Glad I found this thread. I've planned a trip to Turkey from Dec 25th to Jan 4th. I know it's not the best time but I can make good use of xmas holidays, so why not. I'll be going with the hotel recommendations in this thread:
Dec 25 to 29: old town double tree
Dec 29 to 31: museum hotel cappadocia
Dec 31 to Jan 3: Ciragan palace
Jan 4th: crowne plaza airport

We arrive Dec 25th 4:30 Pm and depart early morning on Jan 4th. I need some advice as I've got family joining us from Dec 29th to Jan 3rd and they need to cover the major highlights while we 3-4 extra days.

We decided on Turkey after reading about the history, architecture, art, food and music. Shopping and nightlife is not high on our list. We like to focus on stuff that's unique to a particular place, we don't want to go to every park, churh, zoo or art museum at a destination. If a particular attraction is better elsewhere in the world, then we will skip it.

I need to put the attractions and activities on the itinerary so that we cover major Istanbul highlights on Jan 1-3, while we can do the other stuff from Dec 25 to 28.

Dec 25- 28: TBD

Dec 29: depart for Capapdocia, meet family at Kayseri airport, relax in museum hotel and go for nice dinner
Dec 30: hot air balloon ride, Rock Castle, open air museum, Rock churches, fairy chimneys
Dec 31: other capapdocia attractions? depart for Istanbul late afternoon
Dec 31: arrive at ciragan palace and NYE party
Jan 1st: Topkapi palace, Blue moque, Egytian spice market, evening in Bebek area
Jan 2nd: Hagia Sophia, Chora Church and Suleymaniye Mosque, Whirling dervish show?
Jan 3rd: TBD Basilica Cistern, Yildiz palace or Rusem Pasa Mosque, Turkish Hamam and massage?

Trying to figure out if we should head to Izmir straight from airport on 25th and spend next two days in Selcuk or should I spend it in Istanbul as this is our first trip. From my little reserach, it seems there is a lot in Istanbul to see. We have decided to drop Pammukkale as I read on TA that it is not being maintained very well. Plus we have been to yellowstone and Pammukkale is similar. We will be going to Greece/Italy in next few years, so I'm wondering if visiting the ruins at Ephesus is worth the effort.

I have been doing a lot of reading on turkey travel planner but sometimes it confuses me more than it helps.
I know sometimes deleting things from the list is very important. Any other uniquely Turkish activities or sights that are not to be missed?

Sorry, didn't review the whole thread, but thought to share my friend's guide to Istanbul:


Below are some multi-day plans and restaurant ideas I've suggested to other friends visiting Turkey - hopefully it helps you plan your trip. Also reference www.turkeytravelplanner.com if you haven't done that already.


Day 1
* Blue Mosque ('Sultan Ahmet'), Hagia
* Sophia, Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum
* Basilica Underground Cistern.
* Eat Kofta and ‘Sultan Ahmet Koftacisi”

Day 2
* Grand Bazar <<Maybe plan ahead to not spend too much time your first day in Grand Bazar, look around this day and come back to shop maybe on one of your 'off' days>>
* Suleymania Mosque,
* Spice Market,"New Mosque" ('Yeni Cami') which is right next door to Spice Market and i think is the most beautiful mosque in Istanbul, and Roustem Pasha mosque which is in same area.
* This is a great day to have lunch at “Hamdi” kabab restaturant.

Day 3
* Dolmabace palace, Taksim Sq / Istiklal St (best to save for eveneing/night when it gets interesting..)
* Whirling dervishes at Galata
* Great day to have dinner at “Haci Abdullah” historical/ottoman cuisine restaturant in Taksim

Day 4
* Topkapi Palace, (Topkapi is enough Museum for one whole day)
* Then add here your second trip to Grand Bazaar, but if not you could add the Turkish & Islamic arts museum I mentioned for Day 1

Day 5
* If you have any whole day free and the weather forecast seems nice , visit the Princes' Islands (specifically ‘Buyukada’ = "the big island"), rent bikes & enjoy ice cream in main square
* if you want you can visit Asian side on this day on your way to Princes’ Islands (i.e. catch boat to one of the Asian side ports, hang out there for a bit, and then catch boat to Buyukada/Princes’ Islands)
* otherwise, on this or any other day catch a 'Bosphorus Cruise' from the Eminonou/Sirkeci port (next to spice bazar & Yeni Jami'/'New Mosque')
_____


Potential RESTAURANT Suggestions:

* HAMDI ($$)– renowned kabab, in Eminonou/Sirkeci (next to spice bazar) ...Kababs with nice view (reservation recommend)
* POSEIDON ($$$)- in Bebek (on Bosphorus) ...seafood with view (on water, reservation probably needed for dinner)
* HACI (‘haji’) ABDULLAH ($$) - Taksim, 100 year old restaurant famous for great traditional Ottoman cuisine, esp beyond just kababs, many lamb and vegetable specialities
* FEREA... ($$) Mixed cuisine, very good food, seating right on Bosphorus, in Ortakoy
* KOSABASI ($-$$)- in Nisantasi & in Etiler (latter has nicer ambience ...(pronounced "koshabash") reasonably priced, outstanding mixed grill
* BORSA ($$$)- near Taksim Hilton ... Variety of traditional, some Bosphorus-view outdoor seating (ask for it specifically). Must order 'kunafe' for dessert with 'kaymak' (sweet cream) - better to per-order it because it takes 15-20 minutes to make fresh.
* SADE ($-$$)- in Rumeli (next to the fort) on Bosphorus ...pronounced "saa-dey", lovely place to have traditonal Turkish breakfast ('kahvalti') , at any time of day, great to see the fort of Rumeli then too. Next to the 2nd bridge (the more northern one). Several other restaurants next door to it offer similar breakfast setups.

Looks like you've got everything covered. I went to Pammukkale a few years ago and thought it was fantastic, that was at the height of summer though. I'm not sure it would be the same in December and the white calcium rocks might look a little dull.

Ancient Greek City of Ephesus is great but as you say trips to Greece/Italy will have all that covered. The bones of Cleopatra's sister have recently been found there.

If you're unfamiliar with Turkish food you can check out the below for my Top 10 in Istanbul ^

http://www.thecutlerychronicles.com/...-istanbul.html

thanks a lot for your suggestions. I think we will spend most of our time in Istanbul and skip other destinations as they will consume too much transit time.

Question. So, it's not alright for men to wear shorts in Istanbul? And for women? pants only?

I was in Istanbul in Aug with a friend. Both of us are female. I did some research beforehand and felt that where we would be in the touristy areas that shorts, tank tops would be ok. Nothing too skimpy. After the first day, we decided long dresses and covered arms was a better choice as we felt very harassed by men.
Personal choice on our part as we felt more comfortable. I saw many male tourists wearing shorts.

Thanks for the feedback. Will go along with your advice then.

no 1. move it to here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/middle-east-481/

Isn't Turkey part of the Europe forum, not the middle east?

Turkey will never be a Part of Europe and everyone who can read a map will see 90% of the Country are in Asia.