• Exotic Istanbul, including Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia
• Private Bosphorus cruise
• WWI battlefield of Gallipoli
• Ruins at ancient Troy, Pergamum, Ephesus
• Rustic village of Sirince
• Three-night “Blue Voyage” aboard privately chartered gulet yacht
• Cruising to secluded coves and hidden sites
• Opportunities for swimming, snorkeling, hiking
• Sunken Baths of Cleopatra
• Ancient site of Perge
• Antalya’s acclaimed Archaeological Museum

Day 1: Depart U.S. for Istanbul, Turkey

Day 2: Arrive Istanbul We arrive in Turkey’s cultural and spiritual heart today and transfer to our hotel located near Taksim Square, the heart of modern Istanbul. As guests’ arrival times may vary greatly, we have no group activities or meals planned; on our own we can explore the area surrounding our hotel or simply relax. Dinner tonight is on our own.

Day 3: Istanbul We get our first real taste of this city straddling two continents today as we set out on a walking tour along lively pedestrian Istiklal Street, lined with boutiques, galleries, restaurants, and late Ottoman-era buildings. We see the acclaimed mosaics and frescoes at Chora Church (now Kariye Museum) then take a panoramic drive along Istan­bul’s Old City walls. Then we visit intimate Rustem Pasha mosque, with its exquisite Iznik tiles, followed by the renowned Spice Market. After lunch on our own here, we take a private cruise on the Bosphorus, the waterway that separates Europe from Asia. This evening we take a short walk to a local restaurant for a welcome dinner of traditional Turkish fare. B,D

Day 4: Istanbul Today we encounter Old Istanbul, beginning with the ancient Roman Hippodrome, the 3,500-year-old obelisk brought from Egypt in 390 CE. Next we visit the Blue Mosque, with its 20,000 blue Iznik tiles and signature six minarets. We then visit the renowned Museum of Turkish & Islamic Art, housing priceless artifacts from the 8^th to 20^th centuries. After lunch at a local restaurant we con­­tinue on to Hagia Sophia, the 6^th-century church that was Christendom’s most important before becoming a mosque in the 15^th century. B,L

Day 5: Istanbul This morning we tour splendid Topkapi, for 400 years the palace of Ottoman sultans that today ranks among the world’s richest museums. We continue on to the Basilica Cistern, the marble-columned underground chamber that provided water to Istanbul in antiquity. Our next stop is the Grand Bazaar, the covered market housing some 5,000 shops along 60 “streets.” The remainder of the day and evening is free for independent exploration. B

Day 6: Istanbul/Gallipoli/Troy/Assos Leaving Istanbul this morning, we travel to the northern Aegean Coast for a brief visit to Gallipoli, haunting site of 31 Allied cemeteries from World War I. Then we ferry across the Dardanelles to Troy, once believed to exist only in Homer’s epic poem until the present site was discovered in the 1870s. After touring here we con­tinue south to Behramkale, ancient Assos, where we spend the night. B,L,D

Day 7: Assos/Pergamum/Kusadasi Today we ex­plore one of Turkey’s most spectacular ancient sites: windswept Pergamum, a major power in the 3^rd and 2^nd centuries BCE, with a wealth of Hellenistic ruins. Then we continue on to Kusadasi. B,L,D

Day 8: Kusadasi/Ephesus Few ancient sites com­pare to Ephesus, the world’s best-preserved class­ical city which we explore today. Dating to at least 1300 BCE, Ephesus was Asia Minor’s largest metro­polis and principal port. Our tour includes the Terrace Houses, the recently restored “houses of the rich,” with their outstanding mosaic floors and frescoed walls. Then we enjoy lunch in the rustic village of Sirince. B,L

Day 9: Kusadasi/Ephesus We return to Ephesus to visit the Basilica of St. John, the 6^th-century ruins that stand over what is believed to be the burial site of John the Apostle. Then we learn about Ephesus through the ages, as we tour the Ephesus Muzeum, housing treasures from the archaeological site. After lunch together, we stop at a carpet factory to watch a demonstration of this age-old craft.  B,L,D

Day 10: Kusadasi/Göcek En route to Göcek today, we stop in Dalyan, where we board a small skiff for a trip through an intriguing maze of channels. At the Lake of Koycegiz we see our first Lycian rock-cut tombs on the cliffs above. Late this afternoon we board our gulet and tonight enjoy our first meal on board. B,L,D .

