This is a combination of our Cappadocia Trek and our Yacht Trek. For details of the individual trips see the relevant pages. 15 day itinerary Grade A/B Enquire Now Day 1: Istanbul On arrival at the airport we have a city tour including a visit to the famous
Blue Mosque. In the evening we take the ferry across Bosphorus then the night
sleeper train to Konya. Dinner and breakfast included on the train. Day 2: Konya - Ihlara Valley After an early breakfast on the train we arrive in Konya and drive to the
Ihlara Valley in Cappadocia, about 2h 30min. En route we stop to see the 13th century Seljuk caravanserai of Aözikarahan. After lunch in Selime Village
we walk up the deep-carved Ihlara Canyon to Belisirma village (3 hours
walking). The canyon provided seclusion for monks and priests to worship and a
refuge and hideaway for people in times of strife. Overnight at pension in
Ihlara village. Day 3: Belısirma - Derinkuyu - Göreme We continue walking from Belısirma village to the end of the canyon. This
section of the canyon has the highest concentration of rock carved and painted
churches with well-conserved frescoes (3 hours walk). In the afternoon we drive
to Derinkuyu to visit the underground city of the Hittites (8 floors going 57m
down under the ground). We then drive on to Göreme. Night in Arch Palace
Pansion. Day 4: Akvadı - Kavak Our trek today takes us through the Akvadi (White valley) eroded so perfectly
by rain and wind over the centuries. After a lunch-break in a restaurant in
Uçhisar village we visit the densely settled citadel, a magnificent
panoramic view of the fairyland landscape is available from the top. Walk
across the Babayan Plateau, through vineyards and tree gardens, to Kavak
village, (5 hours trekking). Return by bus to Göreme. Day 5: Kavak – Sınasos (Mustafapaşa) We walk through the surrealist landscape of the Gömede valley passing two
typical local villages, Bahçeli and Ayvali, observing the traditional
village life of central Anatolia. We finish our walk in Sinasos that was
inhabited, until the turn of the century, by Orthodox Anatolian Greek
communities. The ornate Greek architecture is well-preserved in this small
town. Overnight in the "Greek House" a typical local house of the old style.
(5 hours trekking). Day 6: Sınasos - Kizilçukur (Red valley) We now continue our trek into the spectacular Pancarlik valley. The interesting
sweeping curves on the sides of the valley are peculiar to the region. We stop
at Ortahisar village for lunch in a typical restaurant not far from the
outstanding carved fortress rock. Our walk in the afternoon takes us through
the Kizilçukur valley with its magnificently sculptured, red-tuff rock
formations. We will see churches dating back to the early Christian period.
Overnight at our pension on Goreme. (6 hours trekking). Day 7: Cappadocia – Kayseri - Istanbul Trek to Çavuşin village, one of the most important religious centres of
Cappadocia. After visiting the churches, caves and old houses of Çavuşin,
we trek to the Paşabaglari, formerly known as Priests' Valley. It contains
many fairy chimneys of a very unique style, with multiple trunks and caps.
Lunch in Avanos, famous for its ceramics then we drive to Kayseri for our
flight to Istanbul, night in **** hotel. Day 8: Full Free Day in Istanbul Overnight in **** hotel, no lunch or dinner provided on this day. Day 9: Istanbul - Gocek – Sarsala Bay - Cleopatra Creek - Camlikoy Fly to Dalaman airport and transfer to Gocek where we board our yacht and have
breakfast. We will sail to Sarsala creek (1 hour), anchor in the creek and
land here for our first trek. We will take a path that will take us first to
Cleopatra Creek, the location of thermal baths thought to have built for
Cleopatra. After seeing the ruins we follow footpaths through the low hills of
the peninsula to Camlikoy Bay where our boat will be waiting for us (3 hours
walking). Lunch and relax and swim in the afternoon, Day 10: Camlikoy Creek – Ekincik (Kaunos and Dalyan) In the early morning we will sail to Ekincik harbour. (3 hours). From here we
walk on path, through pine forest and olive groves overlooking the turquoise
sea. At Caunos there are well preserved monuments of Lycian origin that include
a theatre Roman baths and Byzantine church. We will walk from the ruins of
Kaunos to the modern village of Dalyan here in the vicinity of the harbour
there are the ruins of a Corinthian temple. On a hillside opposite the harbour
we see many sculptured temple shaped tombs carved into the rock. A small boat
takes us down narrow river channels and reeds to Iztuzu Beach. This beach is
particularly is known for the sea turtle (caretta-caretta), that come here to
lay their eggs. We continue by small boat to our yacht in Semizce bay. (4 hours
walking).
Day 11: Semizce - Agalimani Creek – Ikarus ruins - Binlik Bay We sail to Agalimani creek. Our trek from here takes us through hills and
valleys overlooking the the sea. We pass by shepherds' huts where we might be
invited to taste Turkish tea. We visit the ruins of the ancient city of Ikarus
and continue along coastal paths, through the forests, to Binlik bay where we
return to our boat. (4 hours walking.)
Day 12: Binlik Bay - Sarsala - Kocagol lake - Yassicalar We sail back to Sarsala Bay for our next walk taking a path that leads through
forests to Kocagoel lake where we stop for a picnic lunch. There is time for an
optional ascent of Mount Hodul, 371m for magnificent panoramic views of the
area. We return to our boat by a different path and sail to Yassicalar Islands.
(5 hours walking without ascent of Hodul). Day 13: Yassicalar - Soğuksu - Kayakoy – Gemile Island We sail to Soğuksu (Cold Water Beach). We walk up steep trails through
sparse woodland overlooking the bays to Kayakoy the largest Greek ghost town in
Asia Minor. This was inhabited till the early 20th Century when there was a population exchange agreement made between Turkey and
Greece. We descend to Gemile Bay and St Nicolas Island. This was the location
of a Byzantine city whose ruins lie tucked amongst the pine trees. (3 hours
walking).
Day 14: Gemile Island - Turunc Pinari We will visit some of the ruins on the island that include: chapels, churches,
dwellings and wells before walking up to the summit of the island from which we
obtain one of the most beautiful views of the week. We follow a small path that
will take us to Turunc Pinari where our boat awaits us. (5 hours walking).
Day 15: Transfer to Dalaman – fly home We will have our last breakfast before we sail to Fethiye and leave our boat.
Transfer to the Dalaman airport. (1 hour drive). Fly home via Istanbul.
Generally included in our costings:- All transfers and transportation
- English speaking guide
- All meals (no lunches or dinners in Istanbul)
- Accommodation: yacht, **** hotel in Istanbul, hotels or pensions in Cappadocia
- Wooden gullet boat (for a maximum of 12 people), cabins have wc and shower
inside,
- Cooks, captain, boat crew
Not included:- All drinks and personal expenses
- All lunches and dinners in Istanbul
- All entrance fees to monuments and museums
Season : mid-April, May June, July, August, September, end of October. |