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From March 28 to April 4, my friend and I visited Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, and Pamukkale. Here are our exploits, more or less. Along the way you'll find some advice if you choose to take the plunge yourself. (All photos were taken by either myself or my friend using iPhones.)  Blue Mosque from the Bosporus Tour boat. Istanbul: Day 1 One thirty-five AM in Istanbul Ataturk Airport, and a crowd of waiting faces greet us at the exit. Many are holding signs with names on them; driver’s looking for their passengers. I’ve booked a shuttle via our hostel, but can’t find my name. Wandering with a glazed look makes us ripe for the “Do you need a ride?” sales pitch. I'm inherently suspicious of anyone who approaches me trying to sell something, so we wave them off ... until one of them mind reads my name. Our driver! Well, not actually. He’s the guy that directs us to the driver. On our way. At the Cheers Hostel in Istanbul's Fatih district, we are greeted by a succession of friendly people, one of whom is the manager (owner?), and his equally friendly golden retriever. Too tired for chit-chat, we are shown to our room in a building across the street. Nice, a completely remodeled bathroom. Who needs hotels?
The manger gives us a map. Our hostel is in walking distance from a bunch of major sites. Istanbul is a very walkable place. Off we go, with a recommendation to try a fish sandwich at a local place along the Bosporus just west of the Galata Bridge entrance. On our way our, a smiling shop keeper pulls us in to introduce his wares: rugs and scarves of cashmere and silk. I wish my bed sheets were made of the stuff; so soft I could sink in it. He suddenly asks us for a lighter. We’re a bit confused. Turns out he wants to burn the fabric to prove its authentic. Something about the smell, though we wouldn’t know the difference anyway. He’s surprised that neither of us has one. Several times during the trip we were asked for a lighter. Many people in Turkey smoke, and assumed we had one. Sorry to disappoint, we don’t smoke, and hadn’t considered the authentication-by-fire trick while packing. Our first stop is the underground Basilica Cistern, built in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian I. It holds about 30 Olympic swimming pools worth of water. For drinking, not swimming in, I assume. The vaulted ceiling, marching columns (9m/30ft high), and point lighting make it a good horror movie setting. Everything is damp though, there’s little/no water in the cistern. The echoes add to the eerie mood—though it's a bit undone by the take-your-picture-in-Turkish-costumes set just inside the entrance. These popped up in other sightseeing spots and felt out of place every time.  A shot of me taking a shot in the Basilica Cistern. Near the back are some big Medusa heads, the highlight for me. Second item to check off the bucket list is the iconic Hagia Sophia (pronounced kinda like "Aya Sophia" by locals). This grand church turned mosque turned museum shows its 1500 year age, but does so with stately fortitude. Overhead, impressive mosaic-covered domes. All around, marble stonework (some with scratched-in graffiti), and large round calligraphic panes displaying the names of Islamic religious figures. Oh, and also a cat. With more than a thousand years of history around us, a stray cat becomes the center of attention. Within minutes, it has its own entourage. Note on urban wildlife Walking around cities in Turkey, we saw stray dogs and cats everywhere. Roaming in packs, lounging next to piles of food, even resting in little houses made for them. In our experience, they were friendly, non-aggressive, and mostly healthy. My friend went so far as to pick up the cats, and I couldn’t tell which one of them was happier. We were told by one of the hostel managers that, in general, Turks don’t keep pets, so people see the hordes of stray animals as communal pets. Some have tags in their ears, showing that the government has spayed/neutered and vaccinated them. Still, approach at your own risk; rabies is a thing.  Lounging peacefully, with lunch and satellite TV. ... Onward to the Grand Bazaar! The Grand Bazaar sprawls across more than 30,000 square meters. It actually starts before it starts, with layers of shops clustered around its perimeter.
