ANZAC Day - Major Tour

Welcome to Istanbul, where you will be met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Tonight, meet your guide and the rest of your group.

After breakfast, you enjoy a fully guided tour of the only city to span two continents, visiting the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia Museum, Topkapi Palace (including Hagia Irene and the Harem), the Hippodrome and the Grand Bazaar. Tonight don't miss the optional Turkish Folklore evening.

On 24 April, the programme depends on official restrictions, as tours may be cancelled at the last minute if high-ranking dignitaries such as the Prime Minister or Ministers are in attendance. If tours are permitted, we plan to depart from Istanbul early in the morning for a short complimentary Gallipoli tour, after which we will take the ferry across to Çanakkale to check in at our hotel and enjoy some rest. Around midnight, we will depart the hotel, cross back by ferry, and continue to Anzac Cove, arriving at approximately 1:00am to secure a place for the overnight stay in preparation for the Dawn Service. If tours are not allowed, we will instead proceed directly to the hotel to rest until we depart for Gallipoli in the evening to ensure a good position at Anzac Cove for the long night ahead.

Awake before sun rise for the ANZAC Day Dawn Service. We become aware of the almost deafening silence as the moving service to commemorate our fallen forefathers on this special day begins. You will then have the chance to attend the Australian or New Zealand Memorial service before returning to the hotel in the afternoon.

Depart from Canakkale and head towards Troy where we will explore the and award-winning Troy Museum and the ancient city of Troy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Walk through the legendary city walls, stand where heroes like Achilles and Hector once battled, and marvel at the remnants of temples and theatres that whisper stories of a glorious past.

Absorb yourself in history today with a guided tour of Ephesus and a visit to the site of the Temple of Artemis. Feel the mystical atmosphere of the ancient city and theatre before continuing to the former Greek village of Sirince, famous for its fruit wines. Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey and at the carpet village we learn how the carpets are made by hand and what determines their value.

This morning we will enjoy a display of locally handcrafted leather goods before heading to the magnificent white calcium terraces, known as Travertines, in Pamukkale where we also tour the ancient city of Hierapolis. Take a dip, amongst ancient columns, in the hot springs that were used in Roman times for their therapeutic powers.

Today we travel the ancient Silk Road visiting Sultanhani Caravansary and the Mevlana museum in Konya along the way. Tonight, don't miss the optional traditional Turkish folklore evening!

Marvel at the lunar landscape of Cappadocia today as we visit the Goreme Valley Open Air Museum and the fairy chimneys, and explore the many levels of an underground city.

Early morning departure to the nation's capital, Ankara where we visit Anitkabir, mausoleum of the famed Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, before returning to Istanbul.

Our tour concludes after breakfast and we bid farewell to our new friends.