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DAY 1 Arrive
in Istanbul
Welcome to Istanbul!
Trip members on the designated group flight are
met on arrival at Istanbul’s Ataturk
International Airport and transferred to lovely
Erguvan
Hotel or a similar accommodation in
Istanbul’s fascinating Old City, the Sultanahmet.
We come together for an orientation
meeting and welcome dinner
in a
favorite local restaurant.
DAY 2 Istanbul
 This
morning we start exploring this exotic city
that
was capital to three great empires – Roman,
Byzantine and Ottoman. We visit world famous
sites such as the Roman Hippodrome, the
exquisite Blue Mosque and Topkapi
Palace, the home of Ottoman
Sultans for 400 years.
We visit the Harem, the Treasure and the other
sections of the Palace.
In the
afternoon
we see the great church of Haghia Sophia
and Justinian’s Basilica
Cistern.
After a short resting at the hotel we walk
down through the
Spice Market and take an early evening
boat trip along the beautiful Bosphorus. We have
dinner at a fish restaurant at the sea front. Overnight at
Erguvan or a similar hotel .
DAY 3 Izmir,
Selcuk
We take
a morning flight to Izmir and drive to the city of Selcuk near Ephesus where we visit the ruins of
the great Temple of Artemis, the largest ancient
temple ever built and one of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World. We then continue to the
forested hills above Ephesus to visit the House
of the Virgin Mary. The present structure dates
from the Byzantine period but was built over the
foundation of an older building believed to be
Mary’s last dwelling place.
Lastly we visit the Ephesus
Museum with its statues of Artemis and gladiatorial artifacts.
Overnight at
Nilya in
Selcuk or
Kismet Hotel in Kusadasi.
DAY 4
Ephesus, Marmaris
Starting early in the morning,
we tour
glorious Ephesus,
one of the
best preserved ancient
city in the world.
Ancient
Ephesus was a cosmopolitan
trading city of 250,000. It was the capital
city
of
Roman Asia and there St. Paul
p reached the
new religion of
Christianity. We see
the marble
paved
avenues, wonderfully
preserved
homes, temples, theaters, baths, markets,
brothels, libraries and
gymnasiums which bring
us back to the splendor of the ancient world.
We have lunch at a nice countryside
restaurant and then drive 204 km (127 miles) to Marmaris where we board our private
gulet,
a traditionally built wooden yacht designed to
run under sail or motor.
We
overnight in a quiet cove outside the town.
DAY 5 Caunus, Ekincik Bay
 Early
in the morning we cruise to Dalyan delta,
one of the breeding places of the Caretta
sea turtles.
We hire a river boat to
motor along the water alleys bordered
with reeds in the Dalyan river.
We first visit the ancient city of Caunus and
then have lunch by the river opposite the rock
tombs dating from 4 C BC. Then we go
to a natural outdoor sulphur mud bath.
Later in the afternoon we start a 2.5-hour up
and down hill hike through a beautiful natural
pine forest to the Ekincik Bay.
Back to our boat and overnight in the Ekincik
bay.
DAY 6
Ag Limani, Sunken Bath, Fethiye
A morning cruise takes us to another beautiful cove called Ag Limani (harbor of nets).
After breakfast we hike
across the peninsula through the ruins of Lydae. At the end of the beautiful hike we meet our boat in the
marvelous bay of Batik Hamam, where the ruins of partially sunken Roman bath
is placed at the end of the harbor. We swim
and lunch there and then sail to Fethiye, a nice coastal t own
overlooking a beautiful bay strewn with islands. Just above the town are the ruins
of a fortress built by the Knights of Rhodes on the hill. In Fethiye, we take a
town walk visiting the local fish and vegetable markets and famous
rock tombs dating from 5 and 4 C BC. We may spend some time for shopping,
mailing, emailing, etc. here. Late in the afternoon
we sail to Turuncpinari
(Citrus Spring), another small cove of natural beauty. Overnight in the
cove of Turuncpinari.
DAY 7
Gemiler Island, Kayakoy
 We
sail one hour to Gemiler island,
where Byzantine ruins spread
among the wild olive and oak trees. We hike up
to the top of the island for a spectacular view
and then descend back to our gulet for swimming. In the afternoon we start
a 3 -hour hike to Kayakoy, an abandoned Greek settlement, now a weird ghost town. The
inhabitants deserted this town during the population exchange between Turks and Greeks
in 1923. We enjoy the fragrance of sage, thyme and lavender
along the hiking trail which follows steep up and
down hilly terrain. Overnight in the Soguksu Cove.