I found the building itself more interesting, with thick bundles of dusty cables running across tile work like tree roots in a Cambodian temple. Countless side alleys branch in a seemingly infinite labyrinth. We find small upstairs restaurant/relax areas where locals chat and eat. Doors burrowing into the under dark. Cubby-hole workshops. Buildings built atop other buildings. People carrying giant sacks while navigating the narrow aisles—talk about threading needles.  Grand Bazaar From the Grand Bazaar, we snake north, to the Spice Bazaar (Mısır Çarşısı). One side street is packed with dudes, all shouting into cell phones. Gamblers’ Alley. At the Spice Bazaar, we discover one of our two new addictions: Turkish delights. Imagine rainbows pureed and processed, then rolled into tubes and stuffed with nuts, fruits, your favorite dreams, and/or chocolate. We could live on these things. When we step into a shop, the staff grab rolls at light speed and chop off sample pieces. They're pushy in a friendly way, but be careful, if you dither they'll fill a whole box for you. Chewy and sweet and even a little savory with the nuts ... flavor overload. SOUVENIR TIP: We noticed that these roll-type Turkish delights were scarce outside Istanbul, with the small cubed version more common (which are good, but pale in comparison). Our second biggest disappointment of the trip was running out of time and not being able to bring back a truckload of them on our way out. Get them while you can!
The sandwich itself is, I’ll say, underwhelming. Turkey has a long list of awesome foods—the kebabs, grilled vegetables, spiced rice—but this did not make the cut. We aren’t sure what kind of fish it is, but my friend ends up with a species that's 80% bone. For me, just fuel down the hatch.  Platform at the base of Galata Bridge. CLOTHING TIP: In the above picture, you'll noticed how overdressed I look for the sunny day. We traveled to Turkey in late March/early April, and the cold slapped us on arrival, especially in Istanbul. The sun lies and the wind slices. I recommend layers, with a good windbreaker and fleece, and two pairs of shoes for walking and hiking. Across the Galata Bridge to our last stop of the day, Galata Tower. The 360 view gives us a real sense of Istanbul’s scale, and it’s narrow observation platform gives us foreshadowing of heights to come.
We begin with the Topkapi Palace. Back in the 15th century, the Ottoman sultans used this as a home base to rule from.  Topkapi Palace front gate  Topkapi Palace Some of the coolest parts of Topkapi, like the armor and weapons displays, don't allow photography, so I guess that means you'll just have to go.
No first time trip to Istanbul would be complete without a boat tour of the Bosporus. Bosporus Tour Tip: No need to buy tickets from anywhere except at the peer, a short walk west of the southern Galata bridge entrance. It's super cheap there. Travel agencies jack up the price and cover much of the same territory (at least for the 1.5 hour tour).
We end the day getting lost down backstreets, side stairs, and mystery doors.  People in Turkey are super friendly and love talking ... to anyone. Ankara: Day 3 We fly into Ankara early. Flights in Turkey run about $30USD one way, cheaper than an average taxi ride in Tokyo. We put them to good use, taking a total of 8 flights during the trip. Speaking of taxis (they're cheap too), we take one to ASTI (Intercity Bus Terminal), and buy tickets to Cappadocia for the day after next from a company called Kamil Koc--no, not that, it’s pronounced coach. The next taxi driver goes up on the sidewalk to get us around the bus station mire, and we get to our hotel in no time. Hotel Mithat is a quiet, clean hotel with a fun door-less elevator and very cozy bathrooms. It stands across from a stunning, modern mosque, Anadolu Ulu Camil.  Anadolu Ulu Camil Mosque In-transit research turns up two points of interest, on opposite ends of central Ankara. Our walking shoes will have to earn their name today.
Through the castle’s outer gate, we enter a medieval-style stone village, with shops selling ubiquitous souvenirs and a guy making candy. A short walk later, we hit the castle. In the courtyard, a group plays music. On the walls, a spectacular view plays music ... to our eyes. All of Ankara stretches out, a carpet of mostly red roofs. There are no guard rails and parts of the structure are crumbling. More than once, the yawn of a 90 degree drop gets my heart racing, even more so as gusts of wind try to push me off. We linger. It’s hard to get enough.  
