Peter Sommer Travels will launch a new tour cruising and hiking along Turkey’s beautiful, remote Carian Coast. Follow some of the best stretches of the 500-mile Carian Trail, along herb-lined footpaths and ancient roads cut into bedrock through hills swathed in pine and olive to atmospheric ruins, with a traditional, stylish gulet providing accommodations and transportation among deep inlets and secluded coves offshore.
“The Carian Trail is one of Turkey’s most spectacular footpaths and we’ll explore it in detail on this two-week tour,” said Peter Sommer, founder of Peter Sommer Travels. “You’ll come across seemingly lost Byzantine churches in dramatic settings, Ottoman cisterns in forgotten valleys and myriad ancient temples and tombs. More often than not, we’ll be the only people exploring these historic ruins during our journey – it will give you a real sense of undiscovered Turkey.”
Starting in Bodrum and ending in Göcek, cruise through turquoise waters around long, mountainous peninsulas and hike back through time on shepherds’ paths and forest tracks to visit remote wonders and archaeological sites. Highlights include:
- The lesser known ancient hilltop city of Theangela, with its magnificent defenses and giant cistern.
- Knidos, the stunning Greek and Roman city where decades of excavation have uncovered streets, terraces and temples set on a double harbor.
- The famed Lion tomb of Knidos, perched atop a small headland jutting out to sea.
- The towers, cisterns and churches of ancient Hydas, amid the trees high on rocky outcrops.
- Karamaka, an abandoned village that was occupied until the population swap of Christians and Muslims between Greece and Turkey following World War I.
- The harbor of Loryma, a strategic bay in ancient times, ringed with ruins.
- The remote citadel of Phoenix, with grand vistas all around and almost untouched by archaeologists.
- Amos, where ongoing excavations are revealing impressive fortifications and a little theater.
- The rock-cut tombs in the cliffs above the Dalyan River.
- The giant towers and gateways of Kaunos, built from vast carved blocks of stone.
- Lydae, with ancient buildings scattered and sculptures and columns toppled by earthquakes, lying as if they’d never been found amid a silent valley.
Between hikes, there are opportunities to relax, swim and enjoy delicious Turkish food, from freshly prepared lunches and dinners onboard the gulet to picnics among ancient ruins and meals at local restaurants.
Peter Sommer himself, an archaeologist and documentary filmmaker who once trekked 2,000 miles across Turkey in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, will lead the tour, providing expert insight along the way.
The Walking and Cruising the Carian Coast: Extended Edition tour includes all accommodations and meals, excursions with an expert guide, entrance fees and tips on land, travel by private minibus, airport transfers on the first and last day, and more. Maximum of 14 guests.
