# Holiday In Turkey



## Rob Fisher

My wife always wanted to go to Turkey and I really didn't want to go but it was her turn to choose and last holiday was in the USA so what the hell... let's go to Turkey. What a pleasant surprise... compared to the really expensive holiday we did in Europe the Turkish trip was a fraction of the price! We decided to do a bus tour for a change and we booked through Trafalgar Tours. Trafalgar themselves don't do the tours but they have an affiliate company that does them in Turkey... it seems that only Turks can be tour guides etc. Our tour guide was great and spoke good english and had a really good sense of humour!

I just loved the food in Turkey and this was a very sweet dessert and the first food we tasted on arrival!




We started and finished the bus tour in Istanbul... Here is a shot of Istanbul from across the Bosphorus.




Istanbul and Turkey in general is a mixture of the very modern and new to the very old and ancient!

Me with my first cup of Turkish coffee... if you don't have hairs on your chest you will have after one cup of this!




A selfie of my wife (Anthea) and I on the Mediterranean coast!




You need shoes to walk on the beach!




More to come shortly...

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## Rob Fisher

The hotels we stayed on the bus tour were of a very good quality and they catered for the american, english and Japanese markets so the breakfasts and suppers were normally help yourself and the spreads were great!




If you love seeing old churches, Mosques and Roman ruins then Turkey is the country for you! There are more Roman ruins in Turkey than there is in Italy!




Anthea really loved the history of the country and we saw more than one or two Roman ruins on our travels.




The one thing I loved about Turkey is there are cats everywhere... no one seems to mind them and everyone seems to feed them.




Everywhere you go you are offered Turkish Tea... I'm not a big tea lover but I learnt to drink it there! Always served in these little glass cups..




One of the most enjoyable stops was at a hotel built on hot springs... high in sulphur and other good minerals...




More to come...

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## Rob Fisher

There must be at least eight billion Mosques in Turkey and the majority of the population are Muslims. But these are laid back Muslims... they drink and smoke and have fun... I really love the Turks... they are a loverly people. I have to say that after travelling around Turkey is one of the nicest countries I have visited and I could even live there. The food is great and so are the people!




Another stop over was more hot springs but this time the minerals coming out the ground was snow white!




Another shot...

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## Rob Fisher

Stunning shot of the Mediterranean 5 floors down from our hotel... To get to the sea you had to take an elevator.




When visiting Mosques the men have to wear long pants and the girls have to cover their heads out of respect.


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## Rob Fisher

Visiting the caves where people used to live in in ancient times and still did in the early seventies was fascinating...


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## Gizmo

Looks like an amazing holiday Rob.

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## Rob Fisher

If you get to Turkey you really have to do the Balloon Ride over Cappadocia! Simply breathtaking!


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## Rob Fisher

Me going Turkish!


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## Rob Fisher

Doing a boat cruise down the Bosphorus there are a lot of stunning buildings and some very very expensive real estate!


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## Rob Fisher

The food was bloody marvelous!


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## Gizmo

That food looks amazing.. Rob I think I have fixed the issue of copying from word to here. Would you mind seeing if its working when you get a chance?


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## Rob Fisher

The bus tour was pretty hectic but so worth it because we got to see a lot of Turkey and we didn't have to think... all we had to do was remember what time to get up to be on the bus and the rest was taken care of. We saw all the sites and got all the information we wanted... I didn't think I would enjoy a bus tour but it was great... plus you get to meet people from all over the world and make new friends!


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## Rob Fisher

After the tour we hired a mansion to just chill in with family for a week and that was also good fun...



Shoes needed on the beach!


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## Rob Fisher

That was a short story on Turkey! One of the nicest holidays we have had and compared to just about every other country we have visited on the plane the cheapest and most friendly...


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## Gizmo

Cant get over how yummy that food looks. Anyway. I have enabled a new editor please see now?


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## Rob Fisher

To answer some of your original question @Matthee...

Logistics, mode of travel - You could do the trip by car if you wanted because the roads are good and the traffic is manageable... for me the bus trip was the answer because they knew where they were going and we could just chill in the bus... wish was was vaping at the time because spoke breaks I lived for. 

Expensive or not - Way cheaper than I expected and very good value for money. Leather Jackets and Carpets are great deals if you are into that. I bought the most awesome leather jacket (soft as anything) but have only managed to wear it once in Durban.

We felt safe all the time... but I know there has been some unrest in Turkley in recent times and would check with the travel agent when you get closer to the time.

Must see is Istanbul and the markets, Churches and Mosques. Cappadocia, the caves and the Balloon ride is the MOST important!


