Turkey 5 Days 4 Nights - January 2019

Turkey is a transcontinental country located between eastern Europe and western Asia. Throughout its history, the region shares a diverse civilizations including the Assyrians, Greeks, Thracians, Phrygians, Urartians, and Armenians. I plan this trip during MLK long weekend around summer last year. The most difficult part of this trip is the planning because Turkey, fills with diverse cultures, has so many attractions and activities to do. Unfortunately, I can only pick some of the highlights attract me the most. My general advice is to give yourself 1 to 2 weeks in Turkey.

Cappadocia

Cappadocia

In this article, I will briefly mention the hotels I stay during this trip. Later on, I will write another article about these hotels specifically and update link.

Goreme Kaya Hotel, cave hotel in Cappadocia

Flights

If you look for award flight from JFK to IST using United Airline search engine, most of flights are in combination of LOT, Air Canada, and Turkish airlines. Lufthansa or SWISS business flights are scarce, but I am lucky enough to grab a business seat on the SWISS airline and connect through Zurich with 70k UA miles one way. Lufthansa flight will connect through Frankfurt. 

Flight itineraries and cost

Day 1

Sultanahmet (Old City)

Majority of historical landmarks are in the Sultanahmet district such as Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Cistern, and Istanbul Archaeological Museums. There are many ways to get around within the city, which includes tram, metro, bus, boat, train, and taxi. Generally speaking, there are less activity to do at night time in the old city.

Arasta Bazaar, located behind Sultanahmet Mosque. Full of small shops that sell paintings, handcrafts, spices, food and souvenirs.

Remnants of an ancient hippodrome in Sultanahmet Square

Blue Mosque, constructed in early 17th century during the rule of Ahmed I.

Hagia Sophia, former Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal cathedral and now a museum. It was built in 537 AD at the beginning of the Middle Ages.

Hagia Sophia, view from Blue Archaeological Park

Street Vendor, commonly seen in Istanbul

Due to lack of time I have, I try to check out few of the landmarks immediately after I arrive in Istanbul. I would recommend people avoid coming here in January because often time it rains a lot here in January, and you get the least amount of day light as well.

Street view in Old City

Electric tram, used to be main means for urban public transport until 1966. It consists of lines T1 and T4 now.

Popular Turkish dessert such as Baklava and many more.

One of many typical restaurants you will see in Old City, fills with meats.

Blue Mosque, view from Hotel Arcadia Blue

Hagia Sophia, view from Hotel Arcadia Blue

Day 2

Pamukkale

Wear light clothing unless it's raining...I feel so hot here. Additionally, it is convenient if you have sandals with you for Pamukkale and antique pool. After arriving DNZ airport, you can find public shuttle bus for Pamukkale right outside the airport. You will need to change to another bus somewhere around halfway (they should tell you). I pay 35 TK for the bus ticket. Upon arriving Pamukkale, the bus will drop you off in a small town, and I recommend joining a tour to save yourself from hiking...the hike does not look fun at all. I negotiate from 160 to 125 TK for a tour, which includes the entrance ticket (50 TK) and the transportation between the top of Pamukkale and the travel agency office.

Outside of DNZ Airport. Source: Google Image

One of the most famous landmarks, Pamukkale, located in Denizli in southwestern Turkey is certainly a must visit! There are only few places that share a similar view around the world, and they are Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park and Huanglong in Sichuan, China.

Entrance of Pamukkale

Both Pamukkale and its surrounding ancient Greco-Roman city, Hierapolis are listed as the world heritage in 1988. In order to protect and maintain the original form of Pamukkale, visitors are required to enter with barefoot.

Visitors are required to enter with barefoot

Travertines

Travertines

Pamukkale

Pamukkale's terraces are made of limestone deposited by mineral springs, which is known as travertine. It is a sedimentary rock, formed by the precipitation of carbonate minerals from solution in ground and surface waters, as well as geothermally heated hot-springs.

Selfie with travertines

Travertines

There is a cave located near the center of this area, and it continues to release poisonous gas from the underground nowadays, however, it's not harmful to human but bird species. In the local, they call it the gate of hell, which is also named Plutonium after the god of the underworld, Pluto.

View from the top of hill on the right hand side of entrance. Plutonium, Monumental Fountain, and Temple of Apollon are all in the view.

