Escape to Turkey - Itinerary

I thought it might be interesting to capture the itinerary and some of the travel details for my Turkey Tour.  


Here's what I received from the booking agent:

Escape to Turkey  (8 days)

Tour Start Date:   Guaranteed departure every friday

This tour is bookable by single traveller - group not necessary

Eco Turkey Tour Prices - Per Person  

Double / Twin Room:  from Euro 699.00   Single Room:  from Euro 789.00

Escape to Turkey (8 days) Tour Summary:

We will take you to Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Konya, Pamukkale, Ephesus and Kusadasi. This tour also includes 2 different domestic flights from Istanbul to Ankara and Izmir to Istanbul. If you are looking for a one week escape, this tour is suitable for you.

 8 DAYS ESCAPE TO TURKEY TOUR ITINERARY:

Day 01 - Friday - Istanbul - Arrival Day

Meet with Eco Turkey staff at Istanbul International Ataturk airport and transfer to your hotel. You will be given your room key and the rest of the day is yours to explore Istanbul. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 02 - Saturday - Istanbul City Tour - Ankara

(Breakfast included)

We depart at 08:30 for the Istanbul city tour. TOPKAPI PALACE The great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries housing an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle; enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed.

SULTANAHMET IMPERIAL MOSQUE Across from St. Sophia built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet, is known as the BLUE MOSQUE because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles.

HIPPODROME Ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races, with the three monuments; the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine. Lunch break and then we head to the SPICE BAZAAR (Egyptian Bazaar) the air here is filled with the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme and every other conceivable herb and spice. After the Istanbul tour depart for Ankara by plane. Arrive to Ankara and check in to your hotel and The rest of the evening is you`re to enjoy Ankara. Overnight in Ankara.

Day 03 - Sunday - Ankara - Cappadocia Tour

(Breakfast and dinner included)

In the morning visit to the Anatolian Civilizations Museum at which numerous remnants from Stone Age, Neolithic Age, Hittites, Urartians, Phrygians and many others are on display; Mausoleum of Ataturk, the burial place of the national hero who founded modern Republic of Turkey. Then continue on to Cappadocia. After a picturesque trip along the Salt Lake pass by the 13th century Seljukian Caravanserai Agzikarahan. After visiting Kaymakli Underground City, the place early Christians hid from persecutors, proceed to the hotel in Cappadocia for overnight. Overnight in Cappadocia.

Day 04 - Monday - Cappadocia Tour

(Breakfast and dinner included)

Optional balloon tour. Depart from the hotel at 09.30-10.00 depending on the arrival time of the participants and visit the valleys where animal-like natural formations like camels and fair chimneys are abundant. Drive on to Pasabagi in Zelve area where monks used to live in seclusion in rock cut rooms. Proceed to the pottery town of Avanos where Kizilirmak (Hallys), the longest river of Turkey, meanders leaving the red clay on its banks that has been the raw material of pottery for centuries. In the afternoon visit to Open Air Museum in Goreme to visit to the early Christian churches decorated with unique frescoes depicting various scenes from the Bible. Stop by Pigeon Valley near Uchisar. Shopping time for the well-known merits of the area. Overnight in Cappadocia.

Day 05 - Tuesday - Konya - Pamukkale

(Breakfast and dinner included)

Today?s ride will be fairly long and tiring due to the long distance between Cappadocia and Pamukkale and lack of convenient lodging location. Drive to Konya to visit to the Mausoleum of Mevlana, the world-wide famous mystic figure. Overnight in Pamukkale.

Day 06 - Wednesday - Pamukkale Tour - Kusadasi

(Breakfast and dinner included)

Tour the ruins of Hierapolis including the magnificently preserved cemetery "Necropolis", the Main Street and Gates, the Thermal Baths, the Roman Theatre and the Museum. In the afternoon tour Aphrodisias, the city of Aphrodite; visit the Museum, the Temple of Aphrodite, the Theatre, the Stadium, the Agora, the Hadrian Baths, the Odeon, and the Bishop's Palace. Overnight in Kusadasi.