We come down the hill via a different route, more shops line the way. Some are aimed at locals, like hardware and medical supply stores.
An hour of walking in the opposite direction—past the hotel and through an up-scale neighborhood with character—takes us to the Mustafa Kemel Atatürk Mausoleum, guarded by soldiers who, like the Queen's Guard in England, stand absolutely still. The scale of this is also eye-popping, though different from the castle. The stones are all clean cut to razor blade exactness, and it’s stark simplicity imposes its will on you. Nothing in Turkey can really be captured on fil. Before approaching the main building, we decide to quickly pop our head in a human-sized door to the right and find out it’s a museum. That goes on for miles. The exit is way over on the other side, and it takes us a really, really long time to get out, even without stopping to look at everything. We finally get into the mausoleum itself, and on our way out, catch a changing of the guard ceremony in its full-throated glory.   As evening rolls around, there is only one thing left we are itching to experience but are having a hard time finding: alcohol, preferably local. But many restaurants don't serve it; we get head shakes at our repeated inquires. Fortunately, the receptionist at Mithat directs us toward a solution: an area called Kizilay, an island of nightlife in the otherwise sparely populated streets (though it is Wednesday night, so not the best day to gauge night-out energy). We find a good bar/restaurant with live music and a quick metal detector check. No problem; it's our portal to beer and a "Texas Burger" worthy of the name. Göreme/Cappadocia: Day 4 In the morning, we take Kamil Koc to Nevşehir. The bus doesn’t actually go to Göreme (the town in Cappadocia), but to a bus station on the outskirts of Nevşehir, one of the larger nearby cities. Both in to and out of Ankara, patchwork development creates a layered impression, almost like the rings of tree telling its history. Newer apartment buildings decorate the outskirts; stylish, with simple geometric design elements and earthen color palettes. Interspersed are ruble piles, trash strewn lots, and half-built, abandoned-looking construction projects, rays of light lancing through the concrete skeletons of high-rises. I don’t know the reasons behind this tapestry of socioeconomics, but it’s interesting. Other than that, not much to see except flat horizon and farm houses. Occasionally we pass cut-out police cars, there to force out-of-towners to slow down. Speaking of cars, several junkers sit on the roofs of buildings. The bus driver is an interesting character. A sign says no smoking, but by hour 2 he’s puffing away. And we make some strange stops, with individuals getting on and off, many of whom sit up front, chat with the driver, and pay him in cash. Is this a side hustle? Dunno. No skin off our backs; we arrive 15 minutes before the scheduled time. MONEY TIP: Many bathrooms throughout Turkey require 1 or 1.5 lira to use, so keep small change on you. Additionally, shops prefer bills smaller than 100 lira and will sometimes have trouble making change for larger bills. The bus station in Nevşehir is large, somewhat empty, and seems to be in the middle of nowhere, but taxis are readily available. It’s about a 15 minute ride to Terra Vista, our hostel in Göreme. All the taxis we found in Turkey ran on meters. MAP TIP: I recommend bringing printed addresses for all the places you’ll stay. Even if you have a pocket wi-fi (we didn’t), it feels safer to hand over a piece of paper than your phone to a random person. Downtown Göreme feels a bit like a resort town. It’s built to cater to tourists, with many copy-and-paste souvenir shops and restaurants. Other than local food, we spot a number of Chinese restaurants, and burgers appear on some menus. Upon exploration, its real personality is revealed. Göreme is built within the jaws of the rock formations that Cappadocia is famous for. Stone teeth jut out beside narrow streets, and the cave dwellings are everywhere. Many have been converted into hotels and restaurants (some which are more man made than natural), but there are also quite of few that have fallen into disrepair. Dark tunnels strewn with rubble hide behind outcrops and doorways cut from stone.
