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Itinerary
The trip starts with
a group meeting at 4:00 p.m. on the first day, in our hotel in
Istanbul. The meeting will be followed by dinner, the first meal
provided. Lodging from tonight through day 15 is included (we will
spend one night on the train). All meals are provided except two
dinners, as specified in the itinerary. Our trip will end at our
hotel in Istanbul, after breakfast on day 16.
Day 1Sept 22
2007:
Magnificent
Istanbul. You will be met upon arrival and transferred to our
hotel, which remains almost as it was 200 years ago and is within
walking distance of many of the must-see places. The trip starts
with an introductory meeting, where we’ll get acquainted and
discuss the trip. After a visit to the Hippodrome and the Blue
Mosque, we’ll have dinner.
Day 2 Sept
23 2007:
Some of the sights
we will see include the underground Basilica Cistern; the Turkish
and Islamic Art Museum, whose ethnographic section offers a perfect
introduction to what we will see in the countryside; Ayasofya; and
the Topkapi Palace. We’ll eat dinner at a seafood restaurant
favored by the locals.
Day 3 Sept
24 2007:
We’ll shop briefly
at the world's oldest mall, the famous Covered Bazaar, and visit
the Chora Church to see its exquisite 12th-century Byzantine
mosaics, which are rivaled only by those in Ravenna. If you are
interested in early Christian art, you will be overwhelmed by this
museum. After lunch, we'll continue to Istanbul's finest mosque,
the 16th-century Suleymaniye, built by the Ottomans' greatest
architect, Mimar Sinan. After a brief visit to the spice market, we
will board our own private boat on the Golden Horn for a cruise on
the Bosporus. The views of the city's 600 mosques at dusk are
unforgettable. After dinner on the Asian side, we will proceed to
the historic Haydarpasa Railway Station to board the all-sleeper
Ankara Ekspres, which arrives in Ankara the next morning. The bulk
of our luggage will have been sent ahead by bus.
Day 4 Sept
25 2007:
In Ankara, we'll
visit the splendid Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. This
one-of-a-kind museum displays artifacts from 26 different
civilizations, all excavated in Anatolia. Seeing them will give us
a better understanding of the region’s cultural and historical
layers. After lunch, we'll visit the impressive mausoleum of
Ataturk ("Father of the Turks"), revered founder of the modern
Turkish state. We'll then take our bus to Cappadocia, traveling
beautiful country roads for a taste of lovely Turkish landscapes
and farms. We’ll overnight in Uchisar, where we'll stay at a hotel
in which some of the rooms have been carved out of the surrounding
rock.
Day 5 Sept 26 2007:
In Cappadocia, we'll
wake up to magnificent sights right outside our hotel windows. With
its endless artwork, the moonlike terrain is a photographer's
delight. We will hike to 10th- and 11th-century churches,
monasteries, and houses carved into the rocks, and visit a family
living in one of these rock dwellings. As Cappadocia is the carpet
center of Turkey, we will schedule a visit to a factory cooperative
where the art of making carpets by hand (using natural dyes) is
being kept alive. Overnight in Uchisar. Weather permitting, an
optional early-morning balloon ride will be offered at additional
cost.
Day 6 Sept 27 2007:
We will start the
day with a pleasant 3-5-mile hike into the depths of Cappadocia,
from an elevation of about 4,200 feet. We will then proceed to
Avanos. People have been making pottery here since the time of the
Hittites, in the third millennium B.C.E. We will stop by a local
potter’s, then visit an underground city built by the early
Christians. We’ll eat dinner and stay overnight in Guzelyurt, in a
hotel that was built in 1853 as a monastery and later served as a
Christian girls' school. You will have the option of a home-stay in
this small town.
Day 7 Sept 28 2007:
We will begin the
day with a short walk to the most scenic spot in Guzelyurt, where
we'll be able to feel the 10,000 years of accumulated history.
Hikers can also take a morning hike to the oldest monastery valley
in Christian history. If you do not hike, you can stay in the town
and visit with the locals, with whom you can easily make friends.
