£1320 (sgl supp £170) | Price without flights: £1115
Sun 11th - Sun 18th April 2010, 8 days with Dr Denise Allen
Availability: Singles Full | Doubles Full
Introduction
The mountainous southern coast of Turkey is home to some of the best kept archaeological secrets - ancient cities which have hardly been touched by either excavators or tourists. If you enjoy that sense of exploration, and seeing the traditional Turkey, you’ll love this tour.
We explore several ancient regions - the flat plain of Pamphylia, and the more mountainous Pisidia and western Lycia. All can be reached from our base in the old town of Antalya, although there are some long and winding drives. Some of the Pamphylian cities are justly famous, since they are the more easily accessible. Their Classical remains rival those of the cities on the Aegean coast - Aspendos, for example, has one of the best-preserved ancient theatres anywhere. Some, such as Sillyon, have avoided the attentions of the tourists, and this provides a wild and wonderful walk with views across the plain.
Selge, Termessus and Arykanda really take us off the beaten track, not only feeling like 19th century explorers, but also seeing traditional villages in the Turkish countryside and a way of life which has disappeared in many areas. Past guests have been particularly appreciative of the local food, as we can have several meals cooked for us in the traditional way.
There is plenty of walking, much of it over rough ground and uphill. This is rewarded by fabulous views and a sense of euphoria.
Itinerary
day one
Group flights London to Antalya, or meet coach at airport and drive to our hotel in the old town.
day two
Two Pamphylian cities: Perge, with fine stadium, theatre (usually closed), colonnaded street with fountain, houses, shops and baths. Fine sculpture from this site is beautifully displayed in Antalya museum. Aspendos, famous for its theatre (one of the best-preserved in the ancient world) and aqueduct - a remarkable example of ancient hydraulic engineering, carrying water via a siphon from one hilltop to another, across the valley floor. Further remains lie on the hilltop behind the theatre.
day three
Head into the hills, and the more rugged terrain of ancient Pisidia, to the site of Termessus, whose theatre, perched on top of the hill, is pictured at the top of the page. Built on a natural platform between two mountains, the site was welldefended and affords fantastic views. Alexander the Great failed to take this city during his journey through this part of Asia Minor. Many rock cut and decorated tombs can be found here.
Return to Antalya to visit the archaeological museum, with its many treasures, especially the sculptures from Perge. Antalya itself was also an important Pamphylian port - Attaleia - but as it has remained a successful city its ancient past has been built over. A triumphal arch, dedicated to Hadrian, still survives as one of the city’s landmarks.
day four
Drive along the coast to the two easternmost cities of the Lycian League: Phaselis and Olympos, both in beautiful situations right on the coast. Phaselis has three natural harbours, and is now a beautiful bathing beach, with ruins behind.
Olympos is very overgrown with vegetation watered by the river on which it is situated. Once the stronghold of Zenicetes the pirate chief, who was finally routed by Pompey the Great in the 1st century BC, it still keeps itself hidden. We also climb to the Chimaera, where perpetual flames flicker from the rock-face, supposedly marking the spot where Bellerophon fought and killed the mythical monster - a composite beast, part lion, part goat and part snake.
day five
A free day, or an optional excursion to Sagalassos, another beautiful and remote site, where recent excavations have revealed remarkable features of the ancient city. Parts of a colossal statue of Hadrian found here were included in the Hadrian exhibition at the British Museum last year.
day six
A longish drive to one of the most beautifully situated ancient cities anywhere - Arykanda, with stadium, theatre, agora and other buildings on a series of terraces cut one above the other into the hillside. Excavations are continuing here, and more of the infrastructure of the city is being revealed - houses, huge cisterns for storing rainwater, and evidence for industry. In previous years the wife of the site custodian has cooked us a delicious traditional lunch, served in their flowerbedecked garden near the site.
day seven
The little-visited site of Sillyon, a welldefended site on a rocky hill jutting out of the plain. Alexander the Great, on his mission to expel all Persians from Greek cities, by-passed this site as too difficult to attack. The path is rough, but the terrain and views are worth it. By contrast, our afternoon visit to the easternmost of the Pamphylian cities, Side, is in a flat setting by the sea. Once a great harbour, it dwindled to an insignificant village due to silting, before enjoying a resurgence as a tourist resort. Much has recently been excavated, and there is a good museum in a Byzantine bath-house.
day eight
Fly home from Antalya.
