Women-only Turkey: Istanbul, Cappadocia and Ephesus

1. Day 1: Arrive in Istanbul, a slow first evening

   Istanbul airport to your hotel in Sultanahmet

   • Drive about 1 h
   • Dinner
   • Stay in Istanbul
   Day 1 details

   We meet you at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW), whatever time you land, and drive you to your hotel in Sultanahmet, the old city on the peninsula between the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara. The ride from IST takes about an hour. Nothing is planned until about 6:30 pm, so arrive by mid-afternoon if you can, rest and take a shower first. Your See Sight Tours guide then meets the group over tea at the hotel. She introduces everyone and gives an honest briefing: what to wear in mosques and villages, how the bazaars work and how to say no, taxis, tipping, photographing people, and how the ten days run. Dinner is together at about 7:30 pm, a short walk from the hotel. On the way back, anyone who wants can stop in Sultanahmet Park to see Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque lit up, or go straight to bed.

   Included

   • Pick-up at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)
   • Welcome tea and briefing with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Free time: Afternoon free to rest before the group meets

   Activity: A short, flat walk to dinner and back.

2. Day 2: Old Istanbul and the women of the palace

   On foot in Sultanahmet

   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Istanbul
   Day 2 details

   At about 8:15 your guide walks the group through the Hippodrome, where the chariot track of Byzantine Constantinople ran, past the Egyptian obelisk while the square is still quiet. We are at the gates of Topkapi Palace when it opens. A licensed Istanbul guide, a woman where we can book one, leads the visit, and your ticket includes the Harem. Its rooms tell the story of the period historians call the Sultanate of Women, when mothers and wives of the sultans, among them Hürrem and Kösem, shaped the empire's politics from inside these walls. After lunch on your own, we go into Hagia Sophia, finished in 537, through the gallery entrance foreign visitors now use, and then the Blue Mosque, timed between prayers. In the late afternoon, where we confirm a host for your dates, an Istanbul woman welcomes the group into her home for tea and börek, a flaky pastry, and an hour of conversation.

   Included

   • Early walk through the Hippodrome
   • Topkapi Palace entry with the Harem, with a licensed local guide
   • Hagia Sophia gallery entry for foreign visitors
   • Blue Mosque visit between prayer times
   • Tea and börek in a local woman's home, where a host is confirmed

   Free time: Lunch on your own; evening free

   Activity: About 4 hours on foot, with cobbles and stairs. Topkapi is closed on Tuesdays, so this day never falls on one. Shoulders, knees and hair covered in the mosques.

3. Day 3: Bazaars, Sinan and the Bosphorus

   Old city on foot, then a Bosphorus cruise from Eminönü

   • By boat
   • Breakfast
   • Stay in Istanbul
   Day 3 details

   We go down into the Basilica Cistern when it opens, before the queue builds: a 6th-century underground reservoir held up by 336 columns, two of them standing on carved Medusa heads. Then the Grand Bazaar, with about sixty streets under its vaults. Your guide shows you how it is laid out, how bargaining works and how to walk away, then leaves you time to browse; we take you to no shops and take no commissions. Up the hill, the Süleymaniye Mosque, built by the architect Sinan in the 1550s, has a garden terrace over the Golden Horn. Süleyman's wife Hürrem endowed her own complex across the city in Haseki, and your guide points out the women patrons behind several of the city's buildings. We walk down to the Spice Bazaar, and in the late afternoon a boat for our group takes you up the Bosphorus past Dolmabahçe Palace and the Rumeli Hisarı fortress, in the best light of the day.

   Included

   • Basilica Cistern entry at opening
   • Guided walk through the Grand Bazaar
   • Süleymaniye Mosque and its terrace
   • Rüstem Pasha Mosque and the Spice Bazaar
   • Two-hour Bosphorus cruise in the late afternoon

   Optional experiences

   • Whirling dervish ceremony in the evening

   Free time: Time to browse the Grand Bazaar; lunch on your own

   Activity: The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays, so this day never falls on one.

