Portland Community College

The Treasures of

Tour Highlights

Ancient Turkey

13 Days/11 Nights

June 13 – 25, 2009

Credit Card

Authorization

Day 1 – Saturday – June 13 – Departure

Depart Portland today for Europe.

Day 2 – Sunday – June 14– Istanbul

Welcome to Istanbul the city that bridges two continents “Europe and Asia”.  Istanbul was the capital city of three great empires and guards the splendorous relics of Roman and Byzantine Emperors and Ottoman Sultans.  After some time to relax, meet with your guide for a discussion on the activities for the next week. Enjoy a welcome dinner at a local Turkish Restaurant. (D)

Day 3 – Monday – June 15 - Istanbul

After breakfast, your exploration of Istanbul begins as you step back in time to ancient days. Visit the Hippodrome where chariot races and athletic events took place. Remains of the wall are still visible. Standing in the center of the area is a large Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the column of Constantine. Proceed to the Imperial Sultanahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, because of the magnificent wall covering of blue Iznik tiles. Built in 1616 the mosque is distinguished by six slender minarets, unique since all of the other mosques in the world have four minarets. Visit the Haiga Sophia Museum, also known as the Church of Holy Wisdom. It is undoubtedly one of the greatest buildings in the world. In the words of the court historian of the 6th century “had not been since Adam and never would be again”.  Built by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian circa AD535, it was transformed into a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of the city in 1453. Now a museum, it is awesome in size, and contains beautifully preserved Byzantine mosaics. Before returning to the hotel, visit the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum. A delightful museum housed in Ibrahim Pasa Sarayi, the home of Suleyman the Magnificent Grand Vizier. Beautifully displayed Islamic objects and antique carpets will be seen. (B, L, D)

Day 4 – Tuesday – June 16 - Istanbul/Ankara/Cappadocia

This morning you will take a flight to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Visit the Museum of the Anatolian Civilizations which houses priceless collections of the prehistoric era including Neolithic cave drawings, utensils from Catalhoyuk, the earliest known city in the world, plus thousands of objects brought from different parts of the country that will give you an idea of the ancient civilizations of the Hittite, Phrigian, Lydian and Urartians.  Lunch in Ankara and then continue to Cappadocia the land of Fairy-chimneys.  (B, L, D)

Day 5 – Wednesday – June 17 – Cappadocia

Today you will see the wonders of the region. Cappadocia is made up of unusual volcanic landscapes where nature has sculpted the earth into fantastic shapes, rock cones, capped pinnacles, and fretted ravines we will explore the area between the Nevsehir and Kayseri Valleys. In the villages of Avanos, Cavusin and Zelve you  see underground cities carved into the rocks.  Here for a thousand years between the 4th and the 13th centuries, Christians hewed dwellings into the rocks, resulting and amazing incorporation of architecture and landscape. Many of these ancient dwellings were decorated with Byzantine frescoes that are still  visible. Our tour will end with the climb to the Uçhisar Citadel for a panoramic view of the whole region. Dinner is tonight with a traditional show. (B, L, D)

Day 6 – Thursday - June 18 – Cappadocia/Konya

After breakfast, visit the underground city of Kaymakli or Derinkuyu. Then drive through the spectacular heart of Central Anatolia and arrive in the holy city of Konya. Konya was once the medieval capital of the Seljuk Empire and served as the junction of several important trade routes. Visit the shrine of Mevlana, the great mystic, who inspired the rituals of the “Whirling Dervishes”. Your dinner and overnight is in Konya. (B, L, D)

Day 7 – Friday – June 19 – Konya/Pamukkale

This morning leave Konya for Pamukkale. Over the millennia hot mineral-saturated water has burst from an underground source and plunged over the mountainside, creating fairy tables, shallow pools, stalagmites and curtains of water frozen in mid-air. There are large pools fed by thermal hot springs for bathing, and many columns and ruins from ancient Hierapolis, founded by Pergamene King Eumenes II. The entire kingdom of Pergamon, including Hierapolis, was bequeathed to the Romans in 133 BC. Walk throughout the ancient city of Hierapolis, the monuments, and thermal baths; see the theatre with its very well preserved stage and the Temple of Apollo. Check-in at your hotel which offers hot spring baths and a magnificent thermal spa.  You will have some time to enjoy the relaxing hot springs waters or visit the spa.  (B, L, D)

