TURKEY
14-23 July 2018
Highlights :
- Wonderful hot air balloon ride in UNESCO listed Cappadocia
- Ancient sites in Antalya
- Cotton castle, Pamukkale
- UNESCO listed sites in Selcuk
- Wooden horses in Troy
- Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosques in Istanbul
Map of our roadtrip:
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Day 1 - Istanbul-Cappadocia
We flew from Panama and arrived Istanbul International Airport at around 945am. Upon arriving, we deposited one of our luggages in the airport and took and domestic flight to Nevsehir Airport (Flight time slightly over an hour). Booked a transfer from airport to hotel in Göreme (30 libra per person for one way). The drive from airport to hotel took about 45 mins. Rest and relaxed in the hotel and walked to the sunset view point in the late afternoon and enjoyed the sunset here. The walk up here only took less than 15-20 mins from the town. After sunset, we went back to the town and had Chinese food for dinner. |
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Day 2 - Cappadocia
We booked a hot air balloon ride this morning but was canceled due to windy weather. In the end, we only did the green line tour, which started from 9am till 6pm. Places we visited for the green line includes: 1) Göreme Panaroma 2) Derinkuyu Undergoind City 3) Ihlara Valley 4) Lunch 5) Yaprakhisar Panaroma 6) Selina Monastery 7) Pigeon Valley |
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Day 3 - Cappadocia
Managed to do the hot air balloon ride today due to better weather conditions. Picked up about 430am but managed to take off only 6am after the government body gives to go ahead to take off. The ride costs 165 Euro each with Butterfly Balloon. Due to the good weather conditions, we were able to stay in the air for 1hr15mins instead of the normal 1hr. Back to the hotel around 745am after the hot air balloon. Had breakfast around 8am and rested till 930am for the red line tour which includes: 1) Ancient village of Cavusin 2) Pasabag 3) Valley Devrent 4) Love Valley 5) Castle Uchisar 6) Pigeon Valley 7) Red Valley 8) Rose Valley 9) Urgup |
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Day 4 - Cappadocia-Antalya
Took a domestic flight from Cappadocia to Antalya, about an hour flight. Picked up our rental car at Antalya airport and immediately drove about 40 mins to Aspendos to visit Aspendos Theatre and ruins here. Bought a 15-day museum pass for 210 libra each. From here, we drove another 40 mins to Side to visit more Romans ruins. Had early dinner here and enjoyed the beautiful sunset at Apollo Temples before driving back to Antalya. Overnight in Antalya |
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Day 5 - Antalya-Pamukkale
After breakfast, our first stop was Perge. According to the Geographer Strabon. Perge was founded by Akhas who came here after the Trojan wars. Perge was first mentioned in 334 BC when Alexander the Great passed through here. In the following years, Perge went under the control of Pergamon when the Kingdom of Pergamon became a part of the Roman city. Especially in the first and the second centuries BC, Perge became one of the richest towns in Pamphylia. Therefore it is not a surprising that St. Paul started his campaign in Anatolia from Perge in 46 AD. After Perge, we had lunch in a local restaurant. Next stop was Kunsulu waterfall. From Kunsulu waterfall, it was another long drive of 3.5-4 hours to Pamukkale. |
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Day 6 - Pamukkale-Selcuk
Full Day Pamukkale and Hierapolis Tour: Pamukkale that has the meaning of the Cotton Castle in English. Once known as Hierapolis, famous for healing thermal / mineral Baths and beautiful snow-white “petrified waterfalls. After lunch visit Hierapolis, including the magnificently preserved Necropolis, the main Street and Gates, the thermal Baths, the devil’s hole, and Masterpiece Theater. Pamukkaleterraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. In this area, there are 17 hot water springs in which the temperature ranges from 35 °C to 100 °C The water that emerges from the spring is transported 320 meters (1,050 ft.) to the head of the travertine terraces and deposits calcium carbonate on a section 60 to 70 meters long covering an expanse of 240 meters to 300 meters. We set off to Afrodisias (UNESCO site since 2017) after lunch in Denizli. No big tour bus and hence very little tourists here, mostly local tourists. We spend about 2-3 hours here before setting off to Selcuk. Overnight in Selcuk. |
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Day 7 - Selcuk-Izmir
First stip was ancient Ephesus; we came here early at around 830am to avoid the big crowds. Even though the history of Ephesus goes back to the 2nd Millennium BC remains that you will visiting start from the 3rd Century BC. Such an important for Jewish and Christian Heritage St. Paul preached in the Great Theater the conditions of Odeon Celsius library marble road Temples.. Proceeded to shrine of Mother Mary, it is believed where she spent recent years of her life. Temple Of Artemis (Diana), on the side of one of the seven wonders of ancient World. Also visited Basilica of Saint John, Cave of the Seven Sleeprs. From here, we drove towards Izmir to stay overnight In Mia City Hotel. |
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Day 8 - Izmir-Bergama-Trojan-Istanbul
A long day to visit two UNESCO sites today (Pergamon and ruins of Trojan). After a quick visit to some of the attractions in Izmir seaside, we headed to Pergamon, one of th UNESCO sites in Turkey. (About 2 hours drive). Visited the Akropolis and ruined von Pergamon before continuing to ruins of Trojan, which is another 3 hours drive from Pergamon. We arrived the ruins around 630pm and took a quick visit before the closing at 730pm. Before heading to Istanbul, we had dinner at Çanakkale. The drive from Çanakkale to Istanbul took almost 5 hours and finally arrived in Istanbul around 3am. |
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Day 9 - Istanbul
After breakfast, drove to Hotel Intercontinental locates in Taksim Sqaure to return the rental car. From Taksim Square (the shopping belt), we walked back to the old town, which took almost 2-3 hours including some visits to the museum and cathedral. Back to hotel around 3pm and headed to Hagia Sophia at around 330pm. Spend about an hour here and moved on to Topkapi Palace, which is short walking distance from Hagia Sophia. Our last stop was the Blue Mosque. |
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Day 10 - Istanbul-Singapore
After breakfast, we visited another mosque near The Grand Bazaar. Then we headed to Grand Bazaar for last minute shopping before heading to the airport. |
TRIP PHOTOS - TURKEY