Turkey - a fascinating country where Europe meets Asia

With our time in England winding down we decided we better hit our bucket list spots. Turkey is one of them and became one of my very favorite countries to visit. We spent 6 days in Turkey, enough to see what we wanted, but also long enough to know that we will want to come back. 

Wednesday 11 June

Today we arrived in Istanbul. The view from the plane showed us what we will see almost around every corner: mosques!

We landed on the Asian side of Istanbul (there are 2 main airports, about equal distance from Istanbul) and the Uber took us underneath the Bosphorus (the straight between Europe and Asia) to the European side of the city. We spent today in Sulthamet the Old part of the city where our hotel: Sultanhan. That location is ideal as a tourist, in walking distance to the Blue Mosque and the Hagia Sofia (a 5 minute walk from each other.)

As a side note: Getting an Uber was slightly tricky at the airport, the first Uber cancelled on us because the police were patrolling the area and Ubers seemed to be illegal at the airport. (We read Ubers were cheaper than Taxis, which seemed to jack up prices for tourists). Luckily the second Uber driver was quickly there and took us on an hour drive to the hotel and gave us some interesting facts about the area. He was extremely friendly and used google translate to make up for some English barriers.

First impression of Istanbul: among many old buildings there were many impressive modern buildings

And lots of mosques:

After checking into our hotel we took a free (tips only) city tour with Guru walk to learn about the city. Like always, it was very good and we gained some valuable insider info. Here we are with WalkyTalky, the tour guide:

First stop: the hippodrome where the ancient horse races were held and home to several Egyptian obelisks and a fountain donated by a German emperor. Evidently, Turkish and German royalties were buddies in the old days.

German Emperor's gift: Fountain for washing before praying in Mosques

Right by this plaza is the Blue Mosque, a 15th century construction and the only mosque with 6 minarets. Throughout our visit we heard regular calls to prayer from these minarets. 

We weren’t dressed appropriately for that visit, luckily the staff made up for this, they even gave Josh a skirt to cover up his shorts. (All for free, including entrance to the mosque). 

The inside of the mosque was as beautiful as the outside. It wasn’t as blue as I pictured it, but there were blue mosaics that gave it that name to tourists. The locals call the mosque the Sultan Ahmed Mosque.

Stunning ceiling:

 Next we walked over to the Hagia Sophia,

Just a stones throw from the Blue Mosque:

This mosque is much older than the Blue Mosque - completed in 537 AD. 

Near each Mosques

are fountains for washing. Muslims are obligated to cleanse themselves before praying in the Mosques. They clean different parts of the body from head to toe. 

We went inside the mosque the following day.

Next stop: equivalent to New York’s

Central Park: Sultanahmet Park. Just as pretty as Central Park.

 

At the end of the park is a hidden cistern, one of thousands of cisterns in Istanbul. Used for water storage in the old days -  now they are museums. To visit this  cistern was for free. (The famous Basilica cistern costs $20.)

The art exhibition inside it made this cistern look pretty stunning:

We think the band Journey was here as well and got this image for their album cover!! :

Next we stopped by the entrance of a German Bank where a scene from James Bond’s Skyfall was filmed. The shops around this bank are according to the guide a great place for textile shopping. 

Nearby is the train station where the Orient Express departs. For $25 you can take the 12 hour train from Istanbul to Sofia (or you can drive yourself in the car the same distance in 3 hours! 🤣). Our guide brought us all tea, which we politely declined.

Next to the train station were some nice murals telling the stories of Istanbul:

Next stop: the spice bazaar. Surprisingly the sales people were not pushy at all, in contrast to the ones in Morocco - to our benefit and relief! From the tour guide we learned that shopping there will cost you about 5x of anything from outside of the bazaar. We did not shop there!

Even in this market there was mini tower to call the Muslims for prayers:

End of day: nice and inexpensive dinner in the Balkan restaurant that the guide recommended. We paid $10/person and got

way too much food. It was delicious, especially the rice pudding and the meatballs.

Here we are walking back to the hotel, passing more mosques.

Thursday, 12 June

Today started with a fabulous breakfast on the terrace of the hotel. The variety of choices was amazing.

There was even a honeycomb!

