Merhaba Turkey!!

After all the months of intense discussions and planning, my wife and I finally arrived at a consensus of visiting Turkey for our 2^nd wedding anniversary. With the destination in mind, I reached out to my travel agent for the best possible itinerary and quotes while doing my own research and comparison with other agencies online.

Considering we only had 7 days in the country, we had to make best use of it by selecting the best possible cities. After pondering over the pros and cons of all the places, we decided to visit Istanbul (obviously), Cappadocia and Kusadasi.

The visa formalities for Turkey were a bit difficult for us as they don’t have a consulate in Bangalore. Our agent put us in touch with another team in Mumbai which helped us with the same. The documents required were our Passports, 3 months updated bank statements with the bank seal and signature, a leave letter from the company stating that I am an employee and would be joining back on the said date, salary slips ( I was asked to provide with company seal, but managed by giving a company covering letter along with the computer generated pay slips), and 2 photos each in the prescribed format. Would have been a simple e-visa process if we had a valid US/Schengen visa instead.

We booked our flights through Indigo for 2 major reasons- Firstly the flights were around INR 10k cheaper per person, and most importantly it was a direct flight from New Delhi as compared to all other airlines which were via Dubai/Kuwait etc. and thus needed transit visas. As luck would have it, the Pakistan air space closure (after I booked my tickets) made this journey via Doha, and thus increased our travel time from ~6 hours to 9.5 hours. In hindsight, it was a big mistake and should have spent that extra mullah on an international airline like Emirates. Even a transit visa at Dubai or Kuwait seems worth it looking back now.

Day 1– After our long and strenuous journey aided by another delay from Indigo, we landed at Istanbul around 20:30, and to our surprise it was BRIGHT outside! Our first thought was that we got our time zone calculations wrong as it didn’t seem to be a minute later than 5 pm. We then came to realise that this time of the year the days are longer in the EU region (good for us, more time to explore!). Checked into the hotel, and called it a night after a light dinner in anticipation of the days forward.

Day 2– Istanbul is a beautiful city, with influences of both the European as well as Asian cultures. We had a half day tour booked, which took us to all the well known tourist destinations such as Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and Grand Bazaar. Most parts of the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia were closed for renovation so we could only see parts of it (will be closed for another 2 years or so apparently), but that was a good enough example to give us an idea about the beautiful architecture and craftsmanship. The grand bazaar tour took us to a crowded market place which had all kinds of stuff for sale ranging from exquisite handicrafts to sweets. Talking of sweets, we tried numerous kinds of Turkish delight and an extraordinary selection of chocolates which we even carried along with us to bring back home.

After resting in our hotel for some time, we headed out to celebrate our anniversary at this beautiful terrace cafe/hookah bar called ‘Lulu’ which was at walking distance from our hotel. This place has an amazing sea view and serves the most innovative and beautiful hookahs! The place also had really good vegetarian options which was a rarity in Istanbul. Walked around a bit exploring the city post that and called it a day.

Day 3– We booked ourselves on a sunset cruise of the Bosphorus, which gave us the rest of the day to ourselves. We took a walk to Taksim Square and were amazed at the shopping options and brands that were lined up there. Tried our hand at catching the famous Turkish ice-cream, and did some shopping before going back to our hotel but not before having lunch at an Indian restaurant there (Yes, we had started missing Indian vegetarian food).

Our driver picked us up around 8 in the evening for the cruise. The cruise included a dinner buffet, drinks and live performances such as belly dancing, cultural show etc. We were left mesmerized by the dances and the antics of the performers. We even managed to get our photos clicked in traditional Turkish outfits dressed as Sultan and Sultana respectively. The day ended around 2 am with us being dropped back to our hotel.

Day 4– After breakfast we left Istanbul for the airport, and flew to Kayseri which is around 80km from Cappadocia, our actual destination. Cappadocia feels like you have come back into the stone age, or into one of your favourite childhood cartoons, Flintstones. Rock structures all around you for as far as you can see one side, accompanied by absolutely stunning landscapes of greenery on the other. Our hotel too was cave themed, like it’s actually been cut out from one. We were expecting the room to be a bit humid or damp, but that wasn’t the case and it was in fact very comfortable and pleasant. We rested for a while and took off to walk around the city for a bit. Found this really cool cafe/restaurant called ‘One Way’ which was open air and had seating both on tables as well as beanbags. We chose the latter and enjoyed another hookah along with their tasty vegetarian pottery kebab and rice for dinner.

Day 5– The day started off with a minor set back as we were informed by our travel agent that our hot air balloon ride wouldn’t be possible due to overbooking. We were scheduled for a half day tour of the city, called the Red tour which we went for anyway. The tour included a lot of rock structures and valleys which start to look the same after a while. We took our share of photos in the land of the Flintstones, but after a while it got kind of monotonous. We were discussing with our co-passengers, and felt we should have opted for the Green tour instead which includes an underground city tour too. We also visited the Gerome open museum (more stone caves and churches), and a pottery workshop where they showed us how the clay artefacts were made. Tired from the heat, we just managed to go out for dinner and another round of hookah before calling it a day.

