Konya, Çatalhöyuk and Sagalassos
A Short Land Tour
Tuesday 30 May – Saturday 3 June 2023
The Konya region – the high hinterland of central western Turkey – is home to such a wealth of archaeological and cultural gems that it has long been on our hit list. In a few short days we explore Sufism at Konya, home to the whirling dervishes; neolithic settlement at Çatalhöyuk; Hittite-era wonders at Eflatun Pinar and Fasilar; and the remarkable Roman cities of Sagalassos and Kibyra.
The tour has been timed to serve as a prequel to our Lycia and Caria gulet fortnight, with which it dovetails, but it goes without saying that any and all are most welcome.
The tour is in the company of two leader-guides; travel writer Jeremy Seal, author of A Fez of the Heart and Meander, and archaeologist Yunus Özdemir. We will get around by comfortable minibus; we have designed the tour to ensure that travelling distances are manageable.
We are based at two hotels: the Hich Hotel in Konya, and Sagalassos Lodge in Ağlasun.
Site gradings in bold indicate how uneven and/or steep the going will be underfoot; A-C are generally manageable, D may well be an issue for some, and E, should you ever come across the designation, is exclusively for the goats among you.
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Day 1/ Tues 30 May 2023: Guests are met at Konya Airport and transferred to the Hich Hotel in Konya where dinner awaits.
Day 2/ Wed 31 May: After breakfast we visit the Shrine of Mevlana, the Alaeddin Mosque, the Karatay Medrese (all A) and other stand-out monuments from the city’s Selcuk period. After lunch we drive across the Konya plain to Çatalhöyuk (A/B), where excavations since the 1950s have done much to illuminate our understanding of human prehistory. We return to our hotel for dinner.
Day 3/ Thurs 1 June: We leave our hotel and head west, taking in two fascinating Hittite-era sites – the monumental statuary at Fasılar (B) and the sacred spring at Eflatun Pınar (A) – en route to Beyşehir’s 13th-century timber-columned Eşfrefoğlu Mosque (A). After lunch we continue to Ağlasun where we check into the Sagalassos Lodge for two nights.
Day 4/ Fri 2 June: We visit Sagalassos (B), ancient capital of Pisidia, which has been exquisitely restored by archaeologists from the University of Leiden. Sagalassos is especially well represented at the archaeological museum at nearby Burdur which we also visit. We overnight at the Sagalassos Lodge.
Day 5/ Sat 3 June: After checking out we drive southwest to Kibyra (B), another little-visited Roman hinterland city, with its remarkable stadium and odeon, the orchestra adorned with a magnificent Medusa mosaic. We then drive on to Fethiye where our tour ends, and where guests booked on the adjoining tour are delivered direct to our waiting gulet.
For the itinerary on google maps, click HERE.
Cost: £1,250 per person sharing rooms, £1,500 per person in single rooms. Price includes all meals, guiding, entry fees and talks, airport transfers, transportation and tips. Does not include flights, visas or alcohol.
Your holiday is fully bonded and administered by Heritage Group Travel (www.grouptravel.co.uk) in Bath. For a small charge Heritage can also assist with your flights.
The trip will only run with sufficient numbers; early indications of interest are much appreciated.
All initial enquiries to Jeremy Seal. (jeremy@somewherewonderful.com; 07757 703604).