   

4. Day 4: Fly to Cappadocia

   Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevşehir by air, then Göreme

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Göreme
   Day 4 details

   A short morning flight, about an hour and a quarter, replaces the long road and rail days other trips use to cross Anatolia. We fly from Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevşehir, whichever has the better time that day, and drive to your cave hotel in Göreme or Uçhisar, home for three nights. After you settle in, we climb Uçhisar Castle, a tall rock riddled with old rooms and the highest point in the area, for a first look over the fairy chimneys towards the cone of Mount Erciyes, snow-capped in spring. Below it, Pigeon Valley is lined with dovecotes cut into the rock. In the late afternoon we walk the Rose and Red valleys, past small rock-cut churches, and reach the Kızılçukur ridge as the tuff turns pink at sunset. Dinner is together in Göreme, a short drive or walk from the hotel, so nobody has to find a table alone on the first night in a small town.

   Included

   • Flight from Istanbul to Kayseri or Nevşehir
   • Transfer to your cave hotel
   • Uçhisar Castle entry
   • Pigeon Valley viewpoint
   • Guided sunset walk in the Rose and Red valleys
   • Dinner in Göreme

   Easier option: Drive round to the Kızılçukur viewpoint instead of the walk

   Activity: The valley walk is about 2 hours on dirt paths with some short climbs.

   

5. Day 5: Balloon at sunrise

   Göreme, Kaymaklı and Avanos

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Göreme
   Day 5 details

   The balloon flight is in the price. The operator collects you about an hour before sunrise, you watch the envelopes fill in the half dark, and the flight lasts about an hour as the sun clears the horizon and lights up the valleys around Göreme. Civil aviation decides each morning whether balloons may fly; if today is cancelled, we try again tomorrow, which is why we spend three nights here. After breakfast and a rest, we visit the underground city of Kaymaklı, carved into soft tuff, where narrow passages lead down past stables, kitchens and chapels; four of its levels are open. Lunch is in Avanos, on the Kızılırmak, Turkey's longest river, followed by an hour at a potter's wheel using the river's red clay, a craft made here for thousands of years. The late afternoon is free.

   Included

   • Sunrise hot air balloon flight of about an hour
   • Kaymaklı Underground City entry
   • Lunch in Avanos
   • Hands-on pottery session in Avanos

   Your choice: Sunrise balloon flight, about an hour / Watch the balloons rise from a sunrise viewpoint with your guide Included in the price.

   Free time: Late afternoon free

   Activity: Kaymaklı has low, narrow passages and steep steps; skip it if you dislike tight spaces.

6. Day 6: Rock churches and a village kitchen

   Göreme Open Air Museum and Love Valley

   • Drive about 30 min
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Göreme
   Day 6 details

   This is the spare balloon morning: if yesterday's flight was cancelled, you fly today. If not, sleep in, or come with your guide to Lover's Hill above Göreme to watch the balloons rise out of the valleys. We are at the Göreme Open Air Museum when it opens, about 8 am, before the tour coaches arrive at mid-morning. Monks cut these churches and refectories into the rock between the 10th and 12th centuries, and the Dark Church, which your ticket includes, keeps its frescoes bright because so little light gets in. Mid-morning we walk into Love Valley, and the early afternoon is yours to rest on the hotel terrace. At about 4 pm we drive to a village where, if we confirm a host for your dates, the women of a local family show the group how they roll dough for gözleme or fold mantı dumplings, and we eat dinner together at their table.

   Included

   • Spare balloon morning if day 5 was cancelled
   • Göreme Open Air Museum entry at opening, with the Dark Church
   • Guided walk in Love Valley
   • Cooking with the women of a village family, where a host is confirmed
   • Dinner in their home

   Optional experiences

   • Sunrise balloon flight, already in the price, only if day 5's flight was cancelled (the same booking moves to this morning)

   Free time: Early afternoon free

   Activity: In the village, loose clothes that cover shoulders and knees are polite.

7. Day 7: To the Aegean and Şirince

   Cappadocia to Izmir by air, then Selçuk and Şirince

   • Drive about 1.5 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Selçuk
   Day 7 details

   After breakfast we fly from Kayseri or Nevşehir to Izmir on the Aegean coast; ops choose a direct flight where one runs, or a short connection in Istanbul. From Izmir Airport it is about an hour's drive south through olive country to Selçuk, the small town beside Ephesus, where we stay two nights. In the afternoon we walk up Ayasuluk Hill to the ruins of the Basilica of St John, built by Justinian over the saint's traditional tomb, and look down on the 14th-century İsa Bey Mosque. Late in the day we drive about 8 km into the hills to Şirince, a village of white stone and timber houses that was Greek until the 1920s and is now known for its fruit wines. We taste a few, watch the light go off the valley and eat dinner together in the village.