Amazing views of the 2 famous mosques from the terrace:

First stop of today was the Hagia Sophia, originally a Christian church built in the 4th century and converted into a mosque in the 15th century with the arrivals of the Ottomans. 

When we arrived around 9:30 am, there was already a very long line, about 40 minutes wait. Right by the queue several men were trying to sell us fast passes and a guided tour. Well, one of them was very convincing and we went with him, paying an extra 30 Euro. He got us into the mosque right away and got us headscarves. I was a bit skeptical about the quality of the tour, but surprisingly he did a fantastic job and I was very happy to have him as a guide. He pointed out several interesting things that others walked by without paying attention. Seeing several Christian frescos in a mosque was fascinating. 

Paintings are not allowed in a typical mosque but because this one was also used as a museum we saw the original Christian murals as well as the typical Islamic symbols such as Arabic calligraphy.

Here is Angel Gabriel:

And a painting of Christ:

Because the Hagia Sophia is used as a mosque, and also as a museum 

the Christian images are covered up if visible by the muslims while praying. (The Muslims pray on the main floor. Visitors are only allowed on the second floor.)

Mary and baby Jesus are hidden behind the fabric:

It was a great visit and I loved seeing this mosque and learning about it.

After lunch we took the ferry ($2.5/person) to one of the Princes Islands: Büyükard. 

It took about 1.5 hours to get there on this ferry: 

 On the island we rented bikes ($4/person) for 2 hours and rode around the entire island. The roads were easy to bike on, only very few cars are allowed. It felt great to be on a bike again.

At one point we went down to the beach and passed this restaurant with lots of hanging fish:

We learned that most ‘beaches’ consist of lawn chairs on wooden planks rentable for $15/person. 

We passed on that and preferred to keep riding.

This half day excursion was worthwhile and we enjoyed being out in nature and a bit less of a crowd.

Back in Istanbul, we went to a Turkish dance show ($25/person) at the Hodja Pasha Culture Centre. The show contained a good mix of all kinds of Turkish dances and music, including a fire dancer and a male belly dancer! (They also had a dancing Dervish show but the reviews made it sound a bit more boring, so we didn't see that one.)

On the way home, we saw the Blue Mosque in it's shining night display: 

And nearby the Hagia Sophia: 

Friday, 13 June

Today we went to see the main palace in Istanbul: the Topkapı Palace. From the internet: "Built in the 15th century by Sultan Mehmed II after the conquest of Constantinople, it served as the primary residence and administrative center of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years. It's now a museum and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, showcasing imperial treasures, sacred relics, and the famous Harem quarters."

The entrance tickets were pretty pricey, about $70/person to visit all of the Palace including the Harem section! Many sites recommended to buy the fast pass, but by going early (we were there at 9:15 am) there were no lines. We bought one audio guide, for $7, but learned later, we could have used a free online version. The palace was not one large building, but more of a city with several buildings. Visiting an Ottoman Palace was quite fascinating, especially their libraries and baths. 

Here's the entrance:

And the guard protecting the entrance -

 or for photo ops 🙂:

The library: 

The Harem section:

Gated bath for the sultan:

Muslims don't believe in submerging under water for washing, hence there were lots of faucets and small basins.

Eunichs guarded the Harems: 

Here are the fanciest and must be most uncomfortable slippers ever: 

A lounge room:

And a meeting place:

The inner yard:

View from the Palace - Galata Tower in the distance

Another nice looking building:

Entering the Relic section: (headscarf required)

Letter written by the Prophet Muhammad (7th century):

Beard hair of the Prophet Muhammad:

Staff of the Prophet Moses (13th century BC)

Bones of John the Baptist (1st century AD):

The sword of King David: 

Even though the palace was pricey, it was an interesting visit and worth it.

After the palace visit we also stopped by the nearby Hagia Irene, a rare 4th century Byzantine Christian Church and one of the few Christian churches in Istanbul that was never converted into a mosque. Instead it was used as an arsenal and later as a museum. I was quite impressed to see such an old Christian Church!

Our next destination was the Galata Tower (easy to reach by tram). The line to climb the tower must have been over 1 hour long, so we chose not to wait and were happy to see it from just the outside. (In addition, the ticket to climb the tower cost $35!!)

