Travels in Turkey

Are you planning your trip to Turkey, or at least dreaming of one? Here are some suggestions on places to go, and what to see and do.

This page summarizes our always-growing collection of detailed pages. Click on the items in this list to see the details.

While you're staying in Selçuk at our guesthouse:

• Things to do at Ephesus and in the town of Selçuk, all within easy walking distance from our guesthouse
  • Ephesus
  • Exploring Selçuk: Saturday market, Basilica of St John, Isa Bey Mosque
  • Temple of Artemis
  • A walk from Selçuk to Ephesus via:
    • Temple of Artemis
    • Shrines to Cybele the Asian Mother-Goddess
    • The Cave of the Seven Sleepers
• Things to do around the town of Selçuk — good ideas for day trips!
  • Maryemana — The House of the Virgin Mary
  • Sirince — Mountain village with wineries and local crafts
  • Beaches
• Multi-day treks in the Beşparmak mountains.
• Special events around Ephesus and Selçuk, if you happen to be here at the right time of year.

Longer day trips from Selçuk, or maybe places to spend a day or two before or after staying at our guesthouse:

• Pamukkale, Hieropolis, and Laodicea
• Aphrodisias
• Priene, Miletos, Diyma
• The Seven Churches of the Revelation
• The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (one is just down the hill, one is a day trip, and a third is one day's travel away)

Other places to visit in Turkey

• Cities, natural wonders, historical ruins, and more, all throughout Turkey
• İstanbul
• Göreme and Cappadocia
• Olimpos — Live in a tree house, trek to see the mystical eternal flames on a nearby mountainside
• Pamukkale, Hieropolis, and Laodicea — See the flowstone travertine formations and two ancient cities, all within about 10 km of each other
• Bodrum — site of the Mausoleum of Halicarnasus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
• Gallipoli — site of the epic battle of 1915
• Konya — shrine of the Sufi mystic poet Rumi and home of the Whirling Dervishes
• Hatuşaş
• Konya
• Silk Road hans (or caravanserais)
• Nemrut Dağı

Cruises along the Turquoise Coast

• Four days and three nights between Fethiye and Olympos — we can set this up for you.

Getting around Turkey by bus

• How to get around Turkey with speed and comfort in luxury buses

Getting around Turkey by train

• Trains aren't nearly as useful for getting around Turkey in general, but for some trips they can be a great way to go. Travel like a sultan in a first-class sleeper compartment for about the cost of a bus ticket plus a night at a guesthouse.

Greece and the Greek Islands

• Traveling between Turkey and the Greek islands
• Some suggestions on nearby islands to visit

Novels and movies to get you in the mood or reminisce

• "A Coffin for Demetrios" by Eric Ambler
• "Journey Into Fear" by Eric Ambler
• "The World at Night" by Alan Furst
• "My Name Is Red" by Orhan Pamuk
• "From Russia With Love" by Ian Fleming
• "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
• "Orient Express" (a.k.a. "Stamboul Train") by Graham Greene
• The movie "From Russia With Love" was largely set and filmed in İstanbul. Scenes were shot in the Sultanahmet district, at Sirkeci train station, in several locations in the Grand Bazaar, in the Basilica Cistern, along the waterfront, and several other places.
• The movie "Topkapi" was set in Istanbul, although the Topkapi Palace scenes were shot on sound stages.