• 10 Breakfast (B)
• 1 Dinner (D)

• See Hagia Sophia and Blue Mosque. Visit the Grand Bazaar
• Visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilisation and Ataturk’s Mausoleum
• Visit Pasabagi and the Red Valley and marvel at the underground city of Saratli
• Visit the Mevlana Museum, home of the Whirling Dervishes
• See the Cotton Castle springs and the ruins of the Roman health spa of Hierapolis
• Visit the ruins of the ancient city and see the Wooden Horse
• See Anzac Cove, Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair Cemeteries

• Deluxe coach travel
• Selected hotel dinners, with optional meals to purchase
• 3-star stays

• Istanbul: Join your Travel Director for a sightseeing tour through Istanbul, past the vast dome of Hagia Sophia, through the ancient Hippodrome, where weathered obelisks still stand along its long open course, and towards the grand pointed spires of the Blue Mosque.
• Istanbul: Haggle for souvenirs at Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar one of the largest covered markets in the world with 60 streets and over 5,000 shops.
• Ankara: Visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, wandering through galleries filled with carved stone reliefs, ancient pottery and artefacts spanning thousands of years of Anatolian history.
• Ankara: In Ankara, visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic, where pale travertine, towering colonnades and the vast ceremonial square surround his final resting place.
• Gallipoli: You’ll journey along the Gallipoli Peninsula, from the deep blue shoreline of Anzac Cove to the memorials of Lone Pine Cemetery and the lofty heights of Chunuk Bair.

Watch hot-air balloons rise over Cappadocia from a panoramic viewpoint at sunrise. See their colours drift across the sky above the region’s valleys and fairy chimneys as the morning light reaches the rock formations.

This is a ground-based viewing experience, not a balloon flight, offering a chance to photograph the spectacle against Cappadocia’s volcanic landscape. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Costsaver

Join your Travel Director for a guided sightseeing tour of Istanbul, taking in the vast dome of Hagia Sophia, the historic Hippodrome and the slender minarets of the Blue Mosque. See how Byzantine and Ottoman landmarks share the heart of the city.

The Hippodrome was once the setting for chariot races and imperial ceremonies; its surviving obelisks still mark the ancient course. This tour introduces Istanbul’s layered history without assuming entry to its monuments.

Wander through Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar, a centuries-old covered market where lanes brim with patterned textiles, ceramics, lanterns and jewellery. Browse the stalls and take in the conversations, colours and scent of Turkish tea beneath its vaulted roofs.

Founded in the Ottoman era, the bazaar grew into a vast trading quarter with thousands of shops. Its appeal lies as much in its enduring culture of craftsmanship and bargaining as in anything you might choose to buy.

Explore the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara, viewing carved stone reliefs, pottery and other artefacts from the peoples who shaped this region over millennia. The galleries offer a tangible introduction to Anatolia’s history.

Housed in restored Ottoman-era buildings near Ankara’s old citadel, the museum is especially noted for its collections from prehistoric communities and the Hittite civilisation. It brings depth to the ancient sites and traditions encountered across Turkey.

Visit Anitkabir, the Mausoleum of Ataturk, in Ankara and walk through its expansive ceremonial grounds. Pale stone, monumental colonnades and the broad plaza frame the resting place of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic.

The memorial is a place of national remembrance as well as an imposing example of mid-20th-century architecture. Its scale conveys Ataturk’s enduring significance in the country’s modern identity.

Visit a regional rug production centre in Cappadocia to discover a craft closely associated with Turkish homes and heritage. See examples of woven patterns and learn about the skill and labour behind their creation.

Traditional Turkish rugs can carry regional designs, carefully chosen colours and motifs passed between generations. This visit offers a closer look at the workmanship behind pieces often encountered in markets, without reducing them to souvenirs.

Visit the Mevlana Museum in Konya, home to the mausoleum of the 13th-century poet and Sufi thinker Jalal al-Din Rumi, known in Turkey as Mevlana. Explore a site central to the spiritual heritage associated with the Whirling Dervishes.

Konya was an important centre of learning in Mevlana’s lifetime. The museum gives cultural context to his teachings and to the Mevlevi tradition, whose turning ceremony remains one of Turkey’s most recognisable expressions of Sufi devotion.

See the white travertine terraces of Pamukkale and explore the ruins of Hierapolis, an ancient spa city overlooking the mineral-rich landscape. The bright terraces appear to spill down the hillside like a frozen cascade.

Thermal waters formed Pamukkale’s distinctive deposits over time and drew visitors to Hierapolis in antiquity. Together, the natural formation and Roman-era remains tell a long story of people seeking out this remarkable setting and its waters.

