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DAY 0 May 12,
Monday - Arrive
Istanbul
The day you arrive in Istanbul. We come together for an orientation
meeting in the evening. Overnight at
Ayasofya Konaklari, in the old quarter of
Istanbul.
DAY 1 May 13,
Tuesday - Complimentary
Istanbul Tour , Arrival of
the Herricks
 
We
take a van and
tour less
visited treasures of Istanbul. The ancient city walls, Church
of the Fish - the ancient shrine of the
Life Giving
Spring known locally as Balikli Kilise, St.
Savior in Chora - a Byzantine church with its
magnificent mosaics and frescoes and the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent,
one of the marking figures of Istanbul.
We have dinner at a decent restaurant. Overnight
at
Ayasofya Konaklari.
DAY 2 May 14,
Wednesday - Istanbul
This
morning we continue 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 (if we didn't
see the
day before) 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 to the
Spice Market and then take an early evening
boat trip along the beautiful Bosphorus. We have
dinner at a fish restaurant at the sea front. Overnight
at
Ayasofya Konaklari.
DAY 3 May 15,
Thursday - Antalya,
Phaselis
We take 07:30 flight to
Antalya
in the morning.
We first visit the
old town and then wondrous archaelogical museum.
We have lunch in the town,
then drive to
Phaselis, a beautiful ancient harbour town.
There we visit the
site and then board our gulet
Cemre 4. Overnight in the ancient harbor of
Phaselis.
 DAY
4 May
16, Friday
- Chimera, Olympus
We have breakfast in the
bay of Olympus. We go ashore and drive to the
site of Chimera. About 35-minute uphill hike
takes us to Chimera, where a fire-breathing
monster was slain by Bellerophon, the Lycian hero.
There are still flames bursting from the ground
supposedly where the monster fell. We then get
back to the shore and tour the ancient city of Olympus, the natural
and ancient beauty among the lorel trees and
natural springs. Olympus became headquarters
of the pirates who were eliminated by the Romans
in the 1 C BC. Overnight in Porto Geneose.
DAY 5 May 17, Saturday -
Finike, Arycanda, Myra, Gokkaya Bay
 Early
in the morning we set out to Finike. We take a
van and
drive to the mountains to visit
Arycanda. Perched on a
hillside with magnificent views, Arycanda has
breath-taking ruins dating from BC times. We have lunch at a
local traut restaurant and visit a local fruit
market next to a cold waterfall. Later we drive
down to the coast again and continue on to
Myra to see some of the oldest and finest
examples of Lycian rock tombs set in the
hillsides just behind a Roman theater. Lastly we
visit the Church of St. Nicholas, patron saint
of the sailors, children and scholars . He was
born around 270 AD in Patara, another Lycian
town 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. We meet our gulet at Cayagzi,
the ancient harbor of Myra. Overnight in
Gokkaya Bay in the Kekova area.
 DAY
6 May 18, Monday -
Simena, Kekova
 We
take a morning hike through a flat valley, not
very common in the hilly terrain of the Lycian
country. At the end of the hike we climb up to
the castle of Simena, from the top of which we
get a breath taking view of the whole Kekova area.
We then cruise alongside Kekova Island to see
submerged ruins. Overnight in another natural
harbor of the beautiful Kekova area.
DAY 7 May 19, Monday -
Aperlae, Kas
We take a short hike to Aperlae after breakfast where
we can snorkel above
the sunken ruins. Then we cruise toward Kas. Lunch
and swim before docking the harbor.
Kas
is a lovely town of traditional houses.
In the
middle of the town we see a Lycian sarcophagus dating from 5 C BC and may be we
take a short walk to visit the
Hellenistic theater. Dinner is in the town. Overnight in
Kas harbor or in a cove outside the town.
 DAY
8 May 20, Tuesday
- Kalkan, Xanthos, Tlos, Soguksu Cove
Morning cruise to Kalkan where we start a van trip and drive to Xanthus, the capital
of ancient Lycia and the city of the most heroic
people of the history. 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 village lunch nearby and then drive to Tlos,
another splendid Lycian town in a beautiful
environment. We meet our gulet in
Gemiler cove and overnight there.
