Turkey

April 2019 – 7 nights with the family and friends

A big part of choosing to live in Italy was to be able to easily travel to other parts of Western Europe, but we quickly came to appreciate that many other parts of the world became extremely accessible for exploring. During our first 6 months living in Italy, we visited Morocco and Oman and decided that we had not yet had our fix of that area of the world. Turkey proved to be a tremendous crossroads of cultures, literally sitting where East meets West. We spent the first part in crowded Istanbul, visiting too many mosques to count and eating some of the most delicious and inexpensive food. In the last part of the vacation, we explored the fairy chimney rock structures of Cappadocia and were mesmerized by a once-in-a-lifetime hot air balloon experience. And as usual, the best part of many of these vacations for us is sharing these experiences with amazing friends.

Like the rest of our travel guides, this is not an all-encompassing account of everything we did. We do not want to make a list of ‘Best’ or ‘Must-do’ experiences since we know it depends on your personal preferences. These are only our personal favorites and they are divided into two groups: “Avventura Favves” and “Other Things We Liked”.

The Avventura’s Turkey Map

Overview

The geographical location of Istanbul is extraordinary, straddling the continents of Europe and Asia. It is a huge city with more than 15 million people, and although it is definitely chaotic, it was still easy to manage and get around. A lot of it is green and hilly, which reminded us of other European cities like Genoa. However, those hills are punctuated with the rounded domes and minarets from the mosques which reminded us of another world completely, like being in a Star Wars movie on the planet of Naboo. The culture was fascinating to us after being in the more traditional Muslim cultures of Morocco and Oman. The Muslim population in Turkey follows a wider variety of adherence to traditional practices. In some neighborhoods, you felt as if everybody was wearing traditional clothing and hijabs, while in other parts, the street dress was almost 100% Western.

There is so much to do and see in Istanbul that it was challenging to fit it all into 4 days. We dragged the kids on more full-day tours in a row than we generally like to do, but we just felt there were too many things that could not be missed. Although don’t feel too sorry for these poor kids since one day was a jam-packed food tour.

From Istanbul, we flew to Cappadocia in Central Turkey. We were looking for a quiet, more relaxing vibe after the hustle and bustle of the city. This beautiful region has unique natural rock formations and cave homes that are reminiscent of the national parks Bryce Canyon and Mesa Verde in the US. We stayed in a very cool cave hotel built into the rocks and toured the region exploring the formations and natural beauty. The highlight for us was to view this fascinating landscape from above in a hot air balloon ride at sunrise.

And as we expected (and one of the driving forces for wanting to visit there), the food was incredible. From kebaps to baklava, delicious grilled meats, and unique flavorful stews cooked in clay pots, we did not have a bad meal in Turkey.

Safety was a concern for us when we were planning the trip. Turkey was designated as “orange” by the US State Department because of terrorism threats and a country lead by a President with slightly questionable practices. Once we were there we never felt worried. The only exception was when we were on the food tour and the guide said he wanted to share his thoughts about life with Erdoğan as president, but needed to wait until we were out of a more conservative neighborhood. We also felt that the huge Turkish flags all over the city were an uncomfortable display of the government’s desire to influence.

Avventura Favves – mosques, hot air balloons, food tour, Turkish bath

If you’re short on time in Istanbul focus on visiting Hagia Sophia.

It was originally built as a church by the Byzantine Empire in 537. After the Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman empire in 1453, it was converted to a mosque. It remained that way until 1935 when it was decided to convert it to a museum and it has been one of the most visited tourist attractions in Istanbul since that time. As you can see from the pictures, it is a unique mix of Christianity and Muslim art and architecture that is difficult to find anywhere else. After our visit, in 2020, a controversial reclassification back to a mosque occurred again, with a decree by Turkish president Erdoğan.

Walking tour of Istanbul

We hired a private guide to help us explore the city for two of the days we were there. We believe that finding somebody that likes kids and keeps us entertained works well when we’re somewhere where there is so much to see. The highlight was definitely visiting the numerous and beautiful mosques. We appreciated that in Istanbul, non-Muslim visitors are allowed inside to enjoy the interiors and learn more deeply about their faith. Our favorites from this day were the Suleymaniye Mosque and the Blue Mosque.

Basilica Cistern

This extensive network of underground tunnels forms the largest cistern in Istanbul and was really cool to see. There are also some interesting bases of columns carved with the head of Medusa that the kids really liked.

Istanbul Food Tour – We started this tour at 9 am and didn’t stop until after dinner time. It was hard to keep track of all the individual places we ate, but it was not difficult to remember all the incredible delicious flavors we experienced in that one day. Some of the highlights:

We visited several typical grocery stores with so many different types of cheese, meats, olives, and sweets.

Baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu – The Greek in Lynn says baklava will never be as good as the type in Greece, but they had so many versions and it was really delicious. For something different, Dave prefers kadayif (also nuts and honey but rolled in shredded wheat instead of pastry dough). If the line for baklava at Karaköy Güllüoğlu is too long there is Köşkeroğlu Karaköy right around the corner, which is also very tasty.

We visited a cafeteria to try a variety of items at Namli

Georgian pizza (the country not the state) – This particular style of pizza with egg, cheese, and dough is similar to the one we tried on a food tour in Jerusalem. It’s a Dave favorite.

Street pretzels (simit) – These are so much better than the salty cardboard you get on the streets in New York, and they were about 20 cents.

Turkish coffee – Like Greek coffee, Turkish coffee is ground very finely and is brewed without a filter, forming a sludge at the bottom. We’re spoiled by espresso in Italy and this was not our favorite, thankfully, they actually drink much more tea which tastes a lot better. The only problem with the excessive tea consumption was that the little ones had to stop every 30 minutes to go to the bathroom (which is not that easy to find in Istanbul!).

Vefa Bozacisi – This is definitely worth a visit to try a unique boza drink, which is a warm dessert drink that has good digestive properties. Who knew a bulgur beverage could taste so good?

Turkish Delight is truly a sweet delight. We sampled quite a few and bought a lot to bring back home.

Halvah – This ground sesame dessert is a “Lynn favorite”. Yum. Similar to the version she/we enjoyed in Israel.

Chicken pudding – This was a breakfast item to make sure you start your day with enough protein. We weren’t really sure about this, and it’s definitely not a flavor of Jell-O we ever had, but it was worth trying.

Spicy beans – near the Suleymaniye Mosque we took a break at Erzincanli Ali Baba to try their famous spicy beans, while the tour guide ate some yogurt to “cool down”. From what, who knows, but probably from having to deal with our children.

Sadly we did not see the actual Salt Bae (only a wax statue outside his steakhouse in the Grand Bazaar), but we did see piles of sheep and goat heads stacked outside of various butchers.

PICTURES?

Kebap (aka kebab) – There are kebap places everywhere in Istanbul and they are so good. One night we ordered to-go from Şehzade Cağ Kebap (also mentioned below).
Even on a food tour (see below) we made time for the medieval Zeyrek Mosque and the beautiful Fatih Mosque. In reality, it’s hard to walk anywhere in Istanbul and not enjoy the site of an impressive mosque.

Shopping at Istanbul Bazaars

Grand Bazaar – unlike in Marrakech this market is covered so you’re not soaked or muddy on a rainy day. We didn’t buy anything there, but it’s huge and worth checking out just to see all the things they have for sale.

Spice Market at Egyptian Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı) – These spice markets are just so beautiful to see. In Italy, they mostly sell the local spices used in their traditional dishes, so this was a great opportunity for us to buy other types of spices to attempt to recreate the flavors of Turkey at home.

Arasta Bazaar was near our hotel and it was our favorite place to shop. It was smaller and less chaotic. They also had more stores with higher quality products. We bought Turkish towels (obvs) and robes, scarves, and slippers.

Istanbul Restaurants

Ortaklar Kebap Lahmacun – At this smaller corner restaurant, they are grilling in the window along the street and the aroma basically pushes you to step inside and try something. They served up a huge variety of classics that were super delicious and shockingly inexpensive. This is probably the best-valued meal we’ve ever had.

Old Ottoman – This incredibly friendly restaurant had a variety of flavorful dishes. I think we tried them all since it was our first night in Turkey. Our kids also got to participate in the breaking open of the clay pot with the testi kebap stew inside (we repeated this experience several times on the trip so that the kids stopped fighting about which one got to do it). The Ottoman decor is a bit exaggerated, but it was a fun way to introduce us all to the food and style of a new culture.

Antakya Restaurant – We found this place on Google maps and based on the reviews, we were excited to try the food. However, when we showed up we found a long picture menu and a host standing on the street trying to convince passersby to sit down. 2 major red flags for a tourist trap. Luckily we didn’t listen to those alarm bells because the food was delicious and the owners are really nice.
Kebabs to go from Şehzade Cağ Kebap (mentioned above) – Basic and delicious kebap in a casual setting. We ordered them to go and ate on the rooftop of our hotel.

Kelebek Special Cave Hotel in Cappadocia

Before this family avventura, we didn’t really know cave hotels were a thing. But between Matera and Cappadocia, we definitely recommend these unique and fun stays. Considering the name of the room we booked is the Fairy Chimney Suite, how could it not be amazing? This is a small, family-run hotel, and the service and breakfast were excellent.

The hotel offered a unique farm breakfast experience which we did one morning. We took a wagon ride to their family farm. It was really great to learn from the family about growing up in that area, including an in-depth explanation of all the pigeon caves we had been seeing. And the breakfast made from the ingredients they grow was awesome.
Turkish baths – We previously experienced a hammam in Morocco, but Turkey seemed like the appropriate place to do this again and it was right there at the hotel. It has the feeling of being a child getting a super relaxing bubble bath, with the added benefit of a great massage. Extra bonus we got to hang out with our friends in the relaxation room with towels that were way too small to cover everything. This was a really fun memory!