Day 07 - Thursday - Ephesus Tour - Kusadasi

(Breakfast and dinner included)

Morning tour to Ephesus area with Ephesus Antique City (Hillside Houses are excluded; entrance requires additional admission fee), one of the most popular ancient sites of Turkey with many acres of carefully excavated ruins; Virgin Mary?s House, where St. Mary is supposed to spend her last years together with St. John. Selcuk Ephesus Museum or St. John Church. Time for shopping. After Ephesus tour domestic flight to Istanbul. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 8 - Friday - Istanbul - End of Tour

(Breakfast included)

After breakfast check out from the hotel. We hope your tour was a memorable one and we would like to see you in the future in one of our tours again. We make your return airport transfer services. Have a nice trip back home and thanks for choosing Eco Turkey.

8 DAYS ESCAPE TO TURKEY TOUR INCLUDES:

Arrival airport transfer from Istanbul Ataturk Airport

Domestic flight from Istanbul to Ankara

Domestic flight from Izmir to Istanbul

2 nights hotel in Istanbul

1 night hotel in Ankara

2 nights hotel in Cappadocia

1 night hotel in Pamukkale

1 night hotel in Kusadasi

7 breakfasts and 5 dinners

Guided Istanbul City tour

Guided Ankara tour

2 guided Cappadocia tours

Guided Konya tour

Guided Pamukkale tour

Guided Ephesus tour

Guided Pamukkale tour

All entrance fees mentioned in the itinerary

Transportation in a fully air-conditioned, non-smoking coach

Professional English-speaking tour guides

Return airport transfer to Istanbul Ataturk Airport

8 DAYS ESCAPE TO TURKEY TOUR PRICES IN EURO:

Per Person Shared Double Single

3 Star Hotel € 699.00 € 789.00

4 Star Hotel € 765.00 € 899.00

5 Star Hotel € 999.00 € 1,379.00

Check the price of a Coke!

One last nutella-fest for breakfast.  Deeee-lish!  Then I left my bags in Mom’s room and we took off for our last morning in town before I had to head off for my afternoon flight back to Amsterdam.

The Pantheon was closed when we were by a few nights before but it is open in the daytime.  It’s beautiful.  As with most of these landmarks though, it’s tough to get the perfect photo so I mostly just made ‘mental-photographs’ and sat back and took it all in. 

We then wandered back over to Piazza de Navona for lunch.  I learned a new lesson about eating in touristy places!  So imagine you use a pizza or a bowl of minestrone as your price gauge for how expensive a restaurant is.  You can determine which restaurants are over charging for the same thing fairly easily as you go from restaurant to restaurant.  Never did I think to check the price of a Cola Light!  I thought the waiter had made a mistake when our bill arrived after an admittedly delicious lunch.  16Euros 50 cents for drinks?  But we just had 3 Cola Lights.  Yep – 5.50 each!  Holy crap!  We got taken.  Well – now I’m wiser in that respect and will keep an eye out to include drinks in my gauge-system from now on.

A few last shops to visit on the last walk back to the hotel before heading back to the train station.  I bought myself a little purse intended to replace the M.E.C. purse I bought for $15 in 2001 for my Peru trip.  Somehow I always come back to that one but here’s hoping my ‘Italian leather purse’ can class me up a bit!

Walking to the train station to leave for the airport was tough on me.  I felt like I did when I’d come home for weekends during university at Sunday dinner knowing that I’d have to hit the road shortly and leave back to Edmonton.  I didn’t want to say goodbye to Mom and Kari.  Family is a big missing part of my life this year and it’s been a tough year.  I won’t be home at Christmas this year either but back for Susan’s wedding in March.  I was sorry that the weekend was over so fast but am glad for the 4 days we all had together.

Vatican City and the Sistine Chapel

Nutella again.  I don’t care.  We’re walking a lot and it’s delicious.  One of life’s guilty pleasures!

