From the Aegean to the Silk Road

Ancient spas, fabled libraries and Caravanserais

• 1
  Day 1 -

  

   

  Arrival and Free Time; Depending on your arrival time, your hotel is centrally located to allow you to access some of Istanbul’s key historical sites.  The hotel is on the T1 tram line between the Salı Pazarı and Tophane stops.  From here you can easily access the Golden Horn, Galata Bridge, The Hippodrome and The Covered Bazaar.  Alternatively, get off the tram at Karaköy and go to the Tünel and catch the underground railway up to the fashionable shopping street of Istiklal Cadesi.  The Tünel, opened in 1875 is the oldest underground rail service in Continental Europe.

   

  All you need is an Istanbul Travel Card (which you can purchase) or the Travel App which you can download.  We recommend that you use this amazing transit system.

  Overnight Istanbul.

• 2
  Day 2 -

  

  Guided City Tour visiting the Blue Mosque, Aya Sofia Mosque, Topkapı Sarayı, the original Palace, home and Government Seat of the Sultan (including Hagia Irene) and the Hippodrome.

  In the afternoon you can take an optional half day Bosphorus cruise or spend the afternoon exploring the old city districts of Sultanahmet Laleli where you can explore the covered bazaar with its thousands of shops and dozens of alleys and streets or the superb Suleymaniye Mosque with its astonishing architecture and its views of the Golden Horn and The Bosphorus. 

  Overnight Istanbul (B)

• 3
  Day 3 -

  

  Gallipoli Battlefield Tour. One of the most emotionally touching places in Turkey, today we visit the WWI Battlefields of Gallipoli including Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair Memorials, ANZAC Cove, The Nek, Johnston’s Jolly, original trenches and tunnels.

  “Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives … You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore, rest in peace. You, the mothers, who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land, they have become our sons as well.”

  Overnight Çanakkale (B&D)

• 4
  Day 4 -

  

  This morning, from Çanakkale where one can see the Trojan Horse used in the famous Hollywood Blockbuster, we visit Troy, the location for Homer`s epic tale before continuing to Pergamum once famous for a world renown library (the word Pergamon referring to a high-quality parchment paper originates here) and for its famous hospital and medical facilities established in the 4^th century BC and dedicated to Asclepius, the Greek God of Healing. The famous doctor Galen began his career here.

  Today Pergamon is a UNESCO World Heritage Site primarily because of its extraordinary Acropolis, magnificent temples and gravity defying open theatre on the side of the mountain.

  Overnight Kuşadası (B&D)

• 5
  Day 5 -

  

  We start with a guided tour of Ephesus and a visit to the site of the Temple of Artemis. Feel the mystical atmosphere of the ancient city and theatre before continuing to the former Greek village of Şirince, famous for its fruit wines. Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey and at the carpet village we observe the traditional making of carpets and how we determine their value.

  Overnight Kuşadası (B&D)

• 6
  Day 6 -

  

  Starting with a visit to a leathermaking establishment we will enjoy a display local leather handicrafts before leaving the Aegean and heading east, inland along one of the branches of the Silk Road, to Pamakkale, the famous “Cotton Castle” with its cascades of healing water and other worldly calcium deposits and pools descending from the Ancient City of Hierapolis. This was another ancient health resort and spa town where you can swim among Roman columns in the thermal spring.

  Overnight Pamukkale (B&D)

• 7
  Day 7 -

  

  Today we leave Pamukkale and head further inland along another stretch of the fabled Silk Road;  we go to the ancient city of Konya and the Mevlana complex, monument to the Whirling Derviş order of Holy Men and the originators of the ecstatic dance, before continuing to  one of the great Caravanserais dotted along the Silk Road, Sultanhanı and then, on to Cappadocia.

  Overnight Cappadocia (B&D) Optional Folklore evening. Not to be missed!

• 8
  Day 8 -

  

  Today we explore the fabulous lunar landscapes of Cappadocia visiting Göreme, Göreme Open Air Museum, Underground City and the amazing “Fairy Chimneys.”

  Overnight Cappadocia (B&D)

• 9
  Day 9 - Optional Departure for Treasures of Eastern Turkey Tour today

  

  We depart early for Istanbul but stopping en route to visit Anıtkabir in Ankara, the nation’s capital city. Anıtkabir is the massive monument and funerary complex of Kemal Ataturk, the founder and first president of modern Turkey. A melding of architectural styles from across Anatolia and through history it is a significant and awe-inspiring place to see. From Ankara, we continue to Istanbul.

  Overnight Istanbul (B) (please see our Hotel list above).

   

• 10
  Day 10 -

  Breakfast and depart for your journey home.