Turkey

A 9-day trip to Western Turkey

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As you may know, Turkey is not only a stunning country, but it is also immense; for this reason you need to be prepared for the long (and breathtaking) drives. Every single hour is worth the astonishing panoramas and landmarks.

What could have been the first stop of our Turkish roadtrip if not Istanbul? This city has it all; food, ambience, art, culture and history. We planned to spend 3 nights and 2 days in Istanbul, and in this time we were also able to see its Asian side, which was totally worth it. We decided to book an airbnb on the quarter of Istanbul called “Galata”, famous for its younger crowd.

We rented the car at the beginning of our third day in turkey (there is no need for it in Istanbul), and off we drove to Izimir (479 km- 5h). The city is super nice and friendly, and it is easily understandable why it is such a famous seaside destination.

After Izmir we drove to Selcuk (80 km- 1h), where we slept to be ready for the visit of Ephesus the next day. In the morning, we drove to Şirince (8 km- 12 min), a bucolic village on the Turkish hills, then we drove to see the remainings of Artemis’ Temple (one of the 7 Wonders), and Ephesus (11 km- 20 min). Honestly, both Clement and I were left speechless. To fully understand the sensation, you need to live it!

After the morning in Ephesus, we drove to Pamukkale (195 km- 2h43), famous for its natural thermal pools and Roman Hierapolis. Once you pay for the ticket, the site does not close until after dark, so take your time to visit everything! The following stop was Olympos (300 km- 3h50), a small village on the seaside where you can enjoy both a relaxing afternoon at the beach, a fullfilling visit of the Roman ruines, and an after dark hike on the Mount Chimere to see the Chimaeras, natural flames that sparkles from underground (Be sure to book it through your hostel/hotel). When in the area, you must have lunch at the Selale Restaurant, famous for its tasty fish and its tables on the waterfall.

Then was the long drive: eight hours from Olympos to Goreme (579 km- 7h43). For our last 3 days in Cappadoce, we chose a cave hotel in Goreme, from where we could easily reach all the interesting points, such as the underground city of Kaymakli, the Valley of Ihlara, the Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve and Devrent Valley, Urgup and its 3 sisters. If just like us you are interested in hikingm here are two amazing track for you;

1. Pidgeon valley, from Goreme to Uchisar.
2. Trekking from Mustafapasa to Urgup (keep your eyes open, the entrance are not well indicated, and you need to pass through a dirt road to get there).

Our flight back was from Kayseri (72 km- 1h), so we avoided driving back to Istanbul!