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I fear I didn't do quite enough looking before I bought this book, but we had good luck the year before with Frommer's Greece. Nemrut, the Roman bridge built by Septimus Severus, Urfa, ---what a huge disappointment and absolutely made me want my money back. Imagine my surprise when we arrive in Turkey on our OAT tour to the Eastern part of the country and find that NOTHING on that section of Turkey is covered in this book. I am not making this up.not a word on the fabulous Gazientep, the sights of Antakya, Mt. I would say even the areas we went to that were covered weren't up to the standards we had expected based on other of their books. The EAstern areas of Turkey were the most interesting and some of the best, most ancient ruins ---this oversight is too big to forgive.
I always use Frommers books for my vacations, but I have to tell you that this book is the biggest waste of money I have ever spent on Amazon or any other book store for that matter. This guy is a crook. Have you ever heard the phrase BAIT AND SWITCH. Be careful, you just might wind up in Iraq if you follow her guides. Well, that should be the heading for all her recommendations if they are all like the Apricot hotel in Istanbul. This book is very vague and confusing throughout. The author obviously has not done her job here. This hotel should be taken out of this book completely for it's opportunistic behavior.
You can not trust her hotel recommendations. How in the world can she justify putting Apricot hotel in Istanbul in this book. BUYER BEWARE. My advise to the author, have a chat with the guy who wrote the Frommers Italy book, you can learn alot from him.
Hotel ratings, restaurants as always need to be checked against standards where they exist. Things have changed in Turkey. It is not enough to say first class or three star. The currency has been modernized and preparation for membership in the EU changes other things as well. The book is still dealing with the old currency and you must convert everything. The historical venues and the directions, advice on what to see probably very valid. Need to get guide that includes the New Turkish Lira.
This guide also works well in conjunction with the Eyewitness or Insight guides (we have found this for other locations too), as the latter seem to provide better at-a-glance cultural information and have superior maps. Our battered and dogeared copy of the Frommer's Turkey guide was an indispensible guide on our trip to Turkey. We used it to plan our trip, modifying Ms. The book also has lots of historical and cultural information and "surivival tips" that made for good reading (and re-reading) during long airport waits and on downtime -- I found myself reading this book more often than the novel I brought along. We appreciated the attention given to some places and experiences that we didn't find mentioned in other guidebooks to Turkey. Levine's suggested 2-week itinerary to match our needs.
In any case, after a couple of days in Turkey we could get a sense of "budget," "moderate," and "expensive" prices and estimate these categories in the guidebook accordingly. We are independent travelers who like to get out on our own, away from tours, and this guide was perfect for our needs. Yes, prices were more than what were listed in the book, but this is not the author's fault. The guide also provided us with plenty of off the beaten path suggestions of where to stay and eat. We found the reviews of accommodations and restaurants particularly accurate in terms of quality, though would have liked to see a few more restaurant recommendations -- this is one area, I think, where Frommers guides in general feel a bit thin. I am impressed by how much ground is covered in this guide.
Traveling distances and times seemed entirely accurate, and they helped us to budget our time efficiently.
Ms. Don't look for travel advice here. O tempore o mores. When and where you can enjoy the best swimming is not even mentioned. Check the "Where to Stays" and be prepared for listing after listing of over-priced cookie cutter hotels and resorts. oi veh.A glance at the "best beaches" will give the reader a quick lesson in obfuscation and double talk.
No kidding. Lots of elitist opinions on Turkey's history and the growth of tourism there over the past twenty years. Levine has time for some great advice on behalf of the turtles and the reader is advised to stay away from "off- limits" protected areas. While bemoaning the fact that most of the best beaches have been "snatched up by big hotel chains" and access is not free, the author manages to compile a less than worthy list of nine beaches.And on that list are harbours and beaches which have been "snatched up" by the big hotel chains( read hotel chains as the bad guys). Quality of sand and water temperature are virtually ignored. All this before you get to page 10.It gets worse.
Its difficult to make Turkey into Velveeta Cheese but this Frommer's did it.Ed von Lemcke
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