Hierapolis

Hierapolis

The ruins of Hierapolis are adjacent to modern Pamukkale, and the city is built on a grid with streets running parallel or perpendicular to the main thoroughfare. The city fills with countless amount of Roman and Medieval history. You will find many popular sites here, which includes ancient theatre, temple of Apollo, plutonium, antique pool, and many more.

Ancient theatre

Ancient theatre

Hierapolis

Hierapolis Museum (Roman Bath), requires additional fees to enter

Fountains

There are shops inside the antique pool where you can buy swimming clothes (not that expensive) and storage places. Fees for swimming: Adult 50 TK, 6-12 years old 20 TK, and safe box 5 TK. There are some diseases which can be cured by thermal water in the antique pool such as cardiovascular, skin, rheumatic diseases!

Entrance of antique pool

Antique pool

Antique pool

Day 3

Cappadocia

Do not consider yourself that you have been to Turkey unless you have visited Cappadocia! It is a historical region in central Anatolia, and its name carries a concept to define a region of exceptional natural wonders. The entire region is a cultural heritage that you will not find a second place on Earth elsewhere, it also has many unique geological and historic features. You should communicate with your hotel in Goreme to arrange a transportation (I pay 35 TK for one way), otherwise, the local taxi charges you ridiculously amount.

Street view in Goreme

Goreme

Turkey, especially Cappadocia, has been on the top recommend traveling location in the recent years, and there are four touristic area within the region: Nevsehir, Kayseri, Aksaray, and Nigde. Generally, one week is not even enough for a vacation in Turkey, but I hope you can get some basic idea of what you are getting into if you decide to visit here. One of the activity everyone must do here taking a  hot-air balloon ride in Goreme. It will remind me of the international balloon fiesta in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hot-air balloon ride in Goreme

Hot-air balloon ride in Goreme

Hot-air balloon ride in Goreme

I participate three tours in Cappadocia: hot-air balloon, red tour, and ATV tour. They run from approximately 7am to 6pm with one to two hours break in between here and there. I take a flight from Denizli and arrive the night before, so I can fully rest up and enjoy lovely breakfast before the early morning balloon ride. Hot-air balloon ride is heavily affected by the weather, which is why I don't recommend people coming here during the winter because apparently they cancel the tours 10 days in a row prior I get there.

• Hot-air balloon: 120€
• Red Tour: 30€
• ATV Tour: 25€

Night view in front of Goreme Kaya Hotel, taken by Pixel 3.

Receive a flight certificate after the end of balloon ride!

Welcome party and champagne at the end of balloon ride!

Welcome party and champagne at the end of balloon ride, cheers!

Among many travel agency in the Goreme, there aren't many difference from one to another. Many of them offer red, blue, and green tours as well as few other options that are more complex and pricey. If you have more time, I will highly recommend joining the green tours because you will have the opportunity to see more historical features and underground city, otherwise, hot-air balloon + red tour + ATV tour is a perfect package for a day tour! Pottery tour is sort of a way to get you spend money to buy their stuff in the end, and I do not like these type of tours in general, but it is extremely common across all travel agencies here. If you do not like it, just try your best to appreciate their work and just have self discipline and don't buying anything.

Red tour usually consists of the following:

• Uchisar Panaroma
• Goreme Open Air Museum: ticket 45 TK
• Cavusin Village
• Lunch
• Pasabag Valley
• Devrent Valley
• Urgup Fairy Chimneys
• Avanos (Pottery)

Entrance of Goreme Open Air Museum

Goreme Open Air Museum, pigeon houses

Goreme Open Air Museum

Pasabag Valley (Valley of the Monks)

Signature mushroom shaped rock in Pasabag Valley 

Street vendors right next to Pasabag Valley

Devrent (Imagination) Valley

Pottery I like: 25,000 TK

Make sure to attend 2-hour option on the ATV tours, so that you can visit the Rose Valley. I personally do the ATV tour only to photograph the Rose Valley! It's such a romantic scene.

