Independently to Turkey - 1500 kilometers and photos. Route

First, the announcement. And to tell you where we were, and to understand the sequence of the journey in your head. Let me remind you that we traveled with a friend on our own to Turkey and recently returned.

As you process photos and write articles, you will be able to read everything that happened with us on this independent trip to Turkey. In order not to miss anything interesting, subscribe to my blog updates via RSS or E-mail and have a little patience, as there are already 10 articles about Turkey on the way..

So first the route through Turkey. It was changed along the way and does not quite coincide with planned. The total length of the trip is about 1500 km, moving from south to north. Hotels, just in case, thought to book through RoomGuru.

Route in Turkey

- by plane Moscow-Antalya
- 4 days in Kemer at the hotel, with trips to Antalya, Demre (Mira) and Cirali (Olympos)
- hitchhiking to Side
- hitchhiking to Beishikhira, to the lake of the same name.
- by bus and dolmus to Cappadocia (Goreme)
- by bus to Ankara
- by train to Adapazar, and then dolmush to Karasu (Black Sea coast)
- by bus to Istanbul
- by plane Istanbul-Moscow

Route in Turkey. Antalya-Cappadocia-Istanbul.

Route in Turkey. Antalya-Cappadocia-Istanbul.

Turkey itinerary in order

Part of the path was standard and coincided with the rest of the mattress pads flying on the organized tour. We bought a last-minute cheap tour for 4 days to Kemer (4300r per person). And then we acclimatized, living in a hotel, and climbed the surroundings - Antalya, Demre, Cirali, Olympos.

Resort Turkey: the city of Kemer. The beginning of the way. Part 1.
Antalya city - free sightseeing tour. Part 2.
There is a city of Mira in Turkey, which is next to Demre. Part 3.
We went to Olympos (Turkey), but ended up in Cirali. Part 4.

Kemer. Turkey.

Kemer. Turkey.

Cirala coast. Olympos beaches.

Cirala coast. Olympos beaches.

Having a little doubt, we missed the departure of our charter, which is due to us on the tour, and hitchhiked to Side, which is near Manavgat. This was the beginning of our independent trip to Turkey. What are the stunning sandy beaches in Side. And so many places for tents surrounded by ancient ruins.

Hitchhiking from Kemer to the city of Side. Part 5.

Sand dunes of Side. Turkey.

Sand dunes of Side. Turkey.

Then we moved inland to Lake Beysehir. The lake and mountains are very beautiful, but it was difficult to find a parking place..

Beysehir is a lake in Turkey. We continue hitchhiking. Part 6.

Lake Beysehir. Turkey.

Lake Beysehir. Turkey.

Central Turkey. Travel on your own.

Central Turkey. Self drive.

Hitchhiking turned out to be slower than we thought, and time was starting to run out, and we took a bus to Cappadocia (Goreme). We were very lucky with a place for a tent, although we did not immediately understand this. Two days of forays around «mushroom» valleys and on the road again.

To mysterious Cappadocia (Turkey)! To Nevsehir! Part 7.
Goreme National Park - excursions in Cappadocia. Part 8.

Goreme. Cappadocia.

Goreme. Cappadocia.

Goreme. Cappadocia.

Goreme. Cappadocia.

We got to Ankara by night bus. The sleepless night and the whole day of walking around the capital of Turkey were very tired. I wanted to sleep, so we decided to try the Turkish railway service and sleeping cars, which we did not regret at all, since now there is another reason to respect our Russian Railways, but this is another story.

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and bagels. Part 9.
Railways of Turkey. We are going to Adapazary. Part 10.

Ankara. Old city.

Ankara. Old city.

We got to Adapazary by train and dolmushi to the coast, to the village of Karasu, where we lived 4 happy days in a house on the Black Sea coast in a large Turkish-Russian family. Learned about customs, listened to stories about life in Turkey and Afghanistan.

Holidays on the Black Sea in Turkey and with a Turkish family. Part 11.

Turkish tea on the Turkish Black Sea coast.

Turkish tea on the Turkish Black Sea coast.

Thunderstorm in Karasu. Turkey. The Black Sea coast.

Thunderstorm in Karasu. Turkey. Black sea coast.

We devoted one day to Istanbul, a city with a rich history. And this was not enough. But it is not possible to do everything in a short 2 weeks..

Istanbul is the capital of Turkey, real! Part 12.

Center of Istanbul. Near St. Sophia Cathedral.

Center of Istanbul. Next to St. Sophia Cathedral.

Istanbul city center in the evening.

Istanbul city center in the evening.

The objectives of our independent trip to Turkey were: to make a sightseeing trip around Turkey, try hitchhiking and conventional transport, see the planned sights and feel the life of local residents. Everything was done successfully! With which I congratulate everyone «numerous» participants of the trip (me and my friend).

P.S. The only thing I regret is that I have allocated only 2 weeks for this trip. Believe me, Turkey deserves more time!

P.P.S. How much does a trip to Turkey cost? Our cost of a trip to Turkey turned out to be about 17000r for one. Of them: 4300r 4-day tour to Kemer, 6500r charter from Istanbul to Moscow. Now I have experience and know how to reduce these costs. Who is interested, I can share info.