Depending on your wish you may like to spent a few days in Istanbul and then fly to Antalya 

In the Hellenistic period, Perge (“Perga” in Greek) was one of the most spectacular cities of the Ancient World. It was the capital of Pamphylia, and is home to a Bronze Age acropolis, a vast Roman Gate, baths, and agora, a nymphaeum, a theatre and an enormous stadium. Founded in 1000 BC, it takes its name from the Greek mathematician Apollonius of Perga, for whom the city was a home.

Aspensdos’ Roman Theatre, built during the reign of Marcus Aurelius is generally believed to be the best preserved ancient theatre anywhere in the world. It was used as a caravanserai by Seljuk traders in the 13th century.

The excellent Antalya Archaeology Museum is a must-see for anyone interested in the rich archeological history of Turkey's Mediterranean coast. The modern province of Antalya includes many important ancient Hellenic, Hellenistic and Roman cities and towns, and other prime archeological sites, and the best artifacts from most of them have been brought here, forming the museum's outstanding collection.

Termessos is an ancient Pisidian city inside a magnificent national park, and situated at an altitude of 1000 metres on the slopes of Mount Solymos in the Taurus mountains. Thanks to its impenetrable location the ancient ruins are well-preserved, and in 333 BC Termessos even famously survived a siege by Alexander the Great, who, after failing to take the city, vented his anger on neighbouring Sagalassos instead. The setting of Termessos is possibly the most remote, most dramatic and most romantic of any ancient site in Turkey.

NOTE: Access to the main portion of Termessos requires approx 30-40 minutes up an uneven path. For those who prefer they can sit out the upper portion of the visit.

Termessos Natural Park is a mecca for birds, butterflies and a vast array of interesting mammals, thanks to its situation in the mountains, so remote that Alexander the Great failed to capture the ancient city of Termessos. The caracal (a rare Turkish wildcat) roams the Termessos National Park as well as more well known species such as porcupine, otter and golden jackal.

Burdur Archaeological Museum displays the key finds (including some superb statuary) from the ancient city of Sagalassos as well as finds from numerous other sites in the area including Haclar, Kurucay, Hoyucek, Yarminhoyuk, Uylupinar, Kibyra and Kremna. The museum has been recognised as one of Europe’s best archaeological museums.

Spectacularly surrounded by mountains the ancient city of Sagalassos traces its origins back to 1200 BC though little is known of its first peoples, obliquely alluded to as “sea peoples”. It was later taken by Pisidians, and then Alexander the Great, before the Romans arrived. The site was abandoned in the 7th centrury after a huge tremor. Most remains are from the Roman era but there are also older remains. Key sites include the library, agora and theatre. Its beautiful, intricately-carved fountain is not to be missed.

The Eternal Flames of the Chimera at the top of Mount Olympos is a remarkable natural phenomenon. These flames issue from natural gas jets in the side of the hill, which will self ignite if put out. These are the flames that inspired the Greek myth of Bellarophon and the Chimera. Ranging in size from small flickers to decent size campfires, they're quite interesting, especially when you consider they've been burning for thousands of years.

The region of Demre had a large Greek population until the 1923 agreement between Greece and Turkey in which Greeks migrated to Greece. Many Greek-style houses remain as a reminder of this time. Ruins in the area betray Greek, Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman influences.

Day 6 - This morning you will have free time to enjoy the sun and seaside. In the afternoon you will visit the ancient ruins of Patara, as well the UNESCO heritage site of Xantos Letoon. Return to Kas and stayovernight.

Xanthos Letoon was best known in ancient times for its innovative funerary art. Previously the capital of Lycia, the city blended Lycian and Hellenistic art and architectural styles. Excavations have unearthed a wealth of bilingual ancient texts in both Greek and Lycian, which have helped scholars gain a better understanding of Lycian. Indeed one of the Xanthian Obelisks contains a tri-lingual inscription of Greek, Lycian and a 3rd Anatolian language, ‘Milyn’. The site was awarded UNESCO heritage status as far back as 1988.

