Gate 1 Travel Blog

When you journey along Turkey’s Black Sea coast, you are tracing the routes of ancient traders. The Silk Road wound its way through this scenic region, linking the West and the East. Merchants stopped along the way to exchange goods such as spices, amber, leather and metal trinkets forged in fire. Some passed through on camel or horseback with their sights set on long treks over vast lands. Others headed to Black Sea shores to embark northbound ships to Crimea, Russia, and beyond. Today, this history-rich area reveals numerous secrets of its past, while boasting extreme natural beauty.

Our small group can explore this intoxicating region on an intimate scale. Our base is the small city of Safranbolu, named after the coveted saffron spice that is grown here still. Its Old Town, also known as Çarşi, is a treasure trove of remarkably preserved, red-roofed Ottoman-period houses. Their authenticity has earned the city its prestigious status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Browsing the timber-framed facades here and strolling its cobbled streets transports you back to an enchanting time. For an up-close look at daily life, we stop at the Kaymakamlar Museum House. The former home of a lieutenant-colonel, it is a showcase of typical Safranbolu living adorned with pretty ceiling decoration.

You’ll get a sample of Safranbolu’s days as a stop on the Silk Road during a visit to its thriving bazaar. Ironsmiths, shoemakers, weavers, carpetmakers, wood carvers, and countless other vendors have set up shop here for centuries. To help both ancient and modern visitors find their way, many streets are named for the merchants that line them. The indoor Cinci Han Caravanserai, too, is steeped in the city’s market history. Today, this imposing structure is a hotel boasting vaulted ceilings and a fine courtyard. But it was originally built as a stopover where traveling merchants showed off their goods and rested from long journeys.

We witness another facet of local life during a visit to a Yörük Village, a living museum of residential structures originally inhabited by the nomadic Yörük people. This fascinating collection of houses—many of them quite grand—stand two or three stories tall. Upper floors were used as living quarters while the lower floors feature the kitchen, storage, stables, and the hayat, an open area where domestic tasks were performed.

Nearby, the region’s natural beauty is on display at the Incekaya Aqueduct. The canyon’s latest attraction is not for faint-hearted—a glass Crystal Terrace fans out over a cliff face some 260 feet above the canyon floor. A considerably older structure—the magnificent Incekaya Aqueduct, also seems to defy gravity as it spans the equally beautiful Tokatli Canyon. Built in the 1790s at the command of the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire, this towering bridge once supplied water to Safranbolu.

Turkey’s Black Sea region is a feast for the senses, a fascinating corner steeped in Ottoman culture, tradition, and history. We hope you will join us during our Turkish Odyssey adventure so you can experience it for yourself!

Stunning hills of rock plunge into sweeping bays whose colors shift from emerald and jade to turquoise and deep blue. Sunlight glitters on the yacht-dotted water like diamonds. And a soothing Aegean warmth embraces you.

Kissed by breathtaking waters and ringed by jagged mountains, the coastal city of Fethiye is one of Turkey’s true gems. During its 12th-century heyday, when it was known as Makri, it was a producer of perfumes and a major commercial center with an active port of cargo ships coming and going. Even farther back, the ancient city of Telmessos was here. Suffice to say that Fethiye’s monuments to its rich past span the ages. Echoes of its history whisper in the city’s pretty marina and in the aromatic bazaars overflowing with lokum (Turkish delight), dates, and spices. 

But it’s Fethiye’s coastal splendor that keeps visitors coming back. Little wonder: Sailors, fishermen, and traders have been basking in in its intense beauty for millennia.

In our Discovery Tours small group, we can explore these spectacular shores to full advantage as we embark a traditional wooden Turkish yacht, or gület—privately chartered just for us! Our full-day cruise on this beautiful sailing vessel sets out into the Gulf of Fethiye, sailing among an archipelago of 12 scenic islands as the soaring peaks of the mainland watch your progress.

Settle in, relax, and drink in the splendid vistas from the uncrowded deck, a warm breeze in your hair. Because our gület is small, we can duck into small coves lined with sandy beaches and dive into the warm waters for a swim or a snorkel—as we may do off of Yassicalar (Flat Island) or in Akvaryum Koyu (Aquarium Bay). Drop anchor at Tersane Adasi (Shipyard Island) to explore some fascinating ancient ruins. Indulge in the mud baths of Kizilada (Red Island). And savor a delicious lunch of local delicacies as you explore. It’s the most relaxed and unhurried way to take in one of the world’s most picturesque coastlines.

For your comfort and convenience, all snorkeling equipment and towels are provided by the crew and you can choose a deck seat in a sun-lounger or enjoy the shade under a canopy. 

Join us for a coastal adventure unlike any other! We invite you to explore the stunning Turkish Riviera during our Turkish Odyssey adventure!

In Turkey’s Goreme Valley, remnants of a vanished society lure cultural and religious scholars, art historians, and geologists. It is rare to find such a harmonic convergence of so many facets of human civilization in one place. But the province of Cappadocia is a rare place, where cave dwellers lived in a vast complex of rock-hewn chambers and underground tunnels that still captivate the imagination.

The story of the Goreme Valley’s underground cities began millions of years ago when Mount Erciyes showered ash and lava on the Anatolian plains. The soft rock of this geological region gave easily to erosion from wind and water. Over the intervening millennia, countless totems of soft rock were left behind, forming an otherworldly terrain of hundreds of fairy chimneys. 

