Turkey Unplugged - 10 Days
Explore Istanbul and its bazaars and grand Mosques, wander round the battlefields of Gallipoli, see Roman ruins, the beautiful Aegean Coast, Pamukkale and the jewel in Turkey’s crown - Cappadocia, with its amazing underground cities and whimsical landscape.
Day 1: Welcome to Turkey!
Saturday. Welcome to Turkey and the start of your holiday. Included arrival transfer to our hotel. Spend the afternoon at leisure or head out to explore the city. Istanbul is easy to get around on foot and there are plenty of restaurants and cafes dotted about the city. Overnight - Istanbul
Day 2: The Old City
Enjoy a tour of the Old City from where the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires were ruled. We’ll
visit the stunning Blue Mosque famed for it’s blue
Iznik tiles, Hippodrome, Hagia Sofia - constructed as
a Basilica in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian and
Topkapi Palace. Overnight - Istanbul (B)
Turkey Unplugged - 10 Days Go Guide : :Check out the go guide for details of the tour, info on visas, climate, money, what to bring and more!
Day 3: Gallipoli - WW1 Battlefields
Istanbul – Gallipoli. Today we explore
ANZAC Cove and the many memorials dotted across
the WW1 battlefields. Our guided tour takes in
sights such as ANZAC Cove, Lone Pine Memorial and
cemetery, Chunuk Bair Memorial and cemetery, the
Nek, Johnston’s Jolly and the many fortified trenches
still clearly visible amongst the scrub after all these
years. Overnight - Canakkale (B, D)
Day 4: Troy & Kusadasi
Gallipoli – Kusadasi. This morning we enjoy a short guided tour of Troy! The legend of the lost city of Troy and Homer’s poetry was bought alive by it’s rediscovery in 1863. Subsequent excavations revealed 9 ancient cities, one on top of the other, dating back to 3000 BC! We enjoy a tour of the ruins and bear witness to a replica of the stoic
Trojan wooden horse that, as the story goes, was filled to the gunnels with Aechaean soldiers who helped sack Troy.
Driving further south to the ancient ruins of Pergamum, home to one of the steepest, vertigo - inducing amphitheatres in the classical world. Pergamum was also famous for its Asclepion (medical centre). We continue to Kusadasi on the Aegean Coast via a leather manufacturing house. Overnight - Kusadasi (B, D)
Driving further south to the ancient ruins of Pergamum, home to one of the steepest, vertigo - inducing amphitheatres in the classical world. Pergamum was also famous for its Asclepion (medical centre). We continue to Kusadasi on the Aegean Coast via a leather manufacturing house. Overnight - Kusadasi (B, D)
Day 5: Ancient Ephesus
Today, we explore legendary Ephesus -
positively the best-preserved classical city in the
eastern Mediterranean. Ephesus, under the Romans
was a vast city with a population nearing 250,000,
revelling in prosperity from commerce and visiting
pilgrims who came to see its great Temple of Artemis
- one of the Seven Ancient Wonders.
We have plenty of time to tour the marble ruins of Ephesus. Be sure to see the famous Library of Celsus, the gymnasium of Vedius, Stadium, and the Great Theatre. We’ll see ancient public toilets, a brothel, fountains and various temples. We also visit a carpet manufacturing house. Overnight - Kusadasi (B, D)
We have plenty of time to tour the marble ruins of Ephesus. Be sure to see the famous Library of Celsus, the gymnasium of Vedius, Stadium, and the Great Theatre. We’ll see ancient public toilets, a brothel, fountains and various temples. We also visit a carpet manufacturing house. Overnight - Kusadasi (B, D)
Day 6: Pamukkale Thermal Pools
Kusadasi – Pamukkale. Driving east, we arrive at Pamukkale - home of the famous gleaming white calcium terraced pools. Known locally as the Cotton Castles, they are a natural phenomena and gift of Mother Nature. Pamukkale was formed when warm, calcium rich mineral water cascaded over the cliff edge, cooling and depositing in the process.
The calcium built natural shelves and pools on the cliffs, known as travertines. Take a barefoot walk along the traverines or opt for a dip in the warm waters of the Pamukkale Thermal pool, with its submerged fragments of fluted marble columns.
Our last stop for the day is the ruined spa town of Hierapolis, famed for the curative powers of mineral springs, dammed to create communal baths. Overnight - Pamukkale (B, D)
Days 7 - 8: Fairytale Cappadocia
Pamukkale - Cappadocia. On our drive to Cappadocia, we visit some ancient caravanserais such as Sultanhani caravanserai. Tonight (day 7)
why not join us on an optional and fun Turkish evening out.