Our hostel manager recommends a nearby place for lunch, but it ends up being pretty bland. My dish is a kind of stew served in a clay jar that they break open in front of us. A cool concept. But in reality its crunchy, as pieces of the jar are flung into the stew. To add some flavor, I pour ayran into the stew. Ayran is a salty yogurt drink, and they do not skimp on the salt. Alcohol isn’t served at this restaurant either. The guy tells us no one can buy alcohol today because the big election is tomorrow. We did not know this. In the evening it becomes apparent the 'no alcohol' thing isn’t true, as we find several spirits shops around town. Time for a hike. We start at the Open Air Museum, 15 minute on foot up a paved sidewalk. This is one of the only places in the area approaching crowded. It resembles an apartment complex, with dwellings and churches. The frescoes here are some of the best preserved, and info plates give them context. However, we had more fun in the less tame areas.  Open Air Museum We continue heading uphill to the southeast, grab a bottle of water on the way. SHOPPING TIP: Many tourist spots have cafes/vendors with their bounds, but prices are much higher. Wait until you leave the gates to pick up drinks or snacks. We follow the road until it bends, then cut across, from here we get one of the most amazing views of Cappadocia.  It inspires us to head off road. Without any plan, we turn north, I think, and follow a ridge where it leads. More amazing views, more hidden stone dwellings. It’s quite windy, the paths are sometimes narrow and uneven, and the sharp drops likely fatal, so be careful exploring. Dinner is at a cave restaurant called Topdeck, and despite sounding like the name of a family restaurant near a baseball stadium, the food blows my mind. Hands up or down, the best meal we have in Turkey. Most of the food is very good in Turkey, but Topdeck’s fare packs in a whirling dervish of flavor.  Topdeck Cave Restaurant Göreme/Cappadocia: Day 5 The morning brings a one-two punch of disappointment. We get up at something like 4am for the famed Cappadocia hot air balloon ride. We are herded into a waiting room with a bunch of other people to chew on a light breakfast and wait. And wait. Two delays later, the flight’s cancelled due to bad weather. We ask about flights at other times of day, but an organizer explains they only go in early morning because it’s too windy the rest of the day. (Even sadder, the day after we left, the weather was perfect.) For day 2 in Cappadocia, we've booked what is called by everyone the Green Tour. The tours here are color coded the same way by seemingly every tour agency. The green variety takes us south/southeast of Nevşehir. In a van with maybe 10 other people, we head first to a stone cutting workshop. We are shown an abbreviated cut-to-polish process. In the end, they give the polished egg to the only kid in the group. I’m only a tiny bit jealous.  Egg Polishing From the workshop we are taken to a jewelry store. This is one of two “sales pitch” stops on the tour. These are fairly common the world over, and since the short presentations are informative and they don’t really push us to buy anything, I’m good with it. Shocked to learn that a polished piece of Turkish turquoise the size of my thumbnail runs about $600. Third stop, Kaymakli Underground City. Our guide is knowledgeable and friendly, and I get more information in a day than I Googled all trip. Highlights: -The underground cities were primarily used to hide/defend against invaders. -35,000 people could fit in one city. -Only about 10% of the city is open to the public, and there are many, many cities yet to be discovered.
Originally, we planned to spend our last full day in Turkey back in Istanbul, but they recommend we add a day trip to Pamukkale. Why not? We'll book tickets via smart phone as soon as we’re back in the hostel.  Pomegranate Lake The second sales-pitch stop is at a food/cosmetics market, where a woman explains the health benefits of various rosehip and spice infused products. Put heaping bowls of samples in front of me, I’ll listen to any pitch you want. The day wraps up with a trip to a different sort of holy site, one for die hard Star Wars fans. We learn from our guide that George Lucas (or his film scouts) came to Cappadocia to film the scenes of Tatooine, with the cave houses as backdrop. But before he could really get started, political upheaval sent him packing, and he had to film in Tunisia. Some people say these are unfounded rumors, but it makes a good story, and who knows?  Kebab for dinner! (And, I don't need to say it, Turkish coffee). Göreme/Cappadocia: Day 6 On our last day in Cappadocia, we are looking to shake off the heartbreak missing out on the hot air balloon. ATVs to the rescue! While we wait, the owner of the ATV shop tells us the nightlife used to be much better, then the hot air balloons came in, and nobody wants to stay up late drinking because they have to get up early for the balloons. I can't remember the last time I drove an ATV. Just like riding bike. With four wheels and and engine. I’d say, “the views are great”, but at this point, you can just assume that’s the case wherever we are in Turkey.  We go on foot to explore more cave houses. These mushroom shapes were created by different stages of volcanic activity.
