The Itinerary
Day 1, June 14, SFO to IST, Istanbul
Day 2, June 15, IST to ASR, check in Aydinli cave hotel, Goreme
Day 3, June 16, Cappadocia, guided Green Tour
Day 4, June 17, Cappadocia, Butterfly balloon ride, Avanos, Goreme
Day 5, June 18, Cappadocia, Camel Ride @red valley, Goreme open air museum
Day 6, June 19, Cappadocia, Goreme, ASR -> IST, IST -> DNZ, Denizli, check in Cotton House, Pamukkale
Day 7, June 20, Pamukkale, Hierapolis ruins, the antique pool, the Pamukkale travertine and thermal pools.
Day 8, June 21, Pamukkale, Aphrodisias ruins
Day 9, June 22, Pamukkale, Turkish bath and spa @Tripolis Hotel, DNZ -> IST
Day 10, June 23, IST -> SFO
Istanbul and the airports
Turkey is a large country. In my opinion, it is much underrated in what it offers to travelers. Located mostly in Asia and slightly in Europe, its rich history including the Byzantines era and the Ottoman Era, has been underappreciated . I spent a week in Istanbul a few years ago and like the city a lot. I could take the ferry round, crossing Asia and Europe, all day long, to watch people and to be impressed by the beautiful landscape of the religious mosques, the historic Hagia Sophia, the palaces and more. This time, I reluctantly skipped the city of Istanbul to make time for two Turkish areas, Cappadocia and Pamukkale.
Istanbul is an important travel hub to get to those cities. The Award winning Istanbul IST airport, opened after my last visit, is spacious, beautiful and functional as it leapfrogged Frankfurt last year in terms of traffic. My first impression of it was far from award winning. It was quite a walk to get to the passport control. I missed the domestic transfer passport control, and was turned back after waiting for a while at the arrival area. Fortunately, I had hours to spare before my domestic transfer to Kayseri of Cappadocia. Sim card is essential in travel. I did not set up my Airalo sim card properly and had to use the airport Wi Fi where I needed to first locate the yellow Wi Fi balloon and then scan the passport to get an hour of free usage. I also expected high for an international airport, only to find the food court at the domestic terminal has three American chain stores (Burger King, PopEyes, and some New York Pizza). That initial setback was quickly replaced by many discoveries. The spacious greenery surrounding the airport is impressive but not easily noticeable for the busy travelers. The multiple climb structures are great additions for families traveling with young children. The playground area with arcade games are also thoughtful designs. My biggest discovery has been the library with “real” people and real books. This may be the first airport that I find a functional and comfortable library.
The Turkish government has been efficient in their infrastructure projects and in fixing infrastructures. IST certainly is a strong evidence of the investment.
If Istanbul IST is state of the art with all the infrastructure investments, the domestic airports Kayseri and Denizli domestic airports have been quite different discoveries. Kayseri, Cappadocia airport, is tiny. From the plane to the baggage claim area, it felt like a short 50m walk. From the domestic terminal to the international terminal, it is a minute’s walk. Even the old Kai Tak airport in Hong Kong required significantly more walking. The airport serves one flight at a time, and just outside of the airport, there are taxi drivers, a few locals and some others holding signs to pick up passengers. The departing passengers are waiting across the road. These tiny airports made an interesting impression with their practicality and simplicity.
Our adventures began in Cappadocia (Kapadokya in Turkish) . . .
Coming up next : 4-day Cappadocia, Turkey
oliviatamccue 
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