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©TIE
2004-2008
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This 14-day small-group
tour by Argeus
Tourism & Travel begins
in Istanbul and
visits
Ankara, Antalya, Kusadasi and Pamukkale,
as well as biblical Cappadocia and
the ancient cities
of Ephesus, Aphrodisias, Didyma, Hierapolis,
Miletus, Priene,
Perge, Aspendos, Side and Termessos.
Really, you see all
the high points of Turkey in only two weeks.
The boutique hotels you'll
stay in are among my favorites:
small, charming, historic,
perfectly
located. You benefit from Argeus's
ability to reserve rooms in these choice
places even at preferred travel
times.
The touring party is limited
to 10 travelers—more
like a group of friends than
a "tour group:" enough fellow travel
enthusiasts to promote camaraderie,
not enough to bog you down.
The tour's two departure dates are
Sunday, May 4th,
and Sunday,
September 14th,
2008: the two best times of
the year to travel
in Turkey. Tour fee is about $270 per
person, per day, a very reasonable
rate for what you get. See
below for details.)
Day 1: Arrive in Istanbul (D)
An Argeus representative
greets you at Istanbul's Atatürk
Airport and escorts you to your
hotel, the famous
Blue
House (Mavi
Ev) in
Sultanahmet.
The major sights of
Istanbul are
literally right outside your door:
the Blue
Mosque, the Byzantine
Hippodrome, the Sunken
Palace Cistern, Hagia
Sophia, Topkapi
Palace and many
more. Feel free to wander and browse
until dinnertime.
Day 2: Istanbul (BLD)
After a buffet breakfast, we
walk to Eminönü to
visit the
Rustem
Pasha Mosque, an Ottoman gem
famed for its beautiful faïence (colored
tiles). We continue along the Street
of the Mat-Makers (Hasircilar
Caddesi),
a market street lined with spice
and snack shops, to the Egyptian
(Spice) Bazaar where
Geneose and Venetian goods were sold
at a time when there was no Suez
Canal, and all
the spices from the East were also
brought here by way of Egypt.
We then board a ferryboat
and take a leisurely Bosphorus
Cruise from
northward to the
village of Sariyer.
After lunch at a local restaurant
we return to the city and enter the
splendid realm of Topkapi
Palace, one of the world's
premier historical treasures, with
its sumptuous pleasure kiosks, verdant
gardens, mysterious Harem,
and a Treasury filled
with the incredible wealth of the sultans.
The walk back to the Blue
House for dinner is short,
but filled with history....
Day 3: Istanbul (BLD)
We start our explorations with a tour
of sumptuous Dolmabahçe
Palace, home
to the Ottoman sultan
and imperial family for decades,
and the place where President
Kemal Atatürk died
in 1938. We penetrate Istanbul's
ancient city
walls to visit the Kariye
Museum, built as the Church
of the Holy Savior in Chora and
noted for its splendid 13th-century Byzantine mosaics. Then
it's off to the huge Süleymaniye
Mosque, Istanbul's largest, a
work of Süleyman the Magnificent's
genius architect, Mimar Sinan.
After lunch, we dive into Istanbul's
world-famous Grand
Bazaar: 4000 shops selling
everything from priceless antiques
to everyday necessities. Laden with
purchases—or just dazed by the glitter of
window-shopping (one bazaar street
is lined with nothing but jewellers'
shops) —we make our
way back to the Blue
House for a relaxing dinner and
overnight.
Day
4: Istanbul & Cappadocia
We walk across
the street from the Blue
House to
visit the Byzantine
Hippodrome and its most
famous architectural monument, the fabled
Blue
Mosque, built on the site
of the Byzantine imperial palace. Then
we walk next door to Hagia
Sophia, the grandest church
in Christendom for 1000 years. Finally,
we descend into the dank, eerie depths
of the Sunken
Palace Cistern (Yerebatan
Sarayi Sarniçi) for a look at this strategic
Byzantine water-storage facility featured
in the James Bond movie, From Russia
With Love.
In the late afternoon we drive to Istanbul's Atatürk
Airport for our flight to Kayseri
Airport, then an hour's drive into
the heart of biblical Cappadocia.
We settle into our comfortable cave
rooms at the Yunak
Evleri in Ürgüp and
have a late supper.
