Anatolia for You

On this 12-day private tour, sightseeing is similar to our luxury tours, but you save money by staying in very comfortable four-star (not five-star) hotels, and you provide the air tickets--perfect if you have frequent-flier tickets.

DAY 1 - ISTANBUL Friday- This is a private tour, you may choose your own arrival date . We suggest Fridays

Our staff escorts you from Istanbul's Ataturk Airport to your hotel. In the evening, enjoy Turkish coffee and serbet (fruit drinks) as we plan our activities.

DAY 2 - ISTANBUL Saturday (cB)

Today is the day to use your Travel in Style bonus Lonely Planet guidebook and Turkish Phrasebook! Set out and explore this great imperial capital on your own, as you like. If you suffer from jet lag, take it easy for part of the day, relaxing in your comfortable hotel.

DAY 3 - ANKARA & CAPPADOCIA Sunday (cBLD)

We fly to Ankara for a visit to the world-famous Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, filled with Hittite treasures. Then we drive south toward Cappadocia, stopping on the way at Agizkarahan to see the impressive Seljuk Turkish camel caravanserai, once a way-station on the famed Silk Road. We continue to Uçhisar to visit the natural citadel hollowed from the soft volcanic rock, and then spend the night in nearby Ürgüp.

DAY 4 - CAPPADOCIA Monday (cBLD)

First we visit the Göreme Valley, now an open-air museum with dozens of beautiful cave-churches cut from the living rock, then the monastic valley of Zelve. We take a short drive and descend into the labyrinth at Kaymakli or Derinkuyu, a veritable underground city carved from the volcanic tuff by early Christians. After visiting the Cappadocian towns of Avanos, famous for its potters, and Ortahisar, we return to Ürgüp.

DAY 5 - KONYA & PAMUKKALE Tuesday (cBLD)

We follow the ancient Silk Road to Konya, city of the Whirling Dervishes, to visit the Mevlana Museum. Then on to the mineral spa of Pamukkale to enjoy the sunset before the short drive to our hotel in Denizli.

DAY 6 - APHRODISIAS & KUSADASI Wednesday (cBLD)

We return to Pamukkale, called Hierapolis by the Romans, to visit the church dedicated to St Philip (martyred here in 80 AD), a Temple of Apollo, and the baths. After a swim in the warm calcium-rich waters we head west to Aphrodisias, with its near-perfect stadium, theater, odeon and temple. The drive to our hotel in Kusadasi is through the cotton fields and fruit orchards of the fertile Meander River valley.

DAY 7 - EPHESUS & IZMIR Thursday (cBLD)

Our full-day tour of Ephesus takes us along the city's marble streets to the beautiful Library of Celsus, the grand agora, the Temple of Hadrian and the fine marble odeon. Next we drive up to a pine forest on a nearby mountain top to visit the House of the Virgin Mary. Then it's on to the Basilica of St John, after which we drive to Izmir for the night.

DAY 8 - PERGAMON & ÇANAKKALE Friday (cBLD)

We drive north through the rich olive orchards along the Aegean coast to Bergama, the ancient Pergamon. We tour its dramatic hilltop Acropolis and Aesculapium before continuing to Çanakkale, on the Dardanelles, for the night.

DAY 9 - TROY & ISTANBUL Saturday (cBLD)

Homer's epic poem the Iliad told of the legendary city of Troy. Explorer Heinrich Schliemann discovered the real Troy in 1871. We visit the ruined city and a replica of the famous Trojan Horse before driving along the shores of the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul.

DAY 10 - ISTANBUL Sunday (cBL)

Today we tour the top sights in this fabled city. We start at the Byzantine Hippodrome, where we visit the famous Blue Mosque to admire its brilliant blue tiles, and Sancta Sophia, the cavernous basilica built by Emperor Justinian in 548. Topkapi Palace, the home of the Ottoman sultans for centuries, is our next stop. We visit the fabulous Treasury and the renowned Chinese porcelain collection, then drive to the Süleymaniye, Istanbul's grandest mosque. We finish our tour at the Kariye Museum, built as a Byzantine church in the 11th century and decorated with glittering gold mosaics. In the evening there's a Turkish-style feast with live entertainment, optional at extra cost.

DAY 11 - ISTANBUL Monday (cBL)

Full day at leisure, maybe for last minute shopping, or explore further on your own

DAY 12 - DEPARTURE Tuesday (cB)

After breakfast, our staff escorts you to the airport for your flight home.

RATES per person in USD

Airfares within Turkey in economy class , tax included

All guided sightseeing with all entrance fees.

Meals as listed : B/L/D  : Preset menu: Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner,

Accommodations in comfortable first-class (four-star).

What's not included...

• Turkish Visa Fee payable in cash upon arrival at the airport in Istanbul, or contact any of the Turkish Consulates near you .
• Any shore excursion while cruising/sailing.
• Travel Insurance. Please ask us for the flyer
• Gratuities (at your discretion)

• International airfare

Extend your  stay in Turkey on board a comfortable Gulet

Amusing airplane/train/bus or end-of-the-day reading? Turkey: Bright
Sun, Strong Tea, my humorous travel memoir:
http://www.brightsunstrongtea.com/