The Pamphylian and Cilician plains are separated by an outcrop of the Taurus Mountains, thus for 120 km you will leave the wider main roads to reach scenic heights before dipping down to the coast again. This is a journey through Classical and early Christian culture along the Mediterranaean littoral with its several sea-castles.
The first four nights are spent in Antalya in an Ottoman style hotel in the old port area of Antalya. From Antalya you can make visits to several National Parks and sites such as Phaselis,Perge, Termessos, Aspendos and Selge. You continue via Side to stay at by the sea at Gazipasa. F rom here you wind up among banana groves through Cilicia Perestria to reach the coast again at Anamur. The next three nights are spent in a hotel situated right on the beach near Silifke.
From here you can visit early Christian sites in fantastic geological surroundings. You depart from Adana airport.
Extensions:
1. To include Antioch
No journey to Turkey is complete without a visit to Antioch, where French culture is still in evidence. Antakya Museum houses the best Roman Mosaics to be found anywhere. Cool waters flow through the gardens of Daphne. After the fall of Jerusalem Antioch rated as the most important centre of first century Christianity. The Grotto Church of St Peter is somewhat different from the extensive ruins of the monument erected around St Simeon the Stylite!
2. To include Konya (for those who wish to avoid the rather precipitous route between the plains).
Extending your stay by two/three days you can drive inland to Konya to return to the coast at Silifke and continue your journey as above along the coast. This allows you to visit the once capital of the Selcuk Empire and home of the Mevlevi order of the Whirling Dervishes. It does however increase driving time.
Our driving instructions include information on all the sites to visit as you travel along the coast and inland. We suggest an itinerary of 4/5 nights in Antalya and 4/5 nights near Silifke. You can yourselves decide to lengthen your stay in any of the areas and discuss your plans with us before making decisions. Your accommodation throughout your tour is pre-booked. We have specially selected your accommodation as the best to be found in each area. As much as possible we do prefer to use special category accommodation where standards and high and service is more personal.
Throughout your itinerary you can contact us on our local landline or mobile phone. |
