Turkey is a unique country with a unique identity straddling both Europe and Asia. Your 8-day Turkish Escape starts in Istanbul, a city of great diversity and a combination of tree-lined boulevards, cafés and cosmopolitan restaurants set against a backdrop where little has changed for centuries. During its 3,000 years of turbulent history, it has been home to the Greeks, Romans, Crusaders, Ottomans and the Turks themselves- all leaving their marks. Highlights of your sightseeing are inside visits to the 6th century Hagia Sophia, the largest ever church and for over a thousand years the largest covered space on earth and to the amazing Topkapi Palace which was the seat of the government of one of the greatest Empire of the Medieval age. Pay tribute to the fallen war heroes at the Anzac cemetery and visit 3 of the most famous ancient sites in the country: Troy, Pergamon and Ephesus. Each very different and distinctive. Troy, the oldest, dating from 3,000BC and made up to 9 separate cities all built over each other; Pergamon an impregnable defensive site with amazing views in all directions which flourished as one of the ancient world’s greatest centers of healing; and Ephesus, the greatest city in the Eastern Mediterranean during Roman times which boasts an extraordinary number of superbly preserved monuments. Cross from Europe to Asia on board a scenic ferry journey across the Dardanelles Strait and get ready to taste the superb Turkish cuisine, an interesting blend of Mediterranean specialties and flavors. This is the perfect vacation if you are looking for a genuine and unique blend of diverse cultures, centuries of history and atmosphere, the mysterious East with the familiar West.
