The Ancient Shores of Turkey: From the Golden Horn to the Turquoise Coast

Fly from the U.S. to Istanbul, Turkey.

Arrive in Istanbul and transfer to the Hilton Hotel

Founded by Constantine the Great in 324 and capital of the Byzantine Empire for over 1,000 years, Istanbul is located on the Bosphorus, the waterway separating Europe from Asia. Tour the Basilica of St. Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Blue Mosque. Board Callisto and sail.

Arrive in Canakkale, set at the narrowest point of the Dardanelles Strait. Drive to fabled Troy, where excavations began in 1872 and continue to today, and where legend has it that the city fell to Odysseus’ ruse of the Trojan Horse.

From Dikili, travel to Pergamon, which attained power after the death of Alexander the Great, becoming a center of learning and the arts. Its famed library, which rivaled Alexandria’s, is said to have housed over 200,000 books. Explore the the city’s ruins. Return to Dikili and sail.

Sardis was settled as early as 1200 B.C. and held at various times by Persians, Macedonians and Romans. During the first major excavations here in the 1950s, archaeologists unearthed an ancient synagogue. Later excavations revealed remnants of a flourishing Jewish settlement which coexisted peacefully with Christians. Tour the synagogue, bath complex and Temple of Artemis.

One of the most powerful cities in antiquity, Ephesus was founded in the 10th century B.C. and flourished between 600 B.C. and A.D. 500. The center of worship of the great mother-goddess Cybele (Artemis), it is also where St. Paul addressed the Ephesians. See the stunning Terrace Houses and façade of the Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian, great amphitheater and Basilica of St. John.

Arrive in Bodrum, where 4th-century B.C. King Mausolus lay in state in his beautiful Mausoleum tomb. In the 15th century, the Knights of St. John built the castle of St. Peter here, using stones from the Mausoleum. Visit the ancient site, castle and Citadel, housing the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. Sail to Kos island, where Hippocrates set the standards of medical ethics. Explore the ancient ruins, including the Asklepeion, dedicated to the god of healing.

Cruise to Amorgos, an island of whitewashed villages set in a rugged landscape. Visit the 11th-century Byzantine Monastery of Khozoviotissa, clinging to cliffs facing out to sea.

Fly to the U.S.