Turkiye Guide

Oh, Turkiye.

Yes, they did undergo a rename to disassociate from the bird, but the Turkish name has always been Türkiye, so we’ve also been saying it wrong the entire time.

Istanbul

Eats

Bülent Börekçilik İstanbul Üsküdar Zeynep Kamil – Good but not great börek, a flaky pastry filled with meat, cheese, spinach, or potatoes.
Simit – Bagels coated with sesame seeds, with an option of Nutella or cream cheese spread in between.
Çağrı Fırın – Absolutely insane baklava.
Sinop Mantı – Good place to try manti dumplings; locals go here. Also has lentil soup and custard dessert.
Kızılkayalar Taksim – Amazing wet burger and classic salty yogurt drink (yes, you read that correctly), Ayran.

Activities

Hagia Sofia – Long line to get in, also had a ticket that included the Hagia Sofia museum. Make sure to wear a headscarf; I improvised with a convincing-looking jacket over my head.
Blue Mosque – Beautiful, free entry. Again, bring a headscarf.
Basilica –
Istiklal Street / Taksim Square – Really, really loved this area. It’s like the Times Square of Turkey.
Galata Tower – Cool to walk around, as you’re walking around the city the tower is hard to miss, and is clearly visible on the skyline. It’s not something I felt like you needed to walk to since you couldn’t go in when I went, but a few of the streets around it were cute, although very touristy as one would expect.
Grand Bazaar & Egyptian Spice Bazaar – I really enjoy markets (the more local, the better, so this being one of the most touristy wasn’t my favorite). Most things are quite overpriced, as expected, but it’s awesome to have the experience of sampling all the different sweets, teas and talking with the vendors who are immigrants from that area. Great for people-watching, not buying items.
Pera Museum – This was a really cool modern museum. Their exhibit was about the future and art, which was quite thought provoking. Free entry from 18:00 – 22:00 every Friday.
Taking the ferry to Turyol Karakoy Kadikoy Uskudar Iskelesi – There’s a very small fish market, fisherman fishing off the bridge, and a few cafes under the bridge which I enjoyed walking around.
Çiçek Pasajı – A famous, and very cute, historic passageway between two streets with ornate architecture and cafes.

Cappadocia

Most people go to this area to either see the hot air balloons or visit the underground cities. The good news is that the underground cities are viewable year-round. The bad news is because of the unpredictability of the weather, the hot air balloons can be a bit of a gamble. I was there for 6 nights in April, and they only launched one morning supposedly.

Eats

Sandwich – I found a food truck and got a Kavurma sandwich (lamb, lettuce, mayo, and sweet chili sauce/ketchup alternative) and a Tavuk sote sandwich, described as a chicken stew.
Cold Baklava – It wasn’t simply regular baklava served cold but rather a tiramisu-like baklava that was more creamy and ice cream-esque. So good.
Trilece – A wonderful dessert, which probably looks familiar to you because we call it tres leches in the States.
Salep – A creamy custard drink with cinnamon on top. I’d take this over hot chocolate 9/10 times.
Helvaci Ali Avanos – Absolutely life-changing dessert. It’s semolina/bulgur/irmik with ice cream underneath. Insane.
Gurme kebab restaurant – In my opinion quite over priced and not that good. I got pita, roasted pepper dip, salep, which was awesome, and cheese & meat lahmacun.

Activities

Zelve Open Air Museum – Absolutely incredible town made entirely from drilling into natural Hoodoos and mountains. The ticket here also includes the Zelve – Pasa Baglari museum.
Goreme Open Air Museum & Tokali Church – Very similiar to the Zelve Open Air Museum and not as good imo. The Church was cool to see though and hiking around the surrounding area outside of the park, which doesn’t require the ticket, was super beautiful. There are huts everywhere!
Visit one of the many pottery stores

Future