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## Tom

i don't want to spoil anything, and I guess you were not vaping at the time....but:



http://www.electroniccigaretteban.org/country-Turkey-electronic-cigarettes-ecigs-ban.htm


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## Rob Fisher

Tom said:


> i don't want to spoil anything, and I guess you were not vaping at the time....but:
> View attachment 1416
> 
> 
> http://www.electroniccigaretteban.org/country-Turkey-electronic-cigarettes-ecigs-ban.htm



Well that is a huge bummer!


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## Tom

i think u can take, but you are always running the risk to have your stuff confiscated. so, I would not take the Reo on this trip @Matthee 

Turkey is very popular destination for German tourists, all in socks and sandals, I also read some time ago the vaping xp on the german forum. I will check it out for you as soon as I can get to it, ok?


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## Stroodlepuff

really awesome Rob

@Tom ok so wont be doing a holiday there then damn


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## Silver

Rob, what great photos and lovely descriptions about your trip. My wife and i have considered a trip there before but we didnt go, we ended up going somewhere else. I will show her your posts. We may consider it again. Thanks. Your posts help a lot!

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## Andre

Thank you, Rob. Much appreciated. Very tempting.

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## CraftyZA

Oh freaking wow!
*adding turkey to my bucket list, right after the European & German bike tour!*

I've only left the country twice. Once was a diving holiday in Mozambique, and the other was a holiday in Kuwait. (which was supposed to include a dive in Egypt - Red Sea)
When you read Kuwait you will think how boring. However it was not.
Unfortunately I deleted all the photos in anger. The girl I was dating at the time dumped me 3 days after we landed in back in SA.
That aside. Remnants of the war can bee seen every where. The marvel is in the culture. It is fascinating. Obviously beeing the strongest currency in the world, it was not exactly cheap. In 2 weeks i managed to blow my whole salary, so that month all my debit orders bounced. did not feel like I spent a lot. But this was part of the adventure. Their lower income class looks like our middle class. So we ate where they ate, and visited where they visited. It was good.
Alcohol is a banned substance. So forget that beer or glass of wine. The hard rock cafe only sells mocktails. ie, cocktail without the kick. Pizza Hut was awesome. Speaking of those, you can hear there is a huge American influence there.
every one in their 20's drive a Mustang. I've seen so many mustangs there that the mustang almost lost it's magic to me. The middle aged men all had jaguars, and older men and many woman drove mercs.

Sorry to ramble.
What I wanted to say is, when you plan your next big holiday, just add Kuwait to your research.
We still planned to take a dive in the red sea, but that never happened. All the flights was fully booked to egypt. This was poor planning on my side. Flights from kuwait to egypt was fairly cheap. and we already managed to organize scuba gear for the dive in egypt. For me and the girlfriend of the time, the flight and dive would have costed me about R4000. Not that expensive if you think about what sort of experience that would have been.

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## Stroodlepuff

You all are giving me serious wanderlust!!!! I have never left South Africa!


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## Melinda

I've been to Israel, Egypt, Australia, smaller ones is Botswana, Namibia and Mozambique. On my bucket list is Russia, Greece and somewhere where it snow a lot for a White Christmas


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## johan

If you really want to test your patience go to China, not the big cities but the rural areas like Tianchang in the Anhui province - hardly any English literates at all. Go there often as some of my clients for whom I'm doing design work are situated in the rural areas of China.



View from my open balcony shower



Taxi service in rural China



"hot pot" dinner at one of Tianchang's restaurants

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## CraftyZA

johanct said:


> "hot pot" dinner at one of Tianchang's restaurants


So China is taking over the world economy, and German fashion? 


*Just in Jest*


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## johan

CraftyZA said:


> So China is taking over the world economy, and German fashion?
> 
> 
> *Just in Jest*



Zero dress code there accept for the German sandals & socks - good spotting!


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## Rob Fisher

CraftyZA said:


> What I wanted to say is, when you plan your next big holiday, just add Kuwait to your research. We still planned to take a dive in the red sea, but that never happened.



@CraftyZA the Red Sea dive has been on our bucket list for ages... we dived Comoros (before all the Coup d'Etats), Seychelles, Mozambique, Mauritius, Maldives and Florida Keys... we no longer dive so we have taken the Red Sea out of the bucket.... but I have replaced it with Kuwait... not a big fan of the heat in the middle east but it sounds like fun!

We have done Europe and my wife and kids love it... I don't care for Europe... I've seen every old church and ruins that I care to see... the French and Spanish are an unfriendly bunch (I was in Spain recently for the Bass World Champs with the Protea Team as their Manager) and I don't ever want to go back there... they don't speak english and their food is kak! And the worst is that everything in Europe costs about eight million rand!

