These tours are a great way to explore Turkey. Limited places are available and preference will be given to SEG 2016 Conference registrants.
Çeşme, Turkey has been featured in The New York Times list of 52 Places to Go in 2016. Read about the Aegean region food scene in Çeşme (#14)
Find the best places to eat during your visit by following NY Times on Facebook.
Along the Aegean, a Turkish Town Sees a Revival - read the story
Participants will be picked up and taken to Selçuk for a full-day tour of the ancient city of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary. The tour includes a visit to the Temple of Artemis (Diana), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and Ephesus, known to be the commercial, religious, and social center of antiquity—a highlight of any visit to Turkey. After lunch the tour will visit the House of the Virgin Mary and İsa Bey Mosque, an impressive 14th century structure. The group will then depart for Şirince (pronounced she-RIN-jay), a wonderful little Aegean village of 600 inhabitants. Most of the houses date from the 19th century or earlier. The village lies amidst lovely hills and is surrounded by peach orchards, vineyards, and olive groves. Villagers make wine and olive oil, and grow some of the best peaches in the country. The final stop will be to one of the wine houses for a tasting of homemade fruit wines. Transportation back to hotel is included.
Duration: One day
Available Dates: September 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20, or October 1
Transportation: 8:00 am pick up (service from most Çeşme hotels; organizer will communicate ahead of time)
Included: Professional guidance, entrance fees, lunch, transportation
Not included: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
Participants will be picked up for a full-day tour of Çeşme and Alaçatı. The tour will visit Çesme Castle, built by Sultan Bayezid II in 1508 and showing key characteristics of Ottoman architecture. This historical structure is used for the International Çeşme Music Festival, held every year in July. Within the castle, the group will stop at Çesme Museum, where a total of 477 items are on display. Discovered in the district center of Alaçatı and the Kalemburnu region, they consist of 320 archeological pieces, 126 ethnographic pieces, and 31 coins. Lunch will be served in a traditional Turkish restaurant. The tour will then head to Alaçatı and its harbor, a paradise for yachting enthusiasts, with rows of small coves and a dock that can hold up to 80 boats. Transportation back to hotel is included.
Duration: One day
Available Dates: September 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20, or October 1
Transportation: 9:00 am pick up (service from most Çeşme hotels; organizer will communicate ahead of time)
Included: Professional guidance, entrance fees, lunch, transportation
Not included: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
Participants will be picked up for a day tour of Urla, which dates back to 3000 BC. The town was ruled by the Persians, Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Seljuks, and Ottomans, and is the site of one of the twelve Ionian cities, Clazomenai. Based on archaeological findings, this ancient city was founded centuries before Hellenic civilization. The world's oldest excavated olive oil workshop is in Urla. Former inhabitants also produced perfume, weaved, and were masters at mining. After the town tour, lunch will be served in a traditional Turkish restaurant. A demonstration of the wine-production process, from grapes to bottle, will take place in the afternoon, along with wine-tasting. Transportation back to hotel is included.
The wine-tasting menu will include Sauvignon Blanc, Serendias, Vourla, Nexus, Nero d'Avola, Urla Karası, and Tempus.
Duration: One day
Available Dates: September 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20, or October 1
Transportation: 9:00 am pick up (service from most Çeşme hotels; organizer will communicate ahead of time)
Included: Professional guidance, entrance fees, lunch, transportation
Not included: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
Participants will be picked up and taken to İzmir for a full-day tour, starting with a drive to the top of Mount Pagus for panoramic views of the city and Bay of İzmir from the walls of Kadifekale, an ancient fortress built by Alexander the Great. Visits to İzmir's museums of archaeology and ethnography, the Ottoman clock tower, and extensive bazaar follow. Afterward, lunch will be served in a traditional Turkish restaurant. Finally, the group will visit the ancient city of Sardes—once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Lydia and an important city in the Persian Empire. Transportation back to hotel is included.
Duration: One day
Available Dates: September 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 20, or October 1
Transportation: 8:00 am pick up (service from most Çeşme hotels; organizer will communicate ahead of time)
Included: Professional guidance, entrance fees, lunch, transportation
Not included: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
Day 1 - Ayvalık and Cunda Island: Participants will be picked up from the hotel at 8:00 am for a full-day tour of Ayvalık and Cunda Island. Examples of neoclassical architecture in Ayvalık houses and Cunda Island as well as Çamlık are tour highlights. Devil's Table (Şeytan Sofrası) is a stop—marked by a large, footprint-like hollow, according to local folklore left by the devil as he was jumping to Lesvos—as well as Lale Island, where many beautiful churches and monasteries are located. Lunch and free time are followed by a trip to Çanakkale. Arrival at the hotel is scheduled for around 5:30 pm.