We left the hotel early enough to plan for a couple of 64 buses to pass that we couldn’t get on on our way to Vatican City.  We jumped onto the 3^rd but Mom got on at the front and we got on in the middle.  The bus was so packed that we couldn’t see her for most of the journey and we were worried she’d get off at the wrong stop.  Fortunately the bus emptied further on and we re-grouped. 

As soon as we got off the bus the skies opened up.  Those hawkers are clever though and within moments umbrellas were for sale everywhere.  Mom got one for 5 Euros.  Not a bad deal.  Regardless, our feet got soaked while walking to find ‘Mark Anthony’ (our guide from the Forum the day before) at the Foot Locker of all places near the Vatican.

We paid 45 Eruos for our ~4hour tour to see the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s Basilica.  We were in the ‘fast lane’ and still waited for about 45mins in line.  Mondays are apparently the busiest day.  A Monday in October though seemed surprisingly busy.  Ah well.  Once in, we lined up for our headsets.  Technology is amazing and Mark Anthony had a headset with a microphone and we all had headsets set to channel 3 and we could hear him talk (most of the time).  This meant that I could wander a bit to take pictures and still listen.  Love it.  He said that there are more than 1100 rooms open to the public and if you stopped at each piece on display for 3 seconds you’d be in there for more than 7 years.  He shared the highlights with us which was just fine.

We got a nice story on Michaelangelo and the Sistine Chapel and information on many paintings, statues and tapestries.   The highlight was the Sistine Chapel despite it being packed with rude, rule breaking tourists.  Tisk tisk.  My favourite part of the ceiling was the Creation of Adam and the Garden of Eden.  Cool to see the before and after differences from the restoration work (about a 10 year effort in the 90’s).   They did a great job.

We all looked at each other with shock when we saw the line for St. Peter’s Basilica.  After 4 hours we didn’t have any desire to stand in THAT line!  Too bad but we were tired and hungry and wouldn’t have enjoyed it.  Best leave something to see next time! :o)

A tasty lunch (pizza for me again), another cappuccino and then nap at the hotel before dinner re-energized all of us.  Given that it was my last night, I suggested wandering in the direction of the Coliseum for dinner.  We had passed through a funky little neighbourhood on our way there Sunday morning and sure enough we found a fantastic and DELICIOUS restaurant where we had our ‘last supper’.  Pumpkin (zucca) ravioli for me and some wine made me happy.

After dinner we wandered down to the Coliseum.  It felt good to walk off the pasta-baby.  The Coliseum at night was eerie and beautiful and best of all – practically deserted.  I got some great night shots from several angles as we walked around the giant amphitheatre.  That’s the way to see Rome.  At night, when everyone is indoors eating!

Yay - the Coliseum!

We walked down the hill after breakfast and it only took about 10 minutes to have our first view of the Coliseum.  It’s impressive from any angle and daunting as you approach and see the hordes of tourists in line to buy entrance tickets.  Good thing for pre-purchase tickets on the internet!  We ended up on a tour for 8 Euros for the Coliseum and the Forum in English.  Not a bad deal and it was a warm and sunny day – which is lucky for the end of October.

The Coliseum is more amazing in person than pictures and we were all suitably impressed.   We didn’t have long to sit and absorb the atmosphere since our tour to the Forum was leaving 30mins after our guide set us free.  Just as well, you’d never soak up all the historical details and again, the place was so busy with tourists that it was tricky moving around and avoiding being the doofus walking right in front of someone about to take a picture.

The Forum is more in ruins that I realized.  It is also an amazingly photogenic place.  At this point, several hours into our day, we were hot, tired and getting hungry.  I’ve discovered that I don’t have ‘tourist-stamina’.  I have to do my visits in several short bursts otherwise I just go on autopilot and stop caring about anything other than the nearest seat or cafe or loo.

We hopped on a bus and headed back into town to grab lunch.  Kari and I split yet another pizza.  Mom tried again for her Panini but she was still on the hunt for a good one!  We wandered around, stopped for a coffee at this funky bar and were surprised to learn that our bill was only 5 Euros for 3 cappuccinos and one piece of cake (3 forks obviously).  Amazing!

