Lonely Planet Turkey
- Downloads：2779
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-05-23 10:19:44
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lonely Planet
- ISBN：178657800X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Isen
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I see two use-cases for this book。 One， you're in Turkey， preferably with a car and all the time in the world， and you leisurely flick through the pages to see which village you want to visit next。 Two， you already have an itinerary more or less in mind， and just need to join the dots here and there。 As something to convince you to actually visit Turkey， it is useless。 It covers too many locations in too little detail。 You get a few paragraphs per town， basically telling you whether it has a mos I see two use-cases for this book。 One， you're in Turkey， preferably with a car and all the time in the world， and you leisurely flick through the pages to see which village you want to visit next。 Two， you already have an itinerary more or less in mind， and just need to join the dots here and there。 As something to convince you to actually visit Turkey， it is useless。 It covers too many locations in too little detail。 You get a few paragraphs per town， basically telling you whether it has a mosque， castle， museum， and on to the next one。 Very few pictures， almost no journey ideas。 As an idea of what to do in Turkey， it is not much better -- due to the extreme brevity of the description of any one place。There is some useful information at the back on history， food and whatever。 I'd say more than half the book is dedicated to hotels， restaurants， and bars， which is of questionable utility in the internet age。 。。。more
Ghulam
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Great book。 Provides a comprehensive guide of most of the cities in Turkey and tourist attractions。 A must read if you are travelling to Turkey！
Jan
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A well written introduction and all the practical information you need。 The prices indicated are not up to date， in general you pay 10 Türkisch lira more for long bus rides and after bargain 8 to 15 more for hotels。
Helio
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Not as many options of where to stay and eat in various locations as I am used to in the old Lonely Planet Guide series。 This edition I read is dated （2011） and even when they are two years old they are dated。 It does provide information on what can be seen and a little bit of how to reach different destinations。 Prices seem high （even for being eight years old） compared to what people who have recently been there told me。 The section at the back on scams to avoid is helpful and having to pay $6 Not as many options of where to stay and eat in various locations as I am used to in the old Lonely Planet Guide series。 This edition I read is dated （2011） and even when they are two years old they are dated。 It does provide information on what can be seen and a little bit of how to reach different destinations。 Prices seem high （even for being eight years old） compared to what people who have recently been there told me。 The section at the back on scams to avoid is helpful and having to pay $60US for a Visa （maybe more now） seems high。 I will photocopy the page （380） on language tips to take with me。 。。。more
libraryfacts
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"Turkey's diverse landscapes， from Aegean olive groves to eastern steppe， provide a lyrical setting for its many great ruins。 The country's most magical scenery is to be found in Asian Anatolia， where beautiful vistas are provided by the vertiginous Mediterranean coastline， Cappadocia's otherworldly 'fairy chimney' rock formations and wavy valleys， the alpine pastures of the Kaçkar Mountains， and golden beaches such as 18km-long Patara。 Whether you settle down with a çay to enjoy the view across "Turkey's diverse landscapes， from Aegean olive groves to eastern steppe， provide a lyrical setting for its many great ruins。 The country's most magical scenery is to be found in Asian Anatolia， where beautiful vistas are provided by the vertiginous Mediterranean coastline， Cappadocia's otherworldly 'fairy chimney' rock formations and wavy valleys， the alpine pastures of the Kaçkar Mountains， and golden beaches such as 18km-long Patara。 Whether you settle down with a çay to enjoy the view across mountain-ringed Lake Eğirdir or explore the hilly hinterland on the southwest coast's many peninsulas， Turkey's landscape will leave a lasting impression。 " 。。。more
Anatolikon
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Having a spent a month in Turkey in 2011 （primarily travelling off the beaten path） with this book as my main reference， I feel that I am more than qualified to review it。 While this guide has a number of problems， it also has its merits。 Much of the general information is quite accurate and their general advice proved itself to be extremely useful。 For example， their description of the apple tea carpet salesman routine was freakishly accurate， and the entire time some guy was trying to sell me Having a spent a month in Turkey in 2011 （primarily travelling off the beaten path） with this book as my main reference， I feel that I am more than qualified to review it。 While this guide has a number of problems， it also has its merits。 Much of the general information is quite accurate and their general advice proved itself to be extremely useful。 For example， their description of the apple tea carpet salesman routine was freakishly accurate， and the entire time some guy was trying to sell me a carpet I couldn't help but note just how similar it was to what the book described。 The environmental descriptions were quite accurate most of the way。 By describing a lot of stuff off the beaten track in Turkey the book really encourages the traveller to actually experience authentic Turkey （which， as another reviewed noted， is not anything like Kusadashi or Kas。）This is a good general guidebook and it got me around Turkey for a month。 Do not be discouraged by the fact that I am now going to list a number of faults。 Instead， use other resources to make up for these faults lest you get stuck somewhere。 For one， the maps in the book are not always great。 They are typically fine for more popular areas。 