We get into Istanbul late, hop on a cheap Havabus into Taksim, where our final hostel is located. This is the moment we meet the one and only jackass in Turkey: a taxi driver. After we show him the hotel location on the phone, he grunts his understanding. We notice that he’s not going in the right direction (thanks to offline Google maps), but he argues with us, insisting he’s going to Puffin Hostel. He’s not. He kicks us out of the cab ... somewhere. It only costs us about $4USD, but the greater cost is the waste of time, as we now don’t have time to see Taksim’s nightlife since we’ve got to get up at 3am to catch our Pamukkale flight. However, almost immediately the powerful forces of Turkish hospitality balance the universe. A cafe barista lets us use the wi-fi (to update our map) and even offers us free coffee to make up for the taxi driver. Three hours of sleep, sure, no problem. By now, all-powerful Turkish coffee has replaced the blood in our veins. Pamukkale: Day 7
The white limestone sweeps upward, capped with terraced pools. We are asked to take our shoes off before stepping on the limestone, as it’s soft and easily damaged. The wet stone isn’t rough, exactly, but it’s not completely smooth. Watch out for the reddish spots, they’re slippery. The lower pools are cold, and so have fewer people in them. Research tells me the pools are artificial. Before it was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site, motorbikes and whatnot ran up and down here, chewed up the pools.
Ancient titans could’ve used the city's amphitheater to eat their morning corn flakes.  We hike into the hills, where the crowds thin to nothing. Cut stones cover hillsides like wildflowers. We explore. The sun gains energy as ours depletes. We head down.  In the town at the base of Pamukkale, we have a late lunch, drink more Turkish coffee, and wait for our ride to the airport, which we reserved from a travel agency upon arrival. While waiting at said travel agency, a couple bros in a private car show up, ask if we’re headed to the airport. They seem to know we've reserved, so we go. They race down the highway and chatter away to each other. Maybe suspicious? When they start winding through back alleys, we ask what's up. They assure us they’ll transfer us to an airport shuttle. I’m mostly confident that’s not a euphemism for a roadside execution. But in truth, history so far tells me we’re safe, and we are. Back in Istanbul, we grab a night beer in Taksim. The pub is on a busy street but is not busy itself, so we get the attention of just about every waiter in the place. Time for sleep, then time to fly back to Tokyo.  Istanbul Street Art FINAL TIPS: Safety Nearly everyone was hospitable, friendly, and helpful, and the longer we stayed, the more comfortable we felt, since we came to expect positive interactions. That being said, there are situations that seem dangerous, for example run down areas which carry a sense of foreboding. But we never felt like we were in physical danger (from people). Like any foreign country, be aware of your surroundings (hard to do in massively crowded markets), and keep wallets deep in bags with a little money in an easy to reach pocket. Many people have a “no problem, everything’s fine” attitude, but don’t let that override your need to confirm prices, destinations, or other details before committing to anything. Money Other than Turkish Lira, the Euro seemed to be accepted at many established tourist spots, like hostels and tour companies. Credit cards were sometimes not accepted. It was difficult to change Japanese yen in the small towns. Not a concern for most people I imagine, but I thought it interesting considering the warm relationship between Japan and Turkey. Wi-fi was available in many cafes/restaurants.  Nathaniel Henderson is an author currently working on a cyberpunk-injected book series. For updates and exclusive content, sign up for his newsletter.
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