THE COAST OF TURKEY BY LAND AND SEA
MAY 10 – 25, 2003
escorted by Dr. David Price Williams

Istanbul is one of the great cities of the world, the ancient city of Constantinople, the Sublime Porte, and capital of the Byzantine Empire. From 330 to 1453 AD it was fabulously wealthy, with its hippodrome, palaces and churches becoming the stuff of legend. Chief among its monuments was the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Holy Wisdom, still standing today after 1500 years, one of the most enduring monuments of Christendom. Many other churches survive from this early history, with their fine mosaics and grand domes they bring this period vividly to life. Istanbul also was for 400 years the capital of the Ottoman Empire, which during the reign of Suleyman the Magnificent outshone Constantinople, its predecessor, with its towering mosques and oriental bazaars.

Our odyssey continues with a visit to Troy, famed Bronze Age site overlooking the Dardanelles, and to Pergamum, site of the famous library.

Then on to Ephesus, whose commerce at the time of Hadrian rivalled Rome itself. The site is still magnificent, with its marble streets and wealthy villas, the restored Celsus Library and State Agora, and a theatre to seat 28,000. The Museum at Selcuk displays an excellent collection from the excavations, including a number of versions of Artemis Ephesia.

The coasts of Asia Minor, with their towering cliffs and high mountain ranges, have changed little since pre-Classical times. These were the sea lanes navigated by the Myceneans of the Bronze Age. Early peoples settled along these peninsulas, and later the armies of Alexander left their mark. The Emperors of Rome and the merchants of Byzantium created the wealth with which fabulous new cities were endowed. It is their inaccessibility by land that has ensured the unspoilt condition of these ancient remains. Among the promontories and islands are preserved some of the most delightful archaeological sites in the Mediterranean. To appreciate these fully, they are best reached by sea, cruising through the clear waters of the Turquoise Coast.

We sail from Didyma, site of one of the largest and best-preserved temples of the Classical world. We cruise on to Iasos, where we can visit the fine late Roman agora and council chamber. At Euromos is an almost complete Corinthian temple of Zeus, set in an olive grove. Labranda, in the dramatic mountain scenery behind Milas, preserves one of the most beautiful Hellenistic cities in the world. We visit Heraklea under Latmos, a fine Classical city on the shores of Lake Bafa, rising up over the dramatic granite mountains. Our cruise ends at ancient Halicarnassos, dominated by the castle of the Knights Hospitaller which houses the finest underwater museum in the Mediterranean.

ITINERARY

DAY 1
Overnight flight from USA to Istanbul

DAY 2
Arrive Istanbul from the USA. Drive along the along the Sea of Marmara to your hotel in the Sultan Ahmet area (Old City). Overnight at the MAVI EV.

DAY 3
After breakfast, a walking visit to the "old city" of Istanbul, Constantinople. The Byzantine Emperor Constantine elected to move the capital of the Roman Empire to the small trading colony of Byzantium, which straddled the divide between Europe and Asia. He was crowned here in 330 AD. The Empire was to last over 1100 years. We shall visit the Byzantine Hippodrome, and the Agia Sofia, the Church of Holy Wisdom. In its present form it was built during the reign of Justinian in the 6th Century AD. Also visit the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace and Museum where the treasures of the Ottoman Empire are on display. Lunch in one of the many fine restaurants in Sultan Ahmet. Afternoon visit to the Church of St Sergius. Dinner and overnight at the MAVI EV.

DAY 4
Orientation visit to the environs of Constantinople, with a visit to the Land Walls of Theodosius, the Aqueduct and the Church of the Chora, with fine mosaics. Nearby are the remains of the late Byzantine Blachernae Palace. Afternoon visit to the Archaeological Museum, where so much material from the Near East is on display, followed by a cruise on the Bosphorus. Overnight at the Mavi Ev.

DAY 5
Drive along the Sea of Marmara to the Hellespont. The narrows here are the famous Hellespont of the Classical world, scene of the story of Hero and Leander, now overlooked by the Ottoman Fort of Killit ul Bahir. Cross on the ferry to Çanakkale on the Asiatic side. The Dardanelles, as they are now known, was also the scene of the Gallipoli Campaign in the First World War. Afternoon visit to the remains of ancient Troy, scene of the epics of Homer. The site was originally excavated by Schliemann over one hundred years ago. The city is a complicated inter-layering of nine different periods, from the beginning of the Bronze Age 3000 BC to the Roman Period. Alexander set up a shrine here on his first landfall in Asia. Its impressive defences indicate its strategic position, and the most recent excavations are adding greatly to our knowledge of the site. Overnight at the Akol Hotel, Çanakkale.

