24-Day Grand Turkey Tour – Istanbul, Aegean, Cappadocia & Black Sea

Your guide meets you in the hotel lobby at 08:30. The first visit is Hagia Sophia, built by Emperor Justinian between 532 and 537 and for nearly a thousand years the largest cathedral in the world. We then explore Topkapı Palace, the administrative centre of the Ottoman Empire and home of the sultans for some four centuries, including Hagia Irene Church in its outer garden. After lunch at a local restaurant we walk around the Hippodrome to see the Serpent Column brought from Delphi, the Egyptian Obelisk and the German Fountain of Kaiser Wilhelm II, then enter the Blue Mosque, famous for its six minarets and blue Iznik tiles, where you can compare its architecture with Hagia Sophia. The tour ends at the Grand Bazaar with its thousands of shops. In the evening you are transferred to the Bosphorus dinner cruise (20:00–23:30) with a choice of grilled fish, meatballs or chicken, appetisers, unlimited soft drinks and a programme of folk dances, a whirling dervish show and belly dancing. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast you are picked up at 08:30 for a cruise on the Bosphorus, the strait that separates Europe from Asia. From the boat you see old wooden mansions, marble palaces, fortresses and fishing villages, including Dolmabahçe Palace, the parks and pavilions of Yıldız Palace, the long marble façade of Çırağan Palace and Ortaköy, where a church, a mosque and a synagogue have stood side by side for centuries. You also pass Rumeli Fortress, built by Mehmed the Conqueror in only four months in 1452, and Beylerbeyi Palace, the sultans' summer residence on the Asian shore. Crossing the Bosphorus Bridge from Asia back to Europe, we climb Çamlıca Hill, the highest point of Istanbul, for a sweeping panorama from its Ottoman-style gardens. After lunch the shopping tour shows traditional carpet weaving, a jewellery and handicraft centre and a leather fashion show. The evening is free. Overnight in Istanbul.

After an early breakfast we leave Istanbul at about 06:00–06:30 and drive west towards the Gallipoli Peninsula, with a short rest stop on the way. We arrive at around midday, have lunch and then begin our visit to the battlefields of the 1915 campaign. At the Gaba Tepe Museum your guide sets the scene with artefacts and personal stories from both sides of the conflict. We then follow the course of the landings, starting at Arıburnu Cemetery and Anzac Cove, where the fighting began, and continue to Beach Cemetery, the Lone Pine memorial and Chunuk Bair, the high ground where some of the fiercest battles took place and where wide views over the Dardanelles open up. After the tour we cross to Çanakkale and check in to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Çanakkale.

After breakfast in Çanakkale we drive to Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site whose history stretches back nearly 4,000 years. On a walking tour your guide brings the Trojan War to life, telling how the Trojan prince Paris carried off Helen and sparked the legendary conflict, and you see the wooden Trojan Horse that has become the symbol of the site. We continue to Assos, a village with an upper settlement on a hilltop above the sea and an old harbour quarter on the shore, both built of stone in traditional style. On the summit stands the Temple of Athena, dating from the 6th century BC, with the first Doric columns ever erected on Asian soil. In the afternoon we drive down the coast to Ayvalık, a North Aegean resort surrounded by olive groves producing some of Turkey's finest oil, and finish at the Devil's Table viewpoint, a volcanic summit above pine forest famous for its sunsets over the islands. Dinner and overnight in Ayvalık.

After breakfast we drive into the hills between Ayvalık and Bergama across the Kozak Plateau, a rural area of sixteen villages with stone-pine forests, granite formations, peaks and plains far from the usual tourist trail. Lunch is a traditional Turkish village meal in one of its hamlets. In the afternoon we reach ancient Pergamon, one of the great centres of art and learning in the Hellenistic world. On the Acropolis your guide shows you the Temple of Athena, the site of the famous library, said to have held 200,000 scrolls later given by Mark Antony to Cleopatra, the royal palaces, the Temple of Trajan, the Temple of Dionysus, the steep theatre carved into the hillside and the Altar of Zeus. We then visit the Asclepion, an ancient healing centre where the treatments once practised can still be imagined among the well-preserved ruins. Afterwards we drive south past Izmir to Kuşadası. Dinner and overnight in Kuşadası.

After breakfast we leave at 08:30 for a fully guided tour of Ephesus, one of the best-preserved ancient cities in the world. On the way we stop at the site of the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. In Ephesus we walk down Curetes Street, see the Roman baths, stand before the façade of the Library of Celsus and enter the Great Theatre. Lunch is served at around 13:00, followed by a visit to a carpet-weaving centre to see one of Turkey's oldest crafts. In the afternoon we head up into the hills to Şirince, a village of white-washed houses built by Anatolian Greeks and known for its fruit wines; we see the vineyards and learn how the wines are made. On the way back we also visit a regional leather production centre. Dinner and overnight in Kuşadası.

