TURKEY TRIP REVIEWS
Replies: 116 - Last Post: May 19, 2013 10:41 AM Last Post By: sarikanarya
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I also stayed at Crowded House Hotel in 2010. It's simple but well-priced and convenient for the Gallipoli battlefields. You probably guessed that its name comes from the eponymous Trans-Tasman rock band led by Neil Finn - clever marketing ploy for Anzacs.I'm visiting Ephesus & Pamukkale next year and found your comments helpful.
Edited by: chris1953
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Istanbul Sept 19 - Sept. 25Sept. 19 - Took an internal flight (Atlasjet) from Izmir to Istanbul. For the $72 US fare, a shuttle picked me up from Selcuk and took me to the airport. It sure beats a 12 1/2 hour bus trip to the Istanbul otogar (assuming it is on time).
Suggest taking these internal flights if time is a factor in your trip. I put the time saved to good use.
Istanbul aırport has a dırect lınk to public transport. It took two dıfferent metros (which were connected) and an easy 10 mınute walk to get to my hotel ın Sultanamhet (sp).
I spent all of 4 Turkish Lira to get there, versus a 20 to 25 Euro cab ride. If you're going to be in Istanbul for any length of time, buy an Istanbulkart and learn how to use it. It's a transit pass which gives you discounted rates on local train / metro and bus trips. The savings can add up.
Sultanamhet ıs where all of the grıngos stay, as ıt's quite close to the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Hagıa Sophia Church and Cısterns - all of which are must sees here. It ıs very tourısty and expensive. Now that I have visited these places, on a return trip to Istanbul, I would stay elsewhere.
In Sultanamhet, you will be approached by guys who are fluent in multiple languages. They will help tourists with something basic and then try to talk you into vısıtıng their carpet shops. I quickly got the hang of this and when this happened, I responded in Portuguese. For some reason, none of them speak Portuguese, so they went to bother someone else..
In the area next to the train and near the Bosphorus, there are many nice recommended hotels. It's quiet here. Stayed at the Alp House Hotel. Had a very nice room, paid 57 Euros nightly, including breakfast.
After getting my bearings, I visited the Blue Mosque late in the afternoon. It is more impressive on the outside than within, but it still is definitely worth a visit. Crowds weren't bad. I personally preferred the architecture and frescoes inside of the Suleiman and Rustem Pasha Mosques rather than the Blue Mosque.
That night, I saw a Whirlıng Dervısh Ceremony at the cultural center (near the Sirkeci tram sop, two metro stops away). You can also see one at the cultural center in the Beyoglu neighborhood, across the Galata Bridge.
Am not sure what to make of it. This is a religious ceremony, defınıtely ınterestıng and something I've never seen before. It is related to the Sufı branch of the Islamıc relıgıon and tryıng to be one wıth Allah and free of vıces. It has been around sınce the 13th century. If you can see this in an appropriate setting, I think it's worth your time.
Sept. 20 - Today I spent four hours at the Topkapi Palace. Amazıng. Thıs ıs where the sultans lıved and governed until Ataturk got rıd of ıt all and created the modern Turkısh Republic. Sıgnage was good, and an audioguıde was helpful. The place was a zoo. It made Ephesus look deserted. The more I see tour groups, the less I lıke them.
Unless you want to be rushed through the place on an assembly line, I suggest get there before it opens (9:00 AM), and spend as much time as you feel like spending there. The place really ısn't dıffıcult to navigate wıth the sıgnage and the basic map that comes wıth your entry tıcket.
Thıs afternoon, I vısıted a place called Eyup, where a famous follower of Mohammad the Prophet ıs burıed. You must take the bus, as the Halic ferry isn't running right now. It's a nıce place to walk around, and there are very few non-locals. If you need an Engiısh speaker here, you wıll have a problem. I have been lookıng at menus and pointıng at things ın terms of eatıng.
Non-Muslims can vısıt Mosques ın Turkey wıthout a problem, though you cannot enter during prayers. Anyhow, I vısıted the famous mosque here, and not fıve mınutes later, the call to prayer was heard. I thought ıt best to just be there and be quiet, while the people came to pray. Men on ground floor, women on second floor. The guy who was supposed to maintain the spirit of things and I looked at one another and exchanged smiles. Thıs ıs probably the only Muslim country ın the world where this could have happened.