Day 11: Cruising – Aga Limani/Cleopatra Baths We begin our “Blue Voyage” this morning along the stunning coastline Antony is said to have given Cleopatra as a wedding gift. We cruise to the hidden cove of Aga Limani, where we have the option of taking a three-hour hike to the Greco-Roman ruins at Lydea, ending at the Sunken Baths of Cleopatra. Set in a breathtaking inlet, the Baths offer crystal-clear waters for swimming and snorkeling. Those who prefer a less strenuous day can stay aboard the gulets as we sail to the Sunken Baths. B,L,D

Day 12: Cruising – Gemiler Island/Kayakoy Today we cruise to Gemiler Island to tour its 6^th-century Byzantine monastery. Then we coach to the Greek “ghost town” of Kayakoy, abandoned after World War I and now preserved as a historical monument. B,L,D

Day 13: Fethiye/Antalya We cruise this morning to Fethiye, where we disembark then set out by motorcoach through the Taurus Mountains for Antalya. We reach the seaside city in time for lunch and a visit to the acclaimed Archaeological Museum. B,L

Day 14: Antalya/Perge This morning we tour the ruins at Perge, an ancient Greek city once among the world’s prettiest and most prosperous. Then we return to Antalya for a walking tour of its charming Old Town. This afternoon is at leisure before tonight’s farewell dinner at a local restaurant. B,D

Day 15: Depart for U.S. This morning we board an early flight for our return to the United States. B

Please note: This trip involves considerable walking on uneven or cobblestone streets and at sites of ancient ruins. You should be in good physical condition to enjoy the tour to its fullest.

B = Breakfast included L = Lunch included D = Dinner included

• Round-trip air transportation from listed cities
• 13 nights’ accommodations: 9 nights in Deluxe and unrated hotels; 3 nights aboard privately chartered gulet yacht
• 30 meals: 13 breakfasts, 9 lunches, 8 dinners
• Extensive sightseeing as described, including all entrance fees
• Services of an Odysseys Unlimited Tour Director
• Private motorcoach transportation throughout your trip
• Luggage handling for one bag per person
• Gratuities for dining room servers, airport and hotel porters, and all drivers
• $100 frequent traveler credit towards your next Odysseys Unlimited tour ($200 after 3 tours; $300 after 10 tours)

2021 Tour Dates & Prices
including international airfare and all taxes, surcharges, and fees

Please call if your city is not listed or for land only prices. Prices are per person based on double occupancy and include airline taxes, surcharges, and fees of $397, which are subject to change until final payment is made.

Single travelers please add $795. Your $475 deposit is fully refundable up to 95 days prior to departure. All 2021 tour prices above (excluding airline taxes, surcharges, and fees) are guaranteed.

Business Class upgrade (subject to availability) on round-trip Trans-Atlantic flight: $3,995 per person

A visa is required for this tour. Odysseys Unlimited will provide information about visa requirements upon reservation.

Accommodations on Day 6: Nazlihan Hotel (Assos); on Days 7-8: Swissotel Grand Efes (Izmir).

Additionally, our itinerary will include two nights in Izmir and four nights on the gulet cruise, rather than three nights in Kusadasi and three nights on the gulet.

2022 Tour Dates & Prices
including international airfare and all taxes, surcharges, and fees

Please call if your city is not listed or for land only prices. Prices are per person based on double occupancy and include airline taxes, surcharges, and fees of $397, which are subject to change until final payment is made.

Single travelers please add $795. Your $475 deposit is fully refundable up to 95 days prior to departure. All 2022 tour prices above (excluding airline taxes, surcharges, and fees) are guaranteed.

Business Class upgrade (subject to availability) on round-trip Trans-Atlantic flight: $3,995 per person

A visa is required for this tour. Odysseys Unlimited will provide information about visa requirements upon reservation.

Cappadocia & Konya

5 days/4 nights for $895 total price
Single Supplement: $175

We visit ancient Konya then explore in depth the bizarre rock formations and underground cities of Cappadocia and the Goreme Valley.

Your Tour Price Includes

• Private motorcoach transportation Antalya/Konya/Cappadocia
• 4 nights’ accommodations: one night in Konya at Hilton Garden Inn (First Class); 3 nights in Cappadocia at Yunak Evleri Hotel (Superior First Class)
• 11 meals: 4 breakfasts, 4 lunches, 3 dinners
• Extensive included sightseeing: Mevlana (Whirling Dervish) Museum in Konya, rock churches of Goreme Valley (including open-air museum), Kaymakli’s underground city, Zelve Valley, Avanos and Troglodyte villages of Cavusin and Uchisar
• Services of an Odysseys Unlimited Tour Director
• Gratuities for dining room servers, airport and hotel porters, and all drivers

Please see the Accommodations tab for hotel information.

