Cruising the Ceramic Gulf

This tour in Turkey weaves a magic combination of magnificent sites, quiet coves, and breathtaking vistas along the virtually pristine coast of the Ceramic Gulf. Cruising aboard a luxurious gulet our ever changing horizon is a wild, remote and mountainous landscape cut into long peninsulas, deep inlets, secluded coves and pine-fringed fjords.

Exploring this unspoilt coast, we rediscover the ancient realm of Mausolus, ruler of Caria, 2,400 years ago. His tomb, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, stood for almost two millennia in the centre of Halicarnassus, modern Bodrum, our starting point and final destination.

Highlights include beautifully preserved Knidos, a monumental marbled city arranged around a double harbour, and the Castle of St. Peter built by the Knights of Rhodes, and now one of the finest museums of underwater archaeology in the world.

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Day 1: Our boat is about 40 minutes from Bodrum airport, in the city’s amphitheatre style harbour. Welcome drink and dinner.

Day 2: A chance to relax and unwind as we cruise east into the Ceramic Gulf for our very first swim and a leisurely afternoon stroll around the ruins of Ceramus itself, charmingly enveloped by a small Turkish country village.

Day 3: Leisurely on to the head of the gulf, to wander through the ruins of old Cedreae situated on Cleopatra’s Island. The site is strewn with the remains of Byzantine churches together with an ancient theatre almost hidden by olive trees.

Day 4: Inland on a long excursion to two of the most evocative of sites. First Stratonikeia, with its stunning gymnasium, then Lagina, where we picnic in the sanctuary of the underworld goddess Hekate.

Day 5: A leisurely day devoted to swimming and relaxing as we cruise westwards along the north shore of the beautiful and sparsely-populated Datça peninsula.

Day 6: To spectacular Knidos, where decades of digging, still ongoing, have revealed a beautiful and well planned ancient city. Set at the very tip of a sinuous peninsula, this was a city built for maritime trade. We explore the city that was once famous for exhibiting the fabled first sculpture of a nude goddess in history.

Day 7: A last chance to swim as we cruise north to Halicarnassus, site of one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the Mausoleum. A chance for some last minute shopping.

Day 8: Transfer from our gulet to Bodrum airport, some 40 minutes away.