 |
Hagia Sofia and
Blue Mosque at sunset |
 |
Grand Bazaar |
 |
Chimney of cave homes |
 |
Museum Hotel room |
 |
Zelve caves |
 |
Zelve church with
3 alcoves |
 |
Mushroom rocks |
 |
Zelve mill stone |
 |
Old Mother Hubbard |
 |
Sunset over Kusadasi |
 |
Don resting on the boat |
 |
Dalyan Tombs |
 |
Our gulet |
 |
Moon over the Turquoise
Coast |
May 20 to June 4, 2011
and
September 30 to October
15, 2011
WAITLIST ONLY


Itinerary
Friday, May 20
(September 30)
Saturday, May 21
(October 1)
- Arrive
in Istanbul
- Met
at airport by guide and transferred by bus to the
Ottoman
Imperial Hotel, a small boutique hotel right
in
the heart of Sultanahmet
- Dinner
on your own
Sunday, May 22
(October 2)
- Morning
of sightseeing in Istanbul, including the Hagia
Sofia,
with its magnificent Byzantine mosaics, the huge 17th
century
Blue Mosque, and the Hippodrome, once the scene of
such
enormous public spectacles as chariot races, executions
and mock battles
- Lunch
included
- Afternoon
cruise up the Bosphorus
- Opening
dinner included
Monday, May 23
(October 3)
- Morning
of sightseeing, including the famed Topkapi Palace and
the
Basilica Cistern, inhabited by giant catfish roaming its
dark
waters
- Lunch
on your own
- Afternoon
visit to the Grand Bazaar led by Don and Gail
- Dinner
on your own
Tuesday, May 24
(October 4)
- Full
day of business visits to learn about the politics,
economics,
and business climate of Turkey
- Lunch
included
- Dinner
included
Wednesday, May 25
(October 5)
- Transfer
by bus to airport for flight
to
Kayseri
- Lunch
on the plane
- Met
at airport for transfer to Uchisar and
the Museum Hotel,
a luxurious cave hotel
- Dinner
included at the hotel
Thursday, May 26
(October
6)
- Morning
tour of Zelve Outdoor Museum to explore its narrow valleys
filled with cave homes and churches carved into the
limestone and a visit to Pasabag to photograph the remarkable
landscape
of tufa cones
- Lunch
included
- Afternoon
tour of Kaymakli, an underground city that, from
the
second century AD, could house
15,000 people and their animals
during enemy attacks
- Dinner
on your own
Friday, May 27
(October
7)
- Morning
tour of Goreme, a fascinating complex of churches, rectories
and dwellings developed by St. Basil in the 4th century
- Visit
to Uchisar Castle, a fortress carved out of a natural hill,
with
beautiful
views of the surrounding Cappadocia formations
- Lunch
on your own
- Afternoon
free to relax or hike (we have hiked the Ilhara Valley,
a
hike we will guide this afternoon for those who are interested)
- Dinner
included at Elai Restaurant
Saturday, May 28
(October 8)
- Transfer
to Kayseri Airport for flight to Izmir.
Met
by our bus for transfer to Kusadasi, and the Kismet Hotel,
set on
a promontory overlooking the Aegean Sea
- Lunch
on the plane
- Rest
of the afternoon at leisure to explore the town
- Dinner
on your own
Sunday, May 29
(October 9)
- Morning
tour of Ephesus, one of Rome’s great cities, with
its
beautiful villas, intricate mosaics, and stunning temples.
Visit
the Ephesus Archeology Museum
- Lunch
in the garden of the Sultankoy rug factory with time
to
watch the local artisans at work and talk to the owners
about
Turkey’s
economic, social, and political environment
- Afternoon
visit to the Basilica of St. John, built by the Emperor
Justinian
in the 6th century AD and the House of Virgin Mary, who
reportedly
came to Ephesus in 37 AD
- Dinner
included at a local restaurant
Monday, May 30
(October 10)
- Board
bus for transfer to Dalyan, a charming village along the
Turquoise
Coast
- Lunch
included along the river
- Take
a river boat to see the ancient rock-cut tombs high
on the
cliffs
above the river and to visit the ancient of city Kaunos,
a Lycian city
built before 400 BC
- Board
our gulet to begin our cruise along the Turquoise Coast
- Dinner on the gulet
Tuesday, May 31 and Wednesday, June 1
(October 11 & 12)
- On
board the gulet
- We
will cruise from Dalyan to Fethiye, visiting islands and
coastal
villages
along the way, stopping to swim and hike and to visit
Roman
and Lycian ruins
- All
meals included on board the gulet
Thursday, June 2
(October 13)
- Morning
departure from gulet at Fethiye. Visit
the Greek ghost town of Kayakoy, on the site of the
ancient
city of Carmylessus, built in the 1700’s and abandoned
in 1923 when the Greeks and Turks “exchanged populations”
- Lunch
included
- Transfer
to Dalaman Airport for flight to Istanbul
- Met
by bus for transfer to Four Seasons Hotel Sultanahmet
- Dinner
on your own
Friday, June 3
(October 14)
- Morning
visit to the beautiful Dolmabahce Palace, the residence
of the
last 6 Ottoman sultans
- Lunch
and afternoon on your own for sightseeing or shopping
- Closing
dinner at “360”, a restaurant high on a hill
overlooking Istanbul
Saturday, June 4
(October 15)
- Transfer
to airport for flights to US
- Services
end
Cost: The ground cost for the trip per person (based
upon double occupancy and not including international airfare)
is $9,920 if 10 or more people sign up for the trip and $10,920
if 6 to 9 people sign up. We will provide a single
supplement quote upon request.
The trip price includes 5 star, or the best available, hotels, all breakfasts, most lunches and dinners as stated in the itinerary, internal flights,
ground transportation, guides, admissions, transfers, and
tips. Not included are international air fare between
the US or Europe and Istanbul, alcoholic beverages, excess
baggage charges, independent airport transfers, incidentals
(such as internet access, laundry, phone and fax calls),
passport and visa fees, and medical expenses. Internal
flights will be coach class. We will have our own private
guides and private buses, exclusively for our group.
Currently, we can purchase visas at the Istanbul airport
upon arrival for $20 US cash. We will notify you immediately
if this visa policy changes.
Please note that we may change the itinerary based on changes
in airline schedules, natural disaster, or other circumstances
requiring such changes.
Refund Policy: Deposits and any payments are fully
refundable, less a $300 per person cancellation fee, until
120 days prior to departure. After that date, refunds
can be made only if the program is sold out and your place(s)
can be resold, in which case a $1000 per person cancellation
fee will apply. After March 20, 2011 (or, for the October
trip, June 30, 2011), we cannot make any refunds unless we
must cancel the trip because of circumstances outside our
control (i.e., war, natural disaster). In that
case, your payments are fully refundable. We recommend
trip-cancellation insurance and, if the trip insurance doesn’t
include it, medical evacuation insurance.
Currency Fluctuation Policy: We reserve the right
to adjust the cost of the trip if exchange rates negatively
affect the value of the dollar against the local currency,
thereby increasing our costs significantly.
Trip cancellation: We reserve the right to cancel
the trip if we do not have at least 6 people participating
or if circumstances beyond our control (i.e., war, quarantine,
etc.) require it. In the case of cancellation by us,
we will refund your entire payment.
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