12 Days Historical Turkey: Istanbul, Gallipoli, Ephesus, Cappadocia, Nemrut & Gobeklitepe Private Tour

Welcome to Turkey. On arrival at Istanbul airport you are met and transferred to your hotel. There are no planned activities today, so you can rest after your flight or take a first walk around the city on your own. Your guide will meet you at the hotel the next morning at 09:30. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast your guide collects you at 09:30 for a full-day walking tour through the Byzantine and Ottoman heart of the city. You visit the Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 and named after the blue Iznik tiles of its interior, and the Hippodrome, the old chariot-racing ground where the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpent Column and the German Fountain still stand. Inside Hagia Sophia, completed in the 6th century under Emperor Justinian and listed by UNESCO, you admire its vast dome and mosaics. The tour ends in the Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest covered markets in the world, full of carpets, spices, textiles and souvenirs. A visit to Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman sultans, can be added as an option. You are then taken back to your hotel for the night.

After an early breakfast you drive west to Canakkale on the Dardanelles for a guided tour of the Gallipoli Peninsula, scene of one of the best-known campaigns of the First World War. You stop at the memorials of Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and ANZAC Cove, which honour the soldiers of all sides who died here, then visit The Nek and Johnston's Jolly, where the lines of trenches and tunnels can still be traced. After the tour you are transferred to your hotel in Canakkale for the night.

After breakfast you visit the archaeological site of Troy, the city of the Trojan War and the wooden horse, where excavations have revealed many superimposed settlements spanning thousands of years. The day also takes you up to the acropolis of Pergamon, once a powerful political and cultural centre, to see the Temple of Trajan and the site of the famous Library of Pergamon, which held one of the great scroll collections of the ancient world. In the evening you continue south to Kusadasi on the Aegean coast for the night.

After breakfast you spend the day in Ephesus, one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world. Walking its marble streets, you see the facade of the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian with its fine reliefs, the Terrace Houses where wealthy citizens lived, the Gate of Hercules and the Great Theatre, built for around 25,000 spectators. You also pass the Fountain of Trajan, the relief of the winged goddess Nike, a Hermes boundary marker and the symbol of the healing cult of Asclepius, and visit the site of the Temple of Artemis, counted among the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. The House of the Virgin Mary can be visited as an option. Afterwards you travel inland to Pamukkale for the night.

After breakfast you explore Pamukkale, where mineral-rich thermal water has built up dazzling white travertine terraces down the hillside over thousands of years. Above them lies the ancient city of Hierapolis, where you see the necropolis, the theatre and the Cleopatra Pool, filled with warm water over fallen ancient columns. You can walk barefoot on the cotton-white terraces and also visit Pamukkale Natural Lake and Park at the foot of the travertines.

After breakfast you leave Pamukkale for the Mediterranean region of Pamphylia. Perge, said by the geographer Strabo to have been founded after the Trojan War, was visited by Alexander the Great in 334 BC and later became one of the richest cities of the region; St Paul began his missionary journey in Anatolia here. After a lunch stop on the way, you visit Aspendos, 47 kilometres east of Antalya, whose theatre, built under Marcus Aurelius in the 2nd century AD and later used by the Byzantines and Seljuks, is the best-preserved Roman theatre anywhere. The site also includes a stadium, an agora and a basilica. Overnight in Antalya.

After breakfast you set off across the Anatolian plateau, with changing views of hills and valleys along the way. In Konya you visit the Mevlana Museum, housed in the mausoleum of Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, founder of the Mevlevi Sufi order, where his manuscripts and personal relics are displayed, and the Alaeddin Mosque, a fine Seljuk monument of the city. Further east you stop at Sultanhani, one of the largest Seljuk caravanserais, where Silk Road traders once found rest and shelter. In the evening you reach Cappadocia, with its fairy chimneys and cave houses, for the night.

After breakfast you check out and begin a guided day in Cappadocia. Devrent Valley shows you the strangest rock shapes of the region and an introduction to its volcanic geology, followed by the mushroom-capped pinnacles of Pasabag (Monks Valley). You then explore the old Christian village of Cavusin and pause for photos above Pigeon Valley. The tour ends underground at Kaymakli, a network of tunnels, rooms and storage halls that once sheltered the early Christian communities of the area.

Today is dedicated to Mount Nemrut, the mountaintop sanctuary of King Antiochus I of Commagene. You watch the first light of dawn fall on the colossal statues and heads of gods and kings lined up on the summit terraces, with sweeping views over the surrounding mountains, a moment that brings this ancient kingdom vividly to life. Overnight in Adiyaman.

After breakfast you visit Gobeklitepe, where T-shaped stone pillars carved with animals were raised around 11,000 years ago, making it the oldest known temple in the world. Next comes Harran, an ancient town known for its beehive-shaped mud-brick houses and narrow lanes with stories reaching back many centuries. Finally you arrive in Sanliurfa, a city where old traditions are still part of everyday life. Overnight in Sanliurfa.

After breakfast you check out of your hotel and our representative assists you with your transfer to the airport, where our services end. If you wish, extra nights in Istanbul can be added to extend your stay.