Hi all! I know it has been a bit since I’ve posted to the blog. I have been in the midst of moving between a couple of places which has been taking most of my attention, and that I am very excited to post about later. Now I finally have a moment of space to write and be able to share places in the past year(s) I’ve loved visiting. Which also means look out for more content coming! BUT without any further delay we HAVE TO TALK ABOUT ONE OF MY FAVORITE PLACES I’VE TRAVELLED TO.
OVERVIEW*
Seriously, Turkey was absolutely incredible and one of the most unique places I’ve got to explore. The landscape, the culture, the food!
The landscape compared to where I am from, felt like fixtures from another planet, specifically maybe Mars, with deserts of uniquely shaped rocks and canyons layering the space. I stood in awe more often than not and was again when we were visiting Istanbul and were straddled between TWO CONTINENTS. Yes, knock off two continents from the seven in the world by visiting one city and taking a boat tour in the Bosphorus Strait. Heck yah!
The culture was also something I had not yet experienced and is influenced from the predominated religion of Islam there. There were calls to pray 5 times throughout the day signaled from minarets present each place we visited. I have spent a lot of time traveling in the United States and Europe which are largely influenced by Christianity and regardless of individual beliefs, the influence remains present in the culture and surroundings. Christian religious churches are present in most towns and celebrations are mainly upheld in annual practice. Turkey was a total different experience and I think because of the noticeable differences in daily life due to the influence of religion. So interesting to acknowledge and spend time considering this!
The food was top notch delicious, full of spices and taste. I had so many options as a vegetarian and had a full belly every meal. My meat eating friends also raved about their dishes and the tastes. We still reminisce on the food, often!
*Based off my own individual experiences since that’s all I can speak to! I am not an expert in history, theology, or geography. And if you are, I am always more than happy to be educated!
Let’s get into the details! Our trip consisted of two and half days in Cappadocia and two and half days in Istanbul. I would spend more time in Turkey if I had dedicated my trip to just traveling there. Getting to Turkey is fairly easy through Istanbul’s large international airports and then we took a connecting domestic flight to Kayseri. We then had to take a shared van to our hotel from the airport to Cappadocia for about an hour. It was decently affordable but a long day and required paying in euros or Turkish Lira. I would consider looking into tour companies if you wanted to dedicate time to exploring Turkey and its beautiful different places. The weather in June was warm days and cooler nights.
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CAPPADOCIA
(Pronounced ka-puh-doh-shuh or ka-puh-doh-kee-uh, both correct. From my understanding, this is dependent on the English pronunciation or local pronunciation)
This place was one of the coolest I’ve ever been, was so different than what I had experienced up to this point.
-Won’t mention where we stayed bc we had a poor experience but would recommend either staying in a hotel with a rooftop to see the sunrise hot air balloons and included delicious breakfasts or in a cave depending on your mojo
-My two cents about the FOOD:
- There are some really great reviewed restaurants in the town of Göreme with rooftops that if you make reservation in advance would be great experience
- We did not plan at all and just found a good spot that was able to seat us. Did not have a problem with this either. (We were also just REALLY hungry). I LOVE this cuisine though, was so good and very veggie friendly
- We went to Turkish ravioli restaurant and really liked it
- Try pottery kebabs, Turkish tea/coffee, ayran (milk/yogurt popular drink), Turkish delight, pistachio baklava !!
-Wake up at the crack of dawn for one of the best mornings in your life to see SO many hot air balloons fly at sunrise
- This was one of my life bucket list items that I promise doesn’t disappoint. (My cold heart did even crack a bit as stood with some tears watching the sunrise).
- We had recently went hot air ballooning somewhere else so we opted to just sit on a beautiful rooftop with Turkish rugs and pillows and watch the balloons, but have heard amazing experiences of people who choose to go up in them
- We were very grateful we got up the first morning we were there because our 2nd day there all hot air balloons were cancelled due to wind and I would have been devastated to miss this. Also NOTE to just double check your cancellation policies and be flexible. The cost also changes per day for going in the balloons.
- Most prices here are actually cheaper to book BEFORE rather than when you get into town so just book in advance honestly. Most local tours of the area are about 60 euros and most hot air balloons are 120 euros.
- Eat an amazing homemade Turkish breakfast afterwards if you book with hotel. Our experience almost redeemed our poor experience at our place because the food was overflowing, delicious and unique dishes and the sweetest female cooks.
-Do a local tour of the area to see the amazing landscape. There are different color options for popular spots (red, green, blue).
- Research some before about which spots fit with what you want to see and are interested in participating in. Some are more active than others. Some hit all the popular spots while others hit the scenic spots.
- We chose the green tour and really enjoyed it, if we had more days we would have loved to do both though.
- Some highlights of our tour:
- See panorama valley, pigeon valley, museum where the explain turquoise was found in Turkey and have all the gems
- Derinkuyu underground city: old habitat villages tucked into cliff where they made oil for fire with man power, so impressive
- Ihlara valley and Belisirma: nice hike and cute restaurant where you can eat in a hut in the actual river
- Kaymakli caves: caves where ancient locals hid from enemies and lived for protection for centuries, very impressive and fun to tour
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ISTANBUL
~ Graciously got some recs from friends who visited and did some research for this list ~
We flew from Cappadocia back to Istanbul and stayed in a lovely airbnb in Beyoğlu. It was on a quiet side across the bridge from Istanbul tourist spots, but near Galata tower. We liked staying here bc it was pretty close and walkable but felt a little more quiet and calm.