Included
WHAT’S INCLUDED
- Flights scheduled flights London/Antalya or arrange your own flights
- Transfers private coach provided to coincide with group flights - join this or make your own way between hotel & airport
- Local Travel private a/c coach
- Guide Lecturer Not to be confused with "guest lecturers"! The guide lecturer will be with you from breakfast to supper, and probably even a drink in the bar afterwards. There is the occasional site where they may not be allowed to guide because of local regulations (we normally manage to circumnavigate these) but otherwise the guides are just that. They will have been chosen because of specialist knowledge and their ability to communicate and interest you. After 22 years of making tours worldwide, we are highly appreciative of the attributes of a good guide, and intensely critical of people who do not possess them. If you would like to know more about Dr Denise Allen, please click her name.
- Local Guide will accompany the tour
- Fieldnotes written for the tour
- Entry Entry to all sites in programme;
- We tip the driver and the local guide on your behalf
- Flights if you prefer. It may suit you better, and you may get a good deal, on flights from your local airport - see above for price without flights
- Meals (except breakfast) - we sometimes organise lunches on site with local people and you are welcome to join in (we'll split the cost). Previous guests have always been impressed by the local food. Lots of choice in Antalya
Flights & Visa
Airline: BA
BA 2686 London Gatwick / Antalya 14:10/20:35
BA 2687 Antalya / London Gatwick 21:20/ 23:55
Please note these flights are an indication of what the flights are likely to be. Please contact the office for exact details
Visa and Passport Requirements (for British passport holders only)*
Note: Passport must be valid for 6 months on entry into Turkey. Visas can be purchased at the airport on arrival on production of a valid passport and a £10.00 note (Scottish currency is not accepted)Hotels
7 nights B&B in a traditional but recently refurbished hotel in old Antalya, close to the harbour, and with lots of restaurants and shops nearby
Testimonials
WHAT DID YOU ENJOY MOST?
"Remote, almost untouched sites like Selge. Contact with local Turkish people - Selge and Arykanda. Visiting the site of Chimera. Relaxed lunches and evening meals - no cooking yippee!"
"Well planned itinerary of sites combining little visited places as well as more popular venues. The tour was considerably enhanced by the guide lecturer's enthusiasm and knowledge of the period.""The variety of the sites - locations, state of preservation. Lunch with the custodian's wife at Arykanda!"
"The company of like-minds... An excellent, stimulating holiday".
"Well planned itinerary of sites combining little visited places as well as more popular venues. The tour was considerably enhanced by the guide lecturer's enthusiasm and knowledge of the period."
"The remoteness of the sites; lack of other tourists (except Perge; Aspendos and Side); wonderful countryside & distant views. Special treats at lunch in Selge and Arykanda".
"Opportunity to look at and explore unexcavated sites; a single centre location in pleasant surroundings with excellent staff".
"The remoteness of a lot of the sites and the necessity of a good walk (and sometimes) climb to get to them after sitting on the coach".
"Gaining access to remote (and hence well preserved) sites with the minimal effort possible and walking in unspoilt countryside with opportunities to meet local people".
"The splendid sites".
"The Turkish countryside and sites, the friendliness and hospitality of people we met. Turkish food, and the picnics (in spite of the weather). The company of fellow guests".
Reading List
This list is no more than a guide to some books that you may find useful to read in advance of the tour. Talks given on the tour will attempt to fill in the background to what we are seeing, so no prior knowledge or pre-tour cramming is expected or needed. There are excellent site guides, in English with plans and good coloured pictures, for most of the sites we will be visiting. These are available only in Turkey, at the sites and the Museums. In many cases, we expect that you will find some of these books even more interesting and useful to read once the tour is over.