Day 5: Cappadocia (BLD)
We start exploring this biblical "moonscape" region
right away with a drive to the fabled Underground
Cities, and enter the subterranean labyrinth
of Kaymakli that protected local people
from marauding armies over the centuries. Imagine being
in a huge "Swiss
cheese" made of volcanic stone! Wandering through
the labyrinth is an unforgettable experience.
Then for a bit of fresh air, we drive
over the mountains to the dramatic
Ihlara
Valley for a walk along
the Melendiz River to see the many
small Byzantine churches decorated
with medieval frescoes. Lunch is at
a restaurant by the river in the traditional
village of Belisirma, followed by a
visit to the village of Selime, and
the ride back to Ürgüp and our cave
hotel.
Day 6: Cappadocia (BLD)
After breakfast, we plunge into the lunar landscape
of Cappadocia at
the Dervent Valley, then we head to Zelve
Open Air Museum, which is one of the earliest
inhabited and latest abandoned monastic settlements
of Cappadocia.
Seeing the best examples of the fairy chimneys at Pasabag
Fairy Chimneys Valley, we drive to Avanos,
famous for its pottery. After lunch at a local restaurant,
we tour Göreme Open
Air Museum, with its dozens of beautifully
painted cave churches, monasteries,
refectories and other troglodyte dwellings. We end
the day with the climb to the top of Uçhisar, a
natural rock fortress that is the highest point
in the region, offering us a breathtaking
panorama of the Cappadocian moonscape. Then
it's off to dinner and our comfortable cave quarters
at Yunak
Evleri.
Day 7: Cappadocia, Ankara
& Kusadasi (BLD)
We drive west along the ancient Silk
Road, stopping to admire
the Agzikarahan,
an unusual example of the Seljuk
Turkish caravanserai. Turning north,
we drive along the eastern shore of Salt
Lake (Tuz
Gölü),
Turkey's second-largest. Arriving in
Ankara,
an ancient city that is now the capital
of the Turkish
Republic,
we have lunch before visiting the
Museum
of Anatolian Civilisations.
Awarded the title of
"European Museum of the Year"
in 1997, it is famous for its splendid
collections of 3000-year-old Hittite art
objects, as well as valuable artifacts
from later periods. Continuing to Ankara's
airport, we fly to Izmir,
then drive for about an hour through
the rich countryside famous for its
figs to reach Kusadasi.
Our hotel here is the famous Kismet,
founded by a branch of the Ottoman imperial
family in the town's most splendid
setting. We watch the sun set over
the Bay of Kusadasi and Bird Island
at dinnertime.
Day
8: Ephesus (BLD)
We start today's explorations at the
pine-shaded hilltop site proclaimed
by the pope to be the House
of the Virgin Mary. Then we
descend to the marble streets of ancient Ephesus,
the most impressive ancient city in
the Mediterranean, with its marble
temples, mosaic-rich houses,
its noble library,
25,000-seat Great
Theater, public baths and
latrines,
and even a brothel. Later in the afternoon
we visit St
John's Basilica, believed
to be built atop the tomb of the Apostle.
From the basilica, we will be able
to look down on the remains of the
great Temple of
Artemis, one of the
Seven
Wonders of the Ancient World.
We end the day with a visit to the
grand Isa Bey
Mosque, just down the
hill from the basilica. Then it's back
to our hotel in Kusadasi for a relaxing
dinner.
Day 9: Priene, Miletus & Didyma (BLD)
We drive south to Priene,
a
leading member of the ancient
Panionic League and the first city
to plan its streets on a grid.
The ancient city, backed by a dramatic
mountain, overlooks the sweeping
floodplain of the Meander
River,
on the far side of which is ancient
Miletus, our next stop. We visit
the gigantic theater of Miletus,
then continue south to the stupendous
oracular Temple
of Apollo at Didyma.
After lunch at a local restaurant
we explore the huge marble temple,
which was as important as the one
at Delphi in ancient times. As the
afternoon draws to a close we return
to our hilltop hotel in Kusadasi
for dinner and a restful evening.
Day
10: Aphrodisias & Pamukkale (BLD)
Driving east up the fertile Meander River
valley, we pass fruit orchards and cotton
fields on our way to ancient Aphrodisias,
the City of the
Goddess of Love. This
is among Turkey's best-preserved and
most magnificent cities, especially as
it was the home of a renowned school
for sculptors. Beautiful statues and
carvings abound in both the ruins and
the modern museum. The great marble theater,
the smaller Bouleuterion, the vast Temple
of Aphrodite, the perfectly-preserved
stadium, and the stupendous Tetrapylon (triumphal gate) cannot be missed.
