Istanbul, Ephesus and Troy for solo travellers

Today we’ll have a guided tour of Ephesus, an ancient city with breathtaking buildings. So great was Ephesus, with its amazing two-storey Library of Celsus and the enormous amphitheatre, that the Romans made it their capital of Asia.

We’ll see the Temple of Artemis, which was one of the original ‘Seven Wonders of the Ancient World’. Intriguingly, only a fraction of the city has been excavated to date, but the discoveries indicate a highly sophisticated society living in luxurious houses with marble-lined halls, mosaics and beautiful frescoes.

Strolling through the centre of Ephesus, you’ll be walking the same streets as St Paul and St John, who both lived here for several years. We also discover the remains of St John’s Basilica, built by the Emperor Justinian over St John’s tomb.

Later we'll visit, hillside site of the House of the Virgin Mary. St John was entrusted to care for Mary, and it’s believed she travelled with him to Ephesus after being banished from Jerusalem. This is where she spent her final years, in a house that was said to have been built for her by St John himself. Although the Catholic Church hasn't officially confirmed the locations authenticity, the house remains a matter of belief for many Christian denominations. 

We’ll return to our hotel in Kusadasi in the late afternoon for a welcome lunch and the rest of the day at leisure.

Departing Kusadasi, we follow the coast towards the ancient Hellenistic city of Pergamon, where we have a guided tour. Perched on a high rocky outcrop, with stunning views for miles around, the city was famed for its library, so concerned were the Egyptians about this competition that they cut off supplies of papyrus to Pergamon, thus prompting the invention of parchment. We’ll see the remains of the Temple of Trajan, the altar of Zeus and the world’s steepest ancient amphitheatre.

We’ll continue our journey along the scenic coastline to Canakkale before dinner at the hotel this evening.

A fascinating day of contrasts awaits today. Firstly, there’s free time in Troy, famous for the ‘wooden horse’ story, when Queen Helen of Sparta eloped with Prince Paris to Troy and her enraged husband followed seeking her return.

Today, Troy is a complex archaeological site that spans nine separate cities. It nevertheless remains a romantic and alluring place to anyone who has read about the heroic struggles recounted in Homer’s Iliad. 

We’ll take the short cruise from Asia to Europe over the extremely scenic, steep-sided Dardanelles, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes to the Gallipoli peninsula. This was made famous during the First World War as the scene of one of the greatest and most tragic campaigns of the conflict.

We’ll visit the Lone Pine memorial and Anzac Cove, where the Australians mistakenly landed and were forced to scale steep cliffs and ravines under constant bombardment.

We’ll continue our journey through this refreshingly picturesque landscape and arrive in Istanbul, where we stay three nights.

For thousands of years, Istanbul sat at the centre of the overland trade routes, and its Grand Bazaar became home to merchants from all over the known world.

Today, more than 4,000 shops sell all types of goods, mainly gold, silver, leatherwear, ceramics and carpets, including fine collectors’ items. Istanbul is a revelation: there are few places where you’ll find such a diverse array of monuments and fascinating places to visit. 

We’ll see the immense and beautifully preserved city walls, still dominant after a thousand years, and the remains of the Hippodrome, where the emperors entertained a staggering 50,000 people. 

This morning, we’ll enjoy a visit to the breathtaking Hagia Sophia, one of the city’s best landmarks and quite simply one of the world’s greatest architectural achievements. 

Built in the 6th century, it was the largest enclosed space in the world for 1,400 years. The artistic highlights are the amazing Byzantine mosaics that seem to cover every wall with their vibrant golds, reds and yellows, plus the stunning blue ceramics so typical of the East after it was converted to a mosque some thousand years later. 

During our visit you can explore the second floor, including the galleries. During its time as a mosque, this is where the women would sit during the service. It offers views of the nave below and the dome above, as well as the spot where the empress’s throne once stood. You can also see the ornate Christian and imperial portrait mosaics of the South Gallery with their vibrant golds, reds and yellows.

Istanbul has about 500 underground cisterns, many dating back to antiquity. Today, we'll go underground in Istanbul to see one of the most famous of them.

Lost until it was rediscovered in the 16th century, the cistern has been welcoming visitors since 1837. Described as an underground cathedral, this feat of engineering dates back to the reign of Emperor Justinian in 532. The cistern could hold up to 80,000 cubic metres of water – and, standing inside it, you won't doubt it. With over 300 marble columns made from stone said to have been salvaged from ruined temples, look out for some of the ornate carvings including the famous carved heads of Medusa - eerie!

Back above ground, we'll continue our day with a visit to the iconic Sultanahmet Mosque, or as it's more commonly known "the Blue Mosque". So named because of the beautiful blue tiles used to decorate the interior, the exterior is equally impressive with 6 minarets that, legend has it, were built to rival the iconic Hagia Sophia. - but we'll let you decide for yourself which is the grandest.

After our visit, the rest of the day is at leisure to continue to explore Istanbul or relax in our hotel as you wish.

We’ll start the day with a guided tour of the Topkapi Palace, the glittering and labyrinthine imperial residence of the sultans for over 400 years. Today, it is a spectacular museum, but in its heyday, it functioned as a city within a city, a home to over 4,000 guards, eunuchs, courtiers and the ladies of the harem.

There is a superb display of weapons from throughout history: crossbows, firearms inlaid with ivory and beautifully crafted armour from as far afield as Japan. The treasury is breathtaking too, with an amazing display of jewellery including the world’s fifth-largest diamond, emeralds, jewel-encrusted thrones and the famous Topkapi.

Next, we’ll have a short walk around the Spice Bazaar, where your senses are bombarded by the vibrant colours and fragrant smells of herbs and spices from around the world: high-quality saffron from Iran; vanilla from Madagascar; turmeric from India; fresh peppercorns from Indonesia and much more.

This entire area encapsulates the spirit of old Istanbul: a maze of tiny busy streets, where the locals chat over apple tea from numerous street vendors, as the commanding horns of the passenger ferries resound under the famous Galata Bridge. 

The rest of the afternoon is at leisure.