Meanwhile, Christianity was on the rise. It was the fourth century AD and the Cappadocian Fathers—Basil the Great among them—were spreading The Word. Central Turkey was a hotbed of early Christian theology; even Paul preached here. The theology gained sway, with Basil preaching its spiritual benefits with the most passion. It didn’t take long until people who had once embraced the more reasoned philosophies of Plato and Aristotle turned their attention to their union with God—and so monasticism took hold. 

In these contemplative monastic cultures, monks secluded themselves from the material world, often by adopting a prayerful life in tiny rooms within churches. In the third century, Anatolian monks carved out their rooms in the soft tufa rock of the fairy chimneys. And so the first Cappadocian cave dwellings were born and they grew larger with each generation. Perhaps because they were carved into the earth rather than quarried from it—thereby maintaining the god-given beauty of the landscape—these monasteries drew followers of Basil, transforming the valley into a monastic center that endured from 300 to 1200 AD. More than 30 of those first monasteries remain.

During that period, living in caves became fairly typical—it was in the people’s blood—and entire subterranean cities were burrowed into the earth, complete with underground churches. The devout sculpted crosses from stone and depicted the life of Christ on walls and domed ceilings in rich and colorful frescoes, paintings that are treasured today as priceless examples of Byzantine art. 

What’s remarkable about these sanctuaries is their sophistication; they are not crude attempts to duplicate above-ground cathedrals. Quite the contrary: Vaulted ceilings, apses, chapels, and crypts were all carved out with great care. The dwellings carried an added benefit: When Arab invaders arrived, residents banded together in their underground tunnels and cities to seek refuge. 

The tunnels of Kaymakli continue to play a part in a vibrant and working community; alcoves and chambers are still used to as storage rooms, stables, and cellars. Other rooms are preserved to evoke what life must have been like for this lost civilization. Perhaps the most interesting observation you’ll make is the huge amount of space that had been reserved to store goods, suggesting that the population in this particular community was quite large. Even above ground, many houses have been built into the tufa caves so they appear to be protruding out of the rock.

If these subterranean walls could talk, they would no doubt provide an astonishing glimpse of life underground, and insight into the earliest days of Christianity.

Our Discovery Tours small group to Turkey lets us explore the vast underground city up close. Join us!

Istanbul is one of the rare cities on the globe to straddle two continents, Europe and Asia. Strolling its captivating streets offers an exotic glimpse of two worlds, east and west. Thanks to its location on the Bosporus Strait, it has also served as a crossroads of culture and history. Today, massive relics from its days as the capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman empires take the breath away.

Bosporus Strait. Centuries ago, camel and horse caravans carried goods through Istanbul en route to Europe or Asia. Today, the constant funneling of ships between the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara do the job. Indeed, Istanbul hasn’t lost its touch as a vital link between continents thanks to the Bosporus Strait, the world’s narrowest strait that supports international shipping.

Blue Mosque. This mesmerizing building is 400 years old. Upon completion, it was called the Sultan Ahmed Mosque after the ruler for whom it was built. It’s said that Ahmed I ordered its construction in order to calm God after the sultan lost a war with Persia. With its overwhelming size—a main dome, eight smaller domes, six minarets, and a complex of buildings surrounding it—you can imagine that the deity’s temper was easily subdued. The mosque earned its less formal name from the 20,000 ceramic tiles that adorn its cavernous interior, each one handmade at Iznik.

Hippodrome. In the year 324, Roman Emperor Constantine the Great moved the government of the Roman Empire to Byzantium, which was renamed Constantinople after him. He expanded the city greatly, and one of his major accomplishments was the Hippodrome, a vast U-shaped chariot-racing track that could accommodate 100,000 spectators. The site was also the center of the city’s social and political life.

Hagia Sophia. Another proud monument to Istanbul’s religious history is Hagia Sophia, which stands adjacent to the Blue Mosque. It was originally built as an Eastern Orthodox Cathedral in the sixth century. With its massive dome, it is considered by many a shining example of Byzantine architecture and is even thought to have altered the course of architecture in general. In 1453, the conquering Ottoman Turks converted the cathedral to a mosque; it was secularized in 1935 upon its transformation into a museum. Today, a small room is allocated for Christian and Muslim prayer, and the hypnotic call to prayer is sung from the minarets twice a day.

Grand Bazaar. In the 15th century, the Sultan Mehmet II wanted a fortress erected that would be dedicated to textile trading. This would become the core of today’s Grand Bazaar, and it would shape the culture and wealth of the city for centuries. Today, it is one of the world’s oldest and largest covered markets, a thrilling maze of 61 streets and more than 3,000 shops. A few hours browsing and roaming its markets reveals Istanbul at its most vibrant.

Topkapi Palace. The seat of sultans for almost 400 years, the Topkapi Palace is a sprawling monument to Turkey’s Ottoman past. With a splendid location overlooking the Bosporus Strait, the complex was home to up to 4,000 people during its heyday, with mosques, bakeries, a mint, and a hospital within its walls. Today, the most important of its hundreds of rooms are maintained as a museum that features, among countless other relics of the Muslim world, Mohammed’s cloak and sword.

We invite you to explore the treasures of Istanbul for yourself during our Turkish Odyssey adventure!