turkey
12 nights/13 days: September 29-October 11, 2025
Detour with MERT
Come home with me to Turkey! You'll love the way sunlight warms Cappadocia's honey-hued rocks. You'll crave the smoky kiss of çay, shared in bustling bazaar laughter. You'll discover history not just from ruins, but from grandma's wrinkled hands crafting carpets. You'll find magic in shared simit bread, in spice-stained aprons swirling in a village kitchen. Turkey's soul blooms not on postcards, but in the warmth of genuine smiles and the rhythm of life lived loud. Detour with me to my favorite places in my beloved homeland!
highlights include
Unpack Turkey’s layers with a local Biblical historian
Savor the spice of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar
Soar above Cappadocia on a sunrise hot air balloon ride
Relish the relaxation ritual of the Turkish bath
Soak in the healing waters of Pamukkale
Learn the craft of carpet making, coffee, & cooking
Sail the Aegean Sea on a traditional gulet
itinerary
“On the meeting point of two worlds, the ornament of Turkish homeland, the treasure of Turkish history, the city cherished by the Turkish nation, İstanbul, has its place in the hearts of all citizens.”
Straddling Europe and Asia, Turkey’s tapestry of history, landscapes, and culture is the key to understanding the Middle East, Mediterranean, Balkan peninsula, and Central Asia. Elegant Istanbul stands timeless on the Bosporus with its chic cafes, labyrinthian bazaars, and Byzantine cathedrals-turned-Ottoman mosques. Legendary archeological sites dot the desert landscape beneath bobbing hot air balloons. Turkey’s vibrant palette is painted with colorful carpets, spices, and lanterns, soaked in the palate of rich coffee, bold wines, and innovative cuisine. Its rural villages incubate tradition while its urban cities host some of the world’s youngest populations. The Mediterranean and Aegean coasts unveil pristine beaches capped by ancient castles. We’ll take a deep dive into Turkey’s broad canvas to discover the timeless allure of this complex country.
Day 1: welcome to istanbul!
Monday, September 29, 2025
Welcome to the crossroads of Europe and Asia! We’ll meet at 2:00 for a welcome reception at our hotel before setting out on foot to explore the city. Starting from the famous Sultanahmet Square we’ll see how this city has been shaped by overlapping civilizations including the Greek, Roman, Byzantine, Ottoman, and Turkish. We’ll visit the Roman hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, and one of the city’s ancient underground cisterns whose massive columned-rooms feel more like gothic cathedrals of medieval Europe than Byzantine era storage facilities for drinking water. We’ll conclude our first day with a Turkish feast as we get to know our new travel companions.
Hotel: Hotel Bankerhan | Activity Level: Light | Meals: D
day 2: sampling istanbul
Tuesday, September 30, 2025
We start this morning with a guided visit to the Haigia Sophia, the largest church in Christendom turned Ottoman mosque. After our visit to this holy marvel we’ll hop on a tram to the spice market for an introduction to Turkish spices, teas, halva, and the world's tastiest Turkish delight. Lunch is a sampling of street-food before visiting one of Istanbul’s greatest architectural marvels, the Suleymaniye Mosque. This afternoon we’ll boat the Bosporus with an option to explore Istanbul’s Asian side and try an assortment of delicious mezes or to return to Sultanahmet, the beautiful neighborhood around our hotel.
Hotel: Hotel Bankerhan | Activity Level: Strenuous | Meals: B, L
day 3: royal Palace & Grand bazaar
Wednesday, October 1, 2025
Today finds us in the luxurious 15th century Topkapi Palace, an enchanted story-book structure that was the royal setting of the Ottoman court. We’ll also visit Hagia Irene, the church of Holy Peace, constructed during the reign of Constantine, en route to the Grand Bazar, with over sixty streets and 4,000 shops. A visit to this market is a multi-sensory experience filled with craftsmen, jewelers, ceramics, and vaulted ceilings where thousands of years of artisan culture is gathered under one roof. We’ll chat with local shop owners to learn the routine of daily life in Grand Bazaar. After our visit to the Grand Bazaar you’ll be free for the rest of the afternoon and evening.
Hotel: Hotel Bankerhan | Activity Level: Strenuous | Meals: B
day 4: village life & turkish baths
Thursday, October 2, 2025
This morning we fly to Cappadocia, a surreal desert landscape dotted with fairy-chimneys and underground cities. After lunch we’ll have a quick orientation to Sinassos village, one of the oldest settlements of Cappadocia, followed by a trip to a Turkish bath where we’ll experience the legacy of the ancient Roman bathhouse. Men and women will remain separate for this invigorating experience of tea, hot marble slabs, relaxation, and olive oil massage. Tonight we’ll enjoy a Turkish family-style meal with terracotta pots of eggplant, sautéed beef, and the traditional comfort food whose recipes have been passed down from generation to generation.
