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Ancient Anatolia Tour

This is a special, new trip trip that takes us both farther east and farther into the past of Anatolia. We will explore Cappadocia with its exotic landsape and history dating back to the Hittites, visit ancient towns along the Euphrates River, tour climb Mount Nemrut with its colossal stone heads, and tour Sanli Urfa, the birthplace of Abraham, the patriarch of the three great religions that come from the Middle East: Judaism, Christianity and Islam.

Americans are finally realizing what Europeans have known for some time: Turkey is an incredible place to visit. It is where East meets West; where Europe meets Asia. It is a Moslem country and yet it is democratic and secular, and the Turks love their beer and wine. They especially love their raki, the anise-flavored national liquor similar to Greece’s ouzo. Turkey is both ancient and traditional on the one hand, and amazingly modern at the same time. On the streets of Istanbul one sees women totally covered in burkhas walking alongside others wearing modern clothes.

Turkey is one huge outdoor museum, with more 'Greek' ruins than Greece and more Roman ruins than Italy. Istanbul is one of the world’s oldest and most fascinating cities. The Bosphorus not only bisects the city; it is the border between Europe and Asia.

The Turks have been our staunch allies since World War II, and, much to the vexation of their Moslem neighbors, are friendly with Israel. While they have been frustrated with the United States' invasion of Iraq, Turks still love Americans.

Our Experience in Turkey

We have been running trips in Turkey since 1996, and we are always fine tuning our itinerary, based on our personal experiences and on feedback from our guests. We work with a wonderful Turkish couple: Cemil and Yasemin Konurlap. They met at a mountaineering conference. Of the over one hundred attendees, Yasemin was the only woman, which tell us something about her. Cemil won her attention, which tells us something about him. They quit their day jobs, became licensed guides, and eventually opened their own touring company. They have become our good friends over the years.

Each winter Cemil visits Marmaris and Budrum, to examine yachts, or gulets, and to interview captains. He is looking for the best boat for the money. He prefers boats that are actually owned by the captain, because he knows that these boats will be maintained the best.

Cemil and Yasemin prefer to buy the food and beverages for the yacht. They know that the crew often tend to cut corners to save on cost at the expense of quality. They also listen to what guests want and buy accordingly.

Ours is a tour for people who don’t like tours. Maximum group size is twelve, and we are quick to accommodate the specific interests of our guests. On one recent trip we arranged for a 4:00 AM tour of Istanbul’s produce district for part of our group!! While we have a land tour planned for every day we are on the yacht, you are welcome to stay on board and miss the tour.