Merhaba fellow world travelers! I recently got back from my latest adventure and I want to tell you all about it. I was fortunate enough to spend a good portion of September in the remarkable country of Turkey- a place I have wanted to visit for years, and finally got to! (I hope you’re ready for a lot of pictures!)
First, a little background on this trip
My youngest sister was fortunate enough to spent some time in Turkey through a study abroad program while in college. After graduating, she moved back there and taught English to children while living with a Turkish family for a year. When she was there, I always planned on going over to visit her, but time never allowed for it. Fifteen years later, the stars aligned for both of us, and we were able to journey over together- me for the first time with my sister as my guide, and a grand return for her.
Istanbul: Where to go and What to Do
One of my sister’s old friends was kind enough to put us up in one of his rental apartments for the duration of our trip. It was a lovely flat with good vibes and everything you could possibly need! And you can check it out HERE!
Stationed in Taksim, we were in the heart of it all! Enveloped in a district full of shopping, food, and life! One of the things I liked best about this suburb of Istanbul is how lively it is! We were able to get very traditional food at very reasonable prices- especially if you venture off the main street down one of the less-traveled side roads. We even got to experience that TikTok famous cheesecake, the San Sebastián, right there beneath the striking Galata Tower!
Of course, we visited all of the most popular sites such as the Blue Mosque, the Hagia Sophia, the Basilica Cistern, the Spice Market, and the Grand Bazaar- and each one was stunningly unique! It was as if you could actually feel the history in the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia– two of the most popular sites in Istanbul. And the Basilica Cistern, an old water storage system, was beautifully haunting. The Grand Bazaar was a somewhat overwhelming experience… I didn’t actually end up buying anything, or even getting to haggle my way to a bargain because there were just too many people to navigate with any grace or ease. We did, however, enjoy the vibrant Spice Market and the several smaller local street bazaars we visited throughout our stay.
One of my favorite experiences was hopping on the ferry and crossing the Bosphorus to Kadıköy and Üsküdar where we did LOTS of shopping, and of course, more eating! Each district offered something a little bit different from the others, and the ferry ride itself was very relaxing and enjoyable as you glide along seeing the different aspects of the massive city all around you.
Fun Fact: Istanbul is the only city in the world the spans two continents- Europe and Asia.
Overall Take: Each of these places are worth taking the time to see. We did the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and Basilica Cistern in the same day because they are all very close to one another. The other sites we split up throughout the course of our trip and took our time to explore leisurely. If you plan to visit Istanbul, I recommend allowing yourself at least a full week to explore all it has to offer.
Getting Around
Getting around was fairly easy. We walked just about everywhere we went, averaging around 24,000 steps a day. When we couldn’t walk, public transportation was readily accessible. You can take buses, metros, ferries, cabs (not highly recommended, as many will take advantage of tourists), trolleys, and an underground cable railway called the Funicular. All of these have regular schedules, and the locals are more than happy to help you figure out the best way to get to where you’re going.
The one thing I do NOT recommend you do is rent a car and try to drive yourself. I have never in my life seen a more congested and difficult place to try to drive yourself around. Traffic in Istanbul is out of control. Picture NYC traffic, but without structure, and people flooding the streets with no regard to cars also being there. (See pictures above.) With as much public transportation as there is, renting a car is also totally unnecessary. Your hotel can arrange for you to be picked up and dropped back off at the airport, and that is likely the only time you would need to worry about going a significant distance.
Pro Tip: get yourself a Istanbulkart (public transportation card) and use it for everything! When it comes to paying for public transportation, this is your best option. They are easy to load money onto with either cash or a credit card, and then simply reload as needed. Public transportation services are relatively cheap, and you can use one card for the entire family.
What to Pack
The number one thing I cannot stress enough for you to pack is a good pair of walking shoes! Or possibly two pair. I brought tennis shoes for my more casual looks, and a good sturdy pair of walking sandals for dressing up… and I still ended up with blisters.
The sense of fashion there is ‘well put together and presentable.’ No one was in sweat pants or flip flops, most women wore dresses or blouses, and men work slacks with varied tops. Scarves are a staple for women and very fashionable there. We were there when the temperature was still in the upper 80s and low 90s, so we packed a mostly summer wardrobe. However, I would recommend looking ahead at common weather patterns at the time of your visit to get a better idea. As far as seasonal trends, Istanbul is on roughly the same latitude as New York and Chicago- so weather tends are similar.
Best case scenario- pack items you can mix-and-max and layer. This will give you lots of unique options and allow you to be prepared for all different types of weather conditions.
Key tip: If you are plan on going into the mosques, you must be fully covered. This includes your shoulders, legs, chest, back, and -for women- hair (which is easily done with a very fashionable Turkish scarf!) Remember- you are enjoying their culture, so be respectful of their customs- especially in holy places.
What to Eat
Or a better question- what didn’t we eat.
