11-Day Wonders of Turkey - Small Group, Summer 2027 I

Highlights

• Istanbul: Meet your Travel Director and your small group for your first dinner together in Istanbul, marking the start of your journey through Turkey.
• Izmir: Share a Farm-to-table lunch at Nif Bağları, a family-owned wine producer in the foothills near Izmir. Walk through the vines and learn how the land is used, then sit down to seasonal dishes made with produce grown on the property, served in the vineyard setting.
• Istanbul: Toast the culmination of your travels during dinner at a local restaurant with your small group and Travel Director.
• Gallipoli: Visit ANZAC Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula, the landing site for Australian and New Zealand forces on 25 April 1915. The site remains the focus of ANZAC Day commemorations, including the dawn service held here each year.
• Troy: Visit this ancient sight fabled to have been destroyed over love and view the huge reconstructed Trojan Horse.
• Ephesus: Visit the Archaeological museum housing many of the artifacts from Ephesus.
• Ephesus: Walk through Ephesus with a Local Expert, following the Arcadian Way into the heart of the Roman city. You’ll stand before the Library of Celsus, take in the scale of the amphitheater and visit the House of the Virgin Mary, set in the hills above the ruins.
• Izmir: Join a backgammon lesson in a traditional Turkish coffee shop, learning the basic rules of tavla, a game played in Anatolia since Ottoman times. Sip traditional Turkish coffee before sitting down for a friendly match against local players, following the pace and customs typical of the neighborhood.
• Pamukkale: Walk along the travertine pools at Pamukkale, where thermal waters have created white limestone terraces across the hillside. You’ll see how the calcium-rich water continues to shape the formations, leaving new deposits as it flows.
• Konya: Step inside the Sultanhani Caravanserai, built in 1229 to support traders and travelers crossing the Anatolian plain. See how the space was designed for overnight shelter, with stables, storerooms and a central courtyard still intact.
• Saratli: Explore the underground city of Saratlı, where tunnels, rooms and passageways were carved out to provide shelter and storage. You’ll walk through the lower levels and see how early communities built out daily life below ground.
• Cappadocia: Start before dawn at a panoramic viewpoint in Cappadocia and watch hundreds of hot air balloons drift above the fairy chimneys, valleys and sculpted rock formations. As first light spills across the landscape, enjoy uninterrupted views and exceptional photo opportunities.
• Göreme: Explore the rock-cut churches of Göreme, carved into the soft volcanic rock of Cappadocia. Inside, you’ll see early Christian frescoes that have survived for centuries, offering a close look at how communities once lived and worshipped here.
• Avanos: Visit a pottery studio in Avanos, a town on the Kızılırmak River with a clay-working tradition that dates back to Hittite times. Watch how red river clay is prepared and shaped at the wheel, and follow the stages as each piece is formed, dried and decorated.
• Ankara: Visit Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey and the Republic’s first President. You’ll walk through the ceremonial complex and enter the Hall of Honor, observing how the architecture and setting underline his role in the country’s modern history.
• Istanbul: Cruise along the Bosphorus, the strait that links the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara. You’ll watch ferries, fishing boats and cargo ships share the waterway and see how Istanbul’s districts line both banks, built around this route between Europe and Asia.
• Istanbul: Explore Istanbul’s historic peninsula with your Local Expert. You’ll move between the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome and the former palace complex of Topkapi, tracing how the city shifted from Byzantine Constantinople to the Ottoman capital while life continues in the surrounding streets and markets.
• Ayvalik: Visit the Copmadam workshop, where one-of-a-kind items are made from recycled packaging, creating employment opportunities for local women. Your visit directly supports United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5: Gender Equality.
• Cappadocia: Step inside a traditional cave house and meet a local Cappadocian who has lived there for decades. Hear how the home was shaped, how it has changed over time and what it means to remain rooted in this landscape.
• Istanbul: An immersive digital experience through the iconic structure's rich past, showcasing its transformation from a Byzantine cathedral to an Ottoman mosque and now a museum, with captivating exhibits and architectural wonders.
• Istanbul: Visit Hagia Sophia with your Local Expert. You’ll step beneath the central dome and see how elements from its time as a Byzantine basilica and as an Ottoman mosque share the same interior, reflecting the building’s long and layered history.
• Choose between two carefully selected activities
• Istanbul: An immersive digital experience through the iconic structure's rich past, showcasing its transformation from a Byzantine cathedral to an Ottoman mosque and now a museum, with captivating exhibits and architectural wonders.
• Istanbul: Visit Hagia Sophia with your Local Expert. You’ll step beneath the central dome and see how elements from its time as a Byzantine basilica and as an Ottoman mosque share the same interior, reflecting the building’s long and layered history.