The must-see regions to visit in Turkey include Istanbul, Izmir (near 

Ephesus), the Cappadocia region (near Kayseri), the Aegean resort cities of Bodrum

and Fethiye and the Mediterranean resort city of Antalya.  If you have plenty of time,

you may want to visit Turkey’s capital city of Ankara, but you won’t need to spend more

than a day or two there.  Turkey is a large country and inter-city distances are longer

than you might think.  Thus, you will need at least ten days to two weeks to see all the

places mentioned above.

I recommend flying into Istanbul and spending 2 -4 days in Istanbul to

recuperate from your flight and get adjusted to Turkish life and culture.  Istanbul serves

as the primary domestic hub of Turkish Airlines and you can connect to any city easily

from Istanbul.  From Istanbul you can choose the clockwise or counterclockwise tour of

Turkey.  The clockwise tour begins in Istanbul and includes Cappadocia (Kayseri),

Antalya, Bodrum/Fethiye, Izmir and then back to Istanbul.  The counterclockwise tour

starts in Istanbul, but then continues on to Izmir, Bodrum/Fethiye, Antalya, Cappadocia

(Kayseri) and then back to Istanbul.  In terms of flight arrangements and logistics, it

seems that the clockwise tour works better but others prefer the counterclockwise tour

since travelers can purchase their carpets and pottery in Cappadocia since prices are

much lower than in Istanbul.

You will need at least 2-4 days in Istanbul, 2-3 days in Cappadocia, 2-3 days

in the Izmir/Ephesus region and several days along the Aegean Coast in the

Bodrum/Fethiye area and several days along the Mediterranean coast.  As noted

above, driving in Turkey is precarious and it is best to minimize the amount of driving

during your trip.  However, when planning your trip you will find that you just can’t

escape a certain amount of driving.  While inter-city plane travel on Turkish Airlines

(known as THY) is inexpensive and safe, Turkish Airlines domestic flights are set up on

a hub and spoke system with Istanbul and Ankara as the hubs.  Thus, it is not always

easy to make inter-city connections, such as between Antalya and Dalaman (the airport

closest to Bodrum/Fethiye) without having to travel back to Istanbul).  As noted below,

however, Turkey has a very well developed inter-city bus system and if you do not have

a car or driver than you should not think twice about this option.

Other places of note to visit in Turkey include:  Gallipoli (located on the

northern side of the Dardanelle Straight, this is the sight of one of World War I's most

infamous battles); Pamukkale  (a unique geological formation) and the ancient city of

Pergamon.