I think Pete “did some time” in Turkey. You may want to ask him…

Yes! Turkey was incredible. In four months, through ten countries in Europe, Istanbul was in my top three places.

I arrived through the Greek islands and stayed in the Kusadasi/Ephesus area for two days. Ephesus is best known for some very well preserved ruins. If you’re into that kind of thing, it’s one of the best sites in the world. Unfortunately I’m not really into that kind of thing, so it got boring real quick. The area is cool though. There are other things to do and it’s cheap. I stayed at a hostel/guesthouse that provided a single room, breakfast, transportation all over and several other amenities for around $10 a night.

Istanbul was the real find though. You can skip most of the overpriced tourist attractions: The Aya Sofia is huge and dark and otherwise, not that impressive. It was filled with scaffolding when I was there. Topkapi Palace is sort of like a middle-eastern version of the palace that’s in every major European city. Lots of shiny things, but easily skipped. A quick visit inside Blue Mosque is free and more rewarding than either of those other two.

By far the best part is just wandering the streets. Visit the grand bazaar and buy something crazy. Sit outside a cafe on a bridge and drink tea and smoke a nargile. Take the ferry across the Bosphorus and meander through the markets on the Asian side for a while while munching on a fish sandwich straight out of the water. Hike up the hill to Taksim and see “metropolitan” Istanbul. Have a pint of Efes on the roof of the Orient Hostel while listening to the evening call to prayer. No shortage of great experiences.

People will probably warn you that it’s a Muslim country so it will be dangerous and the people won’t take kindly to Americans. In my experience (limited, I admit), this was absolutely false. Most of the Turkish people you will meet couldn’t care less where you’re from if you stop in their shops and talk to them, have some tea and maybe spend some currency. It’s not that they’re greedy or anything, it’s just how they make a living, that’s their focus. Everyone I can remember meeting was friendly. Sometimes they were on the pushy side, but they all knew that when I said “No thanks” I meant it.

I’m happy to share more or answer questions if you have any. I don’t know much about the coastal areas, but I could spend hours talking about Istanbul. Here’s a photo I snapped while I was there. Pretty typical of a view in Istanbul. That’s not even a famous mosque, they’re just all over the place.

Thanks Pete, I’m sure I’ll have more plans to run by you as we get closer to the actual trip. Good to hear that you enjoyed it!

Let me know what you would like to do and see. I have a good friend who lived in Turkey for 2 years while getting his PHD. He should have plenty of great non-tourist suggestions.