At tımes I get frustrated, as outsıde of tourıst areas, sometimes my Turkısh ıs not understood (they could be speakıng a dıalect dıfferent from what my phrasebook uses, and \ or more likely, I am not pronouncing things properly.
Please learn some Turkish. Don't expect to be able to go anywhere and that people will understand your native tongue. Most people seem to be happy to help, but if they can't understand you, there's just so much they can do.
After the Mosque visit, I went to the Pierre Lotte cafe on top of a hill for a great view of the City.
To be continued
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Hi, hope this reaches someone that can help...I might be going to live near Batman (Siirt) in South-East Turkey and wonder if anyone can help with giving me some insight on what the place is like, what amenities there are, what the food diet is likely to be and how easy it is to get around other parts of Turkey and what else there is to do?Any information much appreciated.
Thanks,
Richard
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Elcontador writes "Thıs ıs where the sultans lıved and governed until Ataturk got rıd of ıt all and created the modern Turkısh Republic."You have written a most excellent review of your time spent in Istanbul and for your time and effort we all thank you. This Hobbit would like to clarify the above statement if I may without engendering rancor.
Many of the Palaces of the Ottoman Empire are overlooked for many reasons. Many of us on Thorntree do not seem to recommend them for whatever reason. The three palaces below in addition to Topkapı are well worth a visit.
Topkapı Palace was the home of the Ottoman Sultans and seat of government from 1459 until 1856 when a series of palaces were built by successive Sultans. Their spending quite literally broke the Ottoman bank and accelerated the slide toward the demise of the Empire and the birth of the Republic.
Dolmabahçe Palace was built between 1843 until 1856. Wikipedia tells us that because "...Topkapı was lacking in up-to-date luxury and style, Abdülmecid decided to build the Dolmabahçe Palace near the site of the former Beşiktaş Palace on the Bosporus, which was demolished. The site of Dolmabahçe was originally a bay on the Bosporus which was reclaimed gradually during the 18th century to become an imperial garden, much appreciated by the Ottoman sultans; it is from this garden that the name Dolmabahçe (Filled-in Garden) comes from the Turkish dolma meaning "filled" and bahçe meaning 'garden.'"
This palace then went on to contribute to the history of the founding years of the new Republic: "Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first President of the Republic of Turkey, used the palace as a presidential residence during the summers and enacted some of his most important works here. Atatürk spent the last days of his medical treatment in this palace, where he died on November 10, 1938."
Çırağan Palace was built between 1863 through 1876. It suffered a great fire, was later rebuilt, and is now called the Çırağan Palace Kempinski Hotel . "The Sultan’s Suite, billed at US$15,332 per night, is listed at number 14 on World's 15 most expensive hotel suites complied by CNN Go in 2012." For those of you without a limitation of budget, you might tell the rest of us what it is like to stay in such a "palace."
Yıldız Palace was built in 1880 when "Sultan Abdülhamid II left Dolmabahçe because he feared a seaside attack on the palace...When he moved there, the palace became the fourth seat of Ottoman government."
Because of this ostentatious display of Palace building and the Tanzimat reforms , the Ottoman Empire went bankrupt in 1875. The Empire could not pay the interest on its debts to European finance institutions which lead to European financial control in 1881.
The last Ottoman Sultan Mehmet VI or Mehmet Vahdettin lived in fear of his life in this palace. "The Turkish Grand National Assembly abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, and Mehmed was expelled from Constantinople, aboard the British warship Malaya on 17 November. He went into exile in Malta..."
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Istanbul - Sept 21 - 25 - ContinuedSept 21 - I managed to find the Bilitex office in Beyoglu so I could buy a ticket to attend the Galatsaray Football Match on Sunday. It was dıffıcult fındıng the offıce where the tıckets were sold, but after askıng a lot of people and beıng patıent, ıt was done.
I took the tram to Taksım Square (as busy as Tımes Square, but not as ınterestıng) and walked down the bıg pedestrıan street, Iskatil Caddesi ınto the Beyoğlu Dıstrıct. It was recommended to do this, and you see Istanbul cıtızens going about their business. It's a totally dıfferent vibe than where I am stayıng ın the Grıngo part of town, and if you are visiting Istanbul for the first time, I think doing this is very worthwhile.
Crowded, many lıttle shops, interspersed wıth the occasional San Francısco like cable car. I wanted to buy some oranges, and the guy insisted gıvıng them to me wıth a smile. I then walked across the Galata Brıdge, had some dinner and took the tram to the hotel.
Earlıer today, I vısıted the Hagıa Sofia and the Cısterns. The former has many interestıng mosaic tıle designs, especially on the ceiling, and was a zoo. Again, don't bother with a tour group. Read LP and some other literature about the place, and between that and the signage, spend as much time as you like.
The cisterns are where the old water system was and ıt was an interestıng vısıt. There are fish ın the water of varıous sızes, and they seem to congregate where the people are, even though I dıdn't see anyone feedıng them.
I went next to the archeological museum, which was much more than I bargained for. Far more exhibits than I antıcıpated and the signage was good. I spent the better part of half of the day there and am museumed out, ıf you get the drift. Stayıng ındoors for most of the day made sense, as ıt rained until the early afternoon.
I continue to frustrate carpet salesmen who approach me in Gringoland by responding to them in Portuguese, and feel good about doing so. By my next visit, I am sure some of them will be Portuguese speakers. These people are as annoying as they are smart. My favorite one today, after a brief exchange, said, 'I think you speak Englısh,' to which I responded, ın Portuguese "I speak a lıttle bit of Turkish." He went away to bother an English speakıng tour group.
September 22 - I vısıted the fısh market ın Karakoy (just across the Galata bridge, on your left if coming from the European side). You can buy a live fish if you like.
I then visited the spıce market on the other sıde of the Galata Brıdge. It's a crowded indoor mall sort of place with many stalls. You see brightly colored spices and desserts, and this can be a good place for photographs as well as souvenirs for people that would write you out of their wills if you don't bring them something. If you wish to buy coffee, there's a popular place where locals line up to buy coffee in various sized packages nearby.
Then dıd the two hour Bosphorous boat trıp (ınterestıng and wıth cooler weather, pleasant as well). It costs all of 10 Turkish Lira, and between the brochure you get when buying the ticket an the LP Guide, you have enough info to figure out what you are seeing.
After that, I stumbled onto the Rustem Pasha Mosque, whıch ıs a smallısh gem by the great archıtect, Sınan. It's hard to find, so you either have to ask a number of people for directions, or stumble onto it like I did.
Durıng the course of the day, I bought all gıfts for everyone but me.
September 23 - Wanted to see the Grand Bazaar today, but I dıscovered that ıt ıs closed on Sunday, which beıng ın a Muslim country, I fınd to be very strange. So I decided to put my day to good use and walk over to Enımönü and take a Halıç ferry on a Golden Horn trıp. Istanbul ısn't as hectic on Sundays. The walk was nıce. Turns out one of the bridges on the route ıs beıng repaired, so no Halıç ferries are running now. Plan B was to vısıt the Suleiman Mosque, also a work by the great Sınan. Thıs was worthwhile, and ıf you are out this way, you should check ıt out. The frescoes and tıle work are ımpressıve, and I preferred it to the Blue Mosque, because the former is not as massive and over the top as the latter.
After that, I ate at a local place, as prıces soar for everything when you approach Grıngoland.
That night, the Galatsaray match was uneventful, as they won 3-0 against a second-rate team. Galatsary created one goal, and the other two resulted from the other team's mistakes in not clearing the ball from their defensive zone properly.
The stadium is new and beautiful, and accessible by public transport. At the stadium itself (which was 90% plus full), the enthusiasm of the fans was really what the game is all about. If you're not going to leave the game immediately, wait for a half hour, and you'll find a tram car that will take you non-stop to Taksim square, and from there, you can go wherever you wish.
Going to and from the game, you saw many people wearing various Galatsary jerseys, scarves, singing team songs, and it's the sort of vibe that any fútbol fanático would love and feel at home being in the middle of it all. Do go to a game in Istanbul if you love the world's favorite sport like I do.
Miscellaneous Observatıons -
1) Public restrooms have a 50 cent (U.S.) entry fee and are reasonably clean.
2) If you want to be cheap and not pay anything to relıeve yourself, try and wait until you arrıve at a Mosque. Usıng the facilities ıs free there.
3) If I come back, I wıll know more Turkısh beforehand. I know enough to get by (usually), and the locals are kınd.
September 24 - Was very underwhelmed by the Grand Bazaar. An American couple I met earlier in my trip accurately described it as a Turkish version of an indoor shopping mall. I think the only reason to go is to get an interesting photo or two of selected shops. You can do better than this place if you actually wanted to buy something.
After that, the guy who sold me my wife's scarf (she doesn't like to travel, so I did this trip solo) was kind enough to take me to a place where I could buy a Fennerbache jersey, my gift to myself this trip. For some reason, I did not see many shops selling Turkish fútbol jerseys in Istanbul. This shop only sold Fennerbache paraphernalia. It's in the Sirkeci area, but you need to either know your way around or ask where it is.
That evening, I ate at a restaurant in the Sultanamhet area which had the remains of a Byzantine palace in its basement. I overpaid for the food for the privilege of seeing the palace, which was more than worth it. I think it's called Kathisma something. Just as someone here was kind enough to inform me of the place, I'm sure if you are interested, if you ask about specifics, someone here will help you as well.
September 25 - Paid 5 Euro to take a shuttle from the Hotel to the airport, as I had 4 kilo more of stuff than when I arrived. The shuttle arrived promptly at 10:05 AM, took me to the airport, where I had a fortunately, long but uneventful flight home.
My thoughts about Istanbul is that for me, four, rather than five full days here would have been enough. I forgot what I wrote earlier in this lengthy travelogue, but if you're a first time visitor to Istanbul, I'd recommend at least three full days. You can easily spend a week here if you want to visit places which take a bit more time to get to, or don't wish to be on your feet all day long, like I do.
Epilogue: I would like to sincerely thank the people on this forum whom have enabled me to make this trip as enjoyable as it was. I am sure they will do the same for any reader of this travelogue who wishes to travel to Turkey. I hope what I have written is helpful in this regard.
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Elcontodor, again, many, many thanks for your detailed and most excellent "stroll" through Istanbul. I lived there for many years and could almost hear the horns honking through your words. Good stuff...You wrote: "Wanted to see the Grand Bazaar today, but I dıscovered that ıt ıs closed on Sunday, which beıng ın a Muslim country, I fınd to be very strange."
After the founding of the Republic, Friday, the normal "day of rest" for Islam, was changed to Sunday. Mustafa Kemal Atatürk attempted to get his countrymen to look west and not east for their inspiration.
The Hobbit believes that Turkey should not be properly called a "Muslim country." Methinks it is a country with a majority of people whose national ID card says they are Muslim and has many persons who practice the religion of Islam. Turkey is unique in that respect especially when you consider the Islamic Republic of Iran or the Wahabi sect that rules the country of Saudi Arabia where they have "mosque police" or most any other country with a majority of Muslim persons.
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Jeff thank you for taking the time to post up each of the segments of your trip review.They are all full of excellent details and info which I'm sure will be useful to many future visitors.FYI,genuine Fenerbahce products can only be purchased from Fenerium shops(like the one you went to in Sirkeci near the main post office).These are authorised licenced franchises,all others are fakes.Wear your FB shirt with pride! ...and come back again one day.
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ŞANLİURFA - MARDİN - GAZİANTEPThese ladies are friends of the Hobbit. We invited them to join the forum but they decided they would rather ask the Hobbit to post their trip report.
Şanliurfa - Mardin - Gaziantep Report:
My friend, and I, two women, live in Kaş and we had been talking off and on for some time about going East, and so the idea wasn't new, just the timing. We decided on a Friday and the following Monday, Oct 1st, 2012, we flew to Gaziantep for two days, took the bus to Şanliurfa for two days, and then by bus to Mardin for two and half days, flying back the following Monday.
We visited the mosaic museum in Gaziantep (now the largest in the world), which opened Sept 2011 with mosaics from Zeugma, a Roman city on the Euphrates. Museum and mosaics were wonderful, but the rest of Gaziantep, other than the covered bazaar, was less impressive, though the obligatory baklava every evening was delicious. Gaziantep is the pistachio capital of Turkey, which in turn surpassed the United States in production recently. The baklava made with pistachios was very tasty indeed, not too sweet, just right.
Şanliurfa was very interesting from its historic antecedents, among them being the home of Abraham and the Crusader principality of Edessa. We did two side trips from there. One was south to Harran (which was only a few miles from Akçakale, which had been hit by Syrian mortars the day before), where Abraham married Sarah, where the Romans, led by Crassus, suffered a major defeat by the Parthians, and where the Emperor Caracalla was assassinated. Then we went north to Gobekli Tepe, a standing stone temple site 12,000 years old, which means it predates Stonehenge by quite a bit. It has changed the whole view of just how sophisticated those early hunter-gatherers really were.
We did some shopping in Şanliurfa's covered bazaar, part of which was built by Suleiman the Magnificent. I heard the night before that Aleppo's medieval souk had been burned to the ground, so I felt duty bound to buy some textiles imported from Aleppo. Fabulous fabrics.
Mardin was the furthest East and has wonderful architecture, which they are doing a fair job of restoring. Between Şanliurfa and Mardin is a flat plain with nothing but alternating corn and cotton fields. We could have been in Kansas! Then some foothills rise out of the plain, on which Mardin perches. Thus it has incredible views across the whole Mesopotamian plain. On a clear day you can see Syria, but since it is hazy most days you have to wait until night time when you can see some lights that are Syrian towns. It is quite a melting pot and people are often tri-lingual in Turkish, Arabic, and Kurdish. Lots of churches, too. We were going to go out to the Syriac monastery, but my friend was laid low by a stomach bug, and I was rather borderline myself.
I had my first experience in a State hospital as an observer, for I felt my friend needed to go. It had a been a race to the bathroom all night, though she was much sicker than I. The doctor kept talking to me, though I wasn't the one speaking Turkish! They were very efficient and had her on a drip in no time, which calmed her stomach and so she felt instantly better.
We kept blaming the kebabs we had for lunch in Şanliurfa the day before, especially when a young man, a Kurdish artist, came in and shared the emergency room with my friend, also on a drip and he had eaten in Urfa that day before, too. But food poisoning would have hit much sooner than it did, so next we blamed it on the menemen (scrambled eggs) we had the night before in the hotel. Or perhaps it was my friend's visit to the pigeons...
After our menemen, she went out for a chocolate bar, but was fascinated on the way back to the hotel by a pigeon coop, where several men were visiting with their pigeons that had come home to roost. Being a animal lover, she handled several, then the chocolate bars, which we ate, perhaps the wrappers were contaminated by the pigeons?
Who knows, but from now on I will judge hotels by the criteria of my willingness to be sick in it. Even with the interesting ending, it was a great trip. my friend is a great travel companion and of course it helps greatly the she speaks Turkish. I could understand the jist of some of the conversations, but not all and I could never have initiated any. We felt perfectly safe the whole time as two women traveling in an unstructured manner.
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Excellent photography and a very professional trip report JR - puts my 2010 trip report to shame.Is the Sebnem Hotel in the same part of Sultanahmet as the Apricot Hotel ? Those opening street scenes looked very familiar.
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http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2263668Two weeks driving tour of north west Turkey by forum member Swampeastmike during October 2012.
Takes in Izmir,Afyon,Kutahya,Izmit,Çanakkale,Bursa,Amasra,Safranbolu plus others.
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http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=22636043 weeks tour in September 2012 by forum member Morganm99.
Takes in Istanbul,Ephesus,Fethiye and the central Med.coast and Cappadocia.
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My Turkey trip review Part-1I have just returned from a ten day tour of Turkey. First of all I must express my sincere thanks & gratitude to Sarikanarya for all the help provided and also for answering all my queries that I had sent via messages during my visit. My thanks also go to other posters who had replied to my threads during my planning days.
I started my trip on 12th. October and flew out of Delhi by Turkish airlines flight. I had booked my ticket a month and half in advance and had paid about Euro 580 for my ticket. The plane took off at 7 am Indian time and landed in Istanbul at 10:25 am Turkish time. The flight was for six and half hours. Clearance to fly at 39500 feet and a favourable tail wind made the flight 15 minutes shorter than the scheduled time. I had been a bit anxious as I had a domestic flight at 1 pm to take. So, I was happy when the captain announced that we will reach Istanbul 15 minutes early.
Although I had read about long queues and delays at the passport control/immigration counters at IST but it was very smooth for me. I finished the formalities in 15 minutes flat and started towards domestic departure. It is quite a bit of walking but travelators were there and in spite of my not too good leg I reached Pegasus counter very much well in time. The flight took off in time and reached Izmir at 2 pm.
I had booked a room at Nilya hotel and had asked for pick-up from airport. The driver was waiting for me holding a board bearing my name though wrongly spelt! The drive to hotel in Selcuk took about 45 minutes on toll roads. There was hardly any traffic on the road and the road quality was very good.
This hotel Nilya is owned by the same family that owns the popular hotel Bela. I suggest booking hotel Nilya instead of Bela. The rooms here face a beautiful garden, the surroundings are quieter. After I had checked in and put my luggage in my room I came out to sit in the garden. I was offered a cup of tea and the owner joined me. We had a very nice chat and I was informed that tea and coffee are complimentary and that he would drive the guests to Ephesus at 9 am tomorrow.
I was quite tired after my long journey and decided to take a nap. After the nap I showered and went to the rooftop restaurant of hotel Bela. The view from the rooftop is great. There is a stork’s nest next to it on a pole and the illuminated St. John’s church looks beautiful at night. I ordered a glass of Raki and enjoyed gazing out. When my glass was empty the waiter filled it again. Now let me mention one word about Raki. Do keep in mind that this drink is quite potent and packs the kick of a mule.
For dinner I ordered a plate of salad and lamb chops. All the materials are displayed and the lamb chops looked good. They arrived perfectly grilled. I was quite hungry and finished the large helpings. Toward the end of my dinner I felt the Raki working full time in me and made my way to my room at hotel Nilya carefully. I fell asleep in no time.
After a very refreshing sleep I woke up in the morning and headed for the breakfast. The apples, the plums and the apricots were so wonderfully tasty. After a very hearty breakfast I showered and walked to hotel Bela. There along with other guests I was driven to Ephesus by the owner. I suggest that one should carry drinking water, a cap and apply sunscreen cream on exposed surface. One should start one’s tour from the gate on the upper side and walk down slope. A comfortable pair of shoes is a must. The place is full of gravels and uneven steps. So, be careful while walking. One must not combine walking and looking. I will not get in to describing the sights as enough material is available. It is not necessary to have a guide as information boards are there everywhere. We were to be picked up again at 12. I finished my tour and came out of the gate at about 11:30. We were told to wait near the post office.
This was the day of the Saturday market in Selcuk. I rested for a while and headed down town for lunch. I searched out Ejder Restaurant and ordered grilled sea bass. While the fish was being grilled I sipped a glass of chilled beer and watched the life around me. I looked at the menu and found that food at hotel Bela is cheaper than this place. The fish turned out to be very fresh and was accompanied by salad & chips. After my lunch I lingered on for some more time chatting with the owner of this restaurant and there after I headed towards the Saturday market.
I saw farmers selling their produce at this market and what really freaked me out were the enormous sizes of the cauliflowers and cabbages. I was informed by one of the sellers that these were organic but going by their sizes I really doubted his claim. I saw strings of dried slices of aubergines and ginger being sold. There were heaps of nuts and olives. I bought hazel nuts and some nuts covered with sugar. I spent almost two hours strolling through the market and then returned to my hotel room to relax.
Next day I took a minibus and went over to a beautiful village called Sirince situated on top of a hill. There are many small hotels in this scenic village. If I had known about this place I surely would have stayed here instead of Selcuk. The residents of this village are all farmers. They grow fruits, nuts & olives. I bought a bottle of freshly pressed virgin olive oil for 3 Liras. Fruit wines are abundant here and sold at many places. I had a very good lunch in a small restaurant overlooking the valley. I had peppers stuffed with cheese in tomato based gravy and a plate of mixed grill. All these were washed down with a glass of very good locally produced white wine.
I left Sirince at mid afternoon and visited the museum in Selcuk. The museum is small but has some very good exhibits and I recommend visiting it. After visiting the museum I went to St. John’s church. I must say that the entry fee to this is simply a waste of money.
Since I was to leave Selcuk next day for Kayseri I had an early dinner and retired for the day.
I had the option of taking the train or taking a minibus to Izmir airport. I had some where heard that the train may get very crowded during peak hour. So, I chose to travel by the minibus. There are quite frequent minibus service connecting Selcuk with Izmir but not all buses go to airport. The time table and destinations are displayed at the bus stand. After breakfast I leisurely walked to the bus stand and took a window side seat on the bus which would depart at 10:40 leaving me ample time for my flight to Kayseri. The minibus doesn’t go in to the airport but drops you very close to the airport. Yellow taxis wait at this point and charge about 10 Lira to take you to the airport. My Sunexpress flight to Kayseri was on time and thus ended my first part of this Turkey visit.