Continuing our drive up the river
valley, we reach the ancient spa city
of Hierapolis,
now called Pamukkale.
We have time to explore the ruins,
including the triumphal
way, the
vast necropolis,
the beautifully-restored
theater, the museum,
the sacred
pool of warm mineral water,
and the natural travertine
terraces of
gleaming white calcium. Then we settle
in for a mineral-water swim and dinner
at the Richmond Thermal
Hotel Pamukkale.
Day
11: Termessos & Antalya (BLD)
We drive through gorgeous mountain
scenery (yayla in Turkish),
descending from the Anatolian plain
toward Antalya. After a lunch stop,
we take a detour to the mountain
fastness of Termessos,
an ancient city high at the top of
a steep valley. It was so remote
and well-defended that Alexander
the Great passed it
by. The mountain panoramas are simply
spectacular!
Descending to Antalya, the "capital
of the Turquoise Coast," we
penetrate the Roman walls
of Kaleiçi (Old
Antalya) where we settle in at the
charming Marina
Residence (May)
or Tekeli Konaklari (September) boutique
hotel within sight of the
Roman
harbor (now filled with
yachts). Take a stroll before or after
dinner—you're
right at the center of everything
there is to see!
Day
12: Antalya as You Like It! (BD)
No driving today! Relax by the pool,
stroll through Kaleiçi or
the nearby bazaar,
take the tram to
the excellent Antalya
Museum and/or the
beautiful long Konyaalti
Beach. Have
lunch (on your own) in the city, in
Kaleiçi,
or the Roman
harbor: there are dozens
of good choices with a few minutes'
walk of your hotel. If you wish, we
can arrange an optional tour to nearby waterfalls and
to the Antalya
Archeological Museum (at
extra cost). We
gather again for dinner at our hotel
to trade stories of the day's discoveries.
Day
13: Perge, Aspendos & Side (BLD)
We drive to the eastern outskirts of
Antalya to visit the impressive ruins
of ancient Perge, then continue to
Aspendos, with the best-preserved
Hellenistic theater on the Mediterranean,
still used for performances. After
lunch near the
theatre, we drive east to Side (SEE-deh),
where Anthony
and Cleopatra are said
to have met for a romantic tryst. Its
marble temples and beautiful beaches keep us busy until it's time to return
to Antalya, a good dinner, and a good
night's sleep.
Day 14: Antalya & Istanbul (B)
In the morning, we fly from
Antalya to Istanbul so
you can catch your homeward flight.
(Please advise us of your flight details
so we can reserve your connecting flight
from Antalya).
If you wish, we'll be happy to arrange
additional nights at the Blue
House Hotel in Istanbul (optional,
at extra cost) so you can do last-minute
shopping or see even more
of the imperial city, perhaps the Great
Palace Mosaic Museum, or
the Archeological
Museums, or the Museum
of Turkish and Islamic Arts.
They're all just a few minutes' stroll
from the Blue House.
Tour Details:
Guaranteed departure dates: May
4 & September 14, 2008 (departures
on other dates are possible; rates
vary depending on the number of persons
in the group)
—Minimum 6, maximum 10 persons on
guaranteed departure dates
—Tour fee: US$3790 per person
double occupancy (single supplement:
US$560) (contact
Argeus for fees for
other dates)
—Infants 0-2 years free; children
2-12 years 50% discount; student (13
to 17 years) discount 10%
Your Tour Includes:
—Accommodation as described
in the tour itinerary
—Most meals, as shown in the
tour description (B= buffet breakfast;
L = lunch; D = dinner)
—Transportation within Turkey,
including flights (but international
transport to Turkey is NOT included)
—Licensed professional multilingual
guide
—All admission fees
—All taxes
Your Tour Does NOT Include:
—International airfares (ie,
to/from Turkey)
—Visa
fee on arrival in Turkey
—Personal travel insurance
—Drinks
—Gratuities (tips), which are
customary, but voluntary at your discretion
For more information and availability,
please contact
Argeus. When you do,
please
mention
TTP. Here's why.
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