DAY 6
Morning drive down the Aegean Coast to visit Pergamum, an ancient Hellenistic city renowned for its wealth of Greaco-Roman remains. In Hellenistic times it was the rival of Ephesus in the field of commerce and of Alexandria in the fields of learning and the arts. Pergamum was the city that invented parchment after Egypt cut off its supply. The city dates back to the Attalids who ruled during the height of artistic and scientific discoveries in the third and second centuries BC. Many elements of the buildings from the acropolis are on display in the Pergamum Museum in Berlin. On the citadel today the monumental foundations of the alter of Zeus remain as well as the Temple of Athena and the spectacular theatre. There are also the remains of the great library of Pergamum which housed over 200,000 volumes. Overnight the Kismet Hotel, Kusadasi.

DAY 7
Drive to Ephesus with its vast theatre, commercial and State agora, Celsus library, bath houses, temples and colonnaded streets. Parts of the city have been well reconstructed which gives a good impression of Ephesus in the Roman period. Afternoon visit the Selcuk museum where the artefacts from the excavations at Ephesus are displayed and visit this well preserved classical site. Overnight the Kismet Hotel, Kusadasi.

DAY 8
Today we shall join the yachts. Full day visit to the cities of the Gulf of Latmos, visiting first Priene, a beautifully sited Hellenistic city laid out on a hillside in a Hippodamian grid. The monuments here include the city gates, colonnaded streets, exquisite theatre and council chamber and the Temple of Athena Polias, said to be the most perfect example of Ionic architecture ever built. Afternoon visit to Miletus, scene of a famous sea battle of Alexander’s time. The Roman theatre is especially fine. On a headland beyond the city is the sacred site of Didyma, one of the largest temples ever constructed and still substantially in tact. Embark our yachts and continue to a quiet cove for the night.

DAY 9
Cruise to Akbuk. A short journey reaches Lake Bafa and the magnificent setting of Heraklea under Latmos, once a thriving sea port now stranded on the shores of a fresh-water lake. In Classical times the Gulf of Latmos was a deep inlet of the sea and Heraklea once a thriving sea port. It has been stranded as the inlet was cut off from the sea. The city has a magnificent series of Hellenistic defensive walls, a theatre and a host of other buildings. The granite scenery of the Bes Parmak Mountains makes this Hellenistic city superbly photogenic. Return to Akbuk quayside and cruise along the Gulf, mooring in the quiet inlet of Kazikli for swimming dinner and overnight

DAY 10
Cruise south to the ancient city of Iasos and moor in the classical harbor. Iasos is a delightful Turkish village, all around which are the remains of the Classical city of Iasos. We shall visit the Acropolis with beautifully sited but poorly preserved theatre. At the base of the hill is a well preserved and particularly attractive late Roman agora. The council chamber (bouleterion) is in excellent condition.

DAY 11
Full day visit to Euromos, with an almost complete temple of Zeus. Continue into the mountains to Labraunda, an ancient Hellenistic city high among the granite cliffs and pine forests, preserving Hellenistic houses and streets. This was the sacred shrine of the Mausolus dynasty where they worshiped the cult of Zeus Labraundos, of the double axe. Return via Milas, Mausolus's original capital.

DAY 12
Sailing across the head of the Gulluk bay we visit the wild ruins of Bargilya. Cruise on to the Bodrum peninsula from which we shall visit the scant but well-sited remains of Mindos, a fortress dating from the time of Mausolus.

DAY 13
Another highlight of the tour is a visit to ancient Knidos. Perhaps one of the most spectacularly sited of cities in Asia Minor, Knidos was built in 360 BC and still retains many original Hellenistic features. Afternoon visit through the site, visiting the temple of Apollo Karnaios, where the relics of the Dorian Hexapolis where kept,, the tholos temple of Aphrodite Euploia which once housed the famous statue by Praxitales, the Doric portico which dominated the Knidian skyline, a number of early Byzantine churches, and the harbor theatre. Overnight ON BOARD moored in the ancient harbor of Knidos.

DAY 14
For those that would like, there is a hike to the Knidian Acropolis, an archetypal Hellenistic fortress mirrored throughout Asia. Also visit the Temenos of Demeter, the villas on the slope, the bouleterion and the city walls. After lunch, cruise to the beautiful inlet of Mersincik for swimming, dinner and overnight.

DAY 15
After breakfast sail across the Ceramic Gulf to Bodrum, ancient Halicarnassus, where our cruise will end. Halicarnassus was the capital of the Hecatomnid King Mausolus whose wife built the Mausoleum in his honour around 350 BC. Also there are remains of the Mausoleum. Afternoon visit to the Bodrum Museum. Housed in the 14th Century Crusader castle of St Peter, the museum is famous for its underwater collections excavated from wrecks around the coast of Asia Minor. Overnight ON BOARD.

Day 16
Transfer to the airport at Bodrum for return flight to the USA via Istanbul.

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