Most Inspirational Moment
The underground city of Derinkuyu and Cappadocia.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Atahan did his best. His knowledge about Turkey was impressive and his organizational skills really good.
Reviews
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Reviews
Great mix!
This trip is a great mix of man-made and nature-made. If you like ruins and nature it’s an amazing trip! The scenery was great, you can’t get bored and the ruins in Troy don’t look like the ones in Ephesus which don’t look like the ones in Bergama, which don’t look like the ones in Aspendos and so on…they are different and each one is unique and fabulous. It’s really hard to compare Cappadocia to anything else and the balloon ride over those interesting rock formations was absolutely wonderful!
I loved every moment of this trip!
Turkey review
We visited all the places that we booked the trip to see and our excellent guide Ali also took us to a number of smaller less well known places. Although some of the coach journeys were long, they were split up as best as possible. A few times lunch and dinner were much later than expected.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing the candy mountains at Pamekalle and paddling in the warm spring water.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ali was very informative amd knowledgeable about the history of all the places we visited. He was always considerate towards all the members of the group and treated us all equally.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Wear long sleeves and long trousers for the Lycian way walk in Kas and be prepared for a spot of mountain climbing!
Amazing country
Very good value for money, some amazing sights and scenery, hotels quite basic with the exception of one or two. Be prepared to lug cases around now and then. Hours of travel but the scenery helped the time go by and lots of stops included.
Most Inspirational Moment
Too many to mention.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent knowledge and very good English, very professional.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Don’t expect great hotels and be prepared to carry/drag cases around now and then.
Hightlights of Turkey
A very comprehensive tour of this country travelling over 3000 km. Our guide was excellent, one of the best I have had. He was knowledgable and not only gave us the history of each place we visited, but also knew some fabulous restaurants where we could sample Turkish food and wine, not to mention some of the more unusual local drinks. I don’t think there was any meal that I didn’t enjoy (and the wine wasn’t bad either). Of course your fellow travellers can make or break a holiday. I was lucky that I was with a super group, all very considerate of each other. No one was late at meeting points and everyone was very friendly so thanks to them too.
I can thoroughly recommend this trip to anyone who would like to experience the true Turkey, visiting ancient sights, staying in old and new cities and towns and experimenting with different foods and drinks. I would have liked more time in Instanbul but perhaps I will save that for another visit. Something I would realy like to do.
Most Inspirational Moment
I think the best was when some of us visited a local hamman. It was very old but very beautiful inside the building. After being steamed, scrubbed and pummelled I realised that this is what people had been having for centuries, and now I myself had been able to participate in the experiance. being a bit of a history buff I loved the fact that I had been able to continure with a practice so old.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Excellent. I have travelled the world and before only 2 group leaders had made anygood impression, one in the Dolomites and one in Uzbekistan. Our tour leader was Ali Kartal and he has now joined as one of the best.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Be aware that you do spend a lot of time in a coach. However, your compensation is that you see a lot of the countryside and visit some wonderful sites.
A great trip!
Overall, the trip was wonderful! It was my first time doing a trip where we covered so many kilometres which made it tiring, but I expected that at the outset. Some of the hotel rooms could have been of a slightly higher standard.
Most Inspirational Moment
Seeing Galipoli and gaining a greater understanding of the battles fought there. Generally getting a sense of the ancient history of this part of the world Experiencing the power of nature at Cappadocia.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Ali was excellent! He’s knowledgeable, organized, personable and has a brilliant sense of humour. He’s also wonderful at managing a diverse group - although we regularly told him we were his best group ever.
Advice for Potential Travellers
To understand the pace and how that, more than anything else will be challenging. I would also suggest that walking poles could be offered as a suggestion in the trip notes for anyone who may need than. This is relevant for only a few days.
Highlights of Turkey
Wonderful introduction to this huge and beautiful country.
Ancient history, beautiful coastlines, Turkish Baths, friendly people, gorgeous food
Most Inspirational Moment
The Wow moment was the Roman theatre at Aspendos,
Thoughts on Group Leader
Aysenur Geng was excellent, her depth of knowledge was incredible and her organisational skill very good. Personally I did have some problems with her pronunciation of English
Advice for Potential Travellers
be prepared for anything
Turkey was fascinating but tour leader was not the best
Turkey is a fascinating place historically, politically and culturally and definitely worth visiting.