In the evening we indulged in a 45 min. massage and a Turkish Bath at Athena Spa. It cost $50 and included the massage, sauna, steam bath and face mask. It was heavenly!! They even let Sarah use the pool, sauna and steam bath for free while we were getting a massage and bath. The Turkish bath was quite interesting, with 2 feet of foam on top of us and 2 ladies washing us with that foam. We felt like babies getting washed. 

Indoor pool with a view: 

On the way home we had a nice (somewhat expensive) seafood dinner right outside the Turkish bath: 

On the way home, I caught my eye on this beautiful wallhanging displaced in a store: 

Well, an hour later that was us: walking away with 

A wall hanging and a large rug and free shipping to our US home!! :)

We didn't make it back to the hotel till midnight, which was a bit late considering we had to leave at 4 am the next day to fly to our next destination!!

Saturday, 14th June

After a 1 hour flight at 7 am we arrived in Cappadocia. There are 2 airports in that area: Nevsehir or Kayseri. The best flights that we found from Istanbul were into Kayseri. We picked up a rental car from the airport and drove to Göreme, which was a great location to explore Cappadocia.

In Cappadocia the following 4 colored tours are offered. The green and the red tours are the most popular ones: 

 

Instead of going with an organized tour group, we visited most of the red and green tour sites ourselves and we were very glad we did, (even though it took quite a bit of research and YouTube watching to figure things out ourselves). The benefit was that we were able to explore and see much more than with a tour, and without the crowd. Driving and navigating in Cappadocia was very easy, much better than Morroco!!

 

On the way to Göreme, we stopped by Ürgüp and saw for the first time the famous cave homes:

From the internet: "The cave homes in Cappadocia, Turkey, were carved over thousands of years by various civilizations, starting with the Hittites around 1800 BCE. Later, the Phrygians, Byzantines, and early Christians expanded these dwellings, creating entire underground cities and monasteries in the region’s soft volcanic rock. These homes weren’t just for shelter—they were used for worship, storage, and protection from invasions. Some even had hidden passageways and ventilation systems."

We walked up to the Temenni Hill and enjoyed the views:  

The village was cute and fun to wonder around. 

Nearby we explored the cave castle Ortahisar. We had fun climbing around the castle (another reason to do this independently - the red tour only goes to the viewpoint). 

Climbing around that castle was only slightly sketchy! Here are some interesting safety measures!!: 

The view from the top was pretty cool:

As we continued driving toward Göreme, we came across those striking cone-shaped rock formations that Cappadocia is so famous for.

In Göreme we stayed at the Bedrock Cave hotel: 

We spent the next 2 nights in this cave hotel a pretty cool experience. Aside from the occasional bit of ceiling crumbling down and the stuffy atmosphere from having no windows, it was a great hotel.

The view from the roof was amazing: 

Our next visit was to the Göreme Open-Air Museum. Another pricey place ($35), but so worth it. 

From the Internet: "It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Cappadocia’s most famous attractions. This incredible site features rock-cut churches, chapels, and monasteries carved into soft volcanic stone, many of them decorated with vivid frescoes from the 10th to 12th centuries. It was once a major monastic center during the Byzantine era and offers a fascinating glimpse into early Christian life in the region."

Here is Sarah with one of the many roaming and beloved cats in Turkey:🇹🇷 

A must buy in Turkey: Ice cream - not just because of the yummy taste but to watch the very entertaining ice cream vendors who use a very long metal stick to scoop the ice cream:

Josh’s favorite part of the day: exploring around on the walk back to the hotel.

Dinner in Goereme was about $17/person and it was fantastic. Most notably, this dish (can't remember the name): 

The next day, we woke up at 4:45 am to see the famous hot air balloons over Cappadocia. We decided not to go in a balloon, not so much my cup of tea and it cost  $200/person! The views of the ballons rising over the Cappadocia landscape was stunning:

Breakfast was just like the Istanbul breakfast full of variety and delicious with amazing views: 

Our first stop for today was the Uchisar castle. Here is the view of the castle from the road:

On the way to the castle, we saw a whole bunch of cars and tourbuses parked at the base of trailheads (just past the Ecem Market)  and thought that must be it, since we could see the castle on top of the hill, with trails leading to it. We parked there, and started our hike. This hike was one of our favorite part of our trip even though it was actually the wrong spot to park as we later found out. It was an absolutely gorgeous hike even though the trail somewhat disappeared and we had to just scramble up the hill to the castle. 