Hotel: Cappadocia Estates | Activity Level: Light | Meals: B, D
day 5: suspended above Cappadocia
Friday, October 3, 2025
We’ll savor the sunrise from the perch of our hot air balloons, watching the soft morning light spill over the honey-combed landscape. Afterward, we’ll stroll through this magical stone maze before visiting the Goreme Open Air Museum of 4th century CE cave dwellings where a thriving monastic community thrived in dedication to prayer in the wilderness. We’ll share a traditional lunch in a local home with casual question-and-answer session hosted by grandmothers. After lunch the afternoon is yours to explore Sinassos, chat with locals, hike to nearby monasteries, and to regroup this evening for a casual wine tasting and an optional meal of Turkish barbecue.
Hotel: Cappadocia Estates | Activity Level: Moderate | Meals: B, L
day 6: underground cities
Saturday, October 4, 2025
Today we’ll visit the highest and deepest places of Cappadocia: the underground cities of Kaymakli and the Uchisar Castle. Originally carved deep into the stone for protection from enemies and heavy winters, these subterranean cities housed populations into the thousands. We’ll then visit a ceramic workshop in Avanos where we’ll witness this 3,000 year-old tradition in artisan demonstrations. Our afternoon will conclude with a visit to Uchisar Castle, a high rock promontory that served as a natural fortification and offers a spectacular view of the surrounding countryside and fairy chimneys. We’ll return to Sinasos for a relaxed late afternoon and free evening.
Hotel: Cappadocia Estates | Activity Level: Moderate | Meals: B
day 7: Ephesus, st. john, & artemis
Sunday, October 5, 2025
This morning we fly to Izmir on the Aegean Sea where we’ll enjoy a guided tour of the Ephesus Archeological Museum and a visit the Basilica of St. John, the beloved apostle of Jesus who wrote the Gospel and the Book of Revelation. We’ll also visit the Museum of Ephesus where we’ll see spectacularly preserved statues of Artemis and relics of the sanctuary, followed by a rendevous at the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, said to have 'mounted to the clouds.' In the late afternoon we’ll arrive at the seaside town of Kusadasi where we’ll sleep two nights. The evening is yours to enjoy after hotel check-in.
Hotel: Charisma Hotel | Activity Level: Moderate | Meals: B
day 8: Ancient ephesus & sirince wine
Monday, October 6, 2025
Similar in many ways to the Greek sister-city of Athens, Ephesus tells the story of beauty, prosperity, self-governance, tragedy, and tyranny. We’ll stroll the ancient streets, glimpsing the sophistication and simplicity of the port-city that endured more than a thousand years. This afternoon we’ll visit the quaint village of Sirince famous for its wine production, cobblestone streets, silver smiths, small textiles shops, olive oil soaps and creams, and friendly artisan shop-keepers. In the later part of the afternoon we’ll return to Kusadasi to visit Mert’s favorite seafood restaurant for an optional meal together of locally caught seabream seabass, calamari, and the catch of the day.
Hotel: Charisma Hotel | Activity Level: Moderate | Meals: B
day 9: Aphrodite & cotton castles
Tuesday, October 7, 2025
This morning we’ll drive inland towards the ancient Greek city of Aphrodisias. Named for the Greek goddess of love Aphrodite, it is one of the most beautiful and intriguing cities in antiquity, housing perhaps the best-preserved ancient stadium anywhere in the Mediterranean. After lunch we’ll continue to Pamukkale, a site that has been drawing visitors to its thermal waters since antiquity. The name, which means ‘cotton castle’, derives from the cascading plateaus of white limestone shaped over the course of millennia as the calcite-rich springs continuously overflow into pools below. Our hotel is built at the top of these hot springs with it’s own thermal pool free for our use.
Hotel: Lycus River Thermal Hotel | Activity Level: Strenuous | Meals: B
day 10: cleopatra’s baths & bodrum
Wednesday, October 8, 2025
This morning we soak with ancient royalty in the Pool of Cleopatra. After a relaxed bath, we’ll visit the nearby tomb of St. Phillip, one of Christ’s twelve apostles. Recently discovered at the site of ancient Hierapolis, it was to the church of Colossians in this area that St. Paul wrote his famous letters. Before departing for the day, we’ll visit a spectacularly preserved Roman theater from the 2nd century CE where concerts still occur today. After lunch we’ll return to the Aegean coast to enjoy seaside bliss in Bodrum. The evening is yours to enjoy dinner in town by the sea or at our hotel’s excellent restaurant with its beautiful view of St. Peter’s Castle.