Two books which will set the historical scene for this general area of Turkey are:
Louis de Bernières (2005) Birds without Wings London. Set largely in Fethiye, de Bernières' novel describes the Greek and Turkish lives that fell apart in the horror of 1922-23, an episode largely (and conveniently) overlooked by most visitors.
Enid Slatter (1994) Xanthus: travels of discovery in Turkey, London, The Rubicon Press.
This is based on Charles Fellows' published works and archive material - he explored and discovered many of the archaeological sites in the 19th century. The generous number of illustrations reproduced from these, and the intrinsic interest of Fellows' journeys throughout Lycia, make this good read for anyone visiting southern Turkey
Guide books
There is a growing number of guides to Turkey: this list is intended to give some pointers to those which will help the serious traveller.
The best archaeological guides for the traveller to the sites of Turkey's western and southern coastline are still those written by George E Bean. For this tour use:
Lycian Turkey (1978) London/New York
Turkey's Southern Shore (1984) 2nd ed., London/New York.
Unfortunately they are out of print now, but there are sometimes copies for sale in second-hand bookshops, and most libraries can get hold of them.
Cevdert Bayburtlouglu, Arykanda, (Homer Kitabari 2005) - one of a good series of sites guides, which can probably be more easily purchased in Turkey than beforehand.
The following titles cover the whole of Turkey, and therefore give less detail for the small part of this huge country that we shall be visiting:
Bernard McDonagh, (1995) Blue Guide to Turkey 2nd ed, London/New York, is the most detailed.
Rough Guide to Turkey (1997 / 2000) London, though less academic, is lively and generally reliable: the Rough Guides also have a website at http://www.roughguides.com
John Freely (1979, reprinted 1986) Companion Guide to Turkey, London is more selective, but adds a personal touch.
His Classical Turkey (1991) in the Viking/Penguin Architectural Guides for Travellers Harmondsworth is a brief but readable guide to the sites along the coast.
Ekrem Akurgal (1969), Ancient Civilisations and Ruins of Turkey Istanbul is widely praised and has a useful historical introduction, but concentrates on the major sites.
Seton Lloyd, (1989) Ancient Turkey Guild Publishing, gives a good historical overview.
Fernand Braudel, (2001) The Mediterranean in the Ancient World has just been republished by Penguin and gives one of the best overviews of the civilisations here and how they related to each other.
Traveller's Tales
Many travellers have written journals of their journeys through Turkey.
Freya Stark The Lycian Shore (1956, reprinted 2002) London, reprinted by John Murray Travel Classics
Freya Stark (1954) Ionia: A Quest London and Alexander's Path (1958, rep.1984) London describes other journeys made in western Turkey by this redoubtable lady.
Sybille Haynes (1974) The Land of the Chimaera London describes a month's "archaeological excursion in south-western Turkey."
John Freely (1988) The Western Shores of Turkey London, has combined twenty-five years of journeys "along this coast of vanished civilisations, ..in one sense an informal guide to the archaeological sites and monuments; but it is also written with the thought that it might evoke the spirit of these places for those who are embarking upon their own odysseys along the westerns shores of Turkey": very good if you can get hold of it.
General
Some of what we shall see belongs to the Greco-Roman period of Turkish history: Greek and Roman art and archaeology have an enormous (and still growing) literature, where everyone has his or her favourites. The following are only intended to serve as pointers.
Architecture, Town-planning:
Ian Jenkins, Greek Architecture and its Sculpture in the British Museum (BM Press 2006)
- including a chapter on Lycian tombs.
R.E. Wycherley, (1962) How the Greeks Built Cities London
R.A. Tomlinson, (1995) Greek and Roman Architecture London or
R.A. Tomlinson, (1989) Greek Architecture Bristol
Art:
John Boardman, (1999) The Greeks Overseas 4th ed, London covers the whole period of Greek contact and settlement in scholarly but easily comprehensible detail.
