An Archaeological Study Tour
Turkey – Crossroads of Europe and Asia
May 25 – June 14, 2008
Led by Professor Kenneth W. Harl


Our spring tour of Western Turkey will encompass the entire range of Anatolian history. First, we visit the Hittite center at Bogazkoy, and continue through Cappadocia, with its wild rock formations and hidden Byzantine churches, to coastal Turkey, providing unparalleled opportunities for viewing the famed Hellenistic cities of Asia Minor: Side, Perge, Aspendos, Ephesus, Pergamon, Sardis, Priene, Miletus and legendary Troy. After visiting the beautiful tiled mosques and mausoleums of Ottoman Bursa, the tour ends in Istanbul, with its magnificent mosques, exceptional Archaeological Museum, the Topkapí Seraí Museum and exotic bazaars. The profusion of flowers, gentle climate and lovely Mediterranean beaches will make this tour a fascinating vacation.

Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, May 25, 26 & 27: ANKARA: Departure from New York via Turkish Air, arriving into Ankara midday. Our tour begins at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Its outstanding collection of Hittite art provides an excellent introduction to the tour. After stopping to see the Roman remains of the Temple of Augustus, we drive to Gordion, where we will spend the remainder of the day exploring the former capital of the kingdom of Phrygia. As we approach the site, the immense royal tumuli loom across the landscape. We will have an opportunity to enter the largest, known as Midas’s tomb, and to visit the vast acropolis Phrygian city.
Meals: Breakfast & dinner daily & 1 lunch

Wednesday, May 28: CAPPADOCIA: We depart Ankara for the Hittite center at Bogazköy, first excavated in 1906. A complete tour of this incredible site includes the famous Lion Gate, the fortifications and the temples and palaces of the city. After lunch, touring continues with the cult center of Yazilikaya, its reliefs cut into the living rock. We then drive on through lovely rolling hills into Cappadocia and to the Hotel Anatolian Houses in Ürgüp.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Thursday, May 29: CAPPADOCIA: We drive to Kayseri to visit the site of Kültepe, one of the most important ancient settlements in Turkey and the site of the earliest written documents found in Anatolia. The afternoon will be spent touring the Göreme Valley, with its unusual and beautiful rock formations, known as “fairy chimneys,” and its rock-hewn Byzantine churches decorated with elaborate frescoes.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Friday, May 30: KONYA: After visiting Kaymaklí, one of the many underground towns hewn from the tufa, we drive to Konya, stopping en route at the Selcuk caravanserai, Sultan Hani and at Çatal Hüyük, the oldest Neolithic site excavated in Anatolia. Touring this afternoon in Konya includes the Selcuk monuments and the Mosaic Museum, housed in a former medrese. Rixos Hotel Konya.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Saturday, May 31: ANTALYA: AA spectacular drive over the Taurus Mountains, with a stop at Egridir Lake for a seafood lunch and at Antiochos in Psidia en route to Antalya. Founded by King Attalus II in the second century BC, Antalya’s old town retains its charm with its winding streets and Ottoman houses. We have chosen a hotel in a lovely beach area within walking distance of the old town for our three-night stay. Talya Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunches & dinners

Sunday, June 1: ANTALYA: The Hellenistic cities of Perge, Side and Aspendos are only a short drive from our hotel and will introduce us to the Graeco-Roman world. At Aspendos we will visit the finest theater surviving from this period, while the colonnaded streets of Perge’s agora are a good example of city planning. We will spend the afternoon in the Archaeological Museum, which has an outstanding collection.
Meals: Breakfast, lunches & dinners

Monday, June 2: ANTALYA: This morning we will drive to the fabulous mountain site of Termessus with its remarkable theater and ancient cemetery. This mountain stronghold, one of the most impregnable fortresses in ancient Asia Minor, turned back Alexander the Great in 333 BC. The afternoon will be at leisure.
Meals: Breakfast

Tuesday, June 3: PAMUKKALE: We drive to Pamukkale to visit ancient Hierapolis and the pools formed by calcium deposited by water flowing down from the plateau. Hotel Colossae.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Wednesday, June 4: KUSADASI: Today’s touring takes us to ancient Aphrodisias, excavated by archaeologists from New York University. As Aphrodisias was the site of a flourishing school of sculpture during the Roman Empire, its museum houses a large collection of sculpture and statuary. After an extensive visit to the site, we continue to the new Charisma Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Thursday, June 5: KUSADASI: Touring today takes us to the Ionian cities of Priene and Miletus and the great temple of Apollo at Didyma. At Priene, perched high above the Maeander Valley, we will visit its temple of Athena, agora and theater; at Miletus we will explore ancient Port Leonas, named for the two lion statues that guarded the entrance.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Friday, June 6: IZMIR: We will spend the entire day visiting the spectacular city of Ephesus, which is being excavated and restored by several archaeological teams. Included in our visits are the remains of the temple of Artemis, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the library, agora and theater, the newly excavated mosaic floors of private villas and the fine museum. At the end of the day we drive on to Izmir and the Hilton Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Saturday, June 7: IZMIR: This morning we will tour the American excavations at Sardis, the capital of Lydia, with its temple of Artemis and recently restored synagogue. The afternoon will be spent at Izmir’s fine Archaeological Museum, with time to explore the local bazaar.
Meals: Breakfast & lunch

Sunday, June 9: ÇANAKKALE: Driving north along the Aegean, we reach the Greek city of Pergamon to visit its theater, unusual for its steep slope, renowned library, and Asclepion, one of the most famous therapeutic centers in the ancient world. We continue to Troy, immortalized by Homer and excavated by Heinrich Schliemann and Carl Blegen. Tusan Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Monday, June 10: BURSA: Driving along the Sea of Marmara, we reach the former Ottoman capital, Bursa, to visit its beautiful Ottoman mosques and monuments. We overnight at the Celik Palas Hotel, where we may enjoy its famed Turkish bath.
Meals: Breakfast, lunch & dinner

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, June 11, 12, 13 & 14: ISTANBUL: En route to Istanbul, we stop to visit the major sites of Iznik, ancient Nicaea. Touring in Istanbul will include the Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, the Süleymaniye Mosque, the Church of Kariye Camii, with its restored frescoes and mosaics, Topkapí Seraí Museum, the Mosaic Museum and the ancient Cisterns of the city. We will spend a full morning at the newly installed Archaeological Museum, visit the Spice Bazaar, the charming Rüstem Pasha Mosque, built by Sinan, and end our stay with a full day of leisure to wander in the vast Istanbul Bazaars or take a boat ride on the Bosphorus. Saturday, we depart for New York on Turkish Airlines. Marmara Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast daily, 3 lunches & 1 dinner