While there are SO many dishes I could recommend (because everything we had was very good) Gere is a short list of the must try items:
chestnuts and street corn in Taksim- a staple. This is that the whole city smells like!
Mercimek çorbası: Red lentil soup. Delicious, healthy, surprisingly filling. Garnish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a dash of mint for perfection! This is served everywhere with every meal.
Simit!: You will hear vendors of these bagel-like staples yelling out “simit!” as you travel through the city. They are inexpensive, filling, and actually taste pretty good.
Kumpir: The loaded everything baked potato. Üsküdar is known for these, but you can get them in many places in Istanbul. They have some topping that might seem strange to us, but are common over there, such as cabbage, corn, hotdogs, and olives- but I promise you, it’s better than it sounds!
Patatesli gozleme: a Turkish flat bread stuffed with potatoes, or sometime spinach and cheese. It’s a popular street food, and is both filling and delicious.
Turkish Delights: Sweet confectionaries usually made with fruits and nuts.Each store offers their own variety of these, and they are not shy about letting you sample them. These are also easy to travel with and make fantastic souvenir gifts.
Apple Tea: It’s not uncommon for someone to hand you a cup of apple tea as your strolling the streets of a market or bazaar. It’s caffeine free, very sweet (made with stevia, not sugar) and refreshing. There are, of course, may other teas to try while there, but this is the most common.
Turkish Coffee: Brewed in a unique way, this coffee is very strong, but most people really like it.
Raki: A popular alcohol served at the end of a meal. Similar to Ouzo, it has a sweet anise flavor.
Turkish Breakfast: Most hotels will offer this, and let me tell you, these are far superior to our underwhelming continental breakfasts here in the states. Full of fresh fruit, vegetables, breads, olives, meats, cheeses, and soups! I cannot tell you how many times I had plates that resembled an extravagant charcuterie spread for my first meal of the day.
The list could go on, but I will stop here so I can tell you more about our other adventures.
Cappadocia- The most unique place I’ve ever been
When most people think of Cappadocia, the first thing that comes to mind are the famous hot air balloons soaring over the city and crossing the morning sky. But I am here to tell you that there is SO much more!
I struggle to even find the right words to describe this place. Cappadocia feels secretive and magical, and so full of mystery. It makes you feel like you are part of history yourself.
We arrived at night to our cave hotel, and when we climbed up to one of its rooftop terraces, we were awestruck at the sight of an entire cave city lit up around us (under a full moon!) Other similar cave-carved constructs rose up like mountains all around us to greet the moon and stars in the sky. To say we were left speechless is an understatement as we stood gaping with our mouths open and tear in our eyes.
The entire landscape was shaped by volcanic eruptions millions of years ago, and the region’s soft tuff rock was later carved by ancient civilizations into homes, churches, and entire underground cities. We saw ‘mushroom stones’ and ‘fairy chimneys’ and entire underground cities here, and it all seemed so surreal!
And then we got to see it in the daylight, and it was even more spectacular!
Exploring Cappadocia and All Its Wonders
We decided that since we were only there a few short days, the best way to see and do everything was to book a few tours. We took the Green Tour one day and the Red Tour another. On these we got to explore Love Valley, Pidgeon Valley, Ihlara Valley Canyon, Uchisar Castle, Imagination Valley, and the unbelievable Kaymakli Underground City. These sights were all filled with huge volcanic stone pillars, or ‘fairy chimneys,’ historic cave houses, and beautiful temples. It’s hard to imagine people of the past actually living in some of these dwellings, but being there in it yourself makes it all seem possible.
On top of all that, lunch was included, we got to visit some local art masters, watch a fashion show, and visit some other unique-to-Cappadocia shops.
When researching this trip, I read some past travelers recommend bypassing the tours and getting a car to visit these sights on your own and at your own pace, but honestly, I think they were great! They were very inexpensive, filled with a wealth of knowledge about the places we visited, and allowed us to connect with others from all over the world, and make some new friends! Besides that, entrance fees to all of the parks and museums were also included. And as far as time, I think we were allotted plenty of time to experience each site fully.
Another perk of taking the tours- you are picked up and dropped back off at your hotel, which means not stressing about the crazy traffic, or having to find a place to park.
Cappadocia From The Sky!
On our first morning there, even though we didn’t arrive until late the previous night, we got up at 5 am to watch the famous Cappadocia hot air balloons quietly and gently rise over the sleeping city. It was magical. It was serene. It was worth having bags under my eyes for the rest of the day. They just started appearing out of no where as the sun crept over the horizon. And they were close! We were watching from a rooftop, and it seemed as if you might be able to reach out over the railing and touch some of them as they casually drifted through the city. It was another unforgettable moment in my life.
Of course, we had to also RIDE in the balloons! Check that one off my bucket list!