The maps for Sultanahmet， for example， are just fine and you can find your way around without any trouble。 However， the further you get from main tourist sites， the worse the maps get。 The western sections of Istanbul inside the Theodosian Walls were nigh-unnavigable with the Lonely Planet maps because there were so many streets that simply did not show appear。 I spent a lot of time lost in this part of town and was forced to resort to other maps and asking the locals。 Another thing the book never mentioned were the obnoxious hucksters in the main tourist areas。 While this is hardly a Turkish phenomenon， I did find them to be a lot more aggressive and irritating than anywhere else。 Of course， once you're outside of any of the main tourist places you'll never see anyone like that other than children who seem to only know the word "money，" and want some from you。 Considering how often these things came up， the book's failure to mention them is notable。 The book occasionally misrepresents historical sites as well。 It claims that Perge， one of the most spectacular Roman cities I've ever seen （complete with a large theater， stadion， and Byzantine ruins on the hill at the end of the collondaded street） can be explored in an hour， whereas a day is more realistic。 In a similar manner （and on the facing page） the book praises the ruins of Termessos。 Termessos is in a spectacular location and is as easily accessible from Antalya as Perge， but the ruins at the site are unimpressive on their own， badly overgrown， and almost completely un-excavated。 The book could also use better driving directions， information on parking， and general information on Turkish highways。 I rented a car and learned as I went， leaning heavily on the GPS device the rental car company gave me。 Some better general road maps and driving information could have alleviated a lot of stress， although I still managed to get around without too much trouble from the information in the book。This is a good book。 Although this review may seem overwhelmingly negative， I am merely pointing out some flaws so that anyone wishing to travel to Turkey with this book can make up for its defects with other materials。 Other than these few caveats， this is an excellent book。 。。。more
Barb
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Good book for information， yet will have to get more up-to-date info on certain places as well as detailed and clearer maps。 The book has given me an eye opening view with historical facts。 Looking forward to my trip to Turkey in the Spring。
Nicki
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Good research and information for up and coming trip to Turkey
Julie
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I used this to supplement a group tour and it was extremely handy。 The others in my group left their tour books and used mine as a reference。 Reading the history and tips before I left gave good insight into how I should pack and what to expect。 Thanks again， Lonely Planet！
Siti Nur Aishah Aleyes
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Brief yet informative。
Anna
，
When I travel to a new location I always reach for Lonely Planet。 Their off the beaten path activities and tips have brought some of the most memorable travel experiences to date。 However I always find that I need to cross check their lodging and restaurant recommendations with Trip Advisor。 But find that their pointers always get me moving in the right direction。
Ali Devine
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Have got the 2013edition， in preparation of our holiday。。。。。。。。。。。。
Hanna
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Dear Lonely Planet，Your maps are awful。 Really， really bad。 Why did you choose a gray background， and why can't you number your locations on said gray maps in any kind of a coherent pattern？ God forbid you're trying to look at the map on a Kindle， then you truly are doomed。Of course， everyone loves reading a travel guide and daydreaming about their upcoming vacation。 This guide is good for that; enough background information to give context， realistic descriptions of the sights， etc。 I basically Dear Lonely Planet，Your maps are awful。 Really， really bad。 Why did you choose a gray background， and why can't you number your locations on said gray maps in any kind of a coherent pattern？ God forbid you're trying to look at the map on a Kindle， then you truly are doomed。Of course， everyone loves reading a travel guide and daydreaming about their upcoming vacation。 This guide is good for that; enough background information to give context， realistic descriptions of the sights， etc。 I basically ignore all the food and hotel info （that's what the internet is for， right？）， but for a novice traveler it's probably comforting to have it in print as well。 Seriously though， you need to fix the maps。 。。。more
Tom Burns
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This was a handy， easy to use source of information。 Descriptions were accurate and extensive。 I didn't find the pullout maps too useful on the street as who wants to actually unfold a map from a book while sight seeing？ This book was most useful while en route through Antolia to aid in planning adventures。 And yes， the maps were quite useful then。 Being released this year， it proved to be up to date。 This was a handy， easy to use source of information。 Descriptions were accurate and extensive。 I didn't find the pullout maps too useful on the street as who wants to actually unfold a map from a book while sight seeing？ This book was most useful while en route through Antolia to aid in planning adventures。 And yes， the maps were quite useful then。 Being released this year， it proved to be up to date。 。。。more
Ankur Banerjee
，
