If you provide us with your flight arrival details AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE DATE we can arrange for you to be met at the airport and transferred to the hotel we use in Damascus.

Day 1 – 6  Damascus - We spend three nights in this, the oldest inhabited city in the world. From here there is the option of taking a one day guided tour into Lebanon and Beirut. Syrians are among the most hospitable people you will ever meet. The country has a rich and varied history with the Egyptian, Roman, Babylonian and Persian Empires having all passed through here along with Jesus and his disciples! From Damascus we visit Crac de Chevaliers - an 800-year-old Crusader Castle - perched high on top of a mountain. Then time permitting, we travel out to the oasis town of Palmyra we really get into the desert proper. Sleeping out in this vast wilderness, untainted by artificial light is an experience not to be missed. Before leaving Syria our final destination is market town of Aleppo where you can get lost in the local souk and discover small cafes and tea houses and go for a ralaxing bath in a hamam.

Day 7 – 12 Driving through stunning mountain scenery in the crisp clear days of summer, and ice and snow in winter, we wend our way into Turkey. From here we travel inland and upwards for a day to the visually powerful, windswept landforms of Cappadocia. Over the centuries houses, churches, fortresses and even underground cities have been carved into this eerily eroded volcanic rock. The Goreme Valley provides us with an astonishing setting in which to spend a few days investigating the region. We will take you to one of the underground cities where you can explore alone or with a guide this ancient and mysterious area! We then head towards the Turkish coast and stop on the way at Saklikent Gorge where there is the opportunity to go river tubing. We stay on the coast Olympus and then further down the Mediterranean coast at Olu Deniz. Our accommodation is tree houses and campsites and we spend the next couple of days relaxing on the beach. You can also take boat trips around the coast, tandem paraglide or hire small motor bikes.

Day 13 - 18 We then travel via either Pamukkale where you can swim in warm, mineral-rich water, or take the more visually scenic route towards Marmaris and camp in the mountains. We visit the well known ruins of Ephesus where we spend 2 nights. Built by the Greeks a thousand years before Christ and then rebuilt by the Romans, Ephesus boasts an amphitheatre that can seat 24000 and a harbour with no water - still in good condition after all these years.  From here we visit the ruins of Troy before we cross the Dardanelle Straits and visit Gallipoli, where in World War I on this blustery and exposed peninsula, ANZAC and British Forces struggled unsuccessfully for nine horrendous months to dislodge Turkish troops from the hills above the beaches. It is a moving experience to visit the war graves and battlegrounds where so much suffering and unnecessary loss of life took place. Australians and New Zealanders make a pilgrimage each year on ANZAC Day to pay their respects to their fellow countrymen who died here. We attend the dawn service on ANZAC Day as well as the memorial services at Chanuk Bair and Lone Pine.

It is a half day drive from here to the final destination of our trip - the exiting and cosmopolitan city of Istanbul where we have our final night’s party! Istanbul as an amazing city and staying for a couple of days after your trip finishes to  experience this safe and friendly city and paying a visit to at least the Aya Sofya Mosque, Topkapi Palace or the Grand Bazaar to name but a few is recommended. Our crew can provide you with details and information of hostels to stay at in the Sultanhamet area of central Istanbul.