Most Inspirational Moment
We were blown away by the “Cotton Castles” and, of course, Cappadocia and the underground dwellings. The rock formations in both those areas are really unusual and beautiful. Unfortunately the group was not able to take the balloon ride at Cappadocia because of weather conditions.
Thoughts on Group Leader
We had just finished a tour of Sri Lanka with an outstanding guide so maybe it made us more dissatisfied with the guide we had on this trip. Her English was difficult to understand and her explanations more convoluted; she was often repetitive. It took up too much time at the site which could have been spent exploring. It might have been better given on the bus. A couple of times we wanted to stop for photographs, but told it was too dangerous or cost money when there was an obvious pull off or we would have been glad to pay. We did not really learn about other aspects of Turkish life, the politics, religion (except for Sufism) and culture.
Advice for Potential Travellers
We suggest that if you take this trip, you spend a few extra days in Istanbul before or after exploring Topkapi, Hagia Sofia, Blue Mosque, Dolmadahce Palace and various other museums, plus hanging out with the locals.
Highlights of Turkey
An excellent introduction to this large and fascinating country. The itinerary allowed us to get a real flavour of the history, archaeology and topography. The sites and ordering of the stop-overs were excellently chosen.
Most Inspirational Moment
Having been steeped in ancient history from an early age I was amazed to find myself in Troy and to realise that it was a very small small acropolis but with great influence both geographically and historically.
Thoughts on Group Leader
I have been on many Exodus trips and generally have admired the leaders. This time though, Tolga excelled all my previous experience. Knowledgeable and caring about his country and caring of his guests ---and a gastronome who led us to all the best eateries [all Exodus clients seem ready for the next meal].
Advice for Potential Travellers
Do take the trip. One tip is that in terms of cash, it is better to put money into your back account at home and to use the many ATM's available everywhere. There are far more ATM's [and they are open all hours of course] than there are exchange outlets.
Terrific Turkey with the amazing Fatih Develi and Unal
We set our expectations quite high for this trip but these were exceeded in every way from start to finish after meeting our superb tour guide – Fatih Develi – in Istanbul. His organization and communication skills were outstanding as he guided us smoothly throughout the fantastic highlights of this great country, imparting his considerable knowledge of all aspects of Turkey from religions to history ancient and modern, wildlife, industries, politics etc. etc. Fatih was the highlight of our trip.
Most Inspirational Moment
There were very many inspirational moments including our visit to 'tremendos' Aspendos with it's 'stupendos' theatre, the spiritual experience of a performance by Whirling Dervishes of the Sema ceremony and exploring the superb city of Hierapolis which was completely unexpected above the travertines of Pumakkale. But for us, the most inspirational moment was undoubtedly in the peaceful setting of Celaleddin Rumi mausoleum in the Mevlana Museum in Konya.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Absolutely superb! He worked so hard to assist each one of us whenever he could and with great wit and humour in order to make our trip as enjoyable as possible. What a gem you have there. It was a great pleasure to meet him and share the journey with him and our fantastic driver - Unal - who was such a gracious traveling companion too. Unal was always there to pick us up on time and handle all our luggage and often went out of his way to assist us. His negotiation of rush hour traffic, especially in Ankara and Istanbul with patience and no little skill was exemplary.
Advice for Potential Travellers
We would probably advise potential travellers on this trip to extend their stay in Istanbul by a day before or after the tour, though we did get to see some of the many places of interest in this great city.
Highlights of Turkey
As the title suggests, this is tour which takes in some of the highlights of Turkey. A mix of ancient and more recent history, culture and amazing landscapes, together with friendly people and good food, its a recipe for a great holiday.
Most Inspirational Moment
I had high expectations of Turkey and this trip far exceeded them. There were many inspirational moments from the amazing rock formations of Cappadocia and Pamukkale, to the quiet contemplation of Mevlana Rumi Mausoleum in Konya, the poignancy of Gallipoli, and the remains of the ancient city of Ephesus.
Thoughts on Group Leader
Our group leader Fatih was wonderful. Professional, flexible, and cheerful, he was always able to offer choices to the varied group of travellers. His knowledge and love of Turkey shone through. He was ably assisted by Unal the driver, who was also flexible about the itinerary and timings.
Advice for Potential Travellers
Try not to be too disappointed if you can't take the balloon flight over Cappadocia, we were not able to as it was too windy on the first day and fully booked on the second. There are some long bus journeys, but the bus was comfortable, the driver excellent and the roads good, with regular stops on the way. There is not a huge amount of time in Istanbul so I would recommend adding at least a day at the beginning or end of the trip.