Istanbul & Ephesus

Arrive at Istanbul Airport and transfer to your hotel in the Sultanahmet historic district. Afternoon at Hagia Sophia, built in 537 AD, converted from cathedral to mosque to museum and back to mosque, one of the greatest buildings on earth. Walk across Sultanahmet Square to the Blue Mosque with its six minarets and 20,000 hand-painted Iznik tiles on the interior ceiling. Evening at the Grand Bazaar, 61 covered streets and over 4000 shops that have traded continuously since 1461. Overnight Istanbul.

Morning at Topkapi Palace, the nerve centre of the Ottoman Empire for four centuries, with the sacred relics of the Prophet Muhammad, the imperial Treasury, and the Harem complex. Visit the Basilica Cistern, the underground 6th-century reservoir with 336 marble columns and the upside-down Medusa head bases lit by torchlight. Afternoon public ferry cruise on the Bosphorus between Europe and Asia past Ottoman palaces. Evening in the modern Beyoglu district and the atmospheric streets around Galata Tower. Overnight Istanbul.

Morning at the Chora Church, a 14th-century Byzantine church with the most spectacular surviving Byzantine mosaic and fresco cycle in the world, far less visited than Hagia Sophia. Walk through the Balat neighbourhood, the former Jewish and Greek quarter, with its colourful crumbling wooden houses and antique shops along steep cobbled streets. Afternoon at the Spice Bazaar for Turkish delight, dried figs, saffron, and rose water. Evening in the Karakoy district for the best meyhane dinner in Istanbul with cold mezze and raki. Overnight Istanbul.

Morning flight to Izmir. Drive to Ephesus, the best-preserved ancient Roman city in the world and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk the marble Curetes Street past the Temple of Hadrian, the agora, and the public latrines to the Library of Celsus, a two-storey marble facade of extraordinary beauty that was the third largest library in the ancient world. Sit in the 25,000-seat theatre where St Paul preached and where the riot of the silversmiths described in the Book of Acts took place. Overnight Selcuk or Kusadasi.

Morning at Sirince, a beautifully preserved Greek village in the hills above Selcuk, known for its local fruit wines and the remarkable Saturday market. Visit the House of the Virgin Mary on the hill above Ephesus, the site where Mary is believed to have spent her final years, a place of pilgrimage for both Christians and Muslims. Drive two hours inland to Pamukkale. Overnight Pamukkale.

Full morning at Pamukkale, the Cotton Castle, where calcium-rich thermal water cascading down the hillside for millennia has created brilliant white travertine terraces and shallow pools. Walk barefoot up the terraces through the warm water. At the hilltop, explore Hierapolis, the ancient spa city with its remarkable necropolis and the monumental gate. Swim in Cleopatra's Pool, a naturally warm thermal pool scattered with ancient Roman columns that sank during an earthquake. Overnight Pamukkale or drive to Bodrum.

Two-hour drive to Bodrum on the Aegean coast. Morning at the Castle of St Peter, a crusader fortress built from the ruins of the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, now housing the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Walk the Bodrum harbour waterfront lined with cafes and gulet wooden sailing yachts. Optional afternoon boat trip to the turquoise bays around the Bodrum peninsula. Transfer to Bodrum Airport for your departure. End of tour.