Cappadocia Hot Air Balloon Ride with Butterfly Balloons

These experiences are always tricky because they are definitely more touristy than something that we would normally do, and at $200 per person, far more expensive. But in this case, we were right that it is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that should not be missed if at all possible. We woke up at 5 am, watched all the balloons being inflated with fire, and enjoyed the sunrise over the rock formations from high above. Our family still remembers the feeling of this experience and talks about it all the time.

Cappadocia Restaurants

Inci – More clay pots, kebaps, and eating in a cave.
Pumpkin – This trendy restaurant offered up the classics, but with a twist on everything. The set menu offers a chance to try a variety of dishes. The decor was artsy and more modern than eating an ancient cave.

Other Things We Liked

Tour around Cappadocia – We didn’t rent a car in this area, but the hotel found us a driver that was able to take us to the major sites for a day including:

Open-air museum at Goreme NP – This was a bit crowded, but fun to walk around and see how well people adapt and take advantage of their natural resources.

Underground city of Kaymaklı – This expansive network of underground rooms and tunnels goes down almost 300 feet! It was originally built in the 8th century BCE but was expanded on in the 1st century CE and at one time housed 20,000 (very short) people. Don’t go if you’re claustrophobic, because it is crazy tight and crowded in some places, but it was cool to see.

A dry goods store to buy some local dried fruits and nuts.

Ihlara Valley – This was way too crowded to be an avventura favve, but the trails were scenic and we had a unique meal on a floating pier in the water. The food was good, but we had some trouble paying at the end because their credit card reader was not “working”. This is a favorite line of ours in many of the areas in which we travel (i.e. all of southern Italy). Magically the machine started working when we told them we didn’t have enough cash.

Ceramic studio in Avanos – They make a lot of ceramics in this area of Turkey and we visited a large shop for a demonstration and to buy some mementos to bring home.

Whirling Dervish Performance (Hodjapasha Theater) – An hour of men spinning around in circles lulled us all to sleep, but it was highly memorable!

Bosphorus Boat Tour

Viewing the European and Asian sides of Istanbul from the water was definitely an experience worth doing, but we wish that we had booked a tour ahead of time (or had our hotel book something). It was very chaotic trying to find and organize this tour. Part of the issue was something we experienced with other Turks is that during a conversation it’s a challenge to get them to give you a direct response. Asking the captain of the boat for the exact cost and where we would go turned into a 15-minute conversation. We also wanted to bring some beers onboard, but since it’s a Muslim country it took us quite some searching to find a store selling alcohol. In the end, we had a nice private tour, albeit windy and a bit chilly. We went past the Maiden Tower and saw some of the other nice properties along the water.

Topkapı Palace in Istanbul

We visited this palace on the walking tour with our guide. The highlight for us was the beautiful tiles that decorate the small buildings throughout the property.

Hotel Amira in Istanbul

The rooms are a bit small at this boutique hotel, but the location was ideal and they had a beautiful unique interior. Plus a nice breakfast including a woman making traditional Gozleme ‘pancakes’. There was also a rooftop area for a glass of wine after the kids were in bed.

Turkish Ravioli (Cappadocia) – Contrary to what the restaurant’s name would suggest, they serve authentic, traditional Turkish dishes and the view was beautiful.

Logistics and Miscellaneous Notes

Visas are required for American and Canadian tourists. Once you have your travel dates you can do this online. You will be approved right away, well as soon as you pay – https://www.evisa.gov.tr/en/.
Flights – We were “lucky” to be flying from a brand new airport in Istanbul on the very first day that it opened. The airport codes were confusing, as there are several large international airports in Istanbul and we weren’t confident we were in the right place, but in the end, it was fine. We were also skeptical about making our flights with Turkish Airlines, but it was the most cost-effective and convenient and the flights all worked out.
Because we are such a large group, we usually like to rent a car for most of our travels, but we were glad that we didn’t in Turkey. Driving in Istanbul would have been nuts, and we opted to organize transfers everywhere we went to keep things simple-ish.

Next Time We Go

Serciya for lamb brain sandwiches (maybe for Dave only!) in Istanbul. It’s actually a Syrian restaurant originally from Aleppo that we heard about on one of our favorite podcasts, The Sporkful (“it’s not for foodies, it’s for eaters”). Since we won’t be able to go to Syria anytime soon, this might be a more likely place to try one.
Antalya – It wouldn’t be a bad idea to combine Istanbul with some time relaxing seaside in this town, and we’ve heard that there are beautiful beaches in this area. Hmmmm…actually don’t tell the Turks, but maybe instead, we would just go to one of the Greek islands like Samos or Rhodes that are right near the Turkish coast (since we really like Greek Islands).