We headed back to the hotel for a snooze – which was a nice luxury.  I remember our hotel was on a completely different island in Venice.  No napping there.  I crashed hard and my legs felt paralyzed!  I think all the walking and standing was taking its toll.  I guess I’m an old lady already!

For dinner we tried to hop on the 64 bus but several passed by stuffed to the brim.  We walked.  The Campo di Fiori was about 20-30 mins by foot but along the way were several shops.  I was getting the hangries so I had to ask Mom and Kari if they could please hold off shopping until after dinner!  We found a cute restaurant (or make that cute waiter!) just off the square for dinner.  Heineken, bruschetta and lasagne for Kari and me.  Mom had her usual soup and salad. 

Then we wandered over to the Piazza Novano for gelato.  Yum.  It’s beautiful there and the moon, one day past full, was gorgeous.  I wanted to do a geocache and so I plugged the numbers in to my GPS sitting outside the Pantheon.  The hints weren’t great and the signal was poor in the alleys so we gave up once we were supposedly 15m, no 20m, no 3m (!) away from the destination.  Instead we managed to find a cute wooden bench with a Pinnocchio to pose with that we wouldn’t have found otherwise.

[note – It was only a few days later that I clued in that the geocache was probably at Pinnocchio’s bench.  My suspicions were confirmed as I checked out the logged comments for the cache once home.  Grrr....how frustrating.  Well, maybe I’ll just have to go back!]

Family Reunion

I left the hotel after breakfast but didn’t make it very far.  I found a nearby market and bought a gorgeous vest.  Back to the hotel.  Dumped the bag.  No problem – I had a full bladder anyway!  Ha!  The Italian coffee works fast!  And I also go to switch my umbrella for my sunglasses.  Good deal.

Take 2: I wandered around to Santa Maria Maggione church where I saw tourists toting guidebooks, hawkers, and nuns in the square.  Yep – there must be something to see here.  Walking in I was quite impressed but just decided to soak in the beauty of the place.  I have long given up on knowing all the history and details of where I go; Rome of all places has so much history.  I saturate with information quickly and never retain it anyway!  Cool facts, maybe, but I’ve just accepted that I really prefer aesthetic value over all else.

1PM: I was waiting at the end of Track 10 in the Termini train station after the first of two possible trains from Orvieto pulled up.  I was so excited and actually tearing up as I waited to finally see Mom and Kari.  After about five minutes most people had cleared out so I started to keep an eye out down towards track 2 where the other train was due in.  I started to wonder what I’d do if I didn’t find them when I turned my head and saw Mom in a bright turquoise hoodie walking behind me.  Phew!  Good catch.  And now – let the weekend really begin.

We headed back to the hotel with Sue McLennan from the ride and got ourselves sorted in the hotel while Sue tracked down her hotel (her travel documents went missing – yikes).  After a bit of time, we wandered out for a pizza and a stroll down to Barberini Square and the Fontana del Tritone.  Then onward to the Spanish steps which I was very excited to see...until I saw all the people.  Oh...my...God!  There was an infestation of people.  They were everywhere!  We got a few pictures but didn’t stick around to see the beauty of the area, since we could hardly see it anyway.

 

Next was a wander to the Fontana di Trevi which was also beautiful and also PACKED with people.  A pick-pocket’s dream no doubt.  Afterward we headed to see a multi-media show on the history of Rome.  Why not?!  It was something different for sure.  We learned all about Romulus and Remus and the wolves and they did a good job with the reconstructions of the ruins.  Very interesting if not a bit cheesy.

My pasta baby-belly is starting to grow.  Nevermind the cream cheese icing that Kari brought me (she knows me so well), tonight’s pasta dinner was lekker!  We had a rude waiter and Kari and I got the giggles.  (Dinner table + Kari + me = giggles.  I don’t know why but I love it).

Roma - Made it!

