We landed in IST - Istanbul
First order of the day was a much deserved coffee while we checked out all the car rental desks on the 1st floor and purchased a Turkcell sim card (35 TL for sim card, +40TL for an hour of international talk time, +40 TL for 4gb Internet)
We rented a car (Hundei i20) in the airport for 90TL - The lot attendant asked for "bakshish" (tip/bribe) for inspecting the car and marking damages. We made sure he wrote down EVERY single scratch, burn mark, tire wear, etc. and gave him 10TL. P.S. We were quoted much higher prices due to the beyram holiday - which finished that day - we bargained hard & won)
We filled up our tank (very expensive - up to $90 per tank on a tiny car) and set on our way.
Many good highways are toll roads which you cannot pay in cash You need to have an OGS or HGS pass which should be provided by the car rental) Make sure your tires have good treads as many of the mountainous roads are slipper even when dry.
Many roads have speed cameras, yet we were averaging 160kmph without ever getting a ticket. There are several checkpoints as well, but they mostly waved us through as I look turkish - when we were stopped I showed my US passport and was sent on our way) We covered 2699km total.
Cities we visited:
IzmitNice waterfront but mostly industrial city. We had tea by the water and davned mincha
YalovaWe spent the night in a family resort, we spent $15 per night per room (They misunderstood us and gave us 2 rooms instead of 2 beds - win)
Not much to see in this town, condensed streets, nice park etc
BursaHas a nice shul called
Mayor SynagogueAkhisarA small city on the way to Izmir, We stopped here because google told us there was an old Jewish Cemetery there - We found 150 year old gravestones there with Hebrew inscriptions.
IzmirWe made it here just in time for Chag, We found the shul after a lot of searching. Sharei Shomaim is an unmarked building with a security booth in the front. Officially there are 9 Shuls in Izmir, but we found that most were closed.
We stayed at the Volley Hotel for $100 per night - We got upgraded to a gorgeous suite due to a mistake I pointed out on booking.com
After chag we went to the Kevarim of Rav Chaim Pallagi, Baal Shevet Mussar, Chacham Hazzan and some others. The caretake was friendly and knew a lot. The mikveh there was closed unfortunately.
MarmarisA small picturesque seaside city in the south. Was nice. We did a day safari on jeeps. We had drive by watergun fights with other jeeps - was a lot of fun, even for adults.
PamukkaleAbsolutely a MUST do. Mineral pools that you can swim in. See links for more info
DenizliA medium sized city not far from Pamukkale - we spent the night there.
Cappadocia A gorgeous area with lots of man made caves and interesting rock formations. a hot air baloon here is highly recommended.
AntalyaAnother seaside city, Full of Russians some half decent attractions.
KemerA small seaside resort village. Nice watersports (I did fly board again here)
IstanbulNice size Jewish community, some interesting historic sights. Bosphorus bridge is one of the only places where you can cross 2 continents by car. The grand bazaar was fun.
My views on TurkeyAll in all we had a great time, Many highways & roads offer amazing views. The people in general are friendly but unfortunately we saw lots of negativity as well. We had no problems wearing kippas in public although it is not recommended. I considered it to be relatively expensive compared to most other countries I have visited this year alone (about 28 or so). I do not plan on ever returning here.
Turkey is a good destination for those that enjoy Roman ruins or Jewish History. Not for those looking for a cheap vacation. We have bumped into several attempted scams - but we know better.
Useful LinksJewish SitesWikitravelExchange Rate (at time of writing 10/28/14)
1 US Dollar equals 2.22 Turkish Lira
This is an abbreviated trip report - if you have any questions, feel free to ask