We also did Thailand recently and that wasn't great... the visibility while we were there was lousy... it's hot and the aircons don't work too well and the traffic is a nightmare... the food is good and very interesting and I'm glad we went but won't go back... it's overrated! If you want a beach holiday go to Mauritius where they are so friendly, the food is good and they speak english with a french accent! If you want a diving holiday then the Maldives is your destination... the diving and sea life is unparalleled but the food is mediocre because it's not really a country but just a lot of very little islands and all they have there is fish and coconuts!

All I want to do is visit the rest of the American States... So far I've done Texas, Florida, North and South Carolina, New York and Ohio... I really want to start down in Mexico and work my way all the way up the West Coast to Washington State!

We were scheduled to do a boat trip in the Med this year but it's so damn expensive for a family of four we are going to do the Garden Route to CT and Back and see some of our own country.

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## CraftyZA

Rob Fisher said:


> @CraftyZA the Red Sea dive has been on our bucket list for ages... we dived Comoros (before all the Coup d'Etats), Seychelles, Mozambique, Mauritius, Maldives and Florida Keys... we no longer dive so we have taken the Red Sea out of the bucket.... but I have replaced it with Kuwait... not a big fan of the heat in the middle east but it sounds like fun!
> 
> We have done Europe and my wife and kids love it... I don't care for Europe... I've seen every old church and ruins that I care to see... the French and Spanish are an unfriendly bunch (I was in Spain recently for the Bass World Champs with the Protea Team as their Manager) and I don't ever want to go back there... they don't speak english and their food is kak! And the worst is that everything in Europe costs about eight million rand!
> 
> We also did Thailand recently and that wasn't great... the visibility while we were there was lousy... it's hot and the aircons don't work too well and the traffic is a nightmare... the food is good and very interesting and I'm glad we went but won't go back... it's overrated! If you want a beach holiday go to Mauritius where they are so friendly, the food is good and they speak english with a french accent! If you want a diving holiday then the Maldives is your destination... the diving and sea life is unparalleled but the food is mediocre because it's not really a country but just a lot of very little islands and all they have there is fish and coconuts!
> 
> All I want to do is visit the rest of the American States... So far I've done Texas, Florida, North and South Carolina, New York and Ohio... I really want to start down in Mexico and work my way all the way up the West Coast to Washington State!
> 
> We were scheduled to do a boat trip in the Med this year but it's so damn expensive for a family of four we are going to do the Garden Route to CT and Back and see some of our own country.


Speaking of heat. We went in mid december.
I'm thinking african heat, multiplied by desert dryness 
So obviously packed "help my sterk lyk" hempies, tshirts, and lots of shorts.
What i should have been thinking was: NORTHERN F...NG HEMISPHERE.
Needless to say, i had to spend a bit for warm clothes, and jackets. The desert is cooooold in winter.

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## Rob Fisher

CraftyZA said:


> Speaking of heat. We went in mid december.



 Forgot about the cold... we went in mid summer and stayed a few days in Dubai and it was almost 50 degrees... you walked out the hotel and it was like someone kicking you in the face! I only just manged to walk one and a half block down the street to the big Mall of the Emirates and lo and behold inside they had a Ski Slope with snow on it!!!!!!


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## SunRam

Hey @Rob Fisher, thanks for the photos. My wife and myself are going to Turkey in May, and we can't wait. 

I read a little more on the Turkish ecig issue, and it seems that only advertising has been banned on ecigs, and importing and sales has not been banned. I will do some more research, hopefully I can vape away while we're there!

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## Andre

SunRam said:


> Hey @Rob Fisher, thanks for the photos. My wife and myself are going to Turkey in May, and we can't wait.
> 
> I read a little more on the Turkish ecig issue, and it seems that only advertising has been banned on ecigs, and importing and sales has not been banned. I will do some more research, hopefully I can vape away while we're there!


That is a relief. Please keep us updated.


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## Rob Fisher

SunRam said:


> I read a little more on the Turkish ecig issue, and it seems that only advertising has been banned on ecigs, and importing and sales has not been banned. I will do some more research, hopefully I can vape away while we're there!



That's great news... and you will simply love Turkey and everything about it... the people, the food, the history and the religious tolerance!

Take a pair of long pants with you (I never wear long pants... except for weddings and funerals and proze giving at national events when I have to wear the uniform)... and you wife needs to take a scarf.


