Still largely unexcavated the magnificence of Myra is nevertheless conveyed by its massive Graeco-Roman theatre and the surrounding cliffs honeycombed with the distinctive Lycian rock tombs.

After a short drive we stop in the nearby Church of St. Nicholas, which continues as a major place of pilgrimage even today. We head on to the village of Ucagiz (Theimussa) where we get on board our vessel to spend the rest of the day around Sunken City. The village of Kale is our next stop where we can hike up to the Castle for a magnificent view. Then we cruise slowly thru the Sunken City and our captain anchors at another bay for a swim, and snorkelling or may be snoozing under the sun. Finally we make another 30 mins drive to Kas where we will spend the night.

Day 3: After breakfast, we board our minibus for visiting the three major sites of Lycia: Patara, Xanthos and Letoon. We first visit Patara, now completely cut off from the sea by a massive sand spit over ten miles long. Although much still remains to be excavated, there is still a great deal to see including the Graeco-Roman theatre, the triumphal gate of Mettius Modestus, Hadrian granaries,...

After a cool dip down the Mediterranean and having refreshed, we make another 10 minutes drive to Xanthos, the capital of Lycia. As our visit to Xanthos is over, we visit Letoon; the only site in the world that an early Christian church is built only 50 meters away from 3 temples side by side, dedicated to Leto, the mother, and her twins Apollo & Artemis, and 50 meters away from a magnificent Greek theatre. Our next destination is Gocek; a peaceful town, located on a gulf, which makes it a convenient place for the famous Blue Cruises to start or end.

Day 4: After breakfast, we visit the nearby site of Caunos, a city that was on the frontier of Lycia and Caria. An important seaport in ancient times, the site is now five miles inland because of the silting of the Koycegiz River. Visiting the site we make a stop further up the river at the famous blue mud bath for a treatment reputed to take many years off your age. Then we take the late afternoon flight to Istanbul

Day 5: Since our hotel will be in the old imperial quarter, only a short walk away from Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, and major museums, which are all vast in size and will demand lots of time to visit, except for the first day, tomorrow morning will be yours to explore the immediate neighborhood, and make return visits. In the afternoons, there will be excursions to take you to distant attractions.

We meet at the lobby after breakfast, and take a short walk to the great square, which was once the Byzantine Hippdorome. The Hippodrome is surrounded by the Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, and the Underground Cistern, commonly called the Basilica Cistern. Your guide will then take you to the Topkapi Palace. Probably the most Ottoman place in the world.

Day 6: Morning is yours, and at noon, (before lunch) we meet at the lobby for the Ottoman Walk: A walking tour visiting some of the most intriguing neighborhoods of old Istanbul and works of Sinan the Great Architect. We start with Sokullu Mehmet Pasa Mosque, one of the minor masterpieces of Sinan the Great Architect with its interior decorated with magnificent sixteenth century Iznik tiles.

Then we enjoy lunch at Aslan Lokantasi, a typical old-fashioned restaurant near the Covered Bazaar. From there we cut through the Covered Bazaar, to the Suleymaniye Cami (The Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent), built in the 16th century it is the major masterpiece of Sinan in Istanbul. More than just a mosque the vast kulliye (complex) consists of Medrese (School of law), kitchens for the employees of the kulliye, a soup kitchen for the poor, a caravanserai, a mental hospital, baths, and other institutions that served the neighborhood.

Beginning with the magnificent forecourt we move into the mosque itself, one of the great achievements of Ottoman architecture. Next, in the mosque garden we visit the tombs of Suleyman and his wife, the infamous Roxelana as well as a tightly packed mass of mortuary monuments commemorating the grandees of the Ottoman Empire.

After savoring the view over Istanbul, and the Golden Horn from the mosque terrace we descend the hill in the direction of the Golden Horn passing through the hubbub of the medieval craft and wholesaling quarter. Tucked away amongst artisan workshops we find another minor masterpiece of Sinan: Rustem Pasha Mosque, its interior completely sheathed in sixteenth century Iznik tiles. After a short walk we are at the Spice Bazaar, flanked by its meat, fish, vegetable, and flower markets. We end our walk at Yeni Cami, the last of the classical imperial mosques. We then board the nearby tram for the return trip to our hotel.

Day 7: We meet at the lobby, and board our vehicle for the Byzantine Relics. We travel by minibus to visit the remains of the sea and land walls of Constantinople, we drive by the remains of the Bucheleon, the summer palace of the Great Palace of Byzantium, the Church of Sergius and Bacchus, (commonly called the Kucuk Ayasofya, now partly serving as a mosque) situated in a very close neighbourhood. Next we skirt the great Theodosian land walls, a great feat of military architecture which preserved the city for over 1000 years. We end with one of the greatest treasures of Istanbul The Church of Chora, (Kariye Camii) a Byzantine church in which frescoes and mosaics of the 14th century remain virtually intact. The mosaics and frescoes create one of the most remarkable interiors you are ever likely to see.

We head on to Bebek to embark our boat for the leisurely Bosphorus Cruise passing the remains of the last Byzantine palace, the Blachernae, and then driving under the great Aqueduct of Valen, now called the Bozdogan Sarnici. Boarding our own launch, we leave Bebek cruising further South to view Istanbul from the Bosphorus, meandering around the shore where we view the Ottoman Architectural masterpieces from their best vantage points.

Then we cross to the Asian side to view the Ottoman imperial mosques along its shore, proceed pass Dolmabahce Palace the last palace of the sultans, and stop for a tour of Beylerbeyi Palace, one of the summer palaces of the sultans. Next we pass Rumeli and Anadolu Hisar, two fortresses built by Mehmet the Conqueror prior to capturing Constantinople, as well as assorted palaces and mansions. And then we proceed up the Bosphorus to see the beauty of the less developed end of the Bosphorus.

On our return we disembark at Bebek again. The evening, your last in Istanbul, is yours to plan.