Sailing the Turquoise Coast of Turkey
Turkey is becoming a tourist Mecca for Europeans and Americans, and is now among the top ten tourist destinations in the world. Tourism has grown from around 8 million visitors in 2000 to an estimated 21.2 million in 2007. While Europeans have long recognized Turkey as a hospitable country, Americans have generally considered it to be a bit too exotic. That is changing. Turkey has a secular government, is a long-time American Ally, and welcomes Americans with open arms.
It also has much to see and do. It has more Greek ruins than Greece and more Roman ruins than Italy. Its history extends from the Hittites through the Lycians, Carians, Phrygians, Greeks, Romans, early Christians, Byzantines and Ottomans. Istanbul has been the capital of Rome, Byzantium, and the Ottoman Empire
ECHO's yachting trips along Turkey’s Turquoise Coast are a wonderful way to see the country. The tour includes the highlights of Istanbul as well as the ruins at Ephesus, Didyma, Xanthos, and Perge and the church of St. Nicholas (yes, Santa Claus). We spend six days and nights on a beautiful yacht, or gulet, a wooden motor-sailor made by Turks specifically for the coastal waters. Each day there is a tour onshore, but we are also welcome to stay on the yacht. Each evening we anchor in a remote cove, where we have time to snorkel, swim, and relax.
You also have the option of extending your trip to include a drive across the Anatalian plateau for a tour of Cappadocia, home of perhaps the most exotic landscape and unusual houses in the world. Centuries of wind and water have carved volcanic "tuff" into fantastic turrets and "fairy castles" into which people have dug homes and churches. There are even entire underground cities that go eight stories down, housed up to 20,000 people, and must have been the inspiration of many of the sites in Indiana Jones movies.
These are tours for people who do not ordinarily like tours. Trip size is limited to 14 guests, and the average size is around 8. Our guides are professional, friendly, flexible, and very responsive your needs. Spontaneous stops at markets, schools, and rug shops are there for the asking, and lunch at a small village home is a treat to be remembered.
You can find trip itineraries, schedules and trip prices at echotrips.staging.wpengine.com/turkey/. We can also schedule a trip at your convenience, and modify it to suit your interests, time frame and budget. Just ask.
