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Small group tours Turkey | Ancient Turkey
Odyssey Traveller's Ancient Turkey escorted small group history tour visits some of the most spectacular, varied, and historically important sites in the ancient world. This Turkey tour begins and ends in Istanbul, Turkey's largest city and seaport, and the place where east meets the west on the Bosphorus strait. Visit Turkey with Odyssey on this amazing guided tour through the ancient world linking the Black sea, Egypt, Syria and Europe together on this history tour. Our tour packages are especially designed to be suitable for mature-aged and senior travellers, whether joining as a couple or as a solo traveller.
Over 21 days we will travel from Istanbul to Cappadocia, exploring and learning with our tour leader and tour guide about the ancient world through to the Ottoman empire and the power of the Ottoman Sultan in building some of the greatest monuments. On our Cappadocia tour we visit its ‘fairy chimneys’, large rock spires that rise from the earth like mushrooms, formed over millions of years by the erosion of volcanic rock. We go on a Pamukkale tour, see the ancient ruins of Ephesus and the mosques in Turkey , and view the Aegean Sea, with our terrific local guides sharing with you both the ancient and contemporary history and scenery of this incredibly diverse nation. The tour stops in nine key places that have played pivotal roles in the development of Turkey including the Gallipoli peninsula. Typically our Turkey travel group stop for more than one night in our destinations--1 to 4 nights of hotel stay or other type of accommodation before travelling to our next point of interest. A combination of day trip, city tour, shore excursions, and overnight trips, this Turkey tour promises to be a memorable trip and an amazing travel experience.
At the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Turkey’s fascinating history spans thousands of years and includes the history of both Anatolia (the Asian part of Turkey) and eastern Thrace (the European part of Turkey). It thus consists of a rich patchwork of overlapping eras, empires, and civilisations. Each civilisation has in turn left a plethora of monuments, ruins and lasting cultural legacies all contributing to the character of modern Turkey. Part of the Fertile Crescent, it was one of the first lands to witness the birth of agriculture, the domestication of animals, and the first settlement of several thousand people - at Çatalhöyük circa 6500 BCE. The land in ancient times was dominated by several Anatolian empires before the Greeks, Persians and Romans took hold throughout the classical era. In the middle ages it stood as the seat of the Byzantine Empire, but by the 11th century Turkish nomads from Central Asia had moved through the region gradually conquering all of Asia Minor, ushering in the Seljuk and then the Ottoman Turkish Empires. Since the end of World War One and the fall of the Ottoman Empire, Turkey has transformed into the vibrant, modernizing, secular state it is today.
Small group tours Turkey Itinerary
The program's itinerary takes in many of the most famous sites and sights of the ancient world. Istanbul is one of the world's oldest cities and has been at the centre of civilisation for centuries. We visit a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Blue Mosque , a beautiful structure built between 1609 and 1616 by Sultan Ahmed during the age of the Ottoman Empire to house his tomb. The Mosque features six spectacular minarets , the culmination of two centuries of the Ottoman empire committed to building this mosque. You will see the Greek theatres in Pergamon, the legendary Greco-Roman cities of Troy and Ephesus, and discover the cultural centres of Ankara and Izmir.
We enjoy a cruise on the Bosphorus strait, viewing both the European and Asian shores of Istanbul. The Bosphorus strait is a beautiful and important waterway that has a long history, beginning at least as early as the 5th century BC, when in the ancient world, the city-state of Athens depended on it for grain imports from Scythia.
In Antalya we take time to relax and visit its ruins and archaeological museum, which is bound to be filled with treasures from ancient times as Antalya is the major city of the Anatolian Mediterranean. In Saralti, we visit its underground city. In Konya, we learn about the mystic Whirling Dervishes. Our Turkey small group tour also includes a visit to the extraordinary limestone formations of Pamukkale, as well as the underground city and cave churches on a Cappadocia tour. We also have the opportunity to interact with the locals, and experience first-hand their culture, cuisine, and traditions.
A large part of our Turkey small group tour program is spent in Anatolia, in eastern Turkey. This tour also spends time on the Gallipoli Peninsula and in Istanbul, the European part of the country known as Thrace. Our itinerary includes on this small group tour , a local English speaking guide who will accompany us on our Turkey tour alongside your Odyssey Traveller tour manager (Program Leader). Accommodation during the program is be in quality 4 star hotels with private facilities.
For more details of our small group tours, click the ‘Top 5’ or ‘Itinerary’ buttons above! You can also explore our country profile on Turkey and read these articles about Istanbul and the places to visit in Turkey.
If you’re keen to experience this tour, please call or send an email. Or, to book, simply fill in the form on the right hand side of this page. Our small group tours of Turkey 2020 have been rolled over to be relaunched as escorted small group tours of Turkey 2021 and we appreciate your patience this year with our Turkey tour.