Hotel: Lycus River Thermal Hotel | Activity Level: Moderate | Meals: B
day 11: coffee, carpets, & cooking
Thursday, October 9, 2025
Today we immerse in Turkish village life, visiting the authentic village of Etrim. We’ll get caffeinated in the village coffee shop where our host will introduce us to the local traditions of wool production, carpet weaving, wine making, farming, and beekeeping. Next our host’s mother will bring us into her small kitchen and teach us how to make dolma, a communal event in rural Turkish communities. After lunch, coffee, wine, and conversation shared with locals we’ll take a tour of locally made carpets and have an opportunity to learn more about the cooperatives of women that produce them. In the late afternoon we’ll return to Bodrum for another relaxed evening by the sea.
Hotel: El Vino Hotel & Suites | Activity Level: Light | Meals: B, L
day 12: St. Peter’s & sailing
Friday, October 10, 2025
We’ll spend today sailing the crystal waters of the Aegean, but first we’ll visit St. Peter’s Castle, standing sentinel over Bodrum. Built by crusaders at the beginning of the 14th century CE, the castle served as a fortification for five hundred years before becoming home to Bodrum’s underwater archeological museum. After lunch we’ll board our ‘gulet,’ our traditional two-masted Turkish sailing boat to explore the beautiful islands' beaches by boat, stopping to swim, sunbathe, and chat about the experiences we’ve shared over the previous two weeks. After a day of sailing we'll celebrate our voyage together with a final meal on board before returning to our hotel.
Hotel: El Vino Hotel & Suites | Activity Level: Light | Meals: B, D
day 13: until next time, turkey
Saturday, October 11, 2025
Our detour ends after breakfast. Istanbul is a quick 1.5 hour flight from Bodrum. Whether returning home or continuing your journey in Turkey, Greece, or elsewhere, we are available to help with travel plans and can always add pre & post nights in Istanbul. Although our journey in Turkey has come to an end, our memories will endure as we plan our next adventures together!
$5,895 per person (double/triple occupancy)
$6,945 per person (singe occupancy)
10% deposit
FAQs
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Each detour includes the price of all admissions to sights seen as a group; tours by local guides, meals as listed in the trip itinerary; accommodations each night of the detour including breakfasts; all domestic flights; all transportation required for group activities from the first hotel to the last hotel of the detour including in er-country flights (transportation for optional group activities and independent travel during the detour is not included), travel consultations and advice from our staff, guides, and vendors including suggestions, tips, and directions, and all trip leader, local guide, driver, and hotel tips. Prices do not include airfare to and from the detour, nor ground transportation to/from airports.
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Detour prices do not include international airfare or ground transportation to/from the airport.
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Each detour includes all breakfasts and about half of your lunches and dinners as indicated in the meal guide included in each itinerary: B=breakfast, L=lunch, D=dinner.
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Yes! Our detours are the perfect way for children (and adults) to learn in action. We welcome and celebrate multi-generational travel. History class was never so fun!
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Our detour begins in Istanbul at our first hotel, where we will meet for a welcome reception at 3 pm. Our trip ends in Bodrum, on the Aegean Sea where you may book a return flight to Istanbul, or use as a jumping off point to explore Greece and beyond.
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While this varies by detour, we generally plan to meet between 5-6 pm at our hotel on Day 1. If you plan to arrive a day early and want to stay in our trip hotel, please make arrangements with the hotel directly, indicating that you are part of our group.
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Our detour begins in Istanbul and ends in Bodrum from where you may extend your travels into the Aegean by boat or return to Istanbul by air for an international flight home.
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Each trip page has a “book now” button that links to our online registration and payment system. There you can pay the 10% per person deposit and choose to pay in installments or to pay the full amount.
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Deposits are refundable for 30 days from receipt. After 30 days they are nonrefundable.
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Final payment is due 90 days prior to detour commencement but you may pau in full any time prior to this.
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Cancellations are allowed without penalty (excepting deposit) until the final payment deadline. After the final payment deadline 100% of funds paid are nonrefundable.
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Each trip page has a “book now” button that links to our online registration and payment system. There you can pay the 10% per person deposit and choose to pay in installments or to pay the full amount.
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Yes, all published prices are per person, based on double occupancy, or when available, single occupancy. Please contact us for triple occupancy pricing.
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During the registration process you will have the opportunity to request single occupancy, if it is offered. Due to the boutique nature of our hotels, we are not always able to offer single accommodations, but are happy to pair you with another single traveler.
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Yes. You must be able to carry your own luggage up at least three flights of stairs and on uneven ground for up to a quarter mile.
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Dressler Detours are physically demanding. To enjoy the experience, you must be in good walking shape. The most active days may average 5 miles of walking (often over uneven surfaces and including lots of climbing/steps), lots of standing while listening to your guide during group sightseeing, and possibly stair-climbing while carrying your own bag up to your hotel room. We’ve included an activity guide for each day of our itinerary: light=mostly sedentary, moderate=walking 1-3 miles on mostly even ground, strenuous=walking 3+ miles on hills/uneven ground.