It is my last day here (Im coming back for a short stopover on the way home) so I thought I would finish with my impressions of the place.
It has been a great holiday so far, they all are in their own way.
Transport in Turkey is good. I have had no trouble getting where I wanted to go. Most cases I booked the bus the day before I wanted to travel. Some days I booked and got straight on. You have to remember I am before the high season, in about a month that might not be the case. All the busses were first class. They offer drinks every few hours and stop regularly. The train from Ankara to Istanbul was new so good seats and fast. The local transport in Istanbul was easy to follow and very efficient, although I walked most of the time.
Accomodation was fairly good, and easy to find. All places offer breakfast included and that was not to my taste (tomato, cucumber, olives and goats cheese) so when ever I got the chance I booked without breakfast and got my own for much less than the 10lira they were adding on. most places were in the $20-$30 range so reasonably priced. Pamukkale was the most expensive place I stayed. The food and drinks, all over town, were up to 3 times the price I paid in Istanbul.
The people are really friendly. A couple of times I found myself hopelessly lost and asked around and people everywhere were helpful. At one point I had about 15 people trying to help me after a woman had given me the wrong info. Twice someone walked me all the way to the right train just to make sure I made it.
The food? Whats not to like?? Kebap, locum, simit, baklava and the bread. OMG I love it all and I really think I have put on weight here.
The sights. There are way more ruins here than I ever knew. I came for Anzac day and I should have done a battlefields tour the next day cos I didn't get to see much on the day. the ruins along the coast are impressive but I think they should do a little more restoration to justify the high admission price. I understand the Ottoman sold a lot when they were broke so the stuff is scattered in museums all around the world but I am sure they could do a little more. Having said that they are getting away with it by the look of the crowds everywhere, again considering I am before high season. Entry was $10-$15 at most places and that adds up after a while. I must have spent a couple of hundred dollars on entry fees. Istanbul is amazing and well worth a week to explore all it has to see.
I wanted to keep travelling south eventually to Israel but I cant get through Syria. I tried to go by ferry from Turkey and could have gone to Cyprus, Rhodes or Greece but then I couldn't get a boat to Israel. So I have come back to Istanbul and I am going to fly to Israel then back here and home.