Living in Europe (and I still pinch myself that I can say that) you get used to hearing different languages all the time.  So it was no wonder that it took me a while to start noticing that the dominant language around me on the train was Italian.  My hands were getting jumpy – they’re ready to play along too and start gesturing.  Phrases like “Ciao Bella” and “Grazi” were on the tip of my tongue.  Welcome to Rome.

I almost didn’t make it.  With all the travel under my belt I really reprised myself today.  I thought I was past stupid, rookie mistakes.  My toiletries were all set up in their travel sized containers in a clear plastic case days before the trip.  My travel outfit was chosen to minimize any necessary removal of clothing at security.  I’d printed out my boarding pass the night before.  Good to go.  So at 15:58, as the train started pulling out of Den Haag Centraal, I gasped.  My passport!  Instant panic.

At the time I was on the phone with Charlie.  He did his job and remained calm, contrasting my frayed nerves.  What to do?  Go on?  Take a chance?  Turn around and risk missing the plane?  Jocelyn.  Jocelyn knows about Schengen countries and the rules.  Call her.

My call for advice turned out to be a call into action.  ‘What would you do’ was met with a ‘Where are you?  Yeah – okay, go back.  What can I do?’  Maybe an excuse to leave work early on a Friday was just what she was itching for but bottom line, it was such a relief to have a friend jump to help like that.

So – I got off at Leiden, bought a new ticket (debated this but had time), caught a train back to Den Haag Centraal with 2 minutes to spare.  I waited 2 mintues for the #9 tram back to my place and checked in with Jocelyn.  She informed me that she was in my house (finally .... after a dash to her home without her house-keys and some back and forth to the office during my time on the train) and was upstairs looking for in my bedside table for my passport.  We had a near miss as I have 2 passports (one has my original Visa to live and work in the NL) and the expired one was in the black case I told her to grab.  She thought to double check and managed to find the valid one further back in the drawer with a little more searching.  Good God!

Then we both hopped into Gigi.  16:35.  Not bad.  Pretty impressive actually.  Light traffic because of school holidays meant that we made it to Schiphol by 17:15.  It was a nice opportunity to visit and catch up plus it calmed me down to talk about other things.

I made it through security with time to kill so I could grab some dinner.  Amazing!  Needless to say, the adrenaline spiked and ran its course and I was exhausted by the time I got to the Caravaggio hotel.  But at least I made it to Italy!

La Source - Balance and Simplicity!

Their website states that: “La Source is a unique green ski, yoga and adventure sports lodge in Samoens, the French Alps, 1 hour from Geneva. The designer eco-renovated 1865 farm has been described as a ‘Hip 21st Century Commune’! Founded on principles of sustainability, inter-connection, and personal growth, La Source is a place where you can tune in to your own beat and just ‘be’!”



I was just as happy to ditch ‘Corporate Christy’ back in Holland. Time to just ‘be’...as the ‘real’ me! A week to get back to nature, out of the city chaos, away from light pollution obscuring the stars, where the air is fresh and the sound of cowbells chimes through the fields. And hey – you can always use a little more cowbells!

La Source runs its weeks from Sunday to Sunday. Not wanting to miss an opportunity to check out a new city, I flew to Geneva on Friday night and stayed through to Sunday mid-day. Friday night wasn’t much. I flew in, took the 10min train journey into town and headed straight for the hotel. A little research ahead of time with Google-Street-View paid off since I didn’t want to look like I didn’t know where I was going when I was arriving late in the evening and was walking with all of my bags the 300m to the hotel. Of course, a little research ahead of time might also have tipped me off that the view from my room to the street would provide a unique vantage point to watch all of the prostitutes at work.

I wandered around town all day Saturday in the warm sun. I packed for my trip on a grey day in the Netherlands and regretted not packing lighter clothes! Geneva is a beautiful little city. The lake and the Jet d’Eau feature prominently in the city. Runners, cyclists and beach-goers all took advantage of the sunny day that I was there. I made sure to check out St. Peter’s Cathedral in the middle of the old town and was impressed with the views from the top of the bell tower. That was a climb worth doing!


