MQ Hotel Suites — Karaburun, Istanbul

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Wow, one of the best airport hotels ever! We stayed two nights mid-September 2023 for about US $100 /night, including breakfast. We had a great sea suite across from the Black Sea with a big balcony. It’s only 20-30 minutes via the convenient hotel shuttle (€15/person). Massage and new hamman opening soon is boutique and value priced. Ahmet at front desk was also terrific. Reservation included a very good breakfast. And dinner in the restaurant was consistently good and was attended by a 5-star wait staff. And there's a huge pool. Just wow. Great value. Our go-to stop over in Istanbul from now on!

Ramada Hotel — Lake Van

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We stay four nights at Ramada Inn in Lake Van September 14-18, 2023 as part of our organized eastern Turkiye archeological tour. It was a beautiful four plus hour drive from Mardin before arriving at this modern hotel on the shore of Lake Van. It was a convenient location for our tour bus to manage our traveling group of 20 people. It wasn’t our favorite hotel on the tour but we valued the chance to experience this largely Kurdish cultural part of the country. Should we return planning our own itinerary, we’d opt for a hotel closer to the center of town.

Gazikonagi Hotel — Mardin

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Wow, that was quick! We stay one night September 13th 2023 as part of our organized Eastern Turkey archeological tour. We got there after 9 pm and left about 9 am the following morning. In between hotel stays of a longer duration in Sanliurfa and Lake Van, we had three one-night stays. Our stop in Mardin was the third of the three single quick nights as we made our way across a broad swath of southern Turkiye. We’d been told by fellow travelers we met along the way that Mardin was a highlight. While the hotel was certainly convenient it wasn’t anything special. But the unique geography of the area was breathtaking and the town of Mardin was colorful and a very happy, welcoming place for our night’s stay. More pics of Mardin coming soon. Below are just the hotel.

Anemon Hotel — Diyarbakir

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We stayed one night September 12, 2023 as part of our organized Eastern Turkiye archeological tour. Between Sanliurfa and Lake Van, where in both places we stayed several nights each, we had three successive one night stays as we were bussed across eastern Turkiye stopping at important archeological sites. The Anemon Hotel was the second of the three quick nights and by far the nicest. The nature of the trip allowed only a brief time to absorb and enjoy what the hotel had to offer. We arrived late and left fairly early the next day. This is not the way we ever travel but because of our desire to see the variety and extent of the important historical sites on the tour we made the best of the time there. Very nice property.

Euphrat Hotel — Mount Nemrut

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We stayed one night September 11, 2023 as part of our organized Eastern Turkey archeological tour. Located in a village just an easy 15 minute shuttle bus ride to the summit of Mount Nemrut, where many travelers capture one of the most iconic images in all of Turkiye (see the lead image at the top of this page!). Euphrat Hotel was convenient to the mountain, set on the edge of a valley with a memorable vista but offered a unique, sometimes confounding, sense of hospitality. Probably our least favorite hotel on the tour although climbing Mount Nemrut at sunset was a highlight.

Crowne Plaza Istanbul Old City — Istanbul

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We stayed two nights September 6-8, 2023 as the first stop on our organized 12-day Turkey tour. Located in the old city it was convenient for our group sightseeing of the city that we did. Overall, was adequate for two nights. The front desk service needs improvement. Breakfast buffet was ambitious and very nice.

Ancient Anatolia and the Garden of Eden

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The ancient archeological ruins in this cradle of civilization are intriguing. We toured eastern Turkey for 12 days in mid-September 2023 with the renowned scholar Andrew Collins along with megalithomania.co.uk’s longtime researchers Hugh Newman and JJ Ainsworth. Our group totaled about 20 people. A really great group.

See details: Hotel Guys Eastern Turkey Tour

Taksim Square Apartment Airbnb - Istanbul, Turkey

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We stayed in the Taksim Square area of Istanbul from August 31 to September 6, 2023 in an Airbnb apartment for $139/night. We’ve been collecting around the world perfect affordable little hotels and apartments and now we have one in Istanbul! The only negatives are the relatively lower ceilings (lower than preferred but not so low that Paul ever hit his head) and the tiny elevator and seventh floor (penthouse) location made us a little uneasy about exiting in any emergency — an unlikely event. Otherwise, it was the sweetest little affordable big city short-term apartment with great little touches, including kitchen, plenty of space, good AC, laundry and a small outdoor deck off the bedroom. Quiet and convenient. Perfect for a week’s stay and a nice alternative to staying in the old city. Added bonus: great Indian restaurants in the very lively, gorgeous neighborhood. We miss it!

Divan Cukurhan Boutique Class - Ankara, Turkey

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At the last minute we changed our minds about where to stay in Ankara choosing the Divan brand hotel, Cukurhan, instead of the other super modern Divan Ankara brand hotel located away from the city center. Cukurhan is a beautifully restored 14-room historical hotel, filled with art, adjacent to the Ankara Castle and three important museums — Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Erimtan Archaeology and Art Museum and Rahmi M. Koc Museum. We stayed three night at the end of August 2023 in a superior king room for $184/night including breakfast. The hotel restaurant was especially good and we ate a couple of other snacks and meals there beyond the excellent included breakfast. Our goal was to go to all three museums in the two full days we had. We also explored a few other select areas of town including Gençlik Park and a beautiful hammam where we had a great traditional Turkish bath. We also visited Cermodern, an art gallery housed in the old train station but there was no exhibition there so we enjoyed the popular museum cafe and strolled by the nearby exterior of the stunning CSO Ada Ankara concert hall. The first carousel of pics below are from the hotel, followed in the second carousel by select pics from our activities.

Grand Cappadocia Hotel — Göreme, Turkey

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We stayed August 22-28, 2023 in a deluxe room for $162 including breakfast. When planning our visit it wasn’t obvious to us in what area of the Cappadocia region to stay. Goreme was the right choice! And the Grand Cappadocia was one of those choices we made that turned out to be an exception property, and exceptionally comfortable! We planned to stay just three nights. It wouldn’t have been long enough. Before arriving we juggled out onward travel schedule and opted to stay for six nights instead. It wasn’t too long. Total tourist town. Probably the friendly, most helpful people ever in a total tourist town! Great restaurants and great activities including the must-do sunrise balloon ride over the valley. On the mornings you don’t do the ride watching from the ground is just as fun. Pure magic! It’s a very well organized tour program, We did the Red Tour and the Green Tour plus the Turkish night (dinner club entertainment) and the exquisite (see video below) Sufi whirling dervish performance. There’s other activities too. Great fun. We’re telling all our friends to visit here! And now we’re telling you! See hotel pics below. And below the first carousel are some highlights of our activities.

World Class Airport Hotel — Istanbul, Turkey

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We stayed one night August 21, 2023 in a superior double room for $131 without breakfast. No complaints for a standard quick trip airport hotel. Communication with the hotel was easy. They arranged pick-up and drop-off in both directions. Affordable. We were only there about 12 hours max. In some cities we stay more than once in a certain airport hotel. If we needed an overnight near the IST Istanbul airport we would probably look around for other options. But no complaints.