On day 8, after breakfast and a good night’s rest, we enjoy a guided tour of Cappadocia - perhaps the jewel in Turkey’s crown. Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s most extraordinary national treasures. The utter improbability of the seemingly surreal landscape has to be seen to be believed with its ‘stuff of fables’ cave dwellings and phallic ‘fairy chimneys’ landscape. Whole troglodyte villages, subterranean churches and fortresses have been hewn from the soft, porous, eerily eroded rock of Cappadocia. The crumbling legacy of persecuted Christians trying to escape the Muslim onslaught in 1st-10th centuries AD by effectively heading underground is one of Turkey’s finest attractions. A guided tour of the region takes us to the World – Heritage listed site of the Göreme Valley where you’ll see stunning examples of rock-cut Byzantine churches, chapels and temples and Zelve with its phallic-like eroded landscape. This evening, we enjoy dinner at the hotel. Overnight - Cappadocia (B:2, D:1)
On day 8, after breakfast and a good night’s rest, we enjoy a guided tour of Cappadocia - perhaps the jewel in Turkey’s crown. Cappadocia is one of Turkey’s most extraordinary national treasures. The utter improbability of the seemingly surreal landscape has to be seen to be believed with its ‘stuff of fables’ cave dwellings and phallic ‘fairy chimneys’ landscape. Whole troglodyte villages, subterranean churches and fortresses have been hewn from the soft, porous, eerily eroded rock of Cappadocia. The crumbling legacy of persecuted Christians trying to escape the Muslim onslaught in 1st-10th centuries AD by effectively heading underground is one of Turkey’s finest attractions. A guided tour of the region takes us to the World – Heritage listed site of the Göreme Valley where you’ll see stunning examples of rock-cut Byzantine churches, chapels and temples and Zelve with its phallic-like eroded landscape. This evening, we enjoy dinner at the hotel. Overnight - Cappadocia (B:2, D:1)
Day 9: Ataturk's Mausoleum
Cappadocia - Istanbul. Via Ankara - the nation’s capital, we visit the mausoleum of Mustafa Ataturk - the father of modern Turkey, before continuing to Istanbul. Overnight - Istanbul (B)
Day 10: Istanbul
Monday. After breakfast your tour draws to a close. Onward departure transfers to Ataturk International Airport are offered complimentary at 11am and 1:30pm today. Happy travels! (B)
Oil Wrestling - a slightly slippery event
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Every year since 1640 Turkey’s best wrestlers, men and boys, gather and lather up for the oldest wrestling contest in the world. Once held in a grassy field of Kirkpinar, the world-renowned Janissaries (an elite fraternity of body guards to the imperial Sultans) trained and mastered in the art as preparation for combat. Today, about 1,000 barefoot wrestlers take part in a ‘sudden death’ style competition wearing only a pair of leather trousers and a lathering of omega 3 rich olive oil.
Competitors pair off, grappling and struggling to gain a grip on their opponent. Tactical moves include a hand down the side of the pants trick and the common schoolboy ‘wedgie’ (grab, lift, flip and throw) to pin ones opponent to the ground! The winner goes on to fight another winner, and so on, until there is only one wrestler left standing. Join us at the Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Championships, on our Oil Wrestling Bolt-on which will coincide with our Aegean Explorer, Istanbul to the Med, Turkey Unplugged, Turkey & Tutankhamen and Turkey Discovered tours departing in the beginning of July 2012. The exact event date has yet to be confirmed - watch this space! |
Oil Wresting....a slick day out!!
Every year since 1640 Turkey’s best wrestlers, men and boys, gather and lather up for the oldest wrestling contest in the world. Once held in a grassy field of Kirkpinar, the world-renowned Janissaries (an elite fraternity of body guards to the imperial Sultans) trained and mastered in the art as preparation for combat. Today, about 1,000 barefoot wrestlers take part in a ‘sudden death’ style competition wearing only a pair of leather trousers and a lathering of omega 3 rich olive oil.
Competitors pair off, grappling and struggling to gain a grip on their opponent. Tactical moves include a hand down the side of the pants trick and the common schoolboy ‘wedgie’ (grab, lift, flip and throw) to pin ones opponent to the ground! The winner goes on to fight another winner, and so on, until there is only one wrestler left standing.
We operate a one day trip to watch the oil wrestling, noramlly held in the first week of July. The exact date of the event for 2012 has yet to be released. Watch this Space!
Note: Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays, whilst the Hagia Sofia is closed on Mondays. The Grand Bazaar and Egyptian Spice Market are both closed on Sundays. This in no way affects our touring itinerary, though please consider this if arriving early or planning to extend your stay.
Tour Details
- Starts in: Istanbul / Ends in: Istanbul
- Departs: Saturdays - year round
- No local payment required
- Breakfast:9, Lunch: 0, Dinner: 5
- Hotel Rating: 4 star & Special Class
- Tour Guide: Yes
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