Gulet Cruise; Fethiye to Marmaris
    May 17 to 22,  5 nights: $600 p.p.

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     New!  2008 scheduled tour
   "Civilizations of Asia Minor"
   17 nights land & cruise    guaranteed departures:
  

ISTANBUL & TURQUOISE COAST (10 Nights / 11 Days)
Itinerary: Istanbul / Marmaris / Turquoise coast

 
 

Package prices (per person and in USD) from:  
  2 participants : $ 2,335.00  
  4 participants : $ 1,815.00  
6 participants : $ 1,670.00
  10 participants : $ 1,640.00  
 
DAY 01 (Wednesday)
Arrival in Istanbul
 
 

Arrive at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul.  Meet your guide and transfer to The Central Palace Hotel.  This charming boutique hotel is located in the modern city center – just within a few minutes walk from Taksim Square and Istiklal Street.

Upon arrival enjoy a welcome briefing and orientation walking tour of the hotel area.  Your guide will lead you through Taksim area and show you near-by restaurants, gift shops and the like.  The rest of the day is at leisure

 

Overnight: at The Central Palace Hotel in Istanbul (see hotel's pictures: exterior , guest room)

Included meals: -
 
 
DAY 02 (Thursday)
Istanbul
 

After breakfast at the hotel, depart for full day sightseeing tour of the old city.  The tour includes all significant sites of the city: the ancient Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace Museum and the Grand Bazaar. Upon the end of the tour your guide will help you to find the place for lunch on your own.

Hippodrome: The ancient Hippodrome is an enormous public entertainment arena that once seated as many as 100.000 zealous fans witnessing chariot races, executions, and mock battles.
Once the centre of Byzantine civic life, it is still decorated by the Egyptian Obelisk, the Bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine.

Blue Mosque: Built between 1609 and 1616, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because its interior gleams with magnificent panels of blue and white 17th Century Iznik tiles. Located near Topkapi Palace, it was considered the Supreme Imperial Mosque during Ottoman Istanbul.

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, and now a museum, it glittered with mosaics, and art treasures filled every corner. Today, Haiga Sophia is the forth largest building made as a church in the world. It was dedicated to the Hagia Sophia which means the Divine Wisdom, an attribute of Christ.
 
Topkapi Palace Museum:  Topkapi was the second palace built in Istanbul after the conquest.  It was a residence for the Ottoman Sultans and includes a maze of opulent buildings which were at the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. This palace, where the sultans and their courts and harem lived and governed, is now one of the world’s richest museums.

For a lunch break we recommend Konyali restaurant, located within the Topkapi Palace Complex and serving traditional meals of Ottoman cuisine.
Grand Bazaar:  The area of the Grand Bazaar was a trade center during the Byzantine period.  Two bedestens (domed masonry structures) were built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror to enrich the economic life in the city.  Later on as people needed more places for trade, they added other buildings outside these structures. 


Today, the atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar is very interesting and has consequently become a very popular place for visitors to explore a labyrinth of streets and passages housing eighteen entrances and more than 4,000 shops.
In late afternoon, return to the hotel for some time at leisure.

Overnight: at The Central Palace Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals: B

 
 
DAY 03 (Friday)
Istanbul
 
 

After breakfast at the hotel, meet with your guide and depart for a full-day sightseeing tour featuring the Spice Market, a Bosphorus cruise by public boat, and authentic city quarters located on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus Strait.

After crossing Golden Horn Bay, which separates the modern and historical parts of the city, we will visit the Spice Market which was built as part of the Yeni Cami complex and has since been an exciting covered market filled with the fragrant scent of spices from the Orient.

Next, we will embark on a public boat and start our cruise of the Bosphorus Strait.  The Bosphorus is a narrow, navigable strait between Europe and Asia connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. It is about 20 miles long and varies between one-half and one and one half miles wide.   This boat ride takes you past the late Ottoman Palaces, Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi, as well as beautiful wooden mansions and modern villas of the 19th & 20th centuries which form this elegant section of the city.

We will disembark at Anadolu Kavagi, a former fishermen’s village, located at the Black Sea entrance of the Bosphorus Strait.  This place is famous for its seafood restaurants, and we suggest that you have lunch on your own at one of them and order from their fresh fish menu. After lunch, we will take a walk to the ruins of Yoros Castle located on top of the hill.  The castle was built by Genoese settlers and dates back to 1190.  The location also presents unparalleled views of the Black Sea and the Bosphorus.
Then we will be picked up by our vehicle, and continue with a panoramic drive along the Asian coast of the Bosphorus.  En route we will visit the picturesque seaside towns of Kanlica and Cengelkoy.  Kanlica is a typical, humble Bosphorus district, famous for it’s authentic buildings and for it’s yogurt. Cengelkoy is one of the oldest and nicest residential districts along the Bosphorus.

In Cengelkoy many mansions and summer residences were built during the Ottoman period and some of them still exist. Cengelkoy is also famous for its orchards.

We will return back to the European part of the city via the Bosphorus Bridge and transfer to the hotel for an evening at leisure.


Overnight: at The Central Palace Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals: B


 
 
DAY 04 (Saturday)
Istanbul / Marmaris
 
 

After early breakfast at the hotel – check out and transfer to Istanbul airport for your flight to Dalaman.

Upon the arrival you will be met by local guide, and transfer to the harbor of Marmaris. Here you will embark a traditional Turkish yacht – gullet, which will be your home for the next week.
When all members of your group have arrived the skipper will welcome you with a cocktail and answer any questions you may have about the trip. For your first night on board you will stay in the harbor so that you may get acquainted at leisure with lively Marmaris.

