All Around Turkey Tour – 10 Days from Istanbul

After breakfast your guide takes you through Sultanahmet and the old city by tram and on foot. The day includes Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome of Constantinople with its obelisks, followed by time to wander the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Plan for many hours on your feet and wear comfortable shoes. Towards the end of the afternoon you board a boat on the Bosphorus; as you pass palaces, wooden mansions and fortresses on the European and the Asian shore, the guide explains the part the strait has played in the city's history. Meals: breakfast, lunch, dinner. Overnight: Istanbul.

Leaving Istanbul, the bus follows the Sea of Marmara west to the Gallipoli Peninsula. The campaign fought here began on 25 April 1915 and lasted eight and a half months; your guide explains it from the point of view of both the Ottoman defenders and the Allied forces. You stand on the shore at ANZAC Cove and look up at the ridges the Turkish troops held, then visit the ANZAC Commemorative Site, the Lone Pine memorial, Chunuk Bair, where the August Offensive was fought, and The Nek, remembered from Peter Weir's film Gallipoli. In Bigalı village you meet local people at the house Mustafa Kemal used as his headquarters. The day ends in Çanakkale on the Dardanelles. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Çanakkale.

Your morning stop is Troy. Besides the replica wooden horse at the entrance, you see altars used for sacrifices, fortification walls around 3,700 years old and the foundations of houses from the first city on the mound, Troy I. The road then leads south to Pergamon, once a royal capital. Up on the acropolis are the Temple of Athena, the place where its great library stood and the base of the Altar of Zeus; the theatre cut into the slope below is one of the steepest of the ancient world, and the view from its top rows is dizzying. The lower agora, the terraced gymnasium and the Temple of Dionysus are also on the walk. In the evening you check in near Ephesus with time to relax. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Kuşadası.

After an early pick-up at the hotel, the day starts in Selçuk and the ruins of Ephesus. The city's story goes back to the 10th century BC, and its streets, temples and public buildings are among the best preserved anywhere in the Mediterranean. You see what remains of the Temple of Artemis, once one of the Seven Wonders, the Temple of Hadrian and the tall façade of the Library of Celsus. After lunch the bus drives on to Fethiye. Once you have checked in, the evening is free; many travellers head to the fish market in the centre, where you choose fresh fish and a restaurant nearby cooks it for you (own expense). Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Fethiye.

The morning is spent at Saklıkent Gorge, a deep, narrow canyon carved into the rock by a mountain river. Cold water rushes between walls that tower overhead, and you can wade upstream to explore the gorge at your own pace, cool off with a swim, or try river tubing for some extra fun (optional). After lunch the bus heads north to Pamukkale for the night. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Pamukkale.

Pamukkale means 'cotton castle' in Turkish, and from a distance the hillside really does look white. The colour comes from travertine, laid down by warm, calcium-rich spring water that has flowed over the slope for thousands of years and formed terraces of shallow pools. Take off your shoes to walk on the terraces, soak in the thermal water or explore the landscape at your own speed. Later the bus continues east across the Anatolian plateau, through small towns and villages, to Cappadocia, where the evening is free after check-in. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Cappadocia.

Early risers can join an optional hot air balloon flight at sunrise, floating above the fairy chimneys and valleys of Cappadocia; if you prefer to sleep in, breakfast is at your own pace. The guided day explores the Göreme area, listed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site: the Göreme Open-Air Museum with its painted rock-cut churches, Pigeon Valley, where dovecotes are carved into the soft volcanic rock, the hilltop citadel of Uçhisar and the old village of Çavuşin. In the afternoon you visit local workshops to see how traditional handicrafts are made. An optional Turkish Night with folk dances and live music is available in the evening. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Cappadocia.

In the morning you descend into Derinkuyu, an underground city carved out over several levels to a depth of about 60 m, with a chapel, wells, storerooms and stables where people once sheltered with their animals. Then the bus crosses the plain to Tuz Gölü, the Salt Lake, Turkey's second-largest lake. Depending on the season its surface glows white or pink, the pink coming from tiny salt-loving organisms, and migrating birds such as flamingos stop here. After a photo stop the bus drives on to Istanbul, arriving late in the evening. Meals: breakfast, lunch. Overnight: Istanbul.

Your last morning starts with breakfast at the hotel. After check-out the tour ends and it is time to say goodbye to the group and your guide. If you would like more time in Istanbul, contact us about extra nights or day trips. Meals: breakfast.