Page 96 - Discoveries Await in 2022 & 2023

Itinerary DAY 4 • Istanbul • Controversial Topic: Pergamum, an ancient Greek city before we arrive
Turkish women’s rights • Optional Cruising at the port in Dikili to board our private small ship.
Between Continents tour This evening, enjoy a Captain’s Welcome Dinner.
DAY 1 • Depart U.S. Meet with two feminist activists for a conversation B,L,D — M/V Arethusa
Fly from the U.S. to Istanbul, Turkey.
about the Controversial Topic of the erosion of
women’s rights in contemporary Turkey. The rest DAY 7 • Lesbos, Greece • Ouzo tasting •
DAY 2 • Istanbul, Turkey of the day is free to explore independently, or Controversial Topic: Syrian refugee crisis
Arrive in Istanbul this afternoon. Later, enjoy you can join a full-day optional Cruising Between The first stop of our seven-night cruise is the idyllic
a Welcome Dinner with your fellow travelers, Continents tour, with lunch included. island of Lesbos, birthplace of the ancient poet
including those joining us from their Cappadocia’s Sappho. A tour will include the small village of

Unique Landscapes & Vibrant Ankara pre-trip B,D — The Galata Istanbul Hotel - MGallery or similar Agiassos and a visit to a local ouzo distillery for a
extension. DAY 5 • Ancient Troy • Canakkale tasting. We’ll also meet with a local social worker to
The Galata Istanbul Hotel - MGallery or similar Transfer to Canakkale, a port town on the banks learn about the Controversial Topic of the refugee
of the Dardanelles Strait. En route, visit the city crisis and its impact on Lesbos and the surrounding
DAY 3 • Istanbul • Topkapi Palace & immortalized by Homer in the Iliad. Once thought to islands. Then, we’ll take a stroll through Lesbos’
Hagia Sophia be mythical, excavations have revealed the remains capital, Mytilini.
Your Istanbul discoveries include Topkapi Palace of a total of nine subsequent cities of Troy rising B,L,D — M/V Arethusa
and the magnificent Hagia Sophia, which began its above the “windswept plain of Ilium.”
life as an Orthodox Christian church in the sixth DAY 8 • Chios • Pyrgi • Greek dance
century before its conversion into a mosque by B,D — Kolin Hotel or similar performance
the Ottomans in 1453. In 1935, it was turned into a DAY 6 • Dikili • Home-Hosted Lunch • Our small ship arrives in the ruggedly beautiful
museum and is now an active mosque once again. Bergama • Embark ship Greek island of Chios, where we’ll visit the medieval

B,D — The Galata Istanbul Hotel - MGallery or similar On our way to the coastal town of Dikili, stop at a fortified settlement of Mesta, followed by the town
Turkish mountain village for a Home-Hosted Lunch of Pyrgi, known as the “painted village.” Later,
with a local family. Then, we’ll explore the ruins of we’ll set off for a walking tour of Chios Town,

Meet the people who
call Greece & Turkey
home

A Turkish family in Dikili : Step
into the past on Day 6 as you
discover a mountain village in
the Kozak Valley, where you’ll
join a local family for a Home-
Hosted Lunch. Enjoy warm
hospitality and delicious
homemade specialties during
this opportunity to experience rural Turkish life firsthand.
A social worker on Lesbos : During our visit to Lesbos on Day 7, we’ll
meet with a local social worker to learn about the Controversial
Topic of the refugee crisis in the Greek islands, where limited
resources have resulted in poor living conditions for the refugees
and a harder life for the islanders.
Farming families near Bodrum : As part of our A Day in the Life
experience on Day 11, we’ll visit a small Turkish village and then
split into smaller groups to meet with families on their farms, a rare
opportunity to glimpse everyday life in rural Turkey.

Witness the majesty of Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia on Day 3.

96 Turkish Coastal Voyage: Greek Islands, Istanbul & Athens Information & Reservations 1-800-955-1925 www.oattravel.com/ art 97

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