Overnight: on board (see gulet's pictures: exterior , guest cabin)
Included meals: B, D
 
 
DAY 05 (Sunday)
Ekincik / Dalyan
 
 

After breakfast your yacht will depart for Ekincik Bay, some distance to the south east of Marmaris.  The inlet of Ekincik is a tranquil paradise of lush green forests where you can lose all sense of time.  Among the most beautiful spots along the coast this is a favorite stop for seafarers.

Upon the request, the riverboats here may take you from your gulet and ride you to Caunos into the Dalyan delta. The delta with a long, golden sandy beach at its mouth is a nature-conservation area and a refuge for sea-turtles (caretta caretta) and blue crabs. At a bend of the river, high on the cliff face above the fascinating ancient harbor-city of Caunos, magnificent tombs were carved into the rock. Further upriver you can have the sulphur mud baths supposedly very cleansing for your skin.

Overnight: on board
Included meals: B, L, D
 
 
DAY 06 (Monday)
Manastir Bay / Bedri Rahmi Cove
 
 

Even before you wake up in the morning the yacht will leave Ekincik so as to profit from the morning wind which usually blows off Dalaman beach.  With all sails set, you’ll be served an uncomplicated sandwich breakfast.  For lunch and a dive into crystal clear water the crew will drop anchor in Manastir Bay, featuring the ruins of Roman Bath, said to be favored by Cleopatra.

Later in the afternoon you will sail on to Bedri Rahmi Cove. Bedri Rahmi Eyupoglu who was the one of the first blue voyagers, painted a fish on a rock behind a fountain here, in the year 1973.  Thereafter the inlet has been called by his name. You can see the painted fish right behind the fountain and behind it, there is a Lycian rock tomb hidden at the back of the trees. We’ll anchor in this lovely place for the night.


Overnight: on board
Included meals: B, L, D
 
 
DAY 07 (Tuesday)
Tersane Island / Göcek
 
 

On this day you will set sail for Tersane Island. The largest island in the Gulf of Fethiye is the Island of Tersane (Dockyard).  A deep channel, 100 wide, provides entry to the inlet of Tersane.  Tersane Island which was formerly called Telandria was inhabited in the past, but nowadays you can see only the remains of the ruined houses of the island.
Later in the day we’ll sail on to Göcek, our anchorage for the night. Göcek which has recently become the meeting point of yachtsmen and lovers of the sea has attained a justified fame with its natural position.

Colorful yachts ranging from the latest models to small vessels meet at the coves. The Club Marina at Göcek is set in a beautiful pine forest, and it is one of the Mediterranean's best sailing spots. Dotted with islands and indented with many coves, its land and seascapes are irresistible.
Overnight: on board
Included meals: B, L, D
 
 
DAY 08 (Wednesday)
Kargi Bay / Fethiye
 
 
After breakfast, we will leave Göcek for Kargi Bay, a quiet picturesque location where we’ll spend ample time swimming, snorkeling and wind surfing. In the afternoon we’ll go on to the town of Fethiye. You’ll surely spend some time in town, sight-seeing, shopping or visiting a disco. The resort town of Fethiye has an important marina and overlooks a beautiful bay strewn with islands. Above the town, called Telmessos in antiquity, numerous Lycian rock tombs, reproducing the facades of ancient buildings, were cut into the cliff face.
Overnight: on board
Included meals:
B, L, D
 


 
 
DAY 09 (Thursday)
Fethiye Bay / Disibilmez
 
 
In the morning we’ll cross the quiet expanses of Fethiye Bay to Disibilmez. This little bay is a paradise for snorkeling fans. What’s more, it’s also a meeting place for many kinds of fish, just waiting to be caught. Good luck to any fishermen amongst us!
Overnight: on board
Included meals:
B, L, D
 



 
 
DAY 10 (Friday)
Kadirga Bay / Marmaris
 
 
After breakfast we’ll set sail for Kadirga Bay where you will spend some time swimming, surfing, snorkeling and for a last dive into the clear water of outer Marmaris Bay, then with the setting sun the yacht make fast for Marmaris quay.


Overnight:on board
Included meals:
B, L, D
 



 
 
DAY 11 (Saturday)
Return Home
 
 

After breakfast we will disembark in Marmaris harbor.  It’s time to say “Good bye” to the captain, your fellow voyagers and the crew.  You will be picked up from the pier and transfer from Gocek to Dalaman airport for return flight via Istanbul


Included meals:
B
 
Please note:
Single reservation is not applicable to this program;
Itinerary of the yacht cruise may vary;
Upon request, private yacht charter can be arranged;
This program is available between May and October. Yachting portion of the program has to be from Saturday to Saturday;



 
  PRICES AND CONDITIONS:  
 
Prices of the package: (per person in double room, in USD)
 
 

2 participants

4 participants

6 participants

10 participants

$ 2,335.00

$ 1,815.00

$ 1,670.00

$ 1,640.00


Price of the package includes:

• Accommodation in hotels :
     - Istanbul: The Central Palace Hotel – 3 nights (see hotel's pictures: exterior , guest room)
     - Gulet Yacht cabin charter for 7 days, including services of the crew
      (see gulet's pictures: exterior , guest cabin)
• 2 domestic flights (Istanbul – Dalaman and Dalaman – Istanbul)
• 23 Meals: 10 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 7 dinners
• Services of a professional tour guide and his/her expenses
• Modern, A/C, comfortable minibus for land transportation, and driver’s expenses
• Admission fees to sights and museums
• Parking, portage, tipping (except guide & driver), ferry, toll road

Price of the package excludes:
• Airfare of international flights and related taxes.
• Bottled beverages or alcohol.
• Optional gratuities to trip leaders, drivers.
• Travel insurance.
• Visas, laundry, and personal items

 

 

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