Luxury Travel Istanbul Turkey- Urbane Nomads- Sample Itinerary

The Seljuk Empire, a period marked by intense creativity and lasting for about two centuries produced stunning results in the fields of art and architecture. A precursor to the Ottoman Empire and predominant in eastern Anatolia, this period saw a shift in the power base of the Islamic world from the Arab states to the Seljuk capitals.
On this trip you will be visiting the wooden pillared mosques definitive of Seljuk architecture and 11th century mental asylums with an enlightened take on rehabilitation, frequently using hypnosis and music as methods of therapy. Seljuk caravanserais and medreses, mosques with twisted minarets, royal residences and tekkes- some of the most architecturally and culturally definitive monuments during the Seljuk period will be showcased during this trip.
Day 1: Istanbul
Be met at the airport and transferred to the Four Seasons Sultanahmet. The first jailhouse in Istanbul, this prison built in the neoclassical style was built to house writers, journalists, artists and intellectual dissidents.

In contemporary literature, the jailhouse-hotel conversion has been mentioned in Graham Greene's 1932 thriller to Mira