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## SunRam

Rob Fisher said:


> That's great news... and you will simply love Turkey and everything about it... the people, the food, the history and the religious tolerance!
> 
> Take a pair of long pants with you (I never wear long pants... except for weddings and funerals and proze giving at national events when I have to wear the uniform)... and you wife needs to take a scarf.


Thanks for the heads up, will jeans suffice? I'm very much looking forward to the food!


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## Rob Fisher

SunRam said:


> Thanks for the heads up, will jeans suffice? I'm very much looking forward to the food!



Yes they will but depending on the time of year it can be really hot... I in fact refused to put on jeans and wore one of my wives beach skirts! At least I could rip it off as soon as we left the church or Mosque. I just had to cover my sezy legs.

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## Andre

SunRam said:


> Hey @Rob Fisher, thanks for the photos. My wife and myself are going to Turkey in May, and we can't wait.
> 
> I read a little more on the Turkish ecig issue, and it seems that only advertising has been banned on ecigs, and importing and sales has not been banned. I will do some more research, hopefully I can vape away while we're there!


How are you travelling? And your itinerary? We are considering for November.


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## SunRam

Matthee said:


> How are you travelling? And your itinerary? We are considering for November.


We're going with a bunch of friends, and I'm not too much involved in the planning lol. We're traveling with SAA, and going to stay in a beach front hotel. The total package is around R28,000 per person, incl flights, accomodation, 3 meals a day, and some free liquor!

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## Stroodlepuff

SunRam said:


> We're going with a bunch of friends, and I'm not too much involved in the planning lol. We're traveling with SAA, and going to stay in a beach front hotel. The total package is around R28,000 per person, incl flights, accomodation, 3 meals a day, and some free liquor!



How long is that for??


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## SunRam

Matthee said:


> That is a relief. Please keep us updated.


I've just read on ECF and All About Ecigs, of 4 different people that went to Turkey between Aug 2013 and Jan 2014, and all of them had their ecigs with them. They vaped everywhere, and had no issues. One guy even went through Turkish customs with a 18650 SID and 2 X 50ml juice bottles, and no one batted an eyelid. He said he's not in to stealth vaping, and had no problems blowing clouds all over Turkey (except in the mosques and churches). One other guy said there is even small stores selling Ego setups, but no juice. It seems the ban is only on importing and advertising, but not on using it as such. I will definitely try my luck with my cheap K100, Protank II and some of my juice in my hand luggage, and my Nemesis, Kayfun, juice and extra batts in the checked baggage. Come to think of it, I'll rather take my very old Lavatube, then if they do confiscate it, no harm done, it's gathering dust anyway.

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## SunRam

Stroodlepuff said:


> How long is that for??


Departure 7 May and return 15 May. Thus 7 days/6 nights in Turkey.

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## Andre

SunRam said:


> We're going with a bunch of friends, and I'm not too much involved in the planning lol. We're traveling with SAA, and going to stay in a beach front hotel. The total package is around R28,000 per person, incl flights, accomodation, 3 meals a day, and some free liquor!


Sounds amazing, enjoy.


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## SunRam

Matthee said:


> Sounds amazing, enjoy.


Thanks, we certainly will!


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## Tom

CraftyZA said:


> So China is taking over the world economy, and German fashion?
> 
> 
> *Just in Jest*


lol


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## Tom

SunRam said:


> I've just read on ECF and All About Ecigs, of 4 different people that went to Turkey between Aug 2013 and Jan 2014, and all of them had their ecigs with them. They vaped everywhere, and had no issues. One guy even went through Turkish customs with a 18650 SID and 2 X 50ml juice bottles, and no one batted an eyelid. He said he's not in to stealth vaping, and had no problems blowing clouds all over Turkey (except in the mosques and churches). One other guy said there is even small stores selling Ego setups, but no juice. It seems the ban is only on importing and advertising, but not on using it as such. I will definitely try my luck with my cheap K100, Protank II and some of my juice in my hand luggage, and my Nemesis, Kayfun, juice and extra batts in the checked baggage. Come to think of it, I'll rather take my very old Lavatube, then if they do confiscate it, no harm done, it's gathering dust anyway.


yeah, that corresponds with the german tourists xp. they might have a ban but keep their eyes shut on it. Always a good idea to have some gear in checked baggage, and some in hand luggage. Turkey will not hamper with the tourists, they know that this is a good income for them.

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## SunRam

Tom said:


> yeah, that corresponds with the german tourists xp. they might have a ban but keep their eyes shut on it. Always a good idea to have some gear in checked baggage, and some in hand luggage. Turkey will not hamper with the tourists, they know that this is a good income for them.


Yup, I'm bargaining on that. 

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