Day 8 – Saturday - June 20 - Pamukkale/Aphrodisias/Nyssa/Kusadasi

Your day begins with a drive through the famous Meander Valley.  Visit Aphrodisais, the ancient city dedicated to the goddess of sensual love. If available an archaeologist working on the site will meet with the group and provide you with details on the most recent findings in the area. This once-splendid city was forgotten by the world until 1961, when Dr. Kenan Erim of New York University, funded by the National Geographic Society, began excavations that disgorged, among other things, an incredible cache of sculpture. Excavations reveal that this site has been populated since 5800 BC. By the first century BC, the Greco Roman city of Aphrodisias had a population of over 60,000 and Aphrodite was the preferred deity. The city ruins include a theatre for 15,000 that could be converted into an arena for gladiators and wild animals, and a stadium that could seat 30,000, one of the finest existing in the world. Aphrodisias attracted students from all over the Roman dominions, as it was an important cultural and intellectual center. The city’s proximity to a white marble quarry encouraged the sculpture school that enjoyed great fame. Visit Nysa, an ancient city famous for being an important center of learning in the first century B.C. The city had been dedicated to Dionysus when it was first founded.   Continue to Kusadasi for dinner and overnight.  (B, L, D)

Day 9 – Sunday – June 21 - Kusadasi/Ephesus/Kusadasi

The day begins with an exploration of Ephesus, once the commercial center of the ancient world. The city, whose wealth and patronage supported its splendid architectural program, was dedicated to the goddess Artemis. Her enormous temple, once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World and rebuilt several times, dates in its latest form from the third century BC. We will visit ruins from the period of St. Paul, the Odeon, the monumental fountain, temples, the Library of Celsus, the great theatre, the Baths of Scolastica, the old Roman Forum of Agora and the Double Church. Visit the Archaeological Museum, St. John’s Basilica and his Tomb and the Shrine of Virgin Mary, where she spent the last years of her life. (B, L, D)

Day 10 – Monday – June 22 – Kusadasi/Pergamon/Troy/Canakkale

Driving north you arrive in the ancient city of Pergamum where you see the ancient acropolis atop the hill arising above the modern town.  This was the seat of Pergamene rulers who stretched their territories to the Eastern Mediterranean. It housed the second largest library of the ancient world.  You will see the temple of Athena, Trajan, the famous Altar of Zeus and the steepest theatre in the world.  After lunch, continue to the most important healing center in

Asia Minor, dedicated to the God Asklepios. This is where Galen practiced and taught medicine.  Drive to The City of Troy, a place of mythology and legend, the place perhaps of childhood fantasies of battles over Helen of Troy, or the place where Western literature had its beginning. Continue to Canakkale where you have dinner and overnight. (B, L ,D)

Day 11 – Tuesday – June 23 – Canakkale/Istanbul

Today return to Istanbul for a late afternoon cruise on the Bosphorus along its winding straits, zigzagging between the continents of Europe and Asia. Both shores are lined with palaces, castles, Ottoman yalis (wooden villas of great beauty), and fashionable apartments. We pass lively quarters with street markets, cafes, and parks where Turks love to sit and drink their tea and wave as we cruise by. Villages between the green hills surround the upper Bosphorus. Homes that once belonged to the local fishing community now are the most expensive sought after properties in the city. Enjoy the evening at your leisure. You may choose to have dinner at one of the many restaurants in the city.   (B, L)

Day 12 – Wednesday – June 24 - Istanbul

Morning visit to the Topkapi Palace Museum with Treasury and Harem Sections to enjoy the dazzling displays of the Treasures of Ottoman Sultans, and the porcelain collection, which is unique in the world. After lunch which is at the Palace, visit the Grand Bazaar, where you will have shopping opportunities for carpets, leather goods, jewelry, cooper-ware etc. This evening enjoy your farewell Turkish dinner at a local restaurant. (B, L, D)

Day 13 – Thursday – June 25 – Departure

Farewell to Turkey as our flight departs Istanbul for New York. We arrive home with very special memories of ancient and contemporary Turkey! (B)

• International air Portland/Istanbul/Portland
  

• Domestic air within Turkey
  

• 4 nights accommodation in Istanbul at the Ickale Hotel or similar
  

• 2 nights accommodation in Cappadocia at the Selcuklu Hotel or similar
  

• 1 night accommodation in Konya at the Ozkaymak Hotel or similar
  

• 1 night accommodation in Pamukkale at the Richmond Thermal Hotel
  

• 2 nights accommodation in Kusadasi at the Pine Marina Hotel
  

• 1 night accommodation in Canakkale at the Akol Hotel
  

• Air conditioned deluxe motor coach throughout tour
  

• Accommodations as noted
  

• 11 breakfasts, 10 lunches and 10 dinners (welcome and farewell dinner including beer & wine)
  

• All sightseeing and entrance fees
  

• English speaking licensed guide throughout Turkey
  

• Special lecture by member of Turkish Archeological Department
  

• Porterage
  

• Bottled water on board motor coach or mini van
  

• Hotel taxes and service charges
  

• V.A.T.
  

    NOT INCLUDED

• U.S. Departure Tax & Security Fees
  

• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, meals not included in program, soft drinks, coffee, tea, mineral water, alcoholic beverages, tips to drivers, guides, transfer people, travel insurance, etc…..
  

• Please note:  The schedule and accommodations in this itinerary are correct at the time of printing.  They are subject to change due to circumstances beyond our control.6/26/07