Turkey… Sailing, Caves and Big Cites!
February 8th, 2010 by Sarah Clark
Topdeck Tours Sales Manager and Flight Centre friend Sarah Clark trundles around Turkey taking in adventure and tantalising views of the Turkish coast and scintillating seaside towns from Bodrum to Maramaris and Fethiye to Cappadocia. Let’s join Sarah as she treats us to a vacation with a twist of Turkish delight -
What an amazing country… there are very few places that you can visit that will deliver such a diverse range of experiences in one short trip. Ten days in Turkey, and although it was a little rushed and I would have loved to have spent more time in each place, I still managed to spend 4 days on a yacht, 2 days exploring caves and underground cities and 4 nights in one of the most exciting capitols of the world.
First stop was the beautiful Turkish coastline where the Aegean Sea laps into the Mediterranean. After spending a day in Bodrum, which is really all you need, we headed off for 4 days on our own private Gulet from Maramaris through to Fethiye. The boat was insane and we had and amazing crew of 3 who sailed the boat and prepared all of our meals. Turkish food is so flavourful, there were no doner kepabs on this trip but there were traditional foods of stuffed peppers, fresh seafood, marinated meats, Mediterranean style salads and some very addictive deep fried cheese and chilli spring rolls. As you can tell, we weren’t really watching the calories! However, we managed to swim most of that off in the crystal clear waters and there was nothing quite as refreshing as jumping off our boat once we anchored at little bays scattered along the coast. This was also a great way to start the morning after the drinks and singing that was had the night before. I did manage to fall in love with the local beer, Efes, which is to die for! This was my first holiday this year and although I am a very active person, it was great to have the first few days chilling out on the Gulet. Our typical day consisted of swimming, eating, sailing, reading, sun tanning, eating more and we topped it off with a few drinks. Just what we needed to prepare for the next days ahead!
After a very long and bumpy overnight bus from Fethiye – which is a very quaint little seaside town – to Cappadocia we were back to full force sightseeing. Cappadocia is a very hard area to explain. It is a natural wonder of fairy chimneys, caves, and underground cities. The most intriguing accommodation I have ever stayed in; our room was literally in a cave, it was a hotel that was cut into the cave walls in the town of Goreme. This is the centre area for Cappadocia and you can take trips from the town into and around the amazing rock formations. We opted for a horseback riding tour of the area, which is by far the best way to see it. We managed to miss all the tourist buses going in a
nd out of the major sites and although it was great to see the main areas, the best bit of my day was travelling through the tiny local towns between the sites, seeing the ‘fairy chimneys’ along the way and really experiencing the area as a whole. Must sees in Goreme were the Rose Valley, The Underground Cities and The Mushroom Valley. We ventured to the open air museum which I was told was amazing however we were slightly disappointed, as it didn’t live up to the experience of the horseback riding trip. Another must is the hot air balloon ride over Goreme – seeing it from the air was breath taking.
Something that did live up to expectations however, was the incredible city of Istanbul. Bringing together the cultures of Europe, Asia and the Middle East this majority Muslim city is the only capitol in the world that is stretched over two continents (Europe and Asia). Four days here was the perfect amount of time, we stayed in Sultanahmet which is a rather touristy area but offers great access to the must sees in town; The Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia (which was originally a cathedral) and the Grand Bazaar. There are so many other sites to go to but we opted for a few days of cruising through the different neighbourhoods of the city. Backgammon is huge here, it is the oldest game in the world and you can go up to anyone with a backgammon board and challenge them to a game – watch out the Turks are very good at this! I was lucky enough to have been taught by my Father when I was young, so when they were approached by a blonde female for a game they didn’t quite expect what they got. Either way it’s a fantastic opportunity to mix with the locals! If you’re into shopping, this is a great way to not only hit the European high street stores like Zara, Mango and Topshop but there’s also some awesome handmade leather shops for shoes and bags. Most of the modern shops are in the European area of Taksim, and more local boutiques can be found off the back streets near the central Mosques. Also, don’t forget to hit the bars; there is a great night life in Istanbul and we managed to party with some fellow travellers and locals, starting in the neighbourhood of Sultanahmet followed by Taksim.
A very quick but memorable trip around some of the highlights of Turkey, an amazing country, deep history and culture, friendly people and great food. What more could you want on a 10 day vacation!
Istanbul, Turkey is highlighted on the Flight Centre travel map.
Looking for more information on traveling to Turkey and visiting the towns of Bodrum, Maramaris, Fethiye, Cappadocia and Istanbul? Contact any of our Flight Centre International Travel Consultants.
Tags: Aegean Sea, Bodrum, Cappadocia, caves, Cuisine, Fethiye, Maramaris, sailing, Turkey, vacation
Categories: Destinations
