From Byzantine Walls to ANZAC Shores to the Ruins of Troy

Arrive in Istanbul and hand off the logistics immediately — a driver with your nameplate takes you from the terminal to your hotel in the Sultanahmet or Taksim area. Tomorrow’s guided Istanbul tour covers serious ground, so tonight is about finding your rhythm. Walk down to the Golden Horn waterfront, scope out the streets near your hotel, or grab a window table at a local restaurant. Your guide calls to set the morning schedule.

You pick the Istanbul that interests you most:

Option A — Sultanahmet & the Old City Walk through the Hagia Sophia — a building that has been a cathedral, a mosque, and a museum in its 1,500-year life. Cross to the Blue Mosque, where 20,000 handmade Iznik tiles line the interior walls. Continue to the Hippodrome, the center of Byzantine public life, then navigate the Grand Bazaar’s 4,000-plus shops, some of which have been in the same family for generations.

Optional add-on: Topkapi Palace — where Ottoman sultans ruled for 400 years (entrance fee not included)

Option B — Bosphorus & Beyond Descend into the Basilica Cistern — 336 marble columns supporting a 6th-century water reservoir. Browse the Spice Bazaar for Turkish delight and dried figs, then board a 1.5-hour Bosphorus cruise past Ottoman waterfront mansions and the 15th-century Rumeli Fortress. Finish at the top of the Galata Tower for a 360-degree view across two continents.

Optional add-on: Dolmabahce Palace — 14 tons of gold leaf and the largest Bohemian crystal chandelier in the world (entrance fee not included)

Early departure from Istanbul for the drive across Thrace — approximately 4 to 5 hours. Your guide uses the travel time to set the historical context: why the Dardanelles mattered, what the Allied and Ottoman forces were each trying to achieve, and why it went the way it did.

Once on the peninsula, you’ll visit:

• ANZAC Cove — the landing beach of April 25, 1915. A stone memorial here carries Ataturk’s words to the mothers of the fallen: “You, the mothers who sent their sons from faraway countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace.” Standing here, those words land differently.
• Lone Pine Cemetery & Memorial — 1,167 graves and the names of 4,934 soldiers with no known resting place, set among the pine trees that have grown back since the battle
• Chunuk Bair (Conkbayiri) — the ridge where the New Zealand Mounted Rifles fought one of the campaign’s fiercest engagements, now marked by memorials from both sides
• Kabatepe War Museum — personal artifacts, letters, weapons, and photographs that bring the human scale of the campaign into focus

After the tour, a short ferry crossing takes you across the Dardanelles strait to Canakkale — a waterfront city with a relaxed atmosphere and a good restaurant scene.

Morning visit to the archaeological site of Troy — the place Heinrich Schliemann started digging in 1870, convinced Homer was writing history, not fiction. What he found (and what archaeologists have uncovered since) is nine distinct cities layered on top of each other, spanning roughly 3000 BC to 500 AD.

Your guide walks you through:

• The excavation layers — from the early Bronze Age settlements to the Roman city of Ilium, each era visible in the exposed walls and foundations
• The reconstructed Trojan Horse — a modern wooden structure at the entrance, built for visitors but useful for understanding the scale
• The defensive walls — where you can still see the stonework of what may have been Priam’s Troy (Layer VI or VII, depending on which archaeologist you ask)
• The ramp and gates — the main entry point through fortifications that protected one of the most strategically positioned cities in the ancient world

After Troy, your driver takes you back to Istanbul — approximately 5 to 6 hours by road. You’ll arrive in the evening.

Breakfast at your hotel. Your driver picks you up 3 to 4 hours before your international flight for a straightforward airport transfer. Seamless from start to finish.