8 days of independent travelling in Turkey

Why Turkey?

My husband and I went to Turkey for Christmas vacation this year. We knew it was going to be cold (very cold indeed!), but we have wanted to travel to Istanbul and Cappadocia for a long time and decided to go anyway. Nevertheless, we will go back in the (near) future to visit the coastal areas and the ancient ruins, because we definitely are hooked on Turkey!

How much does a trip to Turkey cost?

Like in every place in the world, you can spend as much as you want, but it is a good country to travel on a budget. We always do independent travelling and try not to spend a fortune (in order to have money to do more trips afterwards!). I guess that we fit the definition of what nowadays is called “flashpackers”. So, this is what we spent during our trip:

• Visa for 2: 40$ (36.7€ aprox)
• Flight tickets BCN-IST-BCN for 2: 436€ (Pegasus Airlines)
• Flight tickets IST-Kayseri-IST for 2: 60€ (Pegasus Airlines)
• Travel book of Istanbul (Lonely Planet): 12.25€
• Hotels (all of them very nice, with private room and en-suite): 
• Angel’s Home Hotel (Istanbul-Sultanahmet): 207€ for 3 nights –breakfast included.
• Bedrock Cave Hotel (Göreme): 135 € for 3 nights –breakfast included.
• Armada Istanbul Old City Hotel (Istanbul-Sultanahmet): 170.68€ for 2 nights – breakfast not included.
• Car rental in Cappadocia: 74.25€ + 20€ GPS for 3 days.
• Everything else (transfers + meals + souvenirs + museums and other attractions’ tickets, etc): 793€

TOTAL: 1,945.48€ for 2 persons = 972.74€ per person. Take into account that you can spend far less if you chose simpler hotels and you don’t drink beer (alcohol is quite expensive in Turkey if you compare its price with the cost of the food).

Itinerary

• Day 1. Flight from Barcelona to Istanbul.
• Day 2. Istanbul. Sultanahmet and Grand Bazaar areas.
• Day 3. Istanbul. Topkapi Palace, Beyoglu and Eminönü areas and Süleymaniye Mosque.
• Day 4. Flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia. Göreme open air museum, Cavusin, Pasagabi and Göreme sunset point.
• Day 5. Cappadocia. Balloon trip, Kaymacli underground city, Pigeon valley and Ushisar Castle.
• Day 6. Cappadocia. Zemi Valley.
• Day 7. Flight from Cappadocia to Istanbul. Uskädar and Kariköy.
• Day 8. Istanbul. Bosphorus cruise and Eyüp area.
• Day 9. Flight from Istanbul to Barcelona.

 

Day 1. Barcelona-Istanbul

We took the flight to Istanbul at 14:05 and arrived at Sabiha Gökçen airport at 19:00. To get to Sultanahmet we took the Havatas Airport Bus to Taksim Square and then a taxi until our hotel. As we were very tired, we had dinner in a restaurant a 5 minute walk from the hotel.

Day 2. Sultanahmet and Grand Bazaar areas

We woke up at 7:30 and had breakfast in the hotel. There weren’t a lot of choices but the food was ok. We had boiled eggs, omelette, cucumber, tomato and parsley and I also had some raisins and Rafa some pastry, plus coffee and tea, of course.

At 9:00 o’clock we entered into the Blue Mosque. The building is amazing, but I have to admit that the inside was a little bit disappointing. I guess it is because we are more used to churches’ decoration, which is far more ostentatious. The entrance, like in all the mosques in Istanbul, was free.

Our next stop was Aya Sofya, which is just in front of the Blue Mosque (less than a 5 minutes’ walk). The entrance fee is 30 TL per person. We spent there like 45 minutes and afterwards we went to the Hippodrome, which is also at a 5 minutes’ walk distance (now the hippodrome is a square –Sultanahmet Square, so, is free). The only surviving monuments from the old Hippodrome are the Spina (the middle barrier of the racecourse), the two obelisks and the Serpentine Column. My favorite is the pink granite Obelisk of Theodosius in the centre, which was carved in Egypt during the reign of Thutmose III (this is between 1549–1503 BC). Just amazing how something that is more than 3,500 years old is so immaculate.

Once we had walked over that piece of history, we went to the Basilica Cistern. Ticket fee was 20 TL and totally worth it. It was a little bit crowded but still beautiful.

After visiting the 4 highlights of the Sultanahmet area, we headed to the Grand Baazar (in Turkish, Kapali Carsi). We went zigzagging through narrow streets so we first saw the commercial area outside the Bazaar, which was full of Turkish people that was shopping. The Baazar is enormous and I don’t think we saw it all, but in the end shops are quite similar. Unless you are really interested in buying something, I would recommend spending in the Grand Baazar (including the walk to get there) no more than 1:30 hours.

