Trojans, Greeks & Romans - 8 Days

Welcome to Istanbul – we’ll transfer you to your hotel, and the rest of the day is yours to explore at leisure.

After breakfast, we set out on a fully guided tour of the only city to straddle two continents, taking in the Blue Mosque, St Sophia Museum, Topkapi Palace – including Hagia Irene and the Harem – and the Hippodrome. In the afternoon, you can join an optional half day Bosphorus cruise to glide between Europe and Asia.

Today we visit the First World War battlefields of Gallipoli – including Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair Memorials, ANZAC Cove, The Nek, Johnston’s Jolly, and original trenches and tunnels – one of the most moving places in Turkey. The day ends in Canakkale.

We depart Çanakkale for Troy and the Troy Museum, then continue to Bergama to visit the magnificent Acropolis of Pergamon, whose temples and library once made it a major cultural and political centre, before heading on to Kuşadası.

Today we delve into history with a guided tour of Ephesus and a visit to the site of the Temple of Artemis, soaking up the atmosphere of the ancient city and theatre before exploring the Ephesus Archaeology Museum, home to an impressive collection of artefacts from the region. At a carpet village, we learn how carpets are made by hand and what determines their value.

This morning we view a display of locally handcrafted leather goods, then continue to Pamukkale to see the gleaming white calcium terraces – the travertines – and tour the ancient city of Hierapolis. You can take a dip among ancient columns in the hot springs once used in Roman times for their therapeutic powers.

Today we return to Istanbul – we transfer you to the airport in Denizli for your flight, then meet you on arrival and take you to your hotel, leaving time for a little last minute shopping or exploring.

After breakfast our journey concludes – we say goodbye to new friends and transfer you to the airport for your onward flight.