Hi Everyone,

I'm getting excited about our Treasures of Turkey tour coming up next month and have noticed, as Phil pointed out elsewhere on the BB that the upcoming tours have two buses. I read with interest from Dragon, who is on this tour now, that the buses are traveling together. It may be arranged this way due to the difference in weather in different parts of Turkey. When we are going in October, two weeks could make a difference in how temperate it may be in certain areas. I'm curious how the extra volume of people created by two buses traveling together instead of in opposite directions affects the overall tour experience.
Has anyone experienced this? I'd like to hear your comments about it.
Thanks, Roni

Roni,

I'm sure Dragon is best placed to give you feedback on how it is all being organised right now but I can tell you that we had two coaches running on our tour in 1997 and the way it was handled was quite simple: after the two TDs had talked with their respective groups, our group nominated an earlier departure each day so we typically left the hotels each morning up to 30 minutes before the other group. This worked very well with us sometimes passing the other group as we were leaving a site and they were arriving.

phil

Roni, I would not worry too much. I have also noticed that there are more than 1 bus on all the forthcoming tours. My husband and I had been thinking of going in Oct. Last year we were only 33 on the bus with only 1 bus going.
There were a lot of tour groups at the Dedeman in Nevsehir, most were religious groups. I was surprised how well the hotel handled it and also that the tour sites were not very crowded. At the ancient church sites there was only one other tour group. In Cappadocia, I suppose the guides organize it such that the groups don't run into each other too much.
I think the other sites would be fine with a 30 min departure difference or rearrangement of the order sites are visited, eg Cappadocia and Ephesus.
I did not find it crowded at any sites in mid October last year, only the hotel in Cappadocia, which was very full operating 2 huge dining rooms in shifts. The Mevlana museum in Konya was fairly crowded. However the tourist sites in Istanbul were very crowded due to cruise ships visiting.

Marie and Phil - thanks for your responses. I do expect the key tourist areas to be crowded and in the big scheme of things, I expect that an extra bus of people won't be significant, but I was curious.
I'm hoping that Dragon posts a tour tale upon his return. I've read all existing ones, but I haven't seen one from this year and I'm interested in any current changes that may be happening. Just curious,as my excitement is building by the day now that we are a month out from departure.

Hello RoniSK:
Are you by chance on the October 8th tour? We just had this tour confirmed about a month ago as it wasn't one of the guaranteed tours.

Also, I'm wondering how can you tell if there is more than one bus? I've been looking over the tour details and didn't notice this.

I'm also looking forward to a recent tour tale of Turkey.

Regards, Pat & Jim Riley, Ontario Canada

Hi Pat & Jim

we are a few days after you, leaving on Oct. 11 out of NJ. The website now has duplicate departures listed for the same day, for some dates, which I believe is an indication of 2 buses. I don't see that for October 8th, so at this point, it looks like there is one bus for that departure. Have a wonderful time - looks like a great tour, doesn't it?!

quote:

I'm also looking forward to a recent tour tale of Turkey.

There is one tour report on the BB for April 23 - May 08 this year: Treasures of Turkey tour.

My topic (Weblinks: Treasures of Turkey tour) includes considerable input from my wife's experiences on her tour in the first two weeks of May this year, including places the tour group were taken to for shopping (ceramics, carpets and leatherware), details of the Whirling Dervishes optional in Cappadocia, details of the hot air balloon ride, information on the Ephesus Terrace Houses as well as information on activities to consider if you have extra time in Istanbul. I've also included links covering the ancient to modern history of Turkey which is useful pre-reading for travellers to Turkey and much more.

phil

I knew very little about Turkey when I signed up for the trip. My kids, all 3 of them had taken an archeology course as an optional, and all were different courses, they knew more than me. My youngest had just taken her course and they spent quite some time on Catal Huyok (sp) and she was fascinated that we were not too far away in Konya and that I saw artifacts from there at the Archeology museum in Ankara.
I read a book about ancient Turkey, fascinating, before the trip. I felt I got much more out of the trip because of this. Actually the TD was surprised I knew so much. After I came home I reread the book.
Phil's post on Turkey is excellent, I only wish it had appeared before my trip. I would have loved to see the Terrace houses at Ephesus. Did your wife go into them Phil?

Hi Marie,

yes my wife certainly did visit the Terrace Houses and when the Photo section of the BB becomes operational again, I may post some of her shots.

We saw the archaeological work underway there on our first tour in 1997 but found that it was not then accessible by the public.

One of her prime tasks this time was to check on this site and to try and gain entry. She was very glad she succeeded although it had to be a very rushed visit. It is, in her view, on a par with some of the buildings at Pompeii.

phil

PS I've attached one of her photos.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: phil,

P1010360_(Large).JPG (144 Kb, 12 downloads) Inside terrace Houses site

As always, Phil's post is excellent. In fact, after reading it, we regretted that we didn't book extra time in Istanbul and tried to change our flight arrangements so that we could but since we are using frequent flyer miles for the flight, we seem to be locked in. Like you, we knew very little about Turkey when we signed up, so we didn't realize just how much there is to see in Istanbul.
Also, a co-worker of mine is from Turkey and her cousin lives in Ankara. My husband and I have been invited to her cousin's home for dinner when we are there. I explained that you have to be flexible about when you go where when you are a bus tour, but we are hoping that we will be able to work it out to accept the invitation.
What is the name of the book that you read?