We'll then depart for Konya, stopping en route at a 13th-century
caravanserai. Konya was the first capital of the Seljuks, the
oldest Turkish empire in Anatolia. It is also the homeland of the
13th-century poet-philosopher Rumi, one of the earliest humanists
and the father of Sufism. The conservative ambiance of the city has
not changed much for the past 800 years. We'll stay overnight at a
hotel in the center of Konya.
Day 8 Sept 29 2007:
Rumi and his
philosophy will be the topic of our morning lecture. We'll then
visit the Mevlana Museum, which is dedicated to him. Next comes the
most scenic drive of our trip -- five hours to Antalya. You will be
able to see how the flora changes as we drive over the grand Taurus
Mountains. Poised between these jagged mountains and the shimmering
sea, Antalya is the principal city on Turkey's central
Mediterranean coast. In this beautiful city we will stay at a
200-year-old stone house that has been renovated as a pension.
You'll be "on your own" for dinner.
Day 9 Sept 30 2007:
Weather permitting,
we will take a five-hour cruise on the Mediterranean to the ancient
site of Phaselis, located on a peninsula with ancient harbors on
both sides. This will be our first Roman site. The ancient stones
are scattered among the reed pine trees, which grow right out from
the sea in an incomparably romantic setting. Tonight you'll have
the option of going to a Turkish bath (included in the trip cost).
We'll overnight in Antalya, with dinner on your own.
Day 10 October 1 2007:
We'll visit
Pamukkale (ancient Hierapolis), Turkey's most unusual natural
phenomenon. The Turkish name – literally, "cotton castle" -- refers
to the extraordinary surface of the snow-white cliffs, shaped over
millennia by the accumulation of travertine (calcite) deposited by
mineral springs. We'll visit the hot springs and swim in a spa amid
Roman columns. Though under protection, these white cliffs of
calcite deposits are being slowly destroyed. We will have dinner
and overnight in a local motel in the village center, where you can
continue to swim in the curative waters of this 5,000-year-old
health center.
Day 11October 2 2007:
We'll drive through
the valley of the Meander River, visiting Didyma, site of the
Temple of Apollo, with its oracle center; and the great
amphitheater at Miletus. Overnight in Selcuk, near the port city of
Kusadasi.
Day 12 October 3 2007:
This will be our big
day in Ephesus, the best-preserved classical city on the eastern
Mediterranean and among the best places in the world to get a feel
for what life was like in Roman times. After visiting the excellent
museum and the house of Jesus’ mother, Mary, we continue to the
city of Ephesus. Here, we’ll be able to imagine the theater, filled
with 35,000 Ephesians, as the silversmith Demetrius shouted "great
is Artemis of Ephesians" in reaction to St. Paul's preaching that
"there should be no man-made gods." Overnight in Selcuk.
Day 13 October 4 2007:
We drive north along
the Aegean Sea to Pergamum, which reached its zenith in the second
century B.C.E. and equals Ephesus in importance. Here we visit the
Acropolis; the library that rivaled Alexandria; and the Asclepion,
a great medical center that peaked under the celebrated physician
Galen, who was born here. We continue our drive through a pine nut
forest and mountain villages to Ayvalik,Overnight at Ayvalik.
Day 14 October 5 2007:
We drive all the way
around the Bay of Edremit, enjoying the coastal scenery, then visit
the Temple of Athena, in Assos. We continue to the nearby
picturesque village of Yesilyurt. Here we stay overnight in the
most luxurious accommodations of the trip -- a hotel overlooking
the mountains where mythology tells us that Hera and Zeus married.
Day 15 October 6 2007 :
The last full day of
our adventure takes us first to Troy. Several ancient cities have
been excavated here, but the site’s real romance comes from the
decade-long Trojan War, in the thirteenth century B.C.E. The face
that launched a thousand ships, the Achilles heel, the wooden horse
-- all of it happened here, in Homer’s telling of the war in the
Iliad. Returning to our bus, we cross the Dardanelles on a ferry to
the Gallipoli Peninsula, and follow the north shore of the Sea of
Marmara back to Istanbul. Then we enjoy a farewell dinner and
return to our comfortable hotel for overnight.
Day 16 October 7 2007 :
The trip ends after
breakfast; transfers are provided to the Istanbul airport.
We can suggest itineraries for those who want to explore on their
own or with a guide before or after the tour. Simply send us an
e-mail with your request.
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