We booked our balloon ride through out hotel, and were very thankful we did. We had it scheduled for our second day there, but due to high winds, it was canceled. Thankfully, our hotel staff was on top of it and worked very hard to ensure we had a spot for the following day. We prayed that the weather would hold out, because this would be our last chance to fly- and it all worked out perfectly! We were picked up at 4:30 am and taken to have a Turkish breakfast while our balloons were prepared for the day.
Fun Fact #1: The balloons take off and land at a different place each day, all based on wind speed and direction. You don’t actually know where you are going to land until you pick a place from up in the air.
Fun Fact #2: You can not steer a hot air balloon. You can move it up and down with a heat source but cannot choose your direction. You are guided solely by the wind.
Before we knew it, we were climbing into our basket with the other passengers and lifting off into the sky! It was surreal. We floated over the city and across Love Valley, with elegant figures of fairy chimneys passing below us, the morning sun sailing up to meet our altitude, and hundreds of other balloons keeping us company in the sky. It was cold when we were on the ground, but once in the air, with the heat of the flame keeping the balloon up, it was a very comfortable temperature.
The tour lasts about an hour, which seems far too short to take in the stunning views from above. But it was all worth it. Once the ride is over, you celebrate a successful flight with a glass of champagne with your pilots, and are delivered back to you hotel in time to have second breakfast and do a mini photoshoot of your stunning Osmanbey Cave Hotel before heading back out for the day. (I cannot recommend this hotel enough! They helped us arrange everything from our airport transfers, to our tours and hot air balloon ride. The owner and the staff were so helpful and so nice to just sit and talk to- it made the whole stay even more enjoyable!)
More about Cappadocia
It is believed that Cappadocia comes from the Old Persian word “Katpatuka,” which translates as “the land of beautiful horses.” So it seemed fitting that we also did a horseback riding tour. One of the things I really liked about this tour is that it kind of forces you to put your camera away (so you can hold onto your horse!) and really just enjoy the beauty around you. We rode through more stone structures and ancient carved dwellings and got to see them from a different perspective.
Following this we walked around the Göreme Open Air Museum, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site for a few hours. For a place full of great history and unique, found-no-where-else-in-the-world architectural structures, they sure do let you climb around on a lot of stuff. This was a self-guided tour for us where we literally just meandered around, climbing to the tops of stone houses, and back down into the valleys at our own leisure. It was incredibly hot out, but on a cooler day, we could have spent the entire day just wandering around exploring.
So yes, I can say, without question, that Cappadocia is one of the most fascinating places I have ever visited, and it will always hold a special place in my heart. Should I ever get the chance to return to Turkey, it is the one place I will need to go back to.
Unique Places We Didn’t Get To Visit (This Time)
While I am in love with the places we did get to visit, there are many more in Turkey that we didn’t. And I want to. For example:
Pamukkale: Nature’s White Wonder
In a country brimming with man-made marvels, Pamukkale reminds you that nature is the greatest artist of all. Meaning “Cotton Castle” in Turkish, Pamukkale is famous for its terraces of bright white limestone, cascading down like frozen waterfalls. Warm, mineral-rich waters flow over the terraces, creating shimmering pools that have been soothing visitors for thousands of years — even the ancient Romans came here to bathe.
Just above the terraces lies the ancient city of Hierapolis, with remarkably preserved ruins including a vast Roman theater and a sacred thermal pool where you can literally swim among submerged columns. It’s an extraordinary blend of history and natural beauty — and an experience that’s both otherworldly and restorative.
Ephesus: Walking Through Ancient History
If you’ve ever wanted to feel what it’s like to walk through a living museum, Ephesus is your dream come true. Once one of the great cities of the ancient world, it’s among the best-preserved archaeological sites anywhere — and an absolute must for history lovers.
Stroll down marble streets where Cleopatra and Mark Antony once walked, past the grand Library of Celsus, the Great Theatre, and the Temple of Artemis — one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. You can almost hear the echoes of merchants and philosophers as you wander through its columns and courtyards.
Antalya: The Turquoise Coast at Its Best
For those who crave sunshine, beaches, and refined seaside living, Antalya on the Turkish Riviera is the ultimate destination. This glamorous stretch of coastline offers everything from historic old towns to luxurious resorts overlooking the Mediterranean.
Wander through the narrow lanes of Kaleiçi, Antalya’s charming old quarter, where Ottoman houses, Roman ruins, and lively cafés create a delightful mix of past and present. For relaxation, head to the beaches of Lara or Konyaaltı, or indulge in a private yacht charter to discover hidden coves and turquoise waters.
I suppose I will have to return to Turkey someday to check these places off my list!
Turkey- A Place Worth Visiting
All-in-all, I’d say this was another successful adventure! The food, the history, the culture, and the friendly, welcoming nature of the locals made this trip unforgettable! Even though there are still so many places I need to go explore, I hope to be able to one day return to Turkey to revisit some of my favorite spots and make memories at new ones!
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