It's hard to give a definitive review of this guide。 You have to remember that Turkey is a fairly large country and there were EIGHT authors who worked on this book。 So depending on which region of Turkey you read up the most about， your impression of the book may vary。 Having said that， my itinerary took me through Istanbul， Ankara， Cappadocia， and bits along the Aegean coast - which is what I expect MANY travellers would be doing。 With that in mind， here's what I think of this particular Lonel It's hard to give a definitive review of this guide。 You have to remember that Turkey is a fairly large country and there were EIGHT authors who worked on this book。 So depending on which region of Turkey you read up the most about， your impression of the book may vary。 Having said that， my itinerary took me through Istanbul， Ankara， Cappadocia， and bits along the Aegean coast - which is what I expect MANY travellers would be doing。 With that in mind， here's what I think of this particular Lonely Planet guide/edition:- Maps and listings seemed accurate for most part， which is THE most important thing for me in a travel guide。 （Some of the ones for Cappadocia are off though。） However， the maps mostly stick to busiest parts of touristy neighbourhoods - don't expect a working map of the full city。 Then again， you'll probably stick mostly the must-see bits anyway。- I was impressed by the comprehensive bus timing information from all major bus terminals around Turkey。 This was actually quite handy for me in planning my itinerary on the fly。- Lacking in budget accommodation options throughout。 Most of the accommodation entries are for rooms that are 50 liras or more a day - you can definitely go cheaper than that and I was disappointed that they did not have definitive recommendations on that。- Descriptions of places to visit are bare minimum - and often copied from signs or audio guides from those places。 Don't expect to use this as an in-depth guide on understanding things， but for basics it's okay。Overall， I'd recommend buying it。 Bus timings and maps are my two main needs in a travel guide and I figure out the rest myself。 This book fulfils those two criteria well-enough。 。。。more
Jacob
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A little bit of the info was out of date， despite this being published in March 2011， and a lot of the phrases at that back were more formal than you need， but still a very useful guidebook with a ton of information about all things Turkey vacation-related。
Löki Gale
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Chalk full of information about Turkey - this tome （it is a tome folks） is hefty and all inclusive。 The only negatives include its weight， size， and overall inclusivity。 I found myself overwhelmed with information。 However， I did appreciate the site suggestions as we ended up taking the exact route proposed on our two week excursion。Definitely worth it， but if you can get it as a PDF on an e-reader， you would probably be happier。
Christian Crowley
，
Interesting stuff as always。 I could enjoy reading anything from this series， just for some focused history and a bit of armchair traveling。 I wonder how much has changed in the half-dozen years since this edition came out。。。 Certainly， I'll need to consult another source for the most up-to-date history。I've borrowed the 2007 edition， and for some reason the writing is painfully chummy， including editorial scabs along the lines of "helluva，" "kinda，" etc。 Attention LonelyPlanet: if I want super- Interesting stuff as always。 I could enjoy reading anything from this series， just for some focused history and a bit of armchair traveling。 I wonder how much has changed in the half-dozen years since this edition came out。。。 Certainly， I'll need to consult another source for the most up-to-date history。I've borrowed the 2007 edition， and for some reason the writing is painfully chummy， including editorial scabs along the lines of "helluva，" "kinda，" etc。 Attention LonelyPlanet: if I want super-colloquial writing， I'll read a blog。 Also the maps are seriously lacking: the map at the chapter head for Cappadocia is a grey square， peppered with a handful of location dots。 If I refer to the top of the page， I can see where this grey square was punched out of Turkey's outline， but that's still not very useful。 。。。more
Eveduboys
，
planning trips！！！
Joshua Andert
，
I'd be lost wıthout ıt！ I'd be lost wıthout ıt！ 。。。more
Melissa
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[2009。05] Helped us with planning our travels in the Cappadocia region and Ephesus/Selcuk （Spring-Summer 2009 Europe trip）。
Jules
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Used this book whilst backpacking through Turkey。 Served its purpose well。
Jessica
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"Ataturk' zeal for modernization was unwavering， giving the Turkish state a makeover on micro and macro levels。 Everything from headgear to spoken language was scrutinized and where necessary reformed。 Throughout the 1920s and '30s Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar （bringing it in line with the West， rather than the Middle Eat）， reformed its alphabet （adopting the Roman alphabet and abandoning Arabic script） and standardised the Turkish language， outlawed the fez （seen as a reminder of the O "Ataturk' zeal for modernization was unwavering， giving the Turkish state a makeover on micro and macro levels。 Everything from headgear to spoken language was scrutinized and where necessary reformed。 Throughout the 1920s and '30s Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar （bringing it in line with the West， rather than the Middle Eat）， reformed its alphabet （adopting the Roman alphabet and abandoning Arabic script） and standardised the Turkish language， outlawed the fez （seen as a reminder of the Ottoman era， hence backward）， instituted universal suffrage， and decreed that Turks should take surnames， something they had previously got by without。" 。。。more
Elizabeth
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this is an on-going "read"， ie， whenever I'm traveling :） this is an on-going "read"， ie， whenever I'm traveling :） 。。。more
Sori
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I usually have to wait until I visit the country before I can really rate a book， but so far so good。**Update: A lot of the opening and closing times are outdated， and we were unable to visit one place because of it。 It was still over all a good book。
Jenn
，
Pretty good guide。
Lory
，
I love you， Lonely Planet！Very helpful guidebook。 Lonely Planet really do seem to surpass all other guidebooks as far as accuracy and smooth， understandable writing。 I do wish they would include a rating system like Frommers though， becuase sometimes it can be hard to tell if the writer is recommending the place or not。
Jen
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