Western Türkiye Tour

Arrive in Istanbul and transfer to the historic area of the city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. After a light lunch, visit Aya Sofya, among the first churches of Christianity, begun in the 2^nd century AD by Constantine the Great. One of the great buildings of the world, it served as the cathedral of Constantinople and was the center of the Byzantine Empire for almost a thousand years.

Walk to the Hippodrome, the scene of Byzantine chariot races, athletic events, victory celebrations and executions, and the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts. Housed within a 16th-century palace built by the brother-in-law of Sultan Suleyman, the museum contains the world’s richest collection of 13th to 20th-century hand-knotted Turkish carpets and an ethnographic section depicting objects used in everyday Turkish life.

Then it’s on to the Mosque of Sultan Ahmet I, known to foreigners as the Blue Mosque. Built partly on the site once occupied by the Byzantine imperial palace, it is one of the city’s most prominent landmarks. The shrine took seven years to build, is surrounded by six fluted minarets, and has an enormous central dome supported by four huge freestanding pillars and six fluted minarets. The interior walls are covered with stunning hand-crafted Iznik tiles from the 17th century which give the mosque its name.

Overnight for the next two nights in the Ottoman Imperial Hotel. This former Ottoman residence has been transformed into a charming bed-and-breakfast inn and is within walking distance of the important sites within the historic section of Istanbul. Dinner is on our own. (L)

Walk through Topkapı Sarayı, built in 1468 as a summer palace for Mehmet the Conqueror. Within the estate are exquisite gardens, the council chambers of government, and the harem, the home of the sultan’s family.

Nearby, the Yerebatan Cistern is the largest and most magnificent covered cistern in Istanbul. Built in the 6th century in the reign of Justinian, it supplied water to the Byzantine Great Palace nearby.

This afternoon, we will travel by chartered boat up the Bosphorus to view lovely villas and elegant marble palaces along the shore. We will leave the vessel to dine in one of the excellent seafood restaurants along the strait. (B/L/D)

An early flight takes us to Ankara, the capital of the country. Here, we examine the extraordinary collection of artifacts in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. The exhibits are housed within a splendidly restored 15th-century covered bazaar. Displayed are frescoes from Çatalhüyük, grave offerings from Early Bronze Age burials at Alaca Hüyük, a unique and priceless collection of Hittite art, and discoveries from Gordion’s Midas Tomb.

Located within the 7th-century citadel above the city is one of the best surviving Byzantine forts. Our lunch restaurant is within its walls with dazzling views over the city.

Later, move on to Yazılıkaya, an open–air rock shrine located where a spring of fresh water once flowed. The former importance of the shrine is shown by the incised Hittite gods marching across the cliff face. 

Continue to Boğazkale where, if available, members of the Hattusas archaeological project will host us at their dig house for a barbeque and beer dinner party. Overnight at the simple Asikoğlu Hotel. (B/L/D)

Four thousand years ago, the Hittite Empire stretched from the Black Sea to Syria. This morning, we join the project director for an insider’s view of the capital of the Hittites from 1600 to 1180 BC. Hattuşa, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was a fortified city. Inside the walls was the residence of the great kings, the administrative seat as well as the principal cult center. One of the most important discoveries found here has been the royal archives of cuneiform clay tablets. When translated, they consisted of official correspondence and contracts, as well as legal codes, procedures for cult ceremonies, oracular prophecies, and literature of the ancient Near East.

One particularly important tablet details the terms of a peace settlement between the Hittites and the Egyptians under Ramesses II, circa 1283 BC. A copy is on display in the United Nations in New York as an example of one of the earliest known international peace treaties.

Move on to the Cappadocia region, noted for its Byzantine churches and monasteries carved out of the volcanic tuff. Spend the next two nights in the Upper Greek House, a beautifully restored 300–year-old villa in the village of Mustafapasa. (B/L/D)

Millions of years ago, a volcano near Cappadocia spewed out molten lava and dust. Since then, wind and weather have reshaped the soft rock, leaving an eye-catching landscape of cones and “fairy chimneys.” Early Christians carved churches and monasteries out of the volcanic tuft, many with colorful wall paintings still visible. They also dug huge underground cities where they could hide from their persecutors.

Early this morning, float above this dramatic landscape on an optional balloon ride.

Afterward, our explorations take us to the rock-cut churches of Göreme Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Here, cliff faces are riddled with openings to houses and churches. In the underground city of Kaymaklı, walk through a maze of tunnels and rooms at least eight stories deep. In Mustafapaşa, walk down steps carved hundreds of years ago to see a church, Ayios Vasilios, still containing painted murals of St. Basil. (B/L/D)

Travel along ageless caravan trails with a stop to examine an intricately carved 13th-century caravansary built by Seljuk Turks as a rest stop for camel trains.

Continue to Konya, the center of the whirling dervish orders. Jalal ad-Din ar-Rumi, later given the honorary title of Mevlana (“our master”), was a beloved, 13th-century Sufi mystic. This Persian-language poet deeply influenced early Muslim mystical thought and literature. The former monastery of the original whirling dervishes now houses Rumi’s tomb.

In the late afternoon, we stop by the Hittite Monument of Eflatunpınar, with its stone-built pool, constructed at the height of the Hittite Empire.

