From eating my way around Istanbul, and seeing the incredible mosques, to beach times in Alanya, to hot air ballooning in Cappadocia, and exploring the cave cities in the region, find out the best places to travel to in my Turkey travel blogs.
Happy exploring!
From Jeep safaris up winding mountain roads, venturing into beautiful caves, jumping off pirate galleons in the Mediterranean Sea and chasing sunsets, to witnessing traditional village life, sampling the best in Turkish cuisine and meeting some of the friendliest people on the planet. We really packed a lot into three days.
My first visit to Turkey was in April this year.
Some pre-trip research on Istanbul in Turkey, brought up some very colourful photos on Instagram. They were of the so-called ‘Rainbow Steps’ linking the arty districts of Findikli and Cihangir.
They reminded me of the Lapa Steps in Rio… another magical set of stairs that brought tourists to an otherwise overlooked area.
So, what’s the story? Are they highlighting LGBT issues? Something political? Or are they just a bit of fun?
In 2013, retired forestry engineer Huseyin Cetinel spent four days and around £500 transforming the huge staircase, from concrete grey, to beautiful rainbow colours. It was a kind of guerrilla street art project. No one expected it, but everyone fell in love with it.
While visiting Cappadocia I visited Miras Hotel in Göreme… and what an incredible place it was! Check out the gallery now.
Cappadocia is a land of boutique hotels. Tourism is booming in the towns of Göreme, Ürgüp and Uçhisar, but the region hasn’t been spoiled by giant chain hotels… yet. Instead, small hotels designed, built and run by locals, complement the landscape of caves and rocks.
After two nights enjoying the seclusion of Kale Konak Cave Hotel in Uçhisar, I moved to Osmanli Manor Hotel located in Cappadocia’s main town of Göreme. I chose the manor not only because Göreme offers more in the way of dining and shopping, but it is also one of a handful of new build boutique hotels that had opened in recent years.
The hotel is run by Australian/Turkish couple Fiona and Mustafa. She recounted the tale: “15 years ago I was backpacking through the area, fell in love, and the rest is history.” They lived in Australia for a few years, and then decided to return to Cappadocia to open the hotel.
There was a feeling of grandeur as I entered, but any stiffness quickly disappeared once I spotted two young children by reception. Their ‘help’ with check-in provided much entertainment! Also adding to the family-run hotel vibe was an affectionate dog called Penny.
During my visit in April, the area was suffering from some unusually