven months straight of European travel. That said, my husband likes a beer with his meal in hot weather, so has had a beer just about every night in Turkey including all the small towns we have been to. NO problem what so ever.

HOWEVER if you are on a budget..one might want to consider the fact that the gov't discourages drinking by adding about a 400% tax to it ( read something like that ..facts may not be 100% accurate as I don't have it in front of me, but the idea is). So if you want to booze out on cheap liquoir..hmmmmm, may not be the right place.

I dunno,one does hear a lot about partying in Turkey, so maybe the price is stil not that bad as it is the budget travelers who have the rep as the biggest drinkers.

I am with the family crowd, so do not know too much about that area. I DO have a great recommendation for Selcuk for families for future reference. I often here people say Selcuk is not that great..but we are having a blast here in this wonderful, charming complex. Great food, clean, nice pool, lovely antiques,great service, enchanting atmosphere...VERY family friendly ( owner has young child who goes to American school). Hotel Kalehan is our pick for best kid friendly hotel in Turkey. ( Esbelli Evi in Cappadocia gets best hotel we have been to in all eleven months of RTW trip).

Also if you are going to do Troy, get Mustafa Askin as your tour guide..he makes it wonderful!!

Bergama is pretty yucky, but still worth the overnight visit as the Pergamum sites are spectacular.

I will eventually get all of our pros and cons down on the blog ( as well as pictures) for those interested in planning a trip. I have become another convert...YES, everyone should see and experience Turkey!

Several people here have mentioned that they were not crazy about Selcuk, so I thought I would let you know that we have been here a week and have really loved our stay.

OK, the town itself is not that great, but we love our hotel which is a charming oasis in the middle of it and close to everything.

We found this a good place to visit Sirince, Pummukale, Aphrodisia not to mention Ephesus, Mary's house ( saw a mass there on Sunday), St Johns Basilica, the Ephesus museum and more.

Here we are in high season and we actually enjoyed our visit to Ephesus and there was no one around when we entered. My 6yo daughter wants to be an archeologist so it was exciting talking to some at work there and watching them there and at other places like Aphrodisia and Troy.

The key to Ephesus in high season is to NOT go on Sunday and Wednesday when the cruise boat busses come and to go early. We were there at 8 am and no one was there ..we were the first in and had the place to ourselves the first half hour and most of the time as we stayed ahead of the crowd mostly.

There was a breeze so it was not hot at all which is something I worried about. We finished around eleven and it still was not too bad altho we were seeking shade by then.Also start from the top and work down.

We saw Mary's house on a separate day and glad we did. We are doing a video ( ala where the hell is matt) of my 6yo playing violin in key spots around the world and we did it in front of the famous library there with nary a soul around.

Pummukale and Aphrodisia are definately worth the trip ( altho renting a car and gas are expensive there altho we are glad we took this method for the freedom). If I had to do it again we would stay over night in Pammukale as it is a three hour drive one way. We got back here at midnight as we wanted to enjoy Pummkale in the evening after the tour busses leave.

I have lost track of time ( I think we left on July 9th from Santorini)and have added days to our Turkey itinerary ( and could add a lot more) but we feel complete now and are glad we came. More details will come soon on the blog and I am uploading my first Turkey installment today before we head out to Samos.

Thanks to all who helped here ( BIG help!!) and I give Bootsnall forum the credit on the blog. Turkey is a VERY easy country ( I worried that it would be a harsh third world kind of place) to do on your own and super cheap.

YES it is great for kids ( especially a 6yo who loves Odyssee, Trojan war, Greek Myths and wants to be an archeologist)!! We were thrilled to meet many archeologists and advanced degree students working on sites such as Ephesus,Troy, Aphrodisia and the chance to watch them close up and talk to them.

It is a wonderful country with the sweetest people...not to be missed!

I have uploaded another 10 blog entries on Turkey ( actually 5 will be up today) and thought some might like to read them. I do have a special thanks to all of you in one of the blogs as you were a big help in the planning stages and made our trip better.


Enjoy...thanks again!!