We arrived at Nuruosmaniye gate (one of the main entrances of the Grand Baazar) at 13:00h, so we decided to go to have lunch before visiting the Nuruosmaniye Moque. We followed the Lonely Planet recommendations and went to Bahar Restaurant. The food was good but we found it a little bit expensive, taking into account that is was a place where local people that work in the area eat. I’m not sure if they overcharged us, because we didn’t ask the price of the dishes before ordering.

After lunch, we went back to Nuruosmaniye Moque (very nice) and took photos of the Baazar from its terrace. We continued our walk until the Spice Baazar and visited the New Mosque. The latter is amazing, we really loved it. After buying some nuts in the Spice Baazar, we continued walking until we reached Rüstem Pasa Mosque. I just was able see the outside because the praying time had started when we arrived, but Rafa went inside and told me that it was very impressive to see everybody praying there. Anyway, this mosque deserves a visit. We especially liked the fact that the mosque was surrounded by buildings, so you don’t expect to find it there.

After all the day walking between mosques and bazaars we decided to go to the hotel (by foot of course!) and we took Kannedy Caddesi until Gülhane Park (the one where Topkapi Palace is located). From the Park you have really nice views of the Golden Horn. Then, we crossed the park and arrived at Sultanahmet Square and, ten minutes after, we were in the hotel.

We were quite tired, so we stayed in Sultanahmet for dinner. We knew it isn’t the best area to eat (too touristic and expensive, taking into account the quality of the food). We again followed the lonely planet recommendation and went to Karandeniz Aile Pide ve Kebap Salonu. The value for money was good.

Day 3. Topkapi Palace, Beyoglu and Eminönü areas and Süleymaniye Mosque

We started the day visiting Topkapi Palace. We read it may be very crowded in the first hours of the morning but our itinerary for this day required the Topkapi Palace to be our first step, so we went there at 9:00h, just when it opens, hoping not to see many tourists. We bought also the tickets for the Harem, following again the Lonely Planet advice. We think it is a must see and that visiting the Topkapi Palace without the Harem wouldn’t be the same.. Topkapi Palace + Harem entrance fees amounts to 45 TL per person (around 15€, which is expensive if you think on Turkish prices basis but affordable if you compare the price with other similar palaces around the world). Audio guide is another extra 30 LT. we believe the Palace is worth it but maybe you don’t need the audio guide, because the information that it gives is more descriptive than explanatory (in general lines).

After 2 hours visiting the Topkapi Palace we wanted to go to Taksim Square. To get there, you can take the tram at Gülhane stop to Kabatas stop and, afterwards, take the funicular until Taksim Square.

Once there, we went down through the so famous Istikal Caddesi until we reached the Galata Tower. We made stops in ARTER -the modern art gallery- (too modern fo us, if you ask me, but it was free, so if you are around you can made a visit and decide for yourself!) and Saint Anthony Church (it is cute and just in the main street, so, if you are in the area it is worth a visit).

The Galata Tower is nice, but in my opinion is more impressive when you see it from Eminönü, at the other side of the Golden Horn. We didn´t get into the Galata Tower, instead, we walked around the area glancing at the shops and looking for a restaurant. We ended up having lunch in Karaköy, in a cute restaurant (I don’t remember the name though).

After lunch, we crossed the Galata Bridge and saw all the fishermen there. We also had a look at the restaurants that you can find in the low level of the Galata Bridge. Our impression was that it wasn’t worth it to eat there. When you finish crossing the bridge you find the boat restaurants where you can buy fish sandwiches. We didn’t try them, but it was funny watching the chefs preparing the fish inside moving little boats.

After buying some dates and nuts in the Spice Baazar we headed to Süleymaniye Mosque. It is huge and beautiful, magnificent. We loved it. It is built on the top of a hill, so you also have fantastic views from it. After spending some time there, we decided to go to a nearby terrace café and see the sunset from there. It was one of my favorite parts of the trip: having a cup of tea for 3 LT while having views of the Golden Horn and the Süleymaniye Mosque and while listening to the call to prayer. Just perfect.

After the terrace, we went to the hotel, had a little bit of rest and went out for dinner.

Day 4. From Istambul to Cappadocia. Göreme open air museum, Cavusin, Pasagabi and Göreme sunset point.

Our pick up from the hotel to the airport was at 3:00h (we book the shuttle service in the hotel, for 10 euros each). Our flight left Sabiha Gökçen at 6:05 and arrived to Kayseri airport one hour later. We took the rental car directly at the airport, but they forgot to bring the GPS, so we had to go to Ugup first to take it.

