From D.H., New York
“Turkey was as magical as I had hoped, which you know is not easy given our “spoiled state” in NYC! Hearing the muezzin the first time made my neck tingle. Without fail, we were welcome everywhere we travelled and as tourists were treated more than politely. While I had expected no problems along the coast and in Istanbul I was slightly concerned about Cappadocia, only because it is the seat of political support for the current conservative government which was trying out its new power with the controversial decision to allow women to wear headscarves at university. My concern was unfounded: everyone was warm and cosmopolitan there as well.
In Istanbul we stayed at the Four Seasons near the Hagia Sofia. This particular hotel is built into an Ottoman prison. It is lovely and has the feel of a boutique hotel. They are expanding it with a new wing and I believe a pool. During construction they unearthed a palace and so there will be some interesting feature as a result. Although they were working on the construction it was not disruptive to us. Al managed to get us upgraded to one of the Presidential Suites, which are the only rooms with views. Ours were spectacular, of the Hagia Sofia and the Blue Mosque. I liked the hotel very much, especially its location in the middle of the historic disctrict: we did not need a car to see any of the big sights except the Spice Market and the Grand Bazaar. But even those one could have walked to pretty easily.
On our way back to Istanbul I stayed at the Ritz with the kids. It was across the golden horn from the historic old city. It was pretty charmless but had a spectacular view of the old city and the golden horn, was well-situated for more modern shopping, and had a good spa. There is a new Four Seasons being built around an ottoman palace right on the Bosphorus a couple of blocks away from the Ritz. It looks like it will be quite lovely when completed and a little more intimate than the Ciragan Palace Kempinski (full of loud rich Russians.) These would be a better choice for folks in the summer.
In Cappadocia we stayed at the Museum Hotel. It was a nice cave hotel. The rooms were large and interesting. The restaurant was bad: the only bad food we had the whole time! Supposedly there is a new hotel in the same little town that is being built that might be a good choice as well. We were there for only one night so it was fine.
In Kusadasi we stayed at the Kismet Hotel. It had a spectacular setting on a little penninsula that jutted out into the harbor and was quaint. As the area is a popular summer destination, the hotel had that funny, old-fashioned seasonal beach hotel feeling. Given our itinerary, it was the best hotel in the area and was fine.
As for food, it is quite wonderful everywhere and I think most folks would be happy eating where the locals do. The whole country was spotlessly clean and I never worried about the food, although we did drink bottled water. Among the best restaurants were: Hamdi near the Spice Market; Boukoleon, a fabulous new seafood restaurant in the old city near Hagia Sofia, the little bean restaurants in the biggest mosque complex in Istanbul. The restaurant in the Four Seasons was quite good as well. Didn’t like the one at the Ritz though.
We liked the itinerary [your specialist] put together for us and it was all done flawlessly. There were many wonderful touches, starting with a VIP service greeting us at the airport so we did not have to stand in an endless immigration line and included being whisked along the corridors in a golf cart (Alfred looooved that!) We had two guides: one for Istanbul and Cappadocia and Yasar took us arond in Kusadasi. All of Yasar’s guides are extremely well-educated and trained. They were willing to make reservations, have cars pick us up, run interference when there was a problem (happened at the Ritz, which was in a kerfuffle because of Cheney’s stay there.)
The only weird experience was our balloon ride in Cappadocia. Having never been on one, we were shocked to find 20! other folks along for the ride, packed llike sardines into a huge basket. We were so tight that we could not turn around without our hips grinding into our neighbors. Our pilot whisked us over the hills, where we waited for 45 mins above dry farm fields for the trucks to find us. Meanwhile, we all looked longingly at the the 10 other balloons gracefully dipping in and out rock formations. Next time, we’ll know to ask for a private balloon and be very specific about what we want: our experience was obviously not due to weather issues! I guess that Yasar had never been asked for a private balloon before and no one had complained about the human egg-crate.
These last comments are tiny compared to how wonderful we thought the trip was. Yasar is a gifted guide and folks should ask for him when they go to Pergamum and Ephesus. But he is the boss and his time might be limited. But if a person is interested in history, he did bring it to life and made it wonderful for all of us.”
