Cricketfish - Turkey

Turkey has something for everyone � historical sights, adventure sports, shopping and great beaches. The problem is deciding where to go and what to do in the time you have available. So far, we have only made it as far as Istanbul and the North Aegean coast. We would love to go back and explore the rest of Turkey someday.

Istanbul

Visited: June 2007

Istanbul is a city straddling Europe and Asia, with a past linked to the East, looking to Europe for its future.

Arrive

We took a British Airways flight from Heathrow to Istanbul. A couple of other airlines also fly this route and Easyjet flies to Istanbul from Gatwick.

Explore

Blue Mosque - If you are staying in Sultanahmet it will be pretty difficult to miss the Blue Mosque. It is huge and beautifully symmetrical � kind of like a Muslim St Peters. The inside walls are covered with blue patterned tiles, which give the mosque its name.

Aya Sofya - The Aya Sofya is literally across the road from the Blue Mosque. It was originally constructed in the 6th century by Justinian I when Istanbul was still Constantinople and was the

greatest Christian cathedral of the middle ages. After the Ottoman take over in 1543, rather than destroy the Aya Sofya, Mehmet II simply turned it into a mosque. Many of the beautiful Christian mosaics which were covered by the Ottomans have been restored.

Basilica Cistern - The basilica cistern is a huge underground chamber measuring 140 meters by 70 meters which was used as the water supply for the Roman emperors. It lay forgotten for many years until it was rediscovered in the 16th century. It is filled with marble columns and is eerily beautiful. The entrance is in a rather nondescript square brick building across the tram tracks from the Blue Mosque.

Topkapi Palace - We did not go inside Topkapi Palace but walked around the walls and spent time in the gardens. There is a caf� on the western side of the gardens below the palace that provides fantastic views across the water to Asia.

Grand Bazaar - Be warned: the Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. We turned up on a Sunday morning surprised that there didn�t seem to be many people around or shops open only to find out that the bazaar was closed. When we went back the following Saturday we had a great time bargaining for jewellery, clothes and pottery. There are several coffee shops and restaurants on the fringes of the bazaar that offer welcome respite from the haggling.

Rest

We stayed at the Side Hotel in Sultanahmet. It has a great location just down from the Blue Mosque, helpful staff that speak good English, a roof terrace and is very reasonably priced. We recommend it. They also offer airport pickups, which is probably a good idea � we got ripped off.

Gallipoli Peninsular

Visited: June 2007

If you are an Australian or New Zealander you almost can�t go to Turkey without visiting the Gallipoli Peninsular and ANZAC Cove � which is basically a place where loads of Kiwi and Aussie soldiers died in 1915 in World War One.

Arrive

We took a bus from the main bus station in Istanbul. It took about 5 � hours to get to Eceabat. If you want to stay in Canakkale, you simply stay on the bus and cross the Dardanelles in a car ferry.

Explore

Gallipoli Tour - Doing a tour is the easiest and most informative way of exploring the Gallipoli Peninsular.

We went with Anzac Gallipoli Tours who are based in the Eceabat Hotel. Our guide was pretty good but I think that all of the tour companies do pretty much the same circuit and all play the Gallipoli movie starring Mel Gibson the night before. The only annoying thing was that the tours only went in the afternoon so we had to spend the morning mucking around in Eceabat. If we had known this we would have either taken an early morning bus down from Istanbul or staying the night before in Canakkale.

Rest

We stayed at the Eceabat Hotel in Eceabat and the Yellow Rose Pension in Canakkale. The Eceabat Hotel is in a tall building on the main square and is hard to miss. It is run by the same people who run TJ�s Tours. They are be contacted through the same website . Both Eceabat Hotel and the Yellow Rose are cheap and basic. They are OK if you need a bed somewhere but definitely functional rather than luxurious.

Bozcaada Island

Visited: June 2007

Bozcaada is a small (5km by 6km) but beautifully formed island off the north west coast of Turkey. The middle of the island is planted with vineyards and there are golden sand beaches on the south coast. There are a number of small restaurants and cafes with outside tables. It is the perfect place to while away a couple of days. The only warning is that the island's only ATM machine does not accept foreign credit and debit cards.

Arrive

We took a bus from the otogar in Canakkale to Y�kyeri harbour, 5km west of the town of Geyikli. The bus took about an hour. From there, we took a half hour ferry ride across to Bozcaada. There are about 8 ferries a day in the summer. Buses from Canakkale meet the ferry.

Explore

Fortress- There is a Venetian fortress at the entrance to Bozcaada harbour. It costs a couple of euro to get in and is fun to explore, although there is no information in English about its history.

Ayazma- Ayazma is the most popular beach on Bozcaada. It has golden sand, sun-loungers and a couple of small restaurants across the road from the beach. We were there in June and the water was a bit on the cold side but it might be warmer later in the summer. There are buses from Bozcaada Town to Ayazma but I am not sure that there is a formal timetable - they seemed to wait around until there were enough people to fill it up before leaving.

Bike Hire- Bozcaada is relatively flat and bikes are a good way to explore the island. There is a small bike and scooter hire place right down near the harbour.

Rest

We stayed at a fantastic place on Bozcaada called Armagrani. (Unfortunately the website is only in Turkish.) The owner is in the process of converting an old wine cellar into a hotel and he is doing a great job. The design is simple and rustic and there is a peaceful terrace out the back looking over the garden. To gget there, walk up the main street from the ferry for a couple of blocks, past cCaptain Internet Cafe and you should see a signpost pointing down a street to your left.