Patara was once an important Lycian port and is known as the birthplace of St Nicholas. It was said to have been founded by a son of Apollo. Its long, uncrowded beach along the Mediterranean coast is a protected site because of the ancient ruins laying just inland from the beach. The ruins consist of a sand-swept theatre, a ruined basilica, and a necropolis with Lycian tombs.

St Nicholas of Myra was a bishop from the 4th century AD, who became the inspiration for Santa Claus, after his legendary habit of secret gift-giving. He was born in Patara and after his death became the patron saint of bakers, sailors and pawnbrokers. In the 6th century, a Byzantian Church was built on top of his tomb in Demre. The St Nicholas Church is a museum today.

Xanthos Letoon was best known in ancient times for its innovative funerary art. Previously the capital of Lycia, the city blended Lycian and Hellenistic art and architectural styles. Excavations have unearthed a wealth of bilingual ancient texts in both Greek and Lycian, which have helped scholars gain a better understanding of Lycian. Indeed one of the Xanthian Obelisks contains a tri-lingual inscription of Greek, Lycian and a 3rd Anatolian language, ‘Milyn’. The site was awarded UNESCO heritage status as far back as 1988.

Patara was once an important Lycian port and is known as the birthplace of St Nicholas. It was said to have been founded by a son of Apollo. Its long, uncrowded beach along the Mediterranean coast is a protected site because of the ancient ruins laying just inland from the beach. The ruins consist of a sand-swept theatre, a ruined basilica, and a necropolis with Lycian tombs.

St Nicholas of Myra was a bishop from the 4th century AD, who became the inspiration for Santa Claus, after his legendary habit of secret gift-giving. He was born in Patara and after his death became the patron saint of bakers, sailors and pawnbrokers. In the 6th century, a Byzantian Church was built on top of his tomb in Demre. The St Nicholas Church is a museum today.

Located just outside the riverside town of Dalyan are the ruins of Kaunos, an ancient Hellenistic-style city that dates back to around the 4th century. Dalyan is also known for its ornate Lycian tombs that have been carved into the cliffs along the Dalyan Cayi River.

Created in honour of the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, the ancient city of Aphrodisias boasts the best preserved ancient stadium in the whole of Asia Minor. Thanks

to its nearby quarry, in Greek and Roman times the city had some of the best marble structures in the ancient world, and was a centre of excellence for marble statuary, exporting finished sculptures throughout the Roman world. The best surviving buildings include the Temple to Aphrodite (where orgies were held before it was converted to a church!), the Tetrapylon and the Bouleuterion, which was constructed between the 2nd and 3rd centuries AD. The on site museum contains some beautiful statues.

Deriving from springs in a cliff almost 200m high, overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have created at Pamukkale (translates to “Cotton Palace”) an unreal landscape, made up of mineral forests, petrified waterfalls and a series of terraced basins.

At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The theatre is particularly outstanding. The ruins of the baths, temples and other Greek monuments can also be seen at the site. Along with Pammukale it was awarded UNESCO heritage status in 1988.

Laodikeia was settled continuously from 5500 BC to the 7th Century AD. As well as having a complex aqueduct system, it is also home to one of the "Seven Churches of Asia", mentioned in the bible, and where an important council took place in the 4th century building on the work of the Council of Nicaea. The church floor is covered with beautiful mosaics. There is also an agora, stadium and theatre at the site.

Ephesus is one of the most magical sites in Turkey. Extremely well-preserved, the earliest structures of Ephesus date back to the 12th century BC. The main attractions today include an enormous theatre, the Temple of Hadrian, and the spectacular terraced houses once inhabited by wealthy Romans and adorned with exquisite mosaics. Fundamentally a Greek city, Ephesus was one of the Seven Churches of Asia mentioned in the Book of Revelation, and remained an important religious centre for much of Turkey’s ancient history. Its coastal location also facilitated its role as an ancient trading centre.