ATV tour

Red and Rose Valleys

Historical church in the local near Goreme

Day 4

Ephesus

Ephesus opens from 8:30am to 6:30pm daily. I take an overnight flight from Istanbul to Izmir (ADB) and then take a train to Selcuk (20 TK), which is the town and gateway to Ephesus. The ticket machine is confusing...I am lucky to meet someone who lives in Selcuk, so I just follow him the entire time! Locals are friendly and helpful. When you come out of airport facing left side, the metro on your right side is going South, which is the train you want to take! If you see the metro is going to Tepekoy, it's fine to hop on as well, but you just have to change to another metro at the end of Tepekoy station. Airport station is called Havalimani. When you come back, you want to look for Aliaga direction, which is going North. First train comes around 6:30am, so plan accordingly if you want to do the same.

Walk across the street and follow the sign to take the metro

Metro ticket machine

In Selcuk, look for Selcuk Bus Station located in a plaza, near the circular intersection between Dr. Sabri Yayla Blv. and Ataturk Cd. You can find taxi outside of Ephesus at the entrance. I try to get back to the airport immediately after the visit, so I negotiate the price from 250 to 150 TK with taxi driver (I am lucky on this part because my taxi driver gets back to his home and switch to his son who drives me to the airport).

Ticket cost

• Ephesus: 60 TK
• Terrace House: 30 TK
• Combo: Ephesus, Terrace House, Ephesus Museum, and Basilica of St. John - 110 TK

Free shuttle bus is in the corner. First bus starts around 9am.

Entrance of Ephesus

Map of Ephesus

Ephesus is in present-day Izmir Province, Turkey, and it was an ancient Greek city. It is built in the 10th Century BC and belongs to twelve cities of the Ionian League. Moreover, it has a close connection to the early Christianity from the AD 50s, which you should also visit The Church of Mary within the site. There are many monumental buildings as I walk around the place. The Library of Celsus, one of the most popular building here, is around halfway from either main or second entrance.

Theater, biggest ancient theater in Turkey with a capacity of 24,000 seats and was built in the 4th Century BC.

The Library of Celsus, built by Aquila for the famous governor Celsus as a monument and library.

The Library of Celsus, 3rd largest library in the ancient times.

Curetes Street, main street connecting upper and lower Ephesus. Its ancient name is Embolos.

Hadrian's Temple. Hadrian the Emperor of Rome visited Ephesus twice, and it was built honor of him in the 2nd Century AD.

Odeon, built by Romans. It has a capacity of 1400 seats and was used as a concert hall and parliament.

Baths of Varius, built by the rich Roman Varius for the Ephesians in the 1st Century AD.

Freshwater pipes, which are 2000 years old. The water was delivered to the city by the clay pipes in Roman time.

Trajan's Fountain, which is the only monumental fountain in Ephesus and was built for a Roman Emperor.

Day 5

Istanbul (New City) & Grand Baazar

In reality, I have these activities after Ephesus on Day 4, and I only visit Dolmabahce Palace in the morning on Day 5 before I go to the airport. From St Regis Istanbul, it is about 20 minutes walk. I go out at 5:30am and hope to be back by the hotel around 6:30am to catch the breakfast. Note that the palace does not open until 9am and is closed on Monday, but I only want to take pictures from the outside.

Dolmabahce Palace

Dolmabahce Mosque, right next to Dolmabahce Palace essentially, within 5 minutes walk

Dolmabahce Clock Tower, between Dolmabahce Palace and Mosque.

You should not miss Grand Baazar if you ever visit Istanbul because it is the most exciting shopping experience you will ever have. Note that you are not allowed to use tripod inside the Grand Bazaar, which is fairly common to many places in Turkey. There are more than 5,000 shops and 60 streets within Grand Bazaar. It was an important trading center dating back to the 15th century. This place is ridiculously large, so I record a short clip for you! Click here 👈

One of the million entrances for Grand Bazaar...

Hilariously I do not realize that I book the wrong date on my flight from Izmir back to Istanbul until I get back to the airport. I have to find a flight that get me back to Istanbul as soon as possible, so that I can still explore around few places such as Galata Tower and Bridge. Luckily, I am able to hit all the spots I want to visit in the end of the day, but it is insane given how many steps (easily more than 40k steps) I walk today with how heavy my backpack is. Galata Tower entrance fee is 35 TK.

Eminonu Pier, right next to Galata Bridge. So many seagull here...

Galata Bridge

Galata Bridge. Many locals are fishing here.