Visit the ruins of ancient Troy and see a replica wooden Trojan horse at the site associated with one of literature’s most enduring sieges. Walk among archaeological remains that reveal layers of settlement beyond the familiar legend.

Homer’s account made Troy famous through the stories of Achilles and the Trojan War. The excavated city invites a different perspective: a strategic place near the Dardanelles whose history stretches across many centuries.

Cross the Dardanelles by ferry from Canakkale to Eceabat, with views across the waterway separating the shores of Asia and Europe. From aboard, take in the coastlines and the sense of scale of this narrow but consequential strait.

The Dardanelles has long been a passage for trade, armies and maritime travel. Its shores are also closely tied to the Gallipoli campaign, giving this included crossing a perspective that goes beyond the journey itself.

Visit Anzac Cove, Lone Pine Cemetery and Chunuk Bair on the Gallipoli Peninsula. The shoreline, memorial grounds and elevated terrain offer space to reflect on the soldiers who fought and died here.

The 1915 Gallipoli campaign holds profound significance for Turkey, Australia and New Zealand. Moving between these sites brings the difficult landscape and human cost of the First World War into sharper focus.

Discover ancient rock-cut churches in Goreme on an optional Cappadocia visit. See how religious communities made places of worship within the region’s soft stone, adding a human story to its distinctive geological scenery.

Goreme’s Christian heritage reaches back many centuries, and its cave churches reflect the area’s long history of settlement and devotion. This optional experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Create a mosaic lamp with local artisans during a hands-on workshop in Cappadocia. Arrange coloured pieces into a pattern and make a keepsake shaped by your own choices rather than selecting one from a shop.

The workshop offers time to work with decorative techniques and enjoy the interplay of colour and light that gives these lamps their character. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Walk through Cappadocia’s valleys at sunset, taking in rocky slopes and sculpted formations as the light changes. The hike offers a closer, on-foot view of the terrain than a scenic overlook alone can provide.

As the sky turns pink and gold, the valleys’ contours and mineral colours become especially pronounced. This optional outdoor experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; it is a hike rather than a balloon activity.

Witness a Whirling Dervishes ceremony in Cappadocia and observe the measured turning and music of a Mevlevi spiritual tradition. The ritual offers an encounter with a living practice rather than simply a display of movement.

Rooted in Sufi devotion and associated with the teachings of Mevlana, the ceremony uses turning as an expression of remembrance of God. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Explore ancient Ephesus, including the Library of Celsus and Temple of Hadrian, on this optional excursion from Izmir. The experience also includes a visit to the stone cottage traditionally associated with the Virgin Mary’s final years and lunch at a local restaurant.

Visit the glassmakers of Nazarkoy to discover the village’s connection with blue evil eye beads, a familiar symbol in Turkish culture. This combined experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Get hands-on in a Turkish cooking class in Istanbul, preparing some favourite local dishes before sitting down to enjoy what you have made together. The class offers an active way to connect with the country’s food culture.

Cooking and sharing a meal brings the flavours encountered across Turkey into a more personal setting. This hosted culinary experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Descend into the underground city of Saratli in Cappadocia and explore chambers and passages cut into the region’s soft volcanic rock. The enclosed spaces reveal a strikingly different side of Cappadocia from its open valleys and fairy chimneys.

Underground settlements offered communities shelter and room for daily life beneath the landscape. Walking through Saratli makes the ingenuity required to shape and use these subterranean spaces especially vivid.

Explore two distinctive Cappadocian landscapes: the sculpted rock formations of Pasabagi and the warm-toned terrain of Red Valley. See how layers of volcanic stone have weathered into tall pillars, ridges and unusual shapes.

Pasabagi is particularly known for its mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys, while Red Valley draws its colour from the region’s mineral-rich rock. Together, these visits show why Cappadocia’s geology feels so unlike anywhere else on the tour.

Explore the Topkapi Palace Museum and cruise the Bosphorus on an optional Istanbul experience. Discover a former seat of Ottoman power and see the city’s waterfront from the strait that divides Europe and Asia.

Topkapi’s courts and collections evoke centuries of imperial life, while the cruise reveals Istanbul’s distinctive setting between two continents. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour.

Take a seat at a local Izmir restaurant for an optional meal featuring Iskender doner: grilled meat served over bread with tomato sauce, yoghurt and melted butter. It is an opportunity to share a regional dining experience with fellow travellers.

The dish’s contrasting textures and rich, savoury flavours make it more than a routine stop for dinner. This hosted optional meal is at additional cost and bookable on tour.