Day 6– Come 4 am, we started off on the highlight of our trip, the Hot Air Balloon ride. We were picked up from our hotel and arrived at the take-off point along with other passengers. They provided us with light snacks along with hot beverages and then once everyone was aboard the baskets, we took off. For us, this was an out of the world experience as it was our first time on such a ride. At an altitude of around 700 metres, we enjoyed a majestic eagle view of the city’s magnificent landscapes. At one time we even were at touching distance from the stone structures. The view of 150-200 balloons flying together in the background of a beautiful sunrise is mind-blowing! Once we landed, the team opened up bottles of champagne to celebrate the ride, and also gave us certificates to remember the adventure. We were dropped back to our hotel by 6:30, and were again driven to the airport at 7:30 to catch our flight to Izmir.

Our driver met us at the Izmir airport and drove us to Kusadasi which was around 70 Km from there. The hotel in Kusadasi was the most luxurious property we stayed at in Turkey. An infinity pool, with access to a part of the ocean which was marked by the hotel for swimming, another heated indoor swimming pool and spa facilities at the hotel were just a few of its many features. This, added to the spacious and ocean view rooms, with seating arrangements in the balcony was to die for! We freshened up and headed out to explore the property and nearby areas. Upon return we decided to pamper ourselves with the world-famous Turkish bath at our hotel. Both of us had been to spas before and taken numerous massages so far, but this experience just blew our minds!! Since we didn’t opt for the self service, we were escorted to separate private rooms, where we were scrubbed and bathed by the therapist before being completely covered in warm foam. We could literally feel all our tension and tiredness washing away with every mug of warm water being poured on us. This was followed by an oil massage and a shower as part of our package. After this experience we didn’t really have the heart to tire ourselves, and called it a night after a nice romantic dinner by the poolside.

Day 7– Post breakfast, we were picked up from our hotel and started our 3 hour drive to Pamukkale which literally translates to Cotton Castles. On the way, we visited a factory which displayed the various minerals and precious stones which are extracted there and the way they shape these stones to shapes such as animals, fruits, massage devices etc. We also saw the precious stone Zultanite, which changes colour depending on the kind of light it’s under and also gave into the temptation of picking up a ring which had this unusual stone. After lunch we headed to the Hierapolis which is the ruins of an ancient city, and is also the entry to Pamukkale. The cotton like formations are actually mineral deposits which have been formed by tectonic plate movements, and have multiple small water bodies in them which are believed to be good for the skin and supposedly make a person 10 years younger! We took a dip in the Cleopatra pool and also sipped the water at the source. The water had a sweet taste of the minerals that were mixed in it. After our photo session and mud baths in the water, we headed back to our hotel.

In the evening we lay facing the ocean enjoying our last hookah in Turkey while groving to the music and dance performances of an ongoing party by the poolside. It broke our hearts reminding ourselves that we fly back to India the next day to our mundane corporate jobs.

Few Pointers:

• Not everyone is comfortable with English, learn a few Turkish words for easy communication (definitely comes handy trying to bargain)
• Contrary to the common belief people may have, we didn’t see any kind of restrictive society or orthodox attitude in the country. You are free to wear what you like except when visiting religious spots such as mosques where covering the head is mandatory for women.
• Vegetarian food is not very easy to find, clearly specify that vegetarian means no meat or fish of any kind (yes, we had to explain that to a lot of people there)
• The currency is Turkish Lira, but Euros and Dollars are accepted almost everywhere. Same goes for credit cards too
• If trying to hail a cab on the road, be mindful to negotiate! We got ripped off into paying almost double the fare for a small trip in Istanbul
• Don’t miss trying these- Pomegranate Tea, Turkish Tea, Baklava, various kinds of Cheese and Pide (Turkish Pizza)
• The new Istanbul airport is HUGE!! Ensure you reach well in advance if you wanna shop and reach your gate on time while returning
• We were in Turkey in the first week of July. If you go towards the end of the year you may find snowfall in Capadoccia but the hot air balloon ride becomes dicey.
• Approx. costs of trip (all prices for 2)-
  • Flights (including Blr-Delhi)- USD 850
  • Visa and Tours (including domestic flights in Turkey and all tours except Bosphorus cruise)- USD 2400
  • Bosphorus Sunset Cruise- USD 100
  • Overheads (Turkish bath, Meals etc.) – 800-1000 USD

Hotels we stayed at:

• Istanbul– Novotel Bosphorus
• Cappadocia– Ottoman Cave Suites
• Kusadasi– Charisma De luxe

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