Things to do:
- Hagia Sophia : Costs 25€ each, only audio tour so bring headphones
- Blue Mosque: Was so cool, free, no tour available
- Seven Hills Restaurant: On top of their hotel, has amazing view of the water and Hagia Sophia, definitely recommend (Side note: loads and loads of birds flying in)
- Grand Bazaar: Maze of various shops. Loved seeing this and shopping a bit, great for some Turkish gifts
- FYI you will get people trying to get your attention to buy anything so many of the merchants would shout at us, “Barbie” “Shakira” “J-Lo” “angels” etc, we just laughed at this, didn’t feel aggressive but we are also used to city life and being cautious everywhere so I guess just be aware
- DUDU restaurant on top of hotel: Had dinner here. This was SO cool, had DJ playing house Turkish music that the people there ended up dancing to after eating, the food was tapas and so good, the bar tender gave us free sparkling shots which was a bonus and there was a guy with a lit up drum and was really impressive with it and adding to the music
- Nightlife: We went to street bar, American music was playing and we only wanted a drink and ended up drinking a couple and getting to talk to some locals, so much fun
- We specifically went to Beyoglu and on the street Sehbender Sk. There were multiple bars that were lined along this street that you can drink outside.
- I have heard the nightlife can be crazy and fun here, unfortunately that’s the only rec I have!
- Galata tower: Impressive, supposedly has nice view but due to lines and the cost to go up, we decided against
- Topaki Palace: MASSIVE palace with option to pay for Harem area (where royalty and their staff were housed), we paid for a skip-the-line for 55 euros each, would just recommend buying there and getting a physical audio guide because the app was spotty and works terribly
- Can easily spend 4 hours here seeing the countless buildings, courtyards, views, and historical rooms
- Gardens outside are free and gorgeous to sit and relax at
- Spice/Egyptian bazaar: market with shops and spice stores, very crowded, was near a lot of tourist spots so saw this a couple times, wouldn’t go out of way for it
- Explore Balat, would be very cute for a cafe breakfast or lunch, we ended up doing early dinner here and it was also nice
- Cute, colorful houses, there is a photo op of “instagramable” rainbow steps
- Walk along Haliç şair nedim park for sunset (we did this with gelato), mmhmm it is a good idea
- Have to take bus to get there, and we had to transfer, can be confusing FYI (the rose/thorn of affordable travel in a foreign area)
- We took tram to Kabatas and then had to get off at Epitome and walk across the same side of bridge to along station and get on tram to Balat
- TURKISH BATH, this was seriously one of the best experiences I’ve ever had (I am seriously already planning in my head how to get this incredible treatment before my nonexistent wedding at some point)
- We went to a historic one – Cagaloglu hamam – and had SUCH a good experience from start to finish
- Ended up splurging and spending 130€ for head to toe bath/massage and clay mask, could have added 30 € more for hand and face masks
- Had private room in separated male and female corridors with only same sex designated staff (there are facilities that offer other options, do what you are comfortable with)
- Was in the nude with the other people who booked the entire time
- Was provided with products and disposal underwear so we could cover bikini area during the process and a towel initially
- Process included a sauna soak to open the pores (only females, was nude except bikini cover), then wash by personal attendant, then dead skin scrubbed with meze by attendant on marble surface in nude with bikini cover, then painted with clay mask, soaked for a bit, then washed again by attendant including hair wash and then bubbles poured on with massage
- Afterwards got Turkish treats and could sit in spa for however long, was SO refreshing and such an experience, I would love to do this every week it was so nice
- Explore some options that haven’t seen yet, bazaars (markets), Asian side of the Bosphorus strait (take the ferry over, extremely affordable ride), Basilica Cistern (ancient underground construction of columns to store water) or just RELAX (which is what we did)
- Walk along the strait and get roasted nuts or grilled corn on the cob that sold on the street
- Sunset cruise on Bosphorus Strait
- Was so lovely, about 40€ for 2.5 hr, included auditory tour for particular landmarks along the way
- Included snacks and non alcoholic drinks
- We bought a bottle of wine from our cruise and enjoyed our last night!
- Was a really nice end to our trip, got to see so many parts of Istanbul that would not have been able to see (or would have loved to visit) unless we spent a week or more there
The real lowdown for a couple things:
- The bathroom most places we visited (or what we coined “squatty potties” which means it is) composed of a stall with a hole in the ground and you have to squat to go to the bathroom, some places make you pay to use these facilities
- Ladies its squatting hour, use the quads! I would not recommend wearing pants or skirts that hit the ground
- Cannot flush any toilet paper anywhere
- Be prepared for this when having long travel days and tummy troubles
- English was spoken but pretty broken even by taxi and tour guides
- Turkish lira cash is really helpful bc cash is king but they take euros and usd in some places too
- Safety: I travelled with two girl friends and I felt safe the whole time. We were respectful of the culture, felt most comfortable wearing clothes that covered our chests, bellies, and thighs, and read the room of where we were.
- When visiting the religious mosques or sanctioned areas, be respectful of the culture
- Most places require females and males to cover shoulders and knees, dress modestly, remove shoes before entering
- Most places also require females to cover their hair with scarf or head covering
- In the common tourist spots, these can be provided with small fee
- We dressed in linens (covers everything and not too warm), and bought scarfs at the market to cover our hair
I cannot rave enough about how much I enjoyed visiting and my experiences in Turkey. I think it might be a top contender on my top 5 places to travel to. If you need a sign or confirmation to book your trip and make your way, this is it!
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