We arrived at the hotel at around 9:30, had some breakfast, put more clothes on (it was freezing) and went to Göreme open air museum. We wanted to visit also some churches and the underground cities, so we bought the Museum Pass for 45 LT each, which allows entrance in seven different places -Ushisar Castle not included-).

The Göreme open air museum is very nice and the paintings inside the churches are amazingly well preserved, taking into account their antiquity.

When we finished with the Museum, we went to Cavusir and visited the Church that is located at the entrance of the village and the cave houses that you can find at the village itself. This part of Cappadocia is not that cool, so if you are short of time I believe that is not worth dropping by.

After that, we went to Pasagab, which is five minutes by car from Cavusin. This place is really remarkable; it is where you can find the fairy chimneys that are so typical from Cappadocia. We spent like 1 hour there climbing up some rocks and taking photos, and next went to Göreme to have lunch (quite late, it was already 15:00h!).

After lunch we wandered around Göreme for a while and at 16:00h we went to the sunset point. The place is the top of a hill where you have outstanding views but the sun set itself is nothing special from there (at least in December). We took some pictures and went to the hotel to have some rest until it was dinner time.

Day 5. Balloon trip, Kaymacli underground city, Pigeon valley and Ushisar Castle

We have to wake up very early again because the guys from the balloon trip pick us up at 5:40h. It is absolutely freezing. I wore thermal leggings, snow trousers, thermal t-shirt, sweater, polar fleece, quilted vest, quilted jacket, scarf and globes and I still was shivering with cold.

There are a lot of balloon agencies in Cappadocia. We hired Kayac through the hotel and payed 100 euros each (winter fees, paid in cash) and I don’t think there is any difference with the agencies that charge 150 euros. The “ritual” of all the agencies is the same: they pick you up early and take you to have a quite bad breakfast (some tea and pastry) and then drive you to a hill where you can see how the balloons are inflated (pretty cool) and then start your flight, which would be 1h long aprox. When you land, you are offered a glass of champagne (they call it “the champagne party”).

The main question here is IS IT WORTH PAYING THAT BUNCH OF MONEY FOR A BALLOON TRIP?

It is difficult to answer that question, mainly because I believe the answer depends on your budget. If you are spending 2000€ per person for a week in Turkey I guess 100€ is not that much, but if you are travelling on budget it is difficult to say if the balloon trip is a “must have” or not. We went in December and it was freezing and maybe that influences negatively my sensations about the trip, but I believe that the landscape you see is not that amazing. The area is too arid and is not that you sea animals, you just see rocks.. On the other hand, the experience of travelling by balloon is very pleasant, and if you want to live that experience, the truth is that in Cappadocia you will pay less than in other places (and the views will be better).

To sum up, my subjective opinion, in hindsight, is that if you are travelling on budget and are not especially interested in experiencing what travelling by balloon is like, you can skip the balloon trip and still have a complete Cappadocia experience.

We were back to the hotel in time to have a very very hot shower and eat breakfast. At 10:30h we took the car and drove to Kaymacli, one of the underground cities that you can find in Cappadocia. In the area, Derinkuyu underground city is more famous and so, we doubted about which one to visit, but in the end decided to go to Kaymacli becasuse we thought that it would be less crowded, and the truth is that we didn’t find many people there.

We had planned to go to Ihlara Valley after Kaymacli, but had problems with the GPS and arrived to Kaymacli a little bit late. So, taking into account that the GPS was still not working properly and that sunset was around 16:00 and that it was already 12:30h, we decided to go to the little village of Ushisar.

We had lunch for 2 for 25 LT in a familiar small restaurant and afterwards we went to hike a little over the Pigeon Valley. While hiking on the Valley you can see the carved out rock houses and go inside some of them. After just over an hour, we aimed to the Ushisar Castle to see the sunset from its top.

In my opinion, the Pigeon Valley and the Ushisar Castle are a “must see” in Cappadocia!

After the sun went down, we bought a bottle of local red wine and drove back to the hotel. We tried the wine and had some rest until it was dinner time. We have heard that wine in turkey is expensive and quite bad, but still we wanted to tell by ourselves. The result of such experience: we paid 35LT for a wine we would have paid 10LT (3€) in Spain..  

Day 6. Change of plans: Zemi Valley

We woke up at 7:30h to find out that Göreme was covered in snow and that it was still snowing quite hard by then. We had planned to visit the Rose Valley that day, but the staff at the hotel advised us not to do that because it could be dangerous due to the snow. Following the recommendation, we went to hike on the Zemi Valley, whose starting point is in Göreme. We walked through the snow for around 3 hours and ended up exhausted. After that, we went to have a coffee to warm up. We spent there some time and then went to the sunset point to have some views of Göreme under the snow and take some pictures. Very nice! After that, we went to have lunch and back to the hotel to spend the afternoon reading. Göreme was beautiful under all the snow, but it also limited the things we could do there..