The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was one of the original 7 wonders of the ancient world and its location was rediscovered in 1869, after 60 years of searching. The original temple dates back to the Bronze Age and after being rebuilt 3 times since then, only the ruined foundations remain.

Priene was originally one of the cities of the Ionian League, gaining a reputation for its spectacular ancient art and architecture. However, the city’s original location on top of Mount Mycale has never been discovered so most of the remains date to the later Hellenistic period. The most striking sites include the Temple of Athena which was founded by Alexander the Great, the ancient Greek theatre, and the remains of the sanctuaries to Zeus and Demeter, the goddess of harvest.

Miletus was an important city in the Selcuk era thanks to its location on the western coast of Anatolia. In the 14th century Selcuk Turks captured the city, and used it as a centre for trade with Venice. Archaeological findings, however, suggest Miletus dates back as far as Neolithic times, and during the Classical period its grid-layout became the model for Roman city structures. The incredible Market Gate of Miletus was transported back to Germany piece by piece in the late 1970s and now stands fully restored there.

Most of the artefacts and archaeological finds from Miletus are now located in the Museum of Miletus at Didim, the town which contains Didyma. Meaning ‘twins’ in Greek, Didyma once housed the second most important oracle in the Ancient World after Delphi, the Oracle of Apollo. The name ‘twins’ likely refers to the cult of sibling gods, Apollo and Artemis, which was established there. The ancient sanctuary was destroyed by the Persians in the 5th century BC, but the striking Temple of Apollo is still fairly well-preserved, and some interesting ancient friezes and temple columns can still be found around the site.

Sardis played a significant role in both the Persian and Roman Empires and was once the capital of ancient Lydia. One of the Seven Churches of Asia according to the Book of Revelation in the Bible, Sardis also formed the setting for Aeschylus’ ‘The Persians’ and gained standing for its military strength. The first excavations in the early 20th century unearthed the impressive Temple of Artemis. Other important sites are the old gymnasium and synagogue.

"The abode of Satan" is how the ‘Book of Revelation’ describes the ancient city of Pergamon. The Red Basilica, a temple built to honour Egyptian deities, was believed to be the site of the Devil's Throne. Up a hill at the edge of town, the Acropolis consists of a library that was second only to Alexandria's and contained over 200,000 books and scrolls, a dramatically steep theatre, and the remains of Zeus' altar that was extensively plundered by German archaeologists and rebuilt in Berlin in 1930. The Asclepieion, a medical centre founded in the 4th century BC, was one of the ancient world's most important and counted dream analysis, mud baths, herbs, oil massage and sunbathing amongst its cures.

Ancient Troy is one of the most legendary cities in all of history. Dating back to the fourth millennium BC, Troy is best known from the ancient folk-tales recorded in Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey as the site of the Trojan War. Ancient historians have dated the Trojan War between the 12th and 14th centuries BC, linking it to Troy VII – the 7th archaeological project of Troy. The ancient city also features in Aeschylus’ Oresteia, in which war-hero Agamemnon returns from Troy to be murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra. By the time of Augustus a new settlement known as Ilium was established nearby, which declined until the Byzantine era.

Cumalizik was inscribed in the UNESCO heritage list since 2014. It has 270 historical houses built in a traditional Ottoman architectural style, most of which are still in residential use.

Iznik, historically known as Nicaea, is a town in the province of Bursa. The town lies to the east of Lake Iznik and is surrounded by hills to the north and the south. Iznik was established as a centre for the production of pottery and has since become famous for the unique blue and white ceramics. It is most famous for the Chritstian council that took place here in 325 AD, where a common set of beliefs was set out for all Christians in what became known as the Nicaean Creed.

Haghia Sophia of Iznik can be found in the centre of Iznik. The building served as a Byzantium church, before later becoming a mosque during the reign of Orhan Gazi (1281 - 1362). It is now a museum where visitors can learn more about Iznik's rich history.