Authentic Adventure                                   • Istanbul • Assos • Selcuk • Pamukkale • Kalkan • Antalya • Cappadocia •

12 Days / 11 Nights

Small Group Tour (Maximum 20 persons)

Guaranteed Departures

This trip covers the beautiful Turkish Mediterranean coast, exploring classic sites and seascapes on easy walks. A relaxing and enjoyable holiday in quaint and historical towns with carefully selected, restored local architecture hotels where available. Shopping options at local rug cooperatives, a pottery making workshop, vineyards, onyx factories and first hand interaction with local, friendly Turkish people.

Day 1 Monday Istanbul – Arrival

You will be met at the airport and transfer to your hotel in the old part of Istanbul. Overnight at a historical hotel in old city area of Istanbul. Welcome briefing.

Day 2 Tuesday Istanbul

Half day tour to St. Sophia and Hippodrome. Optional tour with bosphorus cruise & Spice Market. B

Day 3 Wednesday

Day 3 / Sunday / Gallipoli & Troy – Assos

Morning departure for Gallipoli and visit Anzac Cove, Lone pine cemetery Chunuk Bair, Gabatepe War Museum then across the
Dardanelles to Canakkale visiting Troy we continue to Assos for overnight. Assos, the famous teaching center of antiquity, is 87 km south of Çanakkale. Aristotle spent over three years living and teaching here. From the Acropolis you can take in the magnificent vista of the Gulf of Edremit. On the terraces descending to the sea are agoras, a gymnasium and a theatre. From the northern corner of the acropolis, you can see a mosque, a bridge and a fortress, all of which were built in the 14th century by the Ottoman Sultan Murat I. Down below, lies a tiny and idyllic ancient harbor. Assos has gained the reputation of being the center of the Turkish art community with its bohemian atmosphere.

(B,D)

Day 4 / Monday / Selcuk via Pergamum

Morning drive through the olive forests and stop at an olive museum, Then we visit an ethnographical museum in Tahta kuslar (wooden birds) village. The last stop of day will be the ancient medical center Asclepion in Pergamum. Asclepion was an important health centre in Greco-Roman times. Among the types of therapy practiced here were mud baths, sports, theatre, psychotherapy and use of medicinal waters. A colonnaded street leads to the Asclepion, and to the left of the entrance is the temple of Asclepios. It is thought that patients were cured here by the sound of running water and by the persuasive hypnotic techniques used by the priests. Overnight in Selcuk or Kusadasi. (B,D)

Day 5 / Tuesday / Ephesus & St. Mary’s House

Morning tour of glorious ruins at Ephesus, explore 2,000 year-old marble streets, a theater, the library of Celsius, a gymnasium and Hadrian’s Temple. Take a short drive to see St. Mary’s stone cottage where she stayed later in life accompanied by St. John, and visit also the village of Sirince village, a synthesis of Turk-Greek culture with typical Greek houses and an Orthodox church.

Along the narrow street the women of the village sell handicrafts and olive oil. Overnight in Selcuk. (B,D)

Day 6 / Wednesday / Aphrodisias – Hierapolis

Morning drive to the ruins of Aphrodisias set against the foot of a picturesque mountain. The name of the city derives from the Greek name for the goddess of love, Aphrodite. The city had a famous school of sculpture. Excavated since 1961, the site has yielded a wealth of art treasures to archaeologists. Then heading east to Pamukkale to visit the "Cotton Fortress" and the ancient Spa Center of Hierapolis. The terraces of Pamukkale are built-up limestone deposits which have formed pools and fascinating stalactite formations. Hierapolis is among the cities of the ancient world in which the grid-plan was applied. The Necropolis is the largest ancient cemetery in Anatolia with approximately 1,200 graves. (B,D)

Day 7 / Thursday / Patara – Saklikent – Kalkan

Morning drive to Saklikent Canyon. The Canyon is a natural wonder, 300 meters deep and 18 km long. Four kilometers of the canyon are walkable after April, when most of the snow in the Taurus Mountains has melted and passed through on its way to the Mediterranean Sea. Afternoon visit Patara with Roman ruins and a huge beach. Patara was one of the most important seaports during the times of Alexander the Great. Drive along the unique Mediterranean coast line to Kalkan for overnight. (B,D)

Day 8 / Friday / Myra – Finike – Antalya

Morning drive to Myra, to visit the home church of St. Nicholas (the authentic and original Santa Claus). A short stop in Finike and early afternoon arrival to Antalya. Finike is an ancient town said to have been founded by the Phoenicians. The local economy depends on agriculture, particularly oranges and the area is more quiet than the other costal resorts closer to Antalya. Time to discover the old town harbor. (B,D)

Day 9 / Saturday / Aspendos – Konya – Cappadocia

Morning drive to Aspendos the roman city on the foot of the Taurus mountains. Aspendos is famous for having the best-preserved Roman Theatre in the Mediterranean region.  Continue to Konya, tour Mevlana’s Mausoleum, founder of the Whirling Dervishes, finally arrival to the “moon-like“ landscape of Cappadocia. Tonight Optional: Whirling Dervishes performance in a 13th century Caravan inn. (B,D)

Day 10 / Sunday / Cappadocia

Early Morning Optional Balloon Tour: Experience floating through volcanic valleys with the sunrise of Cappadocia.

After breakfast visit the Byzantine frescoed chapels at Goreme, a district of the Nevşehir Province. After the eruption of Mount Erciyes about 2,000 years ago, ash and lava turned into rock. The softer rock was eroded by wind and water, leaving the hard cap rock on top of pillars, forming the present-day fairy chimneys. The people carved out the soft rock to form houses, churches, monasteries. These Christian sanctuaries contain many examples of Byzantine art. Continue to Ozkonak, the eight-story underground city, and a local pottery making village, Avanos. Overnight in Cappadocia. (B,D)

Day 11 / Monday / Ankara – Istanbul – Return

Early morning drive to Ankara, the capital and second largest city in Turkey. Afternoon tour of the Ataturk Mausoleum and Anatolian Civilizations Museum with the world's largest collection of Hittite artifacts which was named European Museum of the Year in 1997. Transfer to airport or hotel (B)

Day 12 Friday Kalkan - Fethiye - Istanbul

Visit Lycian Tombs in Fethiye. Transfer to Dalaman airport for flight to Istanbul (ticket not included).