6th Day… Our visit will begin early in the morning with the ruins of the magnificent temple of Apollo, continuing with the breathtaking theatre, the fascinating necropolis and the great Baths of Hierapolis Antique City. Following the lunch, we reach one of imperial Rome's foremost Asian cities: Aphrodisias, an isolated, major archeological site situated high on a plateau and ringed by mountains. Excavation continues here, but the almost fully intact Temple of Aphrodite, Baths of Hadrian, theaters, great Agora and 30,000-seat stadium have been uncovered. We also visit secluded Byzantine churches and the local museum, with its extensive collection of ancient statuary dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite. After the visit and two-hour drive through scenic Meander Valley, named for the winding river from which we get the word "meander", we reach Kusadasi resort.
Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi

7th Day... After breakfast, we head for nearby Efes (Ephesus), where we spend the morning visiting the Chapel of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St. John and Efes Museum; then continue exploring the spectacular ruins of Ephesus, including the Marble Street, the largest ancient theater in the world, several recently excavated monuments.
Dinner and overnight in Izmir

8th Day... After breakfast, drive to the extensive ruins of Bergama (Pergamum). The Pergamum Acropolis is perched high above modern Bergama, but reachable by a short and easy climb. We also explore the steep Roman theater carved into the hillside, the Altar of Zeus and, in the lower agora, the largest Roman building in Asia Minor, the Temple of Serapis. Lunch in a local restaurant. In the afternoon, we visit the Asclepion, an ancient Greek and Roman medical center that also has a theater, library and temples. We then drive through the lush olive groves of Edremit and Ayvalik Bay to arrive at Canakkale.
Dinner and overnight in Canakkale

9th Day... We depart from the hotel in the morning to visit the most evocative archaeological site in the world; little remains of the Troy written about by Homer in The Iliad. Still, take the time to admire the view of the distant straits from a striated hill created by the building of nine distinct cities, layer upon layer, over 4,000 years. This is the closest anyone can get to the fabled world of Paris and Helen, Achilles and Odysseus. Lunch en route, then take a ferry across the Dardanelle's into Europe. We drive along the northern shore of the Sea of Marmara to arrive at Istanbul.
Overnight in Istanbul