Overnight at the Fulya Hotel in Eğidir for one night. (B/L/D)

Once a humming Roman metropolis, monumental structures, colossal baths, and a 9,000-seat theatre still proclaim the importance of Sagalassos. Markedly, this was the highest city in the Roman Empire. The Sagalassos Archaeological Project has made many remarkable discoveries recently. In particular, the finds include a colossal, 15-foot-tall statue of the emperor Hadrian, as well as huge portrait heads of Marcus Aurelius and the empress Faustina. We will inspect many of these breathtaking treasures in the Burdur Museum that we visit this afternoon.

Afterward, we will drive to Antalya, majestically situated atop 150-foot cliffs overlooking the Mediterranean coast. The award-winning renovations of the Old Port Section have recaptured the charm of the age-old Roman and Ottoman styles.

Our hotel for the next two nights is in the Ruin Adalya Hotel. A series of beautifully restored 19th-century Ottoman mansions, the complex is located within the Roman walls encircling the ancient section of town and rests on the remains of Roman Antalya, which we will visit. Dinner is on our own to discover one of Antalya’s fine dining establishments. (B/L)

Nearby Perge, is one of the southern coast’s most remarkable ancient cities. Greek settlers journeyed to Perge following the Trojan War, and the ruins of a great theater, stadium, enormous Hellenistic and Roman gates, and a colonnaded street can be seen.

Here, we meet with the director of excavations to learn about the latest archaeological finds. Continue to Aspendos, where almost ten miles of Roman aqueduct still stand. Also, we will walk through what is probably the finest Roman theater in the country, restored by Ataturk in 1932.

This afternoon we return to Antalya and visit the Antalya Archaeological Museum to view its stunning collection of marble sculptures, many from Perge. Enjoy some free time this afternoon to explore the historic quarter of Antalya with dinner on our own. (B/L)

We leave Antalya this morning and begin our journey along the western coast. Heavily indented and full of isolated caves and islets, the terrain displays some of Lycia’s most rugged scenery. Hundreds of tombs dot the hills and valleys, and castles guard the sea channels.

Our drive takes us first to Myra’s huge necropolis of tombs carved in the cliff faces by Lycians before the time of Christ, and Demre where St. Nicholas was the bishop in the 4^th century. Through his good works the cleric became known as Santa Claus and we will see the still standing church dedicated to him. 

In the afternoon, we visit Patara, the capital and port of the Lycian Federation after the 4th century BC. Turkish archaeologists have been excavating here for the past two decades, and they are restoring the city to its former grandeur.  Continue to the village of Kaş, our home for one night. (B/L/D)

We begin today at Xanthos, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, another capital city of the Lycian Federation and its greatest metropolis. Excavations show that the city dates back to the 8th century BC, but the site may have existed during the Bronze Age. The history of the city is quite violent – the Xanthos people twice demonstrated their fierce independence. Markedly, they chose to commit mass suicide rather than submit to invading forces.

After lunching on tasty fresh fish and salad at a mountainside trout farm, we enjoy a boat trip on the Dalyan River. Along the way, we stop to explore the ancient city of Kaunos.

Continue to Geyre with dinner and overnight at Anatolia Boutique Hotel. (B/L/D)

Our destination is the ancient city of Aphrodisias. Dedicated to the goddess of love, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In recent years, breathtaking revelations made by an international team of archaeologists have excited worldwide interest. Ongoing research has brought to light the substantial remains of a theater, an odeum, temples, baths, streets and public squares, a building that may have been a bishop’s palace, and several Byzantine churches. Notably, monuments and statues of great beauty, many of Aphrodite herself, have been uncovered. Many of these sculptures are on exhibit in the site’s museum.

Continue on to Kuşadaşı and overnight for two nights at the charming La Vista Hotel, overlooking the sea. (B/L/D)

We spend today in monumental Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2015. Dedicated to the virgin goddess of the chase, the Temple of Diana (Artemis), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, dominates the city. We will stroll the streets of Ephesus with its stunning 2nd-century Library of Celsus and visit the remarkably preserved houses dating from the 2nd-6th centuries.

Then it’s on to the nearby Selçuk Museum containing outstanding artifacts found in the nearby excavations. (B/L/D)

Pergamum was a Hellenistic city that rivaled Ephesus. This UNESCO World Heritage Site stands majestically on an acropolis rising precipitously to a height of nearly a thousand feet above the modern city of Bergama. We will visit the Sanctuary of Athena, with its library that was second only to that in Alexandria, the Temple of Trajan, and look down upon the steepest theater in the ancient world.  We will also visit the Asclepieion, an important healing center located on the plain below the acropolis.

Continue to Assos, a picturesque village clinging to the side of the ancient acropolis. Down the cliff-face from the ruins is the port with charming buildings dating from the last century when the town was Greek. Overnight here for one night. (B/L/D)

This morning we will explore the splendid ruins of Assos dominating the top of a mountain overlooking the Aegean Sea. The oldest part of the city was Hellenistic, and the formidable, still-standing basalt walls encircling the site date from this period.

Drive on to Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Late 19th-century excavations revealed nine principal levels of occupation covering over 3000 years. Here we will meet privately with one of the archaeologists to learn how recent excavations have given us much more information on the city.

Overnight in the Hotel Iris in Çanakkale. (B/L/D)

Today we complete our route and return to Istanbul. A trip across the newly opened bridge spanning the Dardanelles Straits and a scenic journey through European Thrace returns us to Istanbul.

Our farewell dinner will be at one of Istanbul’s fine local restaurants. Overnight back at the Ottoman Imperial Hotel. (B/L/D)

Transfer to the airport for our return flights home. (B)