dossier

Ancient and Classical Turkey

ANCIENT AND CLASSICAL TURKEY  |  WHERE YOU STAY

Zeynap Sultan Hotel, AAA
Istanbul   Days 1+2+3

The Zeynap Sultan Hotel is a small hotel with just 24 rooms located in the Sultanahmet area of Istanbul with easy access to the main sites of the Hagia Sofia, The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar. The breakfast terrace has views over the Hagia Sofia.

Note: This is a change in hotel since publication of our 2012 brochure.

Further details on the hotel website.

Day 1   Arrive in Istanbul

We take you to the hotel (20mins) in time for dinner . You spend 3 nights here.

Days 2/3   Exploring Istanbul

First stop is the Blue Mosque and 1,500 year old Haghia Sophia church. After lunch by the Byzantine cistern, our guide leads us through the avenues of bales of silk, gold trinkets and colorful spices of the Grand Bazaar . The next day we visit Topkapi Palace – a real “Arabian Night’s Dream” with its harem and fabulous treasury. In the afternoon, we take a river cruise along the Bosphorous, lined with imposing 19C summer palaces. Returning, we admire the late Byzantine frescoes at Kariye church, before our final dinner in Istanbul.

Day 4   Troy and the Gallipoli Peninsula  8km/5mi/2hr

By ferry boat across the Marmara Sea, and along to the Dardanelle strait (90mins). After lunch, we follow a rosemary-scented coastal path that overlooks the Gallipoli peninsula, site of the famous WW1 battle. Then on to Troy, immortalized by Homer for a more ancient battle. After visiting the site, we move to Assos, our base for the next two nights, and dinner at our harbor front hotel.

Hotel Kervansaray  ****
Assos   Days 4+5

The Hotel Kervansaray is a restored warehouse hotel that lies in the centre of Assos. The hotel is built around an internal courtyard that has been covered with a modern roof to make it into an atrium. The rooms are all on the upper floors and are accessed off external corridors that look down into the atrium. The rooms are simply furnished, and have satellite television, telephone, air conditioning, mini bar and hairdryers.

Day 5   At Assos  9km/5.5mi/4hr

Gently ascending through olive and pistachio trees we reach Assos’s ancient citadel with its theatre, gymnasium and bathhouse. Then an ancient paved way lined with sarcophagi affords stunning views over the watery remains of Assos’s Greco-Roman harbour .

Day 6   Pergamon

A brief stroll, this morning, to the Altar of Zeus for great Aegean coast views before arriving at Pergamon. This ancient Greek city’s library was second only to that of Alexandria. Descending from the theatre we enjoy sweeping valley views as we reach the cobbled streets of the modern town where people still travel by horse and cart. Then on to Foca, where we spend one night.

Hotel Kalyon  AAA
Foca   Day 6

The Hotel Kalyon is a small, family run guesthouse that lies on the harbour front of the small coastal town of Foca. This is a very pretty little centre with a half moon shape sweeping natural harbour that is lined with colourful fishing boats. The hotel is on the quieter side of the harbour a ten minute walk from the town centre where you will find a good choice of shops and restaurants.

Day 7   Sardis and Bozdag  4km/3mi/2hr

Heading inland, we visit the imposing site of Sardis, then a scenic drive to lunch in a mountain restaurant above Bozdag. Afterwards, we descend along a panoramic forest trail bright with crocuses into the village itself. We then move on to Nilgan’s friendly hotel at Selçuk (modern town of Ephesus) where we spend the next two nights.

Nilya Pension  AAA
Selcuk   Days 7+8

The Hotel Nilya itself is situated in one of the narrow cobbled streets that run along the hillside below the Basilica of St John in the old part of the town of Selcuk. Accessed through a beautiful courtyard garden, the rooms are all accessed from an external corridor that runs along the first floor of the building. The rooms each have their own individual furnishings. The style is predominantly period furniture, with each room enjoying a different color scheme. They each have air conditioning and direct dial telephones. All the rooms are arranged around a first floor veranda where there are tables and chairs where you can sit out and look down over the hotel garden below or over the rooftops of Selcuk.

Further details on the hotel website.

Day 8   Ephesus  4km/3mi/2hr

We dedicate the morning to Ephesus, whose marbled streets reveal agorae, bathhouses, a theatre and the Library of Celsus. After lunch in the whitewashed village of Sirince, our walk takes us through almond trees for incomparable views back over the village surrounded by olive studded hills.  

Day 9   Didyma and Lake Bafa  8km/5mi/3hr

Leaving Ephesus, we visit Didyma’s Temple of Apollo before arriving at Lake Bafa for lunch. This afternoon’s walk winds through the semi-ruined Greek city of Herakleia, built into ochre colored limestone boulders, then drops down to the lakeshore where flamingos and herons fish. We reach coastal Bodrum, where we spend our final 2 nights, in time for dinner .

Antique Theatre Hotel  AAAA
Bodrum   Days 9+10

The Hotel Antique Theatre in Bodrum enjoys stunning views over Bodrum harbour and castle from its position on the hillside adjacent to the town’s ancient Greek theatre – after which the hotel was named. All rooms have their own front door that opens out onto a pergola shaded terrace with patio table and chairs where you can sit out. The rooms themselves are fairly compact and traditionally furnished. The style of furnishing is classically understated with pale bedspreads and whitewashed walls. The bathrooms are particularly charming as they are built in the style of a traditional Turkish bath, with tiles from floor to ceiling. The rooms each have direct dial telephone and air conditioning.

Further details on the hotel website.

Day 10   Exploring Bodrum

We explore Bodrum’s cobbled backstreets that reveal a Greek theatre, city gate and the famous Mauseoleum, and visit the Knights Templar castle. After lunch by the marina, Its then on to the Knights Templar Castle before heading back to the hotel's infinity pool before our farewell dinner. Swim in the sea or the hotel’s infinity pool before our  farewell dinner.

Day 11   Return home

WALKING DETAILS

This holiday includes some gentle strolls along coastal paths and forest trails. The descent to Pergamon (day 6) may be considered challenging if prone to vertigo or for those with weaker knees. Walking boots are recommended.

For extra nights we recommend Bodrum or Istanbul.