Note: Accommodations in Cappadocia on 2021 departures will be at the Kapadokya Lodge

Orhan Pamuk
Istanbul, Memories and the City
Nobel Prize-winner Pamuk writes with dazzling grace of the city of his birth, a magical place of crumbling mansions and Ottoman riches.

Richard Stoneman
A Traveller’s History of Turkey
An accessible, well-written overview of Turkish history from the Paleolithic to the present.

Eyewitness Guides
Eyewitness Guide Turkey
Gorgeously illustrated and filled with excellent maps, this compact book provides a thorough overview of history, traditions and sights.

Freytag & Berndt
Turkey Map
This shaded relief map includes a detailed map of Western Turkey (1:800,000) on the reverse.

Fodor’s Istanbul’s 25 Best
This slim guide with a pullout map covers with style what to see, where to go and what to do.

John Freely
The Western Shores of Turkey, Discovering the Aegean and Mediterranean Coasts
An excellent overview of the ancient sites of the Turkish coast from Istanbul to Gallipoli, Antioch, Pergamum, Ephesus and Halicarnassus.

Ayla Esen Algar
Classical Turkish Cooking
Algar’s enchanting cookbook includes easy-to-follow Turkish recipes and delightful vignettes about their traditional origins. Everything we’ve made has been fantastic!

Robyn Eckhardt
Istanbul and Beyond, Exploring the Diverse Cuisines of Turkey
The most extensive Turkish cookbook to date. Beginning in Istanbul, journalist Robyn Eckhardt and her husband take a culinary adventure through Turkey’s lesser-known provinces, plus Syria, Iran, Iraq, Armenia and Georgia.

Roger Crowley
1453, The Holy War For Constantinople and the Clash of Islam and the West
In this well-paced history, Crowley recounts the dramatic events leading up to and surrounding the fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks.

John Julius Norwich
A Short History of Byzantium
A richly detailed and evocative history of the span of the great empire from the 4th to the 15th century, brimming with intrigue, palace revolution and treachery.

Seton Lloyd
Ancient Turkey, A Traveller’s History
A lively tale of cultures and conquest, from the Hittites to St. Paul, that illuminates the living past of Turkey’s archaeological treasures. This classic by Professor Lloyd, first director of the British Institute of Archaeology at Ankara is now in a 25th anniversary edition.

Stephen Kinzer
Crescent and Star
This insightful, anecdotal report on contemporary life, culture and politics in Turkey comes from a former New York Times Istanbul bureau chief who is especially attuned to the powerful geographic position of Turkey and its multiple identities in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

Jason Goodwin
Lords of the Horizons
Goodwin artfully combines his modern travels with scholarship, history and reflection, capturing the outrageous personalities, events and vagaries of the ancient Ottoman Empire.

Lyn Rodley
Cave Monasteries of Byzantine Cappadocia
A professor of Byzantine Studies, Lyn Rodley puts the rock-cut monasteries, hermitages and complexes of Cappadocia into historical context in this scholarly account, first published in 1985.

Freya Stark
The Lycian Shore
The Lycian coast and hinterlands are thoroughly explored in this reprint of a classic account of a 1950s journey by the stalwart Freya Stark, one of our heroines. Heading south from Smyrna, Stark explores rock tombs of Xanthus, shores of the Dalyan River, Hellenic cities of Termessos and Perge and other sites along the Aegean.

Louis De Bernieres
Birds Without Wings
De Bernieres offers sweeping historical scope, memorable characters, drama and many new vocabulary words in this stupendous novel set in Anatolia during the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

Angie Brenner, Joy Stocke
Anatolian Days & Nights
When Joy Stocke and Angie Brenner meet on the balcony of a guesthouse in a small resort town on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey, they think they have only a mutual friend and a summer dream in common. Soon, they discover a shared love of travel, history, culture, cuisine and literature – and begin a ten-year odyssey through Turkey.

Mary Lee Settle
Turkish Reflections, A Biography of a Place
Settle’s captivating travelogue is a richly detailed portrait of contemporary Turkey, its people, monasteries, myths, archaeological treasures and living traditions. Exemplary.

Jason Goodwin
The Janissary Tree
With beautiful descriptions of Istanbul and its palaces, this engaging and bizarre historical mystery will keep you reading. The Ottoman Empire mysteries continue with The Snake Stone and The Bellini Card, set in 1840s Venice.

Rose MacAulay, Jan Morris (Introduction)
The Towers of Trebizond
Mixing high farce, archaeology, history and lively travel writing, Rose MacAulay’s impossibly witty short novel is back in a new edition. Originally published in 1956, the book follows the adventures of English missionaries traipsing across Turkey from Istanbul to Trebizond.