Day 2 - Pergamon, Troy, and Çanakkale: The tour group will meet with a guide in the hotel lobby at 8:00 am and visit the ancient city of Troy, made famous by Homer in his Iliad, as well as the Temple of Athena. Following lunch, participants will be driven to Pergamum (~3 hours' travel time), site of the Kizil Avlu or "Red Basilica," a temple to the Egyptian god Osiris converted to a basilica by early Christians. It became one of the Seven Churches of Asia Minor addressed by St. John in the book of Revelation. Finally, the tour will return to its original point of departure.
Duration: Two days, one night
Available Dates: September 29-30
Included: Accommodation in a 4-star hotel or similar boutique hotel; meal services during the tour, noted in the itinerary above; all transportation noted in the itinerary; professionally licensed guiding services; entrance fees to the museums during guided tours
not included: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
Day 1 - Ephesus and House of the Virgin Mary: Participants will be picked up from the hotel 8:00 am and taken to Selçuk for a full-day tour of the ancient city of Ephesus and the House of the Virgin Mary. The tour includes a visit to the Temple of Artemis (Diana), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and Ephesus, known to be the commercial, religious, and social center of antiquity—a highlight of any visit to Turkey. After lunch the tour will visit the House of the Virgin Mary, where she may have spent the last years of her life. Arrival at the hotel in Pamukkale is scheduled for around 5:30 pm.
Day 2 - Pamukkale Travertines and Hierapolis: Participants will be picked up from the hotel 9:00 am for a trip to Pamukkale Travertines, the center of natural thermal spring waters, with pure, white-colored travertines and stepped water terraces on the mountain slope. Its resemblance to cotton piles has earned it the nickname "Cotton Castle" in Turkish. The tour group will stop here for lunch and the opportunity to swim in the thermal waters. Next will be a visit to the travertines and the ancient city of Hierapolis, where the biggest necropolis in Anatolia is located, with 1,200 gravestones. The sacred pool, with shallow thermal waters rippling over scattered Roman ruins, is also a highlight of the site. After this visit, the tour will return to its original point of departure.
Duration: Two days, one night
Available Dates: September 29-30
Included: Accommodation in 4-star hotel or similar boutique hotel; meal services during the tour, noted in the itinerary above; all transportation noted in the itinerary; professionally licensed guiding services; entrance fees to the museums during guided tours
Not included: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
Day 1: Participants will meet in the hotel lobby at 4:30 am and be shuttled to the İzmir Airport, where they will take Kayseri Pegasus Airlines flight PC2418, departing at 7:00 am and arriving at 8:25 am. The tour begins in Cappadocia at about 9:30 am. From the hotel, participants will be driven to Devrent Valley, with its unique geological formations, then visit the fairy chimneys of Cappadocia in Paşabağı. Afterward, the tour will depart to Avanos for lunch and make a stop at the Göreme Open-Air Museum, with its beautiful collection of Byzantine art. The day will close with Uçhisar Castle, the highest point in the region, with a fabulous view over Cappadocia. Arrival at the hotel in Cappadocia is scheduled for around 5:30 pm.
Day 2: Participants will leave the hotel at 9:30 am for a 4-km hike through Rose Valley and visits to the churches, then the village of Cavuşin. The group will stop for lunch in Pigeons Valley and then continue to see the impressive architecture of Kaymaklı underground city. The tour will conclude with a visit to the Ortahisar natural rock castle. Afterward, participants will be taken to the airport to catch Pegasus Airlines flights PC4163 and PC4116 at 8:25 p.m., to İzmir via İstanbul. The flight will arrive at 1:05 a.m., and the tour group transported back to the hotel.
Duration: Two days, one night
Available Dates: September 29-30
Included: Accommodation in 4-star hotel or similar boutique hotel; meal services during the tour, noted in the itinerary above; round-trip domestic flight tickets; professionally licensed guiding services; entrance fees to the museums during guided tours; shopping opportunities during tours if time permits
Excluded: Personal expenses, dinners
Note: The tour will be organized only if a minimum of 10 participants sign up.