DAY 9 May 21,
Wednesday
- Gemiler Island, Kayakoy
 After
breakfast we hike the Gemiler Island
to see the Byzantine ruins spread
among the wild olive and oak trees. Swim and
kayak afterwards. 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. The hiking trail follows steep up and
down hilly terrain. Along the hike we enjoy the
spectacular landscape and the fragrance of sage, thyme and lavender. Overnight at
Soguksu Cove or Gemiler Island.
 DAY
10 May 22,
Thursday - Fethiye,
Sunken Bath, Harbor of Nets
Early in the morning we sail to a beautiful
cove called Turuncpinari and have breakfast there.
Then we continue on to Fethiye, a nice coastal town
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 4 C BC. Just before noon
we sail accross the Gulf of Fethiye to another beautiful bay called Batik Hamam (Sunken Bath) where the ruins of partially sunken Roman bath
is placed at the end of the natural harbor.
We swim and have lunch there. Afterwards we hike
across the peninsula through the ruins of Lydae.
We may also visit a friendly shepherd family
around Lydae. At the end of the beautiful hike we meet our boat in the
marvelous cove called Ag Limani (Harbor of Nets).
Overnight in Ag Limani.
DAY 11 May 23,
Friday - 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 12 May 24,
Saturday -
Marmaris, Selcuk
End of the
sailing adventure. We sail early morning to
Marmaris and disembark. We may take an exploratory walk in the town and drive to Selcuk,
a town 1 mile to Ephesus. We visit the ruins of Artemiseum one of the seven
wonders of the world, of which
the foundations and some debris remain today,
and the Selcuk Museum where we see cult statues of Ephesian Artemis. Overnight at
Nilya Hotel in Selcuk.
Total driving today is 204 km
( 127 miles )
DAY 13 May 25,
Sunday - Ephesus, Pergamum,
Kucukkuyu
Starting early in the morning,
we tour
glorious Ephesus,
considered one of the best preserved ancient
city in the world.
Ancient Ephesus was a cosmopolitan
trading center of 250,000. It was made capitol
of
Roman Asia by the Emperor Augustus and there St. Paul preached 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 depart from Ephesus
by
11:00 and drive 108 miles to Pergamum where the first page in the book in the history was written.
By 4:30 pm we tour the Acropolis and the
Asclepion of Pergamum and start another drive of
110 miles. Check in the hotel by 7:00 pm.
Overnight at
Hunnaphan,
a nice countryside hotel in Adatepe Village near the
town of Kucukkuyu.
Total driving today is 350 km
( 218 miles )
D AY 14 May 26,
Monday - Assos, Troy,
Guzelyali
After check out of the hotel we
drive to Assos. Its fascinating 6 C BC doric
temple on the top of the hill,
Hellenistic ruins and magnificent location
overlooking Lesbos Island make Assos a natural and archaeologic beauty.
We then continue on driving to Troy to see the
nine superimposed ruins dating from different
eras between 3000 BCE to 200 CE. The most impressive
layer is the
Iliad’s Troy, dating from 13 C BCE with
relatively well preserved city defense system
and houses. We stay at
Ida Kale Resort
near the Dardanel strait.
Total driving today is 118 km ( 73 miles )
DAY
15 May 27, Tuesday -
Gallipoli, Istanbul
In the morning
we take a ferry and get accross the Dardanel
strait to visit the battle fields and war
memorials of Gallipoli where nearly half million
soldiers died during the World War I. Then we get back to the
Asian side again and drive 200 km ( 124 miles )
to Bandirma where we take 3:30 pm ferry to get
accross the Sea of Marmara. We check in the
hotel by 6:00 pm. Overnight at
Ayasofya Konaklari.
Total driving today is 234 km
( 145 miles )
DAY 16 May 28, Wednesday
- Departures
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Optional 3-day pre-trip or post-trip Cappadocia extension.
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All accommodations in hotels &
shared yacht cabins
Balbius Travel