A sensual fusion floats across the ancient cities and quaint villages of Turkey. Spices mingle, sweet scents arouse the tongue, and the country revels in its culinary inimitability. This unique culinary journey explores the rich diversity and lavish indulgence of Turkish cuisine, connecting the flavors with cooking classes, local treats, street food tours, and fine dining restaurants. Mingling with the aromas are quiet beaches, mountain retreats, famous ruins, and hidden charms.
Customizable Itinerary
Day 1
Istanbul – A Welcome Meze at Istanbul's Most Celebrated Restaurant
Arriving in historic Sultanahmet, it's the smells that ignite the imagination. Roasted coffee beans emanate from street stalls, first whiffs of nutty pastries linger between the domes of beautiful mosques, and there's a real sense of anticipation as you sit down at Ciya, the city's most iconic restaurant. After a short airport transfer and chance to freshen up, today's welcome meal illustrates the fabulous diversity of Turkish cuisine and the meze. Ciya was once a streetside cafe, but popularity has fueled its expansion into a vast restaurant that spans the full range of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavors. From a hundred dish strong menu you create your own meze of delights, including truffle kebabs, first samplings of dolma, and exotic uses of fresh saffron. Like each day on this itinerary, transfers by private vehicle are included.
What's Included:
Day 2
Istanbul – A Feast For All the Senses in Historic Sultanahmet
Day 3
Istanbul – Learning to Cook The Turkish Classics With a Renowned Chef
Day 4
Istanbul – Unique Street Food Tour Into the City's Hidden Suburbs
Day 5
Bursa – Discovering the World's Finest Kebabs at the Birthplace of the Ottoman Empire
Day 6
Sirince – Fruit Wines and Stuffed Pastry in the Heart of Turkey
Day 7
Sirince – The Incredible Ruins of Ephesus and Cooking Your Own Manti
Day 8 - 9
Kusadasi – Indulgent Days of Local Seafood and Quiet Beaches
Day 10
Antalya – The Culinary Delights of Southern Turkey
Day 11
Gaziantep – An Aroma of Spices and Tastes in Historic Gaziantep
Day 12
Gaziantep – Delicate Sweets and Unusual Soups Complete Your Culinary Vacation
Day 13
Gaziantep – Departure
Trip Highlights
- Discover the secrets of famous Turkish cuisine with two cooking classes and numerous opportunities to get involved in local restaurants
- Savor the rich diversity of flavors as you tour Turkey from west to east, stopping at coastal villages and mountain retreats with their own organic specialties
- Explore the fabulous Greco Roman ruins of Ephesus and Perge, and discover the birthplace of the Ottoman Empire in Bursa
- Enjoy meals at Turkey's finest restaurants as the itinerary combines gourmet waterfront establishments with famous local eateries
- Tour the hidden suburbs of Istanbul on a unique street food walking tour, just one of the highlights of your four days in the city
- Relax on the quiet beaches of Kusadasi and indulge in some of the Mediterranean's finest fresh seafood
- Complete the journey in Gaziantep, a historic town filled with lingering smells of baklava and other sweet desserts
Detailed Description
Turkey's cuisine is a sensual fusion, mouth-watering flavors transcending cultural differences in a country of natural splendor. There is no single iconic dish. Instead, the country's distinct regions and ingenious flavors send tantalizing smells across valleys of green. Istanbul's delicate street food forms the basis to world-famous mezes. Quaint coastal villages flicker with the sound of sizzling from barbecued seafood restaurants. Beside ancient ruins, the traditional dishes of nomads and emperors merge into feasts of spices and sweets. This indelible diversity makes Turkey an idyllic destination for food lovers. Each region revels in perfecting its specialties, combining fresh local produce into feasts that have fueled empires and farmers alike. Unusual fruit wine, pressing olive oil, spinach and feta pastries, rolling manti, and this is just an example of a single day's culinary discovery on this unique foodies tour.
Istanbul provides the aromatic starting point, coffee beans and sweet pastries mingling in historic suburbs of Byzantine chronicles. Indulge in the flavors that have long been exported around the world, like mezes too good to reserve for a starter. Explore the vibrant Spice Bazaar and spend a day learning to cook locally with a renowned Istanbul chef. Meals at the city's finest restaurants are included as you spend four days discovering the quaint charms and towering wonders of this historic city. On day five a short drive to Bursa delivers cobblestone streets and 13th century villages unspoiled since Ottoman beginnings. Try out the country's (and perhaps the world's) finest meat kebabs before meandering through elegant valleys en route to Greco Roman brilliance.
Organic food has recently become the choice of the fashionable, yet Southern Turkey's cuisine has never been anything but handcrafted from the surrounding area. It's here that you see olives and fruits blend into Mediterranean feasts. Visit famous ruined cities like Ephesus and Perge as you combine lavish lunch banquets with journeys into the history of Western civilization. Days eight and nine are spent on the beach, indulging in fresh seafood and sunset boat cruises accompanied by the country's finest wine.
A short flight takes you to Antalya where new flavors swirl around the tongue and nomadic influences provide intriguing meals. Goat's milk, peppercorns, liver, stuffed pastries; the highly unusual flavors blend together as an aroma of new spices begins to dominate the menu. The final course is served in Gaziantep, one of the world's oldest continually settled cities and a mishmash of culinary influence. Desserts are their famed specialties, from the intoxicating baklava to sweets twinkling with fresh local pistachio. Like many of the destinations, cuisine provides the focal point, but elegant boutique streets offer a liberal coating of Turkey's East meets West atmosphere.
To explore more itinerary options, please visit the Turkey tours section on Zicasso.
Starting Price
$7,795 per person (excluding international flights)
Your Zicasso trip is fully customizable, and this sample itinerary is a starting place for your travel plans. Actual costs are dynamic, and your selection of accommodations and activities, your season of travel, and other such variables will bring this budget guideline up or down. Throughout your planning experience with your Zicasso specialist, your itinerary is designed around your budget. You can book your trip when you are satisfied with every detail. Planning your trip with a Zicasso travel specialist is a free service.
What's Included
- Accommodations
- In-country transportation
- Some or all activities and tours
- Expert trip planning
- 24x7 support during your trip
Your final trip cost will vary based on your selected accommodations, activities, meals, and other trip elements that you opt to include.
Reviews of Zicasso's Referral Service
4.88 stars based on 148 reviews.
Reviewed By Tony B.
Reviewed By Philip R.
Reviewed By Rafael G.
Reviewed By Susan D.
Reviewed By Inge F.
Reviewed By Mark M.