Best of Turkey: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Antalya, Ephesus

Hippodrome: 

• An enormous public entertainment arena, it once seated as many as 100,000 zealous fans who came to watch chariot races, executions, and mock battles.  Formerly the center of Byzantine civic life, it is still marked by the Egyptian Obelisk, the Bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine.

Blue Mosque:  

• With its massive central dome flanked by six slender minarets, the Blue Mosque stands as the single most recognizable monument in the Istanbul skyline.  Built between 1609 and 1616, the enormous complex also included a hospital, caravansary, public kitchen, marketplace, schools and the Mausoleum of Sultan Ahmet I.  The mosque’s immense interior, flooded with sunlight streaming through 260 windows, is decorated with more than 20,000 precious Iznik tiles detailing traditional flowers of Ottoman design.  In fact, it is the deep blue glow of the tiles in the sunlight that gives the building its name.

Hagia Sophia:

•  This famous basilica was constructed in the 6th century A.D.. It is often described as the greatest work of Byzantine architecture.  Once the Church of Holy Wisdom, Christendom’s crowning glory, it glittered with mosaics and artistic treasures.  Today, the Hagia Sophia is the fourth largest building constructed as a church in the world. It was dedicated to Hagia Sophia which means Divine Wisdom – an attribute of Christ.

Basilica Cistern: 

• Istanbul, besieged countless times, has always needed permanent water supplies.  As a result, many underground cisterns were built during the Byzantine Empire.  Water was brought to these big reservoirs from distant sources via aqueducts.  We will visit the largest and most ornate of these cisterns.

Grand Bazaar:  

• The area of the Grand Bazaar was a trade center during the Byzantine period.  Two domes were built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror to enrich the economic life of the city.  Today, the atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar is mysterious and intriguing.  It has become a very popular place, where visitors explore a labyrinth of streets and passages housing eighteen entrances and more than 4,000 shops.

Topkapi Palace: 

•  The home for 400 years of ruling Sultan’s in Istanbul, this is a not to be missed site. The second palace built in Istanbul after its conquest by the Turks, it served as the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. This palace’s maze of oppulent buildings is where the sultans, their courts, and their harems lived and governed.

Spice Market:  

• This covered market, built as part of the Yeni Cami (New Mosque) complex, is filled with the fragrant scent of spices from the Orient.

Bosphorus Straits: 

• This narrow, navigable strait between Europe and Asia connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea.  It is about 20 miles long and up to one and a half miles wide.  Our cruise will take us past the late Ottoman Palaces – Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi, as well as beautiful, wooden mansions and modern villas built in this elegant section of the city during the 19th & 20th centuries.

Ephesus: 

• Once a leading city of Rome - it fell prey to silting up of the harbor - which also lead to the cities downfall and protection, to our benefit as it is now one of the best preserved cities from the ancient world. 

Hierapolis: 

• The ancient city of Hierapolis sits atop the white cliffs of Pamukkale.  The “Sacred City” was thought to have been founded by the god Apollo, and it was believed that its ancient, hot spring fed baths had the ability to heal injuries and remove ailments.  It is also the site of the largest Necropolis (city of the dead) in existence.  Above the ruins of the city sits its amphitheater and the St. Philip Martyrium.

Pamukkale:  

• An unusual natural and historical site with its sparkling, white, castle-like cascades, it is unique in the world. The site’s name means “cotton castle”, a name which accurately describes its calcareous formations, which were formed by limestone-laden thermal springs.

Antalya Museum

• An overlooked delight- set on the coast of Antalya - this museum has collections from so many ancient sites - they have to store the less well known pieces in the garden!   Its section's include pre-historic tombs, a wonderful pottery timeline with rooms of intact specimens, all the best Statues from Perge, an overview of St. Nicholas (from nearby Demre, Antalya), the unbelievably impressive Lycian tombs, to the ruins recently discovered from the Antalya necropolis.  

Kaleici

• Built in 2nd Century BC -and always well protected since, the harbor is now the center of a thriving city - Antalya's old town is a remarkable mix of 'get lost alleyways', sleek new restaurants, upscale bars, and delightful old protected Roman and Byzantine ruins - it was expanded under the Keykubat reign during Ottoman times and there are both Churches and Mosques to visit.  
• Don't miss walking along the shore or the harbor-  with impressive views of the bay and Toros mountains.  

Perge / Perga Ancient Site

• Perga is located 15 km east of Antalya and is an impressively restored Greek/Roman/Byzanitine city.  Don't miss one of the largest Roman bath complexes, the center of the road fountains, or the partially restored shops in the NE part of the city.   This NE gate was the start of the Via Sebaste  - the way of fame from St. Paul's first journey.  

Aspendos Ancient Theater

• This ancient city is known for having the best-preserved theatre of antiquity.  Not much of the city remains, but the theater is intact and you can in September often see evening performances.  It is a marvel and not to be missed.