u/PudgyGroundhog

Last March my daughter and I spent ten days in Turkey, splitting our time between Istanbul and Cappadocia. We had a wonderful time - we loved the history and architecture in Istanbul and the unique landscape of Cappadocia. Highlights included a hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia, two food tours with Culinary Backstreets in Istanbul, Topkapi Palace, the architecture in general - especially the Iznik tiles (obsessed), and a hike in Red Valley in Cappadocia. Although we did enjoy everything we did. We liked visiting both Istanbul and Cappadocia as they were different experiences. This was our itinerary:

Day 1: Two Markets, Two Continents Food Tour with Culinary Backstreets
Day 2: Basilica Cistern, Blue Mosque, Süleymaniye Mosque, Spice Market, Rüstem Pasha Mosque, and Istanbul Modern
Day 3: Hagia Sophia, The Grand Bazaar, Turkish and Islamic Arts Museum, Galataport, and Beyoğlu District
Day 4: Bosphorus cruise and Anadolu Kavağı
Day 5: Dolmabahçe Palace and Hidden Beyoğlu Food Tour with Culinary Backstreets
Day 6: Topkapi Palace and City Walls and Neighborhoods Walk
Day 7: Zelve Open Air Museum and Pasabag Valley
Day 8: Hot Air Balloon Ride, Göreme Open Air Museum, and Red Valley Hike
Day 9: Morning balloon launch, Ihlara Valley hike, Derinkuyu underground city, and Uçhisar Castle
Day 10: Avanos Ceramics

Loved all the cats and we probably consumed our weight in baklava. Other foods I really enjoyed: kaymak (and a quince with kaymak dessert), pilavcısı, pide, halva, adana kebabs, and a pureed eggplant with beef dish I still think about. On the food tours especially we got to try a lot of foods and overall I really liked everything we had.

We recently did a quick trip in Southern Utah. We did an overnight hike in Grand Gulch (Bears Ears), which was fantastic for ruins and rock art; hiked to Druid Arch in the Needles District of Canyonlands, and were treated to some dramatic skies and a huge rainbow at Muley Point (Glen Canyon NRA).

We recently did an overnight trip in Grand Gulch via Kane Gulch and Bullet Canyon. It was around 22 miles and the required permit was easy to obtain. The highlight of this area is the human history - lots of cool ruins and rock art.

Water can sometimes be an issue, but we ended up just carrying enough water - which was easy to do since it was an overnight and our first day was chilly and cloudy. There was a good spring in Sheiks Canyon near The Green Mask Site if we had needed to filter water.

We only saw one other group the first day (Kane Gulch and Grand Gulch). We saw more people on the second day (people camped in Sheiks Canyon, more people in Bullet Canyon) - but overall it wasn't very busy. We were there Tuesday-Wednesday, which might have helped with that.

Standard disclaimer with sites like this - be respectful, follow the rules, and help preserve these precious sites.

We made a quick trip to southern Utah a few weeks ago and did some great hikes. We did an overnight in Grand Gulch, entering through Kane Gulch and exiting via Bullet Canyon. This was around 22 miles and terrific for the human history - cool ruins and rock art.

We hiked to Druid Arch in the Needles District of Canyonlands NP and it was fantastic. Not only is Druid Arch stunning, the views of Chesler Park along the way and the expansive views of the needles, fins, and Cedar Mesa Sandstone from the arch are also awesome. The hike is around 11 miles round trip (for an extra four miles you can also add on Chesler Park and the Joint Trail).

We also stopped at Monument Valley to do the scenic drive since the day was so gorgeous and had some dramatic skies at Muley Point - including a huge rainbow before we were engulfed in snow flurries.