Turkey trip
Why Turkey?
Turkey is among the most liberal of West Asian countries, which means that while you still see burkha-clad women stroll along the beach, you also see plenty of women smartly dressed in western-style evening dresses. At this junction where the east meets the west, Turkey gives you the freedom to dress as you please. As always, travel light if you intend to move around a lot, and pick a backpack over a suitcase.
Summer in Turkey can be tricky to pack for, somewhat like the higher Indian Himalayas. The sun is strong and harsh, but stepping in the shade could leave you cold. Dress in layers, so you can add or remove one as necessary, and pack lots of sunscreen, a sun hat and shades.
Estimate a budget and stick to it
Travelling within Turkey could be almost as expensive as a Euro trip, unless you impose a budget upon yourself. As a rule of thumb, it is cheaper to pay (and to be charged) in Turkish Liras than in Euros, and bargaining is hardly uncommon. Remember you don’t have to visit every tourist attraction out there just because everyone else does. You might be better off spending the entry feel on a nice meal at a cosy seaside cafe, or experiencing a Turkish bath at a Hamam
How did I travel? I did not go unprepared at at all, I was armed with maps, audioguides and all the basic information I needed. I also knew which place would get me the best exchange rate, I had my rooms/dorms prebooked, had an itinerary in place,although it was pretty flexible. I traveled by overnight buses, ate food at localish places(am a vegetarian,and vegetarian food was quite abundant everywhere) and traveled in towns and cities mostly by foot,and taking the occasional ferry or bus in places like Istanbul. I did take a couple of guided tours, places which were difficult to reach,or where tours offered an economical option, but most of my traveling was solo. Travel between place to place was by overnight buses.
Where did I stay? I had all my places prebooked from booking.com and the likes, I stayed in dormitories in touristy palces like Istanbul and Cappadocia, in smaller places like Urfa or Kahta I took single rooms. Dorms cost me about 10 Euros while rooms came for about 15 Euros. I liked my stay in dorms more because I got to meet a lot of people and the facilities were pretty good too.
Where all did I go? The most important question. I landed in Istanbul, stayed for about 4 days, went to Selcuk,visited the ruins of several Greek-Ionian cities: Ephesus, Afrodisias, Priene,Miletos and Didyma. Then I proceeded towards Cappadocia, whose landscape was straight out of Flintstone’s. From Cappadocia I went eastwards to Gaziantep,then further to Nemrut Dagi basing myself at Adiyaman. The next stop was Sanliurfa,did a half day trip to Harran. Got a flight to Istanbul, spent a few hours shopping and left for India. So here we go.