After breakfast we depart at 08:30 for a full-day tour of three great Ionian sites south of Kuşadası. First is Priene, laid out on terraces beneath a dramatic cliff and once among the most elegant Ionian cities, with its well-preserved council house and Temple of Athena. We then travel across the plain to Miletus, birthplace of early Greek philosophy, to see its magnificent theatre and the Byzantine fortress on the hill above it. Our final stop is Didyma, home to the Temple of Apollo, the largest Ionic temple in the world, whose immense columns still dominate the site; nearby lies the famous carved head of Medusa that once decorated the frieze. In the late afternoon we return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight in Kuşadası.

After breakfast and a visit to a leather shop, we drive inland through the Meander valley to Aphrodisias, the city dedicated to Aphrodite, goddess of beauty and love, and renowned in antiquity for its school of sculpture. Your guide leads you to the stadium, the best preserved in Anatolia, the Temple of Aphrodite, the elegant Tetrapylon gateway and the theatre, and you visit the site museum with its outstanding marble statues and reliefs. In the afternoon we continue to Pamukkale and check in to our hotel, where you can relax in the evening. Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.

This morning we explore the brilliant white calcium terraces of Pamukkale, known as the travertines, and the ancient city of Hierapolis that stands above them, with its theatre, necropolis and colonnaded streets. There is the option of swimming among sunken ancient columns in the thermal pool, whose warm waters were prized in Roman times for their healing powers. We then drive into the Lake District to Salda Lake, often called the Maldives of Turkey for its white shores and turquoise water, set in the mountains of Burdur province. After time to enjoy the lakeside, we travel south over the Taurus foothills to the Mediterranean coast. Dinner and overnight in Fethiye.

After breakfast our guide and driver collect you for a full-day excursion into the hinterland of Fethiye. The first visit is Tlos, once one of the most important Lycian cities, with rock-cut tombs carved into the acropolis cliff; according to legend, the hero Bellerophon lived here with the winged horse Pegasus. We continue to Yakaköy, a friendly village known for its gardens and trout restaurants, where we have lunch with a variety of traditional Turkish dishes. In the afternoon we reach Saklıkent Gorge, a deep, narrow canyon carved by icy mountain water and among the longest gorges in the world. You can walk into the gorge and, optionally, swim or try rafting. At the end of the day you are transferred back to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Fethiye.

After breakfast you check out and, according to the scheduled departure time, we drive you to Fethiye bus station for the comfortable intercity coach journey of about four hours to Antalya. The road follows the Lycian coast and the mountains of the Teke peninsula, offering lovely views along the way. On arrival in Antalya your driver welcomes you and takes you safely to your hotel. After check-in the rest of the day is free to relax by the pool or explore the city at your own pace before dinner. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.

After breakfast we set off with our guide for a full day in ancient Pamphylia. At Perge, settled as early as around 1500 BC, we see the monumental city gate flanked by two towers, the long colonnaded street once lined with shops, the agora, baths, gymnasium and the theatre with its finely carved marble reliefs. We continue to Aspendos on the Köprüçay (Eurymedon) river, whose Roman theatre, designed by the architect Zenon and seating about 15,000, is one of the best preserved in the world and still renowned for its acoustics; nearby are an aqueduct, basilica and agora. Next is Side, a classical harbour city turned charming resort, with ruins rising between its two sandy beaches and lively shopping streets. On the way back we stop at the Kurşunlu Waterfall, set in a pine forest about twenty minutes from Antalya. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.

