If you are interested in venturing inland, I would recommend Goreme in Cappadocia. It's a great little town in the middle of the 'fairy chimney' area of Cappadocia. The folks there are very nice and and the merchants are not nearly as aggressive as they are in the cities. There are many low cost hostel like places to stay (or "pensions" as they call them) but if you want more of a proper
hotel, I can recommend the Canyon View. We stayed there and had a wonderful time. Their breakfast spread is amazing. It's owned by two brothers and the lot has been in their
family for hundreds of years (grandfather was a goat herder and raised pigeons for guano,
sold as fertilizer). One of the brothers runs a hot air balloon tour company. We didn't do the balloon rides but we did have the brother take us around on a car tour of the area. Very recommended to do this if you can. He took us to a place where there were ruins of old christian monistaries that where just on the side of the road. No meusum. You just go and walk up and explore the various rooms with 7-900 year old frescoes all over the walls and ceiling. Also visit the underground city in Derinkuyu, fantastic place.
Of course if you are in the area you shouldn't miss
Istanbul either. It's a very large modern city, but the old city, "Sultanahmet" district, is where most of the historical attractions are. The merchants in this area are very aggressive, but you sort of get used to it. Visit the Blue Mosque, quite possibly the most beautiful building in the world, Topkapi Palace, the Hagia Sophia, and the Basilica Cistern. If you have the time, I would do the Blue Mosque and the Cistern in one day, then a day each for the Hagia Sophia and Topkapi. For casual dining, I can recommend the Palladium, down the hill (toward the Bosporus) form the Blue Mosque. Good
cheap food, good tea and you can relax there for as long as you like. Oh, and the place is built on top of a 2000 year old excavated roman place. There is an entry way down to the ancient palace behind behind the restaurant. The staff will point it out to you and you can go down and walk around on your own. The country has so much
history they can't possibly put a fence around all of it.
You can sail to
Istanbul, but I didn't see many yachts there. I saw a few
marinas on the Bosporus, but not many. There might be special
regulations for sailing on the Bosporus too, but I'm not sure.
I could write a whole book, but those are the highlights.
- Argyle