What is it like in Bodrum or Gumbet part of Turkey?
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
yes, i was just there in oct/05 and loved turkey.. bodrum was in low 30s for october!!.. the ferry to rhodes is only during summer months but the ferry to kos still runs.. nice greek runs in kos too… i have some pics at www .departures1.com/TurkeySpecial.html (i was trying to arrange a group tour)
places to check
in answer to your question…
i flew from istanbul to izmir.. stayed in kusadasi three days.. then took a local 2 hr bus to bodrum…
there are no trains in the bodrum region.. intercity air conditioned buses will take you to other cities like izmir, kusadasi, or even a lengthy trip to istanbul (i suggest stay a few places along the way like i did or it will be a very long bus ride)…
within bodrum or kusadasi they have local transport by means of minibuses.. they have no stops or schedules but run along a route in a loop.. just stand on the street and wave it down to stop.. and then tell the driver where u want to get off.. its maybe 2.5 lira for a one way trip depending on distance..
the people are very friendly.. everyone assumed i was turkish first and would speak to me in turkish.. (even tourists would ask me for directions!).. when i told them i was pakistani background their faces would light up and they really loved me!!!.. they seem to love us.. culturally we are cousins.. the food, the music.. its all like pakistan.. bodrum actually reminded me of parts of old nazimabad…
food is all halal.. the country is 97% muslim for gods sake.. although beer is openly sold in bars.. their curries, meat dishes, and desserts are all cousins of desi food.. very interchangeable.. donor kebabs are easily found everywhere..
behind the bodrum bus station is a huge indoor market.. on certain days of week they have lots of handcraft (metal, marble, fabric things like ashtrays, copperware, chessboards, etc).. for rugs there are not too many shops in bodrum, istanbul has much more variety
accomodation is cheap.. i had a private room with satellite tv and airconditioning for maybe $20 canadian a nite meals included which is unheard of??? they even forgot to charge me when i was leaving so i had to remind them..
i found lots of dutch and brits there… there are travel agencies near the bus station, they will offer you day trips to kos, turkish village, pummakale, ephesus, scuba diving, boat tours, turkish baths.. language was no problem.. everyone seemed to speak ok english. there economy in bodrum is predominantly tourism and holiday homes/resorts
BE WARNED.. airport connectoin is not good.. a taxi is 70 lira one way.. the bus is maybe 15 lira but does not have a regular schedule (make sure u know the schedule well in advance of your flight like the day before).. alternately you can take a local bus to Milas and tell the driver you want to goto the airport (havalari).. he will stop on the highway and you can cross the highway and walk to the airport or a taxi will meet you there for maybe 5 lira… thas what i did
view of bodrum from the colloseum
view of harbour
view of castle
windmills
gate of midas
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
Brilliant! Thanks, I feel a load lot better knowing about the halal food and about the pakistani-turkish culture thing.
We have arranged for airport transfer through our travel agent (bus ride) so don't need to worry about that.
I'm really looking forward for the boat trip to the the greek islands e.g. Rhodes and the other places that you mentioned above.
Bodrum looks great in the pics.
Thanks once again LE7!
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
thx.. if u goto rhodes u can tell me about it show me ur pics coz i didnt get to go..
:(
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
^No probs. :)
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
I wanted to goto Rhodes to see the Crusader old town. Also Rhodes has one of the few remaining Mosques still in practice in Greece.. The one in Kos was converted to a tourist shop inside..
These two sites are really good for planning your trip
w w w.turkeytravelplanner.com/index.html
w w w.bodrum-info.org/
i wish i was going back.. :(
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
and Bodrum is completely safe in answer to your questions in another thread.. i was completely relaxed and carefree my whole time not even worried about my wallet walking around.. the only time you might be bothered is by street vendors but because i blend right in i didnt even get that much of it
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
^ I'll be staying in Gumbet but will be spending most of my time in Bodrum and other places that u mentioned above.
Lots of useful information there, thanks!
Did u see many otherpeople e.g. south asians or just mainly the british holiday makers?
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
British, Dutch, Belgians, and Germans only...
the only south asians I saw were in Istanbul, but then again we blend in so who knows?
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
You were right it does remind you of pakistan! I absolutely loved every minute of my time in Turkey. I stayed in the Bodrum area, the people are VERY friendly, they love pakistanis and yes they do assume u are turkish as we do blend in quite well them
I didn’t get to visit Rhodes but took the boat ride to Kos (greek island) which was absolutely beautiful - this was booked by the tour operator opposite the bus station.
We watched Superman Returns at the the Oasis Shopping Centre cinema (what a rubbish movie) and went for bargain hunting at the textile market on Tuesday.
Transport (orange bus) was cheap, 1.5 YTL into Bodrum centre., food was no problem. For general grocery we tried supermarkets such as Gima and Migros and their deserts were 
I prayed Jumma at one of the mosques near the Marina, we could hardly hear the Adhaan where we were staying 
- nights got rather noisey with the goras in the discos/bars etc.
We arranged for airport tranfer through our travel agent. I’d like to go back and visit other areas of Turkey (missed Pamakkule 
).