View on the New Mosque right across the street from the Eminonu Pier

Galata Bridge. Many restaurants under the bridge and sell grilled Mackerel for like 12 TK.

Grilled Mackerel: 12 TK. I am not a big fan of its taste, rating: 6/10, but a lot of tourists like it.

Galata Tower taken on Büyük Hendek Cd. Opens from 9am to 8:30pm daily and can't use tripod at the top of the tower as expected...The night view up there is absolutely amazing.

Hagia Sophia & Blue Mosque can be seen from the top of Galata Tower!

Top of Galata Tower, taken by Pixel 3 using night sight.

Top of Galata Tower, taken by Pixel 3 using night sight.

Top of Galata Tower, taken by Pixel 3 using night sight.

Top of Galata Tower, taken by Pixel 3 using night sight.

Accommodation (There will be another article for these hotels and business flights/lounges later on) 

Hotel Arcadia Blue 

• $115/night, AMEX 20% gift card offer, TopCashBack 4% cashback, January Asia Booking Coupon 10% discount, and reward booking at Hotels.com essentially is 10% because of stay 10 nights get 1 night free.

Entrance

Standard Room Sea View - Breakfast Included

Goreme Kaya Hotel - Special Class

• $34.07/night...why is it so cheap. Reward booking with hotels.com and Samsung Pay promotion: 15% off hotels.com gift card x1

Lobby

Standard Room - Breakfast Included

St Regis Istanbul

• Redeemed using one free night certificate from having AMEX SPG Cards at each anniversary
• Credit Card Referral Link 1, Link 2, and Link 3 👈

St Regis Istanbul

View from my room: Macka Democracy Park. The building in the middle far out is Ritz Carlton Istanbul

Items to bring

The average temperature is around 10°C in January, which is 50°F. I like this temperature, so I don't feel too cold there particularly. However, it is colder in Cappadocia because it snows more often there in the winter.

1. HEAT TECH ultra warm t-shirt, sweater, and a down jacket
2. Electronic Visa as a US citizen for entering Turkey! Website 👈 $20, valid for 6 months, can't stay exceed 3 months. The application is done within few minutes.

I do not bring anything special for this trip. I have everything fitted into my backpack including 4 pairs of clothing, camera, personal items here and there as well as hand-held my tripod. I even have my work laptop with me because I work from the morning until my flight at night time on the departure date...

Q&A
Do you recommend joining the tours?
In Cappadocia, absolutely yes. Honestly the price is fairly cheap if you have been to any other country in general, and you don't have to do too much research. In other places, I would say it's subjective. If you don't have much time in Istanbul, you can certainly join a day tour to get the most out of it. I do not think the boat tour is necessary, but I am sure some people would disagree with me strongly lol...so I will leave it up to you. However, it is interesting if you want to explore the area on the Asia side, then you can still take a boat there.

Best month to visit Istanbul?
Peak seasons are Spring and Fall, which are April and September particularly although any time between these two months are considerably fairly crowded as well. Note that the price will be significantly higher too if you visit in these months compared to the price I listed above from my own experience.

Other recommended places to visit and activities?

• Aphrodisias
• Basilica Cisterns, they even have fire show here!
• Chora Church
• Istanbul Archaeology Museum
• Kaymakli Underground City
• Pergamon
• Spice Bazaar
• Turkish SPA
• Traditional Turkish night of dancing
• Troy
• Topkapi Palace

Other cities that are worthwhile to visit and truly appreciate its historical culture?

• Ankara: UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• Antalya: Center for the performing arts and home to the state opera & ballet
• Fethiye: Resort city with a yacht-filled old harbor and beaches flanked by large hotels
• Safranbolu: Natural harbor, blue waters and numerous rock tombs

Recommended foods?

I eat a lot of Kebab, and it is probably one of the most typical and authentic food there. Most importantly, it is cheap, around 50 TK should get you a fairly decent meal. Kebabi, mixed of variety of meats, and clay pot Kebab are also very delicious, especially in Cappadocia. I think Turkish dessert looks tasty, but I do not think they are sweet enough for me ironically. I rate Baklava and other dessert a 6.5 out of 10 probably.

Bal Borek: 20 TK

Fistikh Tath Tabagi: 24 TK. Fistikli Baklava, Fistikli Maras Sarma, Fistikli Dolama, & Fistikli Sobiyet.