Day 7. Back to Istanbul. The Asian side: Uskädar and Kariköy

We had a flight to Istanbul at 7:55, so we woke up very early again and at 5:30 we were in the car ready to drive to Kayseri Airport. We faced then the first issue of the day: the car was covered in snow and the windshield had ice all over it. We didn’t have the proper tools to remove the ice and had to use a comb (which eventually broke)! Next problem was that we had to drive very slowly because the roads were frozen and finally, but not less important, the GPS went crazy and couldn’t find the airport! Between one thing and the other, and after asking directions to approximately 100 Turkish people, we arrived to the airport LATE. Luckily, it had been a delay because of the snow and we were able to catch the plane.

There was some extra delay when taking off and landing, and then when collecting the luggage, so we ended arriving to our hotel in Istanbul at 13:30h. The city was also covered in a thick layer of snow and it was very cold, but gorgeous.

After checking in, we went to Eminönü to take the ferry to Usküdar. It was freezing but still we stayed on the top of the boat to enjoy the views. The first thing we did once on the Asian side was to look for a place to eat. We had lunch (chickpeas, rice and meat, 2 waters and 2 teas) for 27LT (quite a good deal!). Afterwards, we wandered around a little and visited a food market that was very cool. There were fish shops that were also restaurants, so you have the option of buying the fish you like there and they cook it for you. If we had known that this place existed we would have had lunch there. The next thing we did was walking through the promenade that goes by the Bosphorus towards Leandro’s Tower. Just in front the tower you can find a place with carpets to sit down and see the Bosphorus and the other side of Istanbul. In Spanish, the place is known as “el café de las alfomfras” (the carpets’ café) but I’m not sure how would be the name in English. Anyway, it was snowing when we get there, so we didn’t stop to enjoy the views but I’ve read that this place is fantastic to see the sunset. We wanted to go next to Karaköy area and thought that you can just follow the promenade to get there, but you can’t. At some point you reach what looks like the commercial port, which is like a hub, full of buses and car, and no pedestrians walking around. We went to a bus stop to ask how to go to Karaköy square and a driver offered to take us until a place where we could take the bus to Karaköy, and he did it for free! Very nice guy!

We spent 2 hours gallivanting around this neighborhood and we felt in love with it. It was vibrant, young, full of nice restaurants, cafés and shops, with people playing instrument and signing in the streets. It looked like a great place to stay for dinner.

After warming up in a café, we went to the harbor and took the boat back to Eminönü, where we took a bus to come back to our hotel. It had been a long day and I was so exhausted I could have gone to bed at 20:00h and wake up the next day, but it was New Year’s Eve, so I found some energy and got ready to go out for dinner, but we decided to go to a nearby site…

Day 8. Bosphorus cruise and Eyüp area: a mosque, a graveyard and the Pierre Loti Café

We had reserved the last day to do a short cruise over the Bosphorus. We took a cruise that was 12 LT per person and that was 90 minutes long, go and back. We have doubted between taking the long or the short trip but we are glad we took this one, because we had the chance of “feeling” the Bosphorus, enjoy the views and see the principal palaces without devote all day to the cruise.

We did the cruise from 11:00h to 12:30h and at 12:40h we got into another boat to go to Eyüp area. There, we visited the Eyüp Mosque (very nice), walked around a little (it was nothing special) and had lunch (we didn’t eat very well but at least it was cheap -18LT 2 pax). After lunch we went to the famous Café Loti.

To get to Café Loti you can take a cableway or walk through a gorgeous graveyard for about 15-20 minutes, which is what we did. The way to the café is indicated until you get to the entrance of the graveyard and then you just have to go up, so you will find it easily. When you get to the top, you find a panoramic area with stunning views of the Golden Horn. Regarding the Café Loti itself, we found it too touristic, so we didn’t stay and went back to the harbor to take the boat that left at 15:30h (there was only one ferry per hour).

The way back took 35 minutes (we didn’t timed the first trip, but it felt shorter) and this time I stayed on the top of the boat to see the sights. It was nice, but the Bosphorus cruise is much better.

Once we got to Eminönü, we went to the Spice Market to buy some food for the next day, because hour flight back to Barcelona was at 14:05h and it was going to be lunch time while we were at the airport. After getting our supplies, we went back to the hotel, had a shower and got out for a beer. At around 20:30 we went to have our “last supper” in Istanbul (what a pity!).

Day 9. Back to Barcelona

We hired the airport shuttle at the hotel (11€ per person) and they picked us up at 10:15, so we didn’t have time to see anything else.. See you soon Istanbul!