WEST TURKEY TOUR

Gallipoli

The Gallipoli campaign took place between April and December 1915 in an effort to take the Dardanelles from the Turkish Ottoman Empire (an ally of Germany and Austria) and thus force it out of the war. Some 60,000 Australians and 18,000 New Zealanders were part of a larger British force. Some 26,000 Australians and 7,571 New Zealanders were wounded; and 7,594 Australians and 2,431 NZs were killed. In numerical terms Gallipoli was a minor campaign but it took on considerable national and personal importance to the Australians and New Zealanders who fought there.

Troy

Troy is a city which existed over 4.000 years and known as the center of ancient civilizations. For many years people believed that it was the city mentioned only in the tales and never existed until it was first found in the 19th century. Troy (Truva in Turkish) is located in Hisarlik near Canakkale province where the remains of this once-great city can be visited. What was left are the remains of the destruction of Schliemann, the famous German archaeologist or a treasure hunter as some people call him. Today, an international team of German and American archaeologists bring the Troy of the Bronze Age back to life under a sponsored project by Daimler - Benz, and another Turkish team is at law wars with Russia and Germany to get back the stolen Trojan treasures.

Pergamum

Pergamon was a small settlement during the Archaic Period. Lysimachos, one of the generals of Alexander the Great and who had become the sovereign of Anatolia after 301 B.C., delivered the war expenditures, at the amount of 9000 talents (1 talent is believed to be US$ 7,500 approx.), to Philetarios who was the commander of Pergamon, and the kingdom founded by Philetarios by using this sum of money following Lysimachos's death, flourished and became the most eminent center of culture of the Hellenistic period for 150 years. Eumenes I, Attalos I and Eumenes II were enthroned successively after Philetarios. Eumenes II took acropolis of Athens as an example and had the acropolis of Pergamon adorned with works of art which reflected fine taste, and Pergamon became one of the most graceful cities of the world. Attalos III who succeeded Attalos II, handed over his land to the Romans when he died in 133 B.C.

Ephesus

The ancient city of Ephesus is Turkey’s most important ancient city, and one of the best preserved and restored. One can still stroll for hours along its streets passing temples, theatres, libraries, houses and statues. It contains such grand public buildings as the impressive Library of Celsus, the theatre, the Temple of Hadrian and the sumptuous Temple of Artemis which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The ruins also include public toilets and even a brothel dating mostly from the fourth century BC.

Pamukkale

Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200 m high overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins. At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can be seen at the site.

Aphrodisias

We will visit Aphrodisias Ancient City which is one of the finest archaeological sites of Anatolia Turkey, still partly excavated and partly undiscovered. The name of the city is derived from the goddess of love, Aphrodite – called Venus by Romans- , who has her famous sanctuary here. The city was located in Caria in Asia Minor, near Geyre village in today’s world. The most recent, ongoing excavations are currently led by Professor R. R. R. Smith (at Oxford University) and Professor Katharine Welch of the NYU Institute of Fine Arts.

Priene

Priene lies in Güllübahçe at a distance of 15 kilometers (9 miles) from Söke town nearby Kusadasi, in the Aegean region of Turkey. The city was founded in the 2nd millennium BC in an unknown location nearby and then carried to its present location on the clifs around 350 BC. The visit of the archeological site requires some steep walking up after the car park, following a footpath and some steps through the Hellenistic city walls.

Miletos

Miletus is located in the vicinity of Söke town, nearby Kusadasi, in the Aegean region of Turkey). The city was built on the seashore in the ancient times. The Miletus people who had founded about 90 colonies in the Mediterranean and Black Sea regions, after 650 BC, had resisted the Persian invasions in Anatolia, but they were defeated finally and the city was destroyed by the Persians in 5th century BC.

Apollon Temple of Didyma

The Didymaion, the temple of Apollo and its oracle at Didyma, had a considerable reputation in the ancient times. German archaeologists excavating at the site have shown that the earliest sanctuary here was built in the 8th century BC and that it was enlarged into an enormous temple around 560 BC. After their bloody suppression of the Ionian rebellion, the Persians sacked and laid waste to Miletus (which they regarded as the instigator) and the Didymaion in 494 BC. It was during this assault that the temple's cult statue of Apollo was carried off to Ecbatana (modern Hamadan town in Iran). After Alexander the Great defeated the Persians in 334 BC, the Ionian cities regained their independence and work was begun on reconstructing the temple of Apollo.

Bodrum (Halicarnassus)

n impressive medieval castle built by the Knights of Rhodes guards the entrance to Bodrum's dazzling blue bay, in which the Aegean and the Mediterranean Seas meet. The town's charm is well-known, attracting a diverse population of vacationers who stroll along its long palm-lined waterfront, while elegant yachts crowd the marina. Not far from town, you can swim in absolutely clear, tideless, warm seas. Underwater divers, especially, will want to explore the numerous reefs, caves and majestic rock formations. The waters offer up multicolored sponges of all shapes and sizes, octopi and an immense variety of other aquatic life.

Dalyan

The wonderful 7 kilometers sandy Iztuzu Beach, which is accessible by a 45 minutes boat trip, is one of the last nesting areas for the Caretta caretta, Sea Turtles. Between May and September, the female turtles come to the beach to lay their eggs, to keep check on them from time to time and finally to take their babies to the sea. A 15 minutes' boat trip will take you to the sulfur bath which is a different experience for many people visiting the city. The mud containing sulfur and other elements is said to be good for skin conditions and makes you feel refreshed and revitalized. Also there is a small spa where you can just relax. Kaunos, the ancient city near modern Dalyan, was founded around the 9th century BC. Once it was a Mediterranean city port, but over the centuries the silt from the Dalyan River choked the harbor and today the town lies several kilometers from the sea.