 DAY
8 Tlos, Xanthos, Kalkan
We start a van trip from the Gemiler cove and
drive to Tlos,
one of the six most important cities of ancient
Lycia. Tlos was a splendid city in a beautiful
environment. We then visit a village
cooperative where famous Turkish carpets are
woven and sold. The Turks claim to have
invented the knotted carpets on the Central
Asian steppes in order to have comfortable
mattresses in their nomadic tents. We also have
a lunch in a village and then drive to Xanthus, the capital
of ancient Lycia and the city of the most heroic
people of the history. We meet our
boat in a natural harbor near the town of Kalkan.
Overnight in the bay of Firnaz.
 DAY
9 Kas
 We
hike up to Delikkemer, an inverted siphon built
with stone pipes on a wall of polygonal masonry
to bring water to Patara 1900 years ago. We then cruise 2 hours to
a cove near the town of Kas, swim
and have lunch there. In the afternoon we enter
the harbor of Kas, a lovely town of
traditional houses. We see a Lycian sarcophagus dating from 5 C BC in the middle of
the town and may take a short walk to visit the Hellenistic theater. Before the dark we motor out of the town to a natural anchorage.
Dinner and overnight on board in a quiet cove.
DAY 10 Aperlae,
Kekova
 We leave our anchorage after breakfast and cruise to Aperlae
to snorkel above
the sunken ancient ruins. After the swim we take a short hike across the
isthmus
and meet our boat on the other side. We then continue
to Kekeova Island where we watch
the submerged ruins from the boat along the coast of
the Island. Later we go
ashore to visit the village of Kale and the medieval castle of Simena built
over the hellenistic foundations and start hiking through a valley along
the ancient Lycian
trail. We meet our boat in Gokkaya Bay where we
stay overnight.
DAY 11 Myra,
Arycanda, Finike
Today we take a van to the ancient Lycian city
of Myra
to see some of the oldest and finest
examples of Lycian rock tombs set
 in the
hillsides just behind a Roman theater.
Then we
visit the Church of St. Nicholas,
patron
saint
of the sailors, children and
scholars . He was
born around 270 AD in
Patara, Lycia and he
became
bishop in Myra. Famous in his
own time for
the miracles he performed, he
became known as Santa Claus in the west,
after his legends passed through Scandinavian
myths. Later we drive along the coast and at Finike turn to the
mountains toward Arycanda. On the way we have a delicious lunch at a trout
restaurant. Arycanda is another place of natural beauty and archaeology. The
roman bath, Hellenistic agora, theater and stadium as well as the beautiful
mountain views are all impressive.
We also visit a local fruit
market next to a cold waterfall and drive back to the coast and meet our boat
in Finike. Overnight in the marina of Finike.
 DAY
12
Chimera, Olympus
This morning our boat will leave the marina before we get up. After a cruise of 3 to 3.5
hours we reach the ancient city of Olympus. There we take a van or a tractor and
after a short
drive we start a round trip hike to Chimaera, where a fire-breathing
monster was killed by Bellerophon, the
Lycian mythologic hero who rode on his winged
horse, Pegasus. The flames bursting from the ground were believed to have been the
breath of the monster. We drive back to the
shore and see the ruins of Olympus amongst bay leave
trees. Overnight in Porto Geneose, a beautiful natural shelter.
DAY 13
Phaselis, Antalya
We cruise to Phaselis, where we leave our boat. After disembarkation and loading
our luggage on the bus, we visit the site of Phaselis and then drive to
Antalya.
We visit the archaeological museum, tour the old
town and then check
in the hotel. Dinner and overnight
at
Dogan Hotel
or an equivalent lodging in the old quarter.
DAY 14
Termessos, Istanbul
We check out of the hotel and drive to Termessus,
the westernmost city of ancient Psidia. This
site is also called "eagle's nest". Termessians
are mentioned in Iliad as brave warriors and
they proved it when Alexander failed to conquer
their city in 333 BC. Termessos has a unique
setting on the top of the Toros Mountains with
it's breath taking ruins and natural beauties.
After lunch we fly to Istanbul. Farewell dinner
at a decent restaurant. Overnight at
Erguvan or a similar hotel in the old quarter of
Istanbul.
DAY 15 Departures
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Optional 3-day pre-trip or post-trip Cappadocia extension.
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Hotels only :
164 euro - US $255
Balbius Travel