At the base: camels for the many tourists: 

To get to the top there wasn't much of a trail,

but with some bushwacking we finally made it - to the back of the castle:

This one also had somewhat sketchy safety measures!

And here is the front of the castle with the official ticket office, etc.:

And here the view of the castle from the side: 

The hike back to the car down the hill was even prettier and we found a real trail all the way down (on the left side of the castle). 

The next stop and another highlight of our trip was Kaymakli, one of the 200 known  multi story ancient underground cities. We talked to a few locals about which one of the 2 famous ones to visit, and even though Derenkiu is the bigger one, we picked this one for the following reasons: much less crowded and the passage ways are more narrow and more fun to visit. It did not disappoint. 

Kaymakli could house 3000 - 5000 people on 8 levels, while the largest city Densikiyu has 18 underground levels could house 20,000 people!  Only 4 levels are accessible in Kaymakli, and 8 in Derenkiu (4 levels was plenty to explore and enough for Josh’s knees).

Here we are at the entrance (cost is $14/person)  - hard to believe what is hidden underneath:

From the internet: “Kaymaklı Underground City was originally built long before early Christians used it as a refuge. Its earliest construction likely dates back to the Hittites, around 1600 BCE or earlier. The soft volcanic rock of the region (tuff) made it possible for ancient peoples to carve out underground spaces, initially for storage and protection.

Later, during the Roman and Byzantine periods, especially from the 2nd to 10th centuries CE, early Christians expanded these underground cities significantly. They added churches, living quarters, and defensive mechanisms to hide from Roman persecution and later from Arab raids. The city features a complex network of tunnels, rooms, kitchens, storage areas, stables, and even a church — all spread across 8 levels, though only 4 are open to visitors. Its design allowed thousands of people to live underground for extended periods, with air shafts, ventilation, and security features like rolling stone doors.”

Here we are exploring this underground city with amazement how people could live there:

One of the stone doors to protect from invaders:

Could be a bedroom or a burial site:

Room with windows:

Not quite tall enough for Josh!

And the tunnels were even worse:

Here is a ventilation shaft:

A food storage place:

A very heavy round door with a genius locking system:

Multiple levels connected with stairs and tunnels:

The cities Kaymakli and Derinkuyu are connected with each other through tunnels, to provide a way for trade and also escape route. Quite astonishing since they are 6 miles apart from each other!!

Out in fresh air again we had lunch at a nearby restaurant and had fun observing about 50 men playing Turkish Rummikub called Okey, the national board game evidently! Interestingly only men were present.

After another (1 h) drive and another nap for Sarah, we arrived in the Ihlara Valley for our last outing.

The Ihlara Valley is a beautiful 14-kilometer gorge located about 80 km south of Göreme. The Melendiz river flows through it making the valley an oasis of green and lush plants. The valley is dotted with over 100 ancient rock-cut churches with beautiful Byzantine frescoes, making it a unique blend of natural beauty and rich history.

It was a nice place to visit, cooler and more peaceful, away from the crowds. The only drawback was that there was a $15/person entrance fee at the beginning of the 3 miles hike and since we’ve already seen many of these types of churches we think it was a bit expensive. (note: there are at least 2 entrances to this valley hike, we picked on accident the further one from the churches, but enjoyed the longer hike).

On our drive back to Göreme we witnessed an unfortunate accident. I have never seen a car fly through the air except in the movies till witnessing this one in front of us. The accident happened during a merge of one car onto a highway and not seeing the black car below.

Here is Josh assisting to get 4 Turkish girls out of the car, who seemed not insured. The passenger on the front seat was unconscious and covered in blood. We don’t know what happened to the driver. Sad to witness and a good reminder that anything can change in a moment and to appreciate every day.

Back in Göreme, we just barely caught the sunset at Rose Valley, which also required an entrance fee but we were late enough to not have to pay. 

A beautiful sunset:

And one more view of  beautiful Göreme at night:

Turkey proved to be one of my very favorite trips. The Turkish people are very friendly and made us feel welcome. They seem to appreciate the tourists in contrast to some other countries. They always asked us where we’re from and liked to talk to us with their broken English. In addition, the blend of east and west and the rich history was fascinating, and the nature breathtaking. I would love to come visit again at some time.

The End