I wish I could have stayed longer
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
glad u liked it.. i stayed on artemis cadessi which was by the bus station in the old part of town similar to nazimabad so away from all the touristy areas...
any pics.. i wanna go back and travel more in that part of turkey
so when does this ferry to rhodes supposed to run... i went in october and they said only during high season.. but if you went in august and still couldnt go??
so you didnt goto a turkish bath then? ;)
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
Some pics…
If you do decide to stay in Bodrum don’t stay in Gumbet as there is nothing much to do or see apart from the naked goras lying on the man-made beach and the stray dogs. You may have seen Gumbet from the windmills which were located close to our apartment.
The ferry does run in August but I didn’t go…I was on a tight budget and had spent alot of money on other things, I wanted to visit Pammukale too - do visit this if you do decide to go again.
Some pics…
View from my apartment in Gumbet
**
Bodrum centre**
Bodrum Castle
Boat trip to Kos (Greek Island)
Mosque in kos (turned into some tourist shop)
Another pic in Kos
No turkish bath 
I definately reccomend other pakistanis to visit Turkey too :k:
LE7 which other parts of Turkey have u visited? I’d like to see Izmir, Istanbul and Ankara.
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
I was in Turkiye for two weeks.. I started in Istanbul for five days, took a day trip across the Marmara Sea to Bursa, and worked my way down to Kusadasi for three days and then Bodrum three days…
I want to go back when I have the money… it really recommend Turkiye… Its a refreshing change from the impression of a muslim country being poor, dirty, backward… parts of the terrain near Bursa are almost like Austria with green alps and luxury villas
Kusadasi was close to Izmir but I didnt actually get to go.. I wanna goto Ankara and Cappadocia on future trips..
Sulimaneye Mosque, Istanbul
Topkapi Saray, Istanbul
View from Bosphorus, Istanbul
Interior central mosque, Bursa
Kusadasi
Ephesus
Pammukale
Hierapolis
My rug! 
Dirvishes
Dolmabahce Imperial Palace, Istanbul
Abandoned mosque, Kos, Greece
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
cool pic's guyz...............looks like the both of ya enjoyed.........sigh...main kab jaakey enjoy karoongee...........
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
Wow, beautiful pics! thanks for sharing. Did u feel any difference in atmosphere/climate/people as you travelled through the different cities in Turkey? When I mentioned Istanbul to turkish in Bodrum, they were like no no…u don’t want to go there… what was it like compared to Bodrum?
I’m already missing it…want to go back again next year insha allah and cover all the places that I missed.
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
Istanbul and the Aegean coast were almost like two seperate holidays but I would definately recommend Istanbul for at least a week to see it properly
In Istanbul the weather was in low 20s and I'd have a jacket in morning/evenings.. In Aegean it was low 30s and I stripped down to my shorts and was roasted like a donair!!
Istanbul is a bustling city and the capital of the Ottoman and Byzantine Empires so has so much to see (Roman, Byzantine, Crusader, Ottoman)... you will see a cross section of all of the nationalities of the Ottoman empire, hungarians, bosnians, bulgarians, arabs, persians, central asians.... it has been a trading centre and crossroads for centuries so you will pick up the skills of sign language and gestures to communicate
The Grand Bazaar you need a day to walk around and see all the handcrafts.. you will run out of money before you run out of things you like... :) The neighbourhood around the bazaar is cramped and bustling with many merchants.. and even a Spice Bazaar... In contrast there is a modern European shopping area on the other sides with trams and department stores...
There are Imperial Palaces, fortresses, castles, orthodox heritage...Much more selection of shops in rug buying so you can really look for a good pattern...
You need at least three whole days to really experience everything but thats still not enough.... try w w w .letsgoistanbul.com
How did you get to Turkey... I got a cheap flight on Germanwings from Berlin.. I hear Easyjet has some flights to Istanbul but I think its just seasonal.. Also some cheap flights from Amsterdam or Brussels on Corendom
I want to go back too.. its too hard listening to my turkish music.. i miss it... :(
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
Turkey is infectious.. a lot of people go there more than once!!! :)
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
We went for a package holiday with firstchoice holidays. Did u book directly with the hotels or did u go through a travel agent? We paid something like £12 a night for the apartment. What hotels would u reccommend in Istanbul? We asked the lady at the travel agent and she said it's very expensive - something ridiculous like £800 for a week's stay?
I picked up some music too...and yes it is hard listening to it.... :(
I didn't think that I would enjoy Turkey this much. I will definately visit Turkey again.
Do u know much about the Job market in Turkey?
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
She's talking rubbish.. I paid maybe $40/nite incl breakfast at Megara Hotel
(see link not Megara Palace)
w w w .megarahotel.com/index.html
right next to Blue Mosque and Haga Sophia in the Sultanhamet district
very nice quality hotel considering the price
I used another site so got cheaper than prices on their webiste
they do airport transfer for 3 euros, free internet in lobby, satellite tv included
All my bookings were over the net
Kusadasi was $30/nite with meals
Bodrum $20/nite with meals
accomodation was dirt cheap and all very high quality, at least 25% of what price would be anywhere else in europe for same quality
dunno about the labour market
Re: Anyone from/or been to Turkey?
I'm also a travel agent btw ;)