Sunday I hopped on the train to check out the Red Cross Museum. I got off at the Nations stop and saw the front of the UN headquarters. I walked along Avenue de la Paix and into the museum. It was quite an interesting find. I was interested to know how it started and what projects it is involved in now. The room with all of the orphans from Rwanda absolutely broke my heart though.

At 3PM on the Sunday, I met Chris and Duncan at the Jazz Cafe at the airport. Veronica joined us and we were off to La Source in Samoens, France. The car ride only took an hour and I got to know the 3 of them a little better before meeting Chrissie and Julian plus Harmon, Glen and Saskia and the kids once I got there. Initially I thought I would have to share my room but there were only 4 of us guests there that week so I got a room to myself. Yippee.

The town of Samoens is absolutely adorable. It kind of reminds me of Canmore since it’s a ski town in the winter and a climbing/hiking town in the summer. Being there the first full week of September meant that most things were closed though. While some things are open another couple of weeks, it was quickly going into hibernation mode until the start of the ski season mid-December.

The meals at La Source were amazing! They serve organic and vegetarian meals, often with ingredients from their own garden. Debbie the chef made some delicious meals and it felt like we were at a 5 star resort. I took some notes and am inspired to try a few when I get home, particularly the butternut squash risotto. Lekker!

Activity-wise, I had expected to do more than I did. Initially I was going to go canyoning, biking, hiking, etc. I was still really active but I kept it more simple. I did yoga 5 days in a row with Saskia and crew. I was mildly reluctant as a non-yoga-gal but the classes were nice, especially the first which we had down at Lac Bleue after a hike down the hill. The other classes were in the chalet. I’m not sure how much I’ll keep it up but was pleased to have discovered some new stretches to help me with my flexibility. I also picked up some interesting balance and breathing exercises.

I went walking, hiking and running too. The running I did from town where it was flat. I was just getting over a nasty head-cold and I live in Holland where it’s flat, so what can I say?! I wasn’t up for running from the chalet up in the hills! Hiking around in the hills was okay because I went slow and steady! I did a couple of walks on my own which was good for me and helped me clear my mind while keeping my quiet. I also went with Veronica, Chrissie and Julian up to a back-country hut in an Alpine meadow. It was stunning! And the stars! One of the kids who was up there with us told her dad she’d seen the Milk Street...love it!

The one adventure I did sign up for was the ‘Acro-branche’ or ropes course up in the trees. It was so fun. I was strapped in with a harness and two ropes, like with a via-ferrata, so I never felt that I wasn’t safe. Still, there were times where bravery was called for. Jumping from some platforms to others, going on the zip-wire across the lake or inching along a horizontal pole was tough but doable. I had to do the ‘walk of shame’ from one of the ‘jeux’ though. I think I thought about it for too long and couldn’t jump across the platform to the net on the other side. Ah well!

I only read a little bit and only got through a few Sudoku’s. I think I’d expected more down time but like the meerkat I can be, I was too interested in knowing what was going on with everyone else that I tended to be more social than I’d planned. I obviously needed more time away! A week just wasn’t enough. Fortunately I noticed that I’d stopped having work dreams and was having far more interesting dreams (not that I remember them right now!). Dream-time is NOT for work anyway but it had been pretty heavy for the past several weeks as evidenced by my dreams, my headcold and another bloody cold-sore on my face. Cripes!


It was a successful week in terms of putting certain things into perspective. Saskia, Chrissie and Julian proved to be great role models and sounding boards. One thing I was reminded of was that I am a country-kid at heart. I live in the city now because I am on my own but I really belong in a rural setting. I think there’s a hippie in me trying to get out but my corporate self seems to be the boss right now. A change is in order and soon. I need to implement simplicity. I need to simplify my current life so that I can live on less. I need more balance. I’m getting caught up in an artificial lifestyle and I’m not sure sustaining it wouldn’t be at the expense of my happiness. Lots to think about...