Explore Turkey's ancient sites

A holiday in Turkey may be ideal for sun, sea and sand, however it also has a fantastic array of ancient Greco-Roman sites that are wonderfully preserved.

The travel company explore.co.uk has a holiday that will take in some of Turkey's best ancient landmarks on an eight-day Aegean sites tour.

Many of Turkey's ancient ruins are off the beaten track and rarely visited, not least because it has many sites that have been popular tourist destinations for centuries.

The tour starts at Dalyan, with a boat trip through a maze of reeds to the ancient Carian capital city of Kaunus (400BC), which has an acropolis and was known for its highly prized figs, which were exported to Rome.

Next on the itinerary is Alinda where you can take in an impressive ancient marketplace and little known ruins, before continuing northwards to explore Didyma, dedicated to the Greek god Apollo, and the scattered remnants of the towns of Miletus and Priene.

The tour takes a brief break away from the ruins, giving you a chance to see a more modern side of Turkey in the town of Selcuk, which has plenty of small cafes and shops.

Selcuk is near the huge Greco-Roman city of Ephesus, which is the highlight of the tour. Ephesus is said to be have been visited by Anthony and Cleopatra and is the site where St Paul preached to the Ephesians.

You can walk along the marble streets of the city, learn about its history and get a surprisingly clear picture of ancient life.

Another key attraction is the tall, white marble columns in Aphrodisias, a town named after the Greek goddess of love.

The trip also visits to one of Turkey's best known landmarks, Pamukkale, sometimes called a 'Frozen Waterfall' due to the way the hot spring leaves thick white layers of limestone and travertine cascading down the mountain slope. You will get a chance to enjoy a dip in the mineral waters of this ancient 'spa', just as the Romans did.

This eight-day tour costs from £620 per person, including flights from Gatwick, all transportation, seven nights' accommodation with breakfast, local payment and the services of a tour leader.

More information is available from www.explore.co.uk.
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