6-Day Didim & Didyma Tour – Ephesus, Sirince, Cooking Class & Hamam

After breakfast your guide collects you from the hotel for a full day among the Ionian cities around Didim. The first stop is Priene, laid out on terraces beneath Mount Mykale; it was once a harbour town, yet silting by the Meander River has left it about 16 km inland. Here you see one of the finest small theatres of the Hellenistic world and the Temple of Athena Polias, which Alexander the Great funded as a gift to the citizens. The route continues to Miletus, in its heyday one of the largest and wealthiest cities of Anatolia thanks to its position on major trade routes, and you visit the Miletus Museum, where finds from the site help bring the ruins to life. The day ends at Didyma, which was never a town but a sacred oracle centre dedicated to Apollo; its enormous columned temple was among the largest built anywhere in the Greek world. Return transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Didim.

Following breakfast you are driven north to Ephesus, an outstanding witness to Hellenistic, Roman Imperial and early Christian life and one of the Seven Churches of Revelation; the Apostle Paul is thought to have lived here for some two and a half years. Over about two hours your English-speaking guide leads you along the marble streets past the Odeon, the State Agora, the Prytaneion, the Memmius Monument, the Temple of Domitian, the Hercules Gate, Curetes Street, the Temple of Hadrian and the public latrines, then on to the Library of Celsus, the Marble Road, the Commercial Agora, the Great Theatre and the Arcadian Way that once ran to the harbour. Lunch is included, after which you visit a carpet weaving centre where one of Turkey's oldest crafts is still practised, and then the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Next comes Sirince, a former Greek village 7 km from Ephesus in the hills above Selcuk, famous for its whitewashed houses and fruit wines, with free time for a tasting. A leather production centre is visited on the way back to Didim. Overnight in Didim.

After breakfast you are taken to a local restaurant for a professional Turkish cooking lesson. Didim is admired for its coastline, but its kitchen is just as much a part of local life, and under the guidance of the chef you learn to prepare several regional favourites: tarhana soup made from fermented grain and yoghurt, vine leaves wrapped around spiced rice and cooked in olive oil, fresh fish from the Aegean and the fig dessert that is made throughout the Didim area. Once everything is ready, you sit down and enjoy the dishes you have cooked as your lunch. In the afternoon you are dropped in the town centre for free time to browse the shops and markets, then transferred back to your hotel. Overnight in Didim.

& Leisure (Breakfast) Today is dedicated to one of Turkey's oldest rituals. After breakfast you are picked up and taken to a hamam, the traditional Turkish bath that has been part of everyday life across the country for centuries; the exact time is arranged according to your wishes and the opening hours of the bath. Relax in the warm marble hall and enjoy the classic scrub and foam treatment that leaves you thoroughly refreshed. Afterwards the vehicle takes you to the town centre for free time and shopping before returning you to the hotel. The remainder of the day is yours to spend on the beach, by the pool or exploring Didim independently. Overnight in Didim.

Enjoy a last breakfast at the hotel and make the most of your free time until the agreed pick-up hour. Our driver then collects you and your luggage for the transfer south to Milas-Bodrum International Airport in time for your flight home. This concludes your six-day holiday in Didim, with memories of Priene, Miletus, Didyma, Ephesus, Sirince, a home-cooked Turkish lunch and a relaxing hamam to take with you. We hope to welcome you back to Turkey on another journey soon.