6-Day Turkey Road Trip: Istanbul, Gallipoli, Troy, Pergamon & Ephesus

Highlights of the 6-Day Turkey Road Trip

A six-day guaranteed-departure road trip down the Aegean, from the minarets of Istanbul to the ruins of Ephesus, planned in-house by Inca Tour, a TURSAB-licensed operator, and guided throughout in English. Travelling by comfortable coach you take in the old city of Istanbul, the battlefields of Gallipoli, the legendary mound of Troy, the acropolis of Pergamon, the great city of Ephesus and the wine village of Sirince — a compact, well-paced introduction to the heart of western Türkiye.

• Istanbul old city — the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia and the Asil Efendi spice bazaar.
• Gallipoli — the Anzac Cove landings, Lone Pine, Chunuk Bair and the Gabatepe Museum on the peninsula of the 1915 campaign.
• Troy — the archaeological mound with its nine settlement layers and the famous replica of the wooden Trojan Horse.
• Pergamon — the steep acropolis, the Altar of Zeus, the theatre and the healing centre of the Asclepion above modern Bergama.
• Ephesus & Sirince — the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Artemis and the Grand Theatre, and the white-walled hill village of Sirince with its fruit wines.

The journey begins in Istanbul, where a guided city tour covers the ancient Hippodrome with its obelisks, the blue-tiled Blue Mosque, the great Hagia Sophia and the bustling Asil Efendi spice bazaar, with the chance to add an evening Bosphorus dinner cruise. You then set out along the Sea of Marmara to Canakkale, pausing at Eceabat for lunch before crossing to the Gallipoli Peninsula, where the Gabatepe Museum, Anzac Cove, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair tell the story of the 1915 campaign. A short drive brings you to ancient Troy, the city of Homer's Iliad, with its layered ruins and the wooden horse at the gate.

Continuing south you climb to the acropolis of Pergamon above modern Bergama, with its steep theatre, the Altar of Zeus and the Asclepion healing sanctuary, before reaching the lively resort of Kusadasi on the Aegean coast. A fully guided day at Ephesus leads you along Curetes Street past the Temple of Artemis, the Roman baths, the Library of Celsus and the Grand Theatre, with a carpet-weaving demonstration, before the hillside village of Sirince for its white houses, fruit-wine tasting and village lanes. The tour ends on the sixth day with a transfer to Izmir for your onward flight. It is an efficient, fixed-departure circuit that packs the great sites of the northern Aegean into a single memorable week. Prices are per person.