After breakfast we check out and cross the Taurus Mountains to Konya, the spiritual heart of Anatolia. Here we visit the Mevlana Museum, the former lodge and tomb of the 13th-century mystic and philosopher Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi, whose teachings of tolerance, reason, goodness and love inspired the order of the Whirling Dervishes. Under the turquoise dome you see his richly decorated tomb, manuscripts and dervish artefacts. After lunch we follow the old Silk Road route and stop at a 700-year-old caravanserai, where merchants and travellers once rested with their camels. We then continue across the steppe to Cappadocia and check in to our cave hotel. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast we start in Göreme Valley, where your guide explains how volcanic eruptions and erosion created Cappadocia's rock formations. We continue to the cave dwellings carved into conical rocks around Uçhisar and stop for tea or coffee in a cave house before visiting the Göreme Open Air Museum, with the best-preserved frescoed rock churches and monasteries in the region. After a buffet lunch we see the family fairy chimneys of Ürgüp, enjoy a wine tasting at a local winery and visit the Wishing Hill. A short walk in Devrent Valley reveals rocks shaped like animals and figures, and in the Monks Valley (Paşabağ) you see hermit cells inside multi-capped chimneys. After a visit to Avanos, the pottery town of Cappadocia, and a short walk in Rose Valley, we finish at a remote viewpoint to watch the sunset. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast we depart at 09:00 for Ihlara Valley, a deep canyon carved by the Melendiz River. We walk about 4 km along the valley floor before the heat of the day, visiting rock-cut churches decorated with frescoes. Lunch is served at a riverside restaurant in the valley. In the afternoon we visit Selime Cathedral, a vast monastery carved into the cliff, and on the way back we stop at Nar Crater Lake, a volcanic lake in a former crater. While most groups are still at Ihlara, we head to Özkonak Underground City, one of the largest in Cappadocia, where the temperature stays at around 12–13°C even in the afternoon. Our final stop is Pigeon Valley, whose cliffs are dotted with dovecotes carved to collect guano for the fields. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast we leave Cappadocia for the three-hour drive to Ankara, Turkey's capital since 1923. Today a modern commercial and administrative city, it is also the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic and one of the great leaders of the 20th century. We visit Anıtkabir, his monumental mausoleum, set in a peaceful park on a hill overlooking the city, with its ceremonial avenue, Hall of Honour and museum. A city tour then introduces the main landmarks of the capital, including the Presidential Palace district, and shows how different Ankara feels from Istanbul. Lunch is included during the day. Overnight in Ankara.

This morning we visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations, housed near Ankara Citadel and considered one of the best archaeological museums in Turkey. Its galleries trace the story of Anatolia from the Stone Age through the Neolithic, Hittite and Phrygian periods, with outstanding sculptures, ceramics and reliefs. Below the hill we see the ruins of the Temple of Augustus and Rome, the Column of Julian and the remains of the Roman baths, reminders of the city's importance in the Roman era. Lunch is included, and the afternoon is free to explore further on your own; art lovers may enjoy a visit to the CerModern arts centre. Overnight in Ankara.

After breakfast we pick you up from your hotel and transfer you to Ankara airport for your flight to Trabzon via Istanbul. On arrival at Trabzon Airport our driver meets you and takes you to your hotel on the Black Sea coast. The rest of the day is free to discover the town at your own pace: you may stroll around the central square and its cafes, wander the shopping streets or enjoy the sea views. In the evening dinner is served. Overnight in Trabzon.

We pick you up from your hotel at about 09:00 and drive east along the coast. The first stop is Sürmene, famous for its hand-made knives, followed by a visit to see fabrics being woven on traditional looms. In Rize we walk among the tea bushes of the Ziraat Botanical Garden. After a tea break beside a historic Ottoman stone bridge in the Fırtına (Storm) Valley, we climb to the Ayder Plateau and its waterfalls high in the mountains. Free time follows to explore the highland, sit on the meadows facing forested peaks, breathe the fresh mountain air and taste local dishes cooked on traditional stoves. In the late afternoon we drive back through the lush green landscapes of the Black Sea to Trabzon and transfer you to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Trabzon.

We collect you from your hotel at about 09:00 and drive some 47 km inland to the Altındere valley. Here the Sumela Monastery clings to a sheer rock face about 300 metres above the valley floor, surrounded by dense forest, in keeping with the tradition of founding monasteries far from towns, in caves and on mountainsides. After exploring the monastery and enjoying the views, we continue to Karaca Cave, a natural gallery filled with stalactites, stalagmites, columns, travertine pools and curious formations on its walls. After the visit we drive back to Trabzon. Dinner and overnight in Trabzon.

After breakfast we pick you up at about 10:00 and head towards Uzungöl, visiting a horse farm and a tea factory on the way. Uzungöl has been declared a nature park thanks to its rich flora and wildlife: spruce forests cover the slopes, and the area is home to roe deer, wild boar, bears, badgers, lynx, birds of prey and trout. You have free time to walk around the lake, take photographs and enjoy the mountain scenery. Later we transfer you to Trabzon Airport for your flight to Istanbul, where you are met and taken to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast you are picked up from your hotel and taken to the pier for the ferry across the Sea of Marmara, followed by a scenic drive through the countryside to Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. Here you taste the city's famous İskender kebab, wander its historic markets and ride the cable car up Uludağ, the legendary Mount Olympus of antiquity. We visit the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), the Green Mosque and the Green Tomb, and the old Silk Market, where high-quality silk scarves are sold, while observing everyday life in this traditional city. At the end of the day we drive back to Istanbul and transfer you to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast at your hotel our grand journey through Turkey comes to an end. Depending on your flight time, you may have a few free hours for a final walk or some last-minute shopping. Please make sure your luggage is packed and that you check out of your room by the hotel's usual time; your guide will confirm the exact pick-up time the evening before. Our driver then collects you and transfers you to Istanbul Airport in good time for your international flight home. We wish you a pleasant journey and hope to welcome you back to Turkey soon.