   Included

   • Flight from Kayseri or Nevşehir to Izmir
   • Transfer to Selçuk
   • Basilica of St John entry
   • Wine tasting in Şirince
   • Dinner in Şirince

   

8. Day 8: Ephesus at opening

   Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary and Selçuk

   • Drive about 45 min
   • Breakfast and lunch
   • Stay in Selçuk
   Day 8 details

   We are at the upper gate of Ephesus when it opens, about 8 am, long before the cruise-ship coaches reach it in mid-morning. A licensed site guide, a woman where we can book one, leads the walk. From the gate the old city runs downhill, so it is easy on the legs: past the Odeon and the Temple of Hadrian on Curetes Street, to the Library of Celsus, whose two-storey facade from the early 2nd century AD faces the morning sun. The Terrace Houses, Roman homes with mosaics and wall paintings under a protective roof, are included, and they show more of daily family life than any other part of the site. After the walk we drive up to the House of the Virgin Mary on the wooded hill above. Lunch is in Selçuk, in a kitchen run by women where ops confirm one, followed by a short look at the Ephesus Museum and its statues of Artemis. The afternoon is free.

   Included

   • Ephesus entry at opening, with a licensed site guide
   • Terrace Houses entry
   • House of the Virgin Mary
   • Lunch in Selçuk, in a women-run kitchen where one is confirmed
   • Ephesus Museum entry

   Free time: Afternoon free

   Activity: About 3 hours on foot over uneven marble paving, downhill; bring a hat, there is little shade.

   

9. Day 9: Back to Istanbul and a women-only hamam

   Selçuk to Izmir, fly to Istanbul, Karaköy

   • Drive about 2 h
   • Breakfast and dinner
   • Stay in Istanbul
   Day 9 details

   On the way to the airport we stop at the site of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, of which a single rebuilt column now stands in the marsh. The flight from Izmir to Istanbul takes about an hour and ten minutes, and we drive you to your last hotel in Karaköy, the old port district below the Galata Tower. In the afternoon the group goes to a historic hamam for a women-only session, in a women's section or during women's hours: warm marble, a scrub with a rough mitt, a foam wash, then rest with tea. You keep on as much as you like, and you can skip it for a quiet afternoon in Karaköy's cafes and galleries instead. We meet at sunset on the Galata Bridge, where anglers line the rail and the mosques of the old city stand dark against the sky, and end with a farewell dinner together.

   Included

   • Temple of Artemis site
   • Flight from Izmir to Istanbul
   • Transfer to your hotel in Karaköy
   • Women-only hamam session with a scrub and foam wash
   • Sunset walk on the Galata Bridge
   • Farewell dinner

   Easier option: Skip the hamam and rest at the hotel or in Karaköy

   Free time: Late afternoon free after the hamam

   Activity: Road time is two legs either side of the flight: Selçuk to Izmir airport about 60 km with the Artemis stop, then Istanbul airport to Karaköy about 45 km.

10. Day 10: Depart Istanbul

    Karaköy to Istanbul Airport or Sabiha Gökçen

    • Drive about 1 h
    • Breakfast
    Day 10 details

    Your trip ends after breakfast, and the morning is yours until we drive you to the airport for your flight home, at whatever time it leaves. If your flight is late, there is time for one more thing. The public ferry from Karaköy to Kadıköy on the Asian shore takes about twenty minutes, with the old city skyline behind you, and Kadıköy's food market is an easy walk from the pier. Dolmabahçe Palace, where the last sultans moved in the 19th century, is a short ride up the Bosphorus shore and is closed on Mondays and Thursdays. Istanbul Modern, the city's art museum, sits on the waterfront in Karaköy itself. Your guide helps you plan the timing so you are back at the hotel for the transfer, and can pair you with others from the group who want company. The drive to Istanbul Airport takes about an hour; for a long-haul flight, plan to leave the hotel about four hours before departure.

    Included

    • Drop-off at Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen (SAW)

    Free time: Morning free

Wildlife and weather: Balloon flights depend on wind and are cancelled on some mornings, more often from December to March. Ephesus has little shade and is hot from June to August. Mosques close to visitors at prayer times and for longer at Friday midday, and some sites keep holiday hours during the Eid festivals, so ops set each day's order per departure.

• Istanbul3 nights
• Göreme3 nights
• Selçuk2 nights
• Istanbul1 night