Trip Report – Turkey Sept 2025

43 members headed off on the coach to Valencia airport on 10th September. Turkish Airlines were very good, providing us with a meal and choice of films or tv programmes to occupy us during the almost four hour journey.

On arrival we went by coach to the Dark Hill Hotel, located very centrally in some very narrow streets. Our driver demonstrated his skill getting in and out of these streets over the next couple of days. We ate in a roof top restaurant with fantastic views across the city. Some very large seagulls were circling above us looking very interested in what we were eating, but fortunately they weren’t brave enough to swoop down and take our food away

Istanbul

We met our guide, Sucre, a very knowledgeable man, who was very keen to tell us about the sites we were visiting and answer any questions.

The sites we visited typified the East meets West approach that seems to prevail in Istanbul. Greek Orthodox churches thrive alongside Islamic mosques. The first church we visited was the Patriarchal church of St George, the centre of the Orthodox Church which oversees millions of Orthodox Christians worldwide. Our visit was interrupted by a visit by the President of Montenegro to the Patriarch. The sight of numerous armoured cars with armed bodyguards in a tiny street full of English pensioners was quite memorable!

Incidentally St George, who is the patron saint of England, was born in Cappadocia.

We visited two mosques, one of which was originally a Christian church, and a museum housing a mosque. In addition we visited the Iron church, the only church to be constructed entirely from iron. They are all fascinating buildings.

Our first day in Istanbul was very busy and by the time we got to the bazaar, which houses some 4500 shops, our energy levels meant that we walked straight through without doing any actual shopping. That is probably a first for some of the trip members! The next day, we visited the spice market which had stalls selling every spice you could ever think of and some interesting teas.

The cruise down the Bosphorus was a wonderful way to see more of the city. The strait connects the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara and along the banks there were palaces and some very expensive looking houses.

Ankara

We then started on our journey to Cappadocia by coach, stopping en route at the capital city of Turkey to visit an archeological museum which was very interesting, and to have lunch. Ankara is a very modern city, chosen as the capital as it is more central than Istanbul.

Cappadocia

Our first day in Cappadocia started very early in the morning for 27 of us. The hot air balloon trip is planned so that you are up in the sky at sunrise. It was amazing. It feels as though you are floating, and the views are stunning. There are lots of other balloons in the sky at the same time, and there was an excellent view of this from our Hotel, but you had to be up early to see it. The landing wasn’t quite so smooth, but when we got out of the basket we were given a glass of champagne ( non alcoholic) and shown pictures of our trip they had printed while we were in the balloon

Cappadocia is famous for its fairy chimneys, conical rock formations topped by a harder rock which looks like a hat. The whole area contains rock formations in various shapes. Some had been turned into cave houses, and even cave churches. There was also an underground city. It was like being transported back in time to see how people had lived many centuries ago, although some of the caves had been lived in until the 1950’s.

We visited a jewellery workshop, and a venue making and selling leather goods, where they put on a very good modelling display for us, no doubt to tempt us into parting with our money. Judging by the number of people clutching shopping bags at the end of this visit, they were successful.

There were two optional evening shows. The first was a display of Turkish dancing, which was very professional and included as much local wine or drinks as you could possibly want. The second was a religious ceremony featuring whirling dervishes. This was a very calm and measured performance compared to the very lively Turkish dancing the night before.

Everyone enjoyed the trip even if they were a little tired at times. During the week we walked over 25 miles, but we saw sights you would not have seen unless it had been a fairly active holiday.

A huge thank you to Coral Guise-Smith who organised the trip and managed to get all of us to all the places we were supposed to be at the right time ( no mean feat ), and to her husband Ray who kept a look out for any stragglers along the way. They did this in a friendly and calm way, and made sure they looked after us all. Our guide also deserved a big thank you , not just for his knowledge, but also for going above and beyond to help people in need. This included a visit to a police station and a trip to the Hospital in the middle of the night

All three deserve a medal.