2025 - Roundtrip, Turkey.

This trip, in May 2025, started with a flight from Schiphol airport, near Amsterdam, to Istanbul Airport, Sabiha Gökçen Uluslararası Havalimanı.
The airport was in the Asian part of Istanbul, and our hotel was in the European part of Istanbul. So, it took a while before we got to the hotel.
The next morning in Istanbul we visited the Hagia Sophia Mosque (537), a former Christian, Orthodox cathedral. And the TopKapi Palace, built in 1459, and now a museum. The Hippodrome (330, a street/square where there used to be a horse racing track and now only the columns and a few monuments in the middle remain. Finally, we visited the Blue Mosque (1616), a mosque with 6 minarets, so called because of the many blue tiles. The next day we visited the Suleymaniye Mosque, and in the afternoon, we had a boat trip on the Bosphorus.

On day 3 we visited Troy. Via a route along the longest suspension bridge (2023 meters) in the world and an area where there was heavy fighting in World War 1. Crossed to Troy by ferry. In the town of Canakkale is the horse from the film Troy (2014) with Brat Pitt. In Canakkale there was a party going on with cyclists and motorcycles and lots of music.

On day 4 we visited Bursa, where we visited the Green Mosque (1412). We also visited the Ula Cami or Great Mosque. We also visited Eskisehir, with colourful and wooden houses in the Odunpazari Evleri district.

The next morning, we went to a museum where the first Turkish car was located, the Devrim. It was built in 1960 to allow President Gürsel to drive it in Ankara. The car was barely ready in time and was even painted black on the train to Ankara. Once there, the president got in and drove away. After 100 meters the car stopped, because there was no gasoline in it. For safety reasons, they had not put a petrol in the tank during the train ride, and they had also forgotten to fill the tank with petrol after the car had been removed from the train. Here we drove via Kordia (from the Kordian knot) to Ankara. In Kordia, the Greeks were stopped by Ataturk in World War 1.

In Ankara we visited the Mausoleum of Ataturk, and also witnessed the changing of the guard. Also, in Ankara we visited the Anatolian Civilization Museum. Then a long bus journey to our next destination (Cappadocia).

Today we visited rock churches with frescoes. Visited the Chamelem valley, so named after the shape of the rock formation. We also walked through a Museum Valei and also visited a pottery shop. Lunch was in a cave restaurant where we got a dust pot.

Today we visited another pottery that works with Terracotta clay. We also visited an underground city, up to level -4. Our lunch was on the way in buffet form. We then took a short walk through the Love Valley, and visited a gemstone workshop.

Very early, 05:00 am, we went to watch the hot air balloons take off above the Love Valley. We also visited a camel stable where traders used to sleep and trade. In this stable there was also an exhibition of tapestries. We visited a Wooden Mosque and then drove on to our overnight hotel on a lake in Beyşehir. We have the Mevlana museum in Konya and the Eşrefoğlu Mosque in Beyşehir.

The next day we left for Burdur, and on the way we drank tea at Lake Burdur. We visited the city of Isparta, also known as Rose City. We drove through the Taurus Mountains to Fethiye.

The next day we visited an abandoned Greek city. After this visit, we had free time to explore the city of Fethiye. We went to the market of Fethiye where clothing for tourists was offered for sale with the promotional text: "Original Fake" or "Original Copy". We also drank a beer on the terrace of the Bus Stop café. Very nice and friendly Turkish owner spoken.

Today we took the bus to Dalyan and from there we took a boat through the Turkish Biesbosch, to a beach on the Aegean Sea. It was right across from Rhodes. We also saw nests of sea turtles that were marked with brackets. For lunch we had eaten trout. We drove on to Pumakkale where we spent the night. Later in the evening we could watch a belly dancer from our balcony.

Early in the morning (05:00) we went by bus to the place where hundreds of hot air balloons were released. It was a spectacular sight. They flew over and between the rock formations of the so-called Valley of Love. After this we drove on to the Greek temple complex of Aphrodisias in Geyre. Very impressive with a Greek stadium. To avoid the crowds in Ephesus, we visited Ephesus today instead of tomorrow. Ephesus is also very impressive. With a very nice story and a very large Theater (which has just been restored). Also, a nice wide street with the impressive library façade at the end. The Temple of Artemis stood around 550 BC. on the Turkish West Coast in the city of Ephesus. Because of its grandeur, this temple has earned a place among the 7 classical wonders of the world. From here it was a short bus ride to our hotel in Kuşadası on the Aegean Sea.

The next day was our last day of our holiday. We explored Kuşadasi and visited the bazaar and the harbour. Last shopping done. In the evening, we enjoyed our last meal for the time being. The next morning, we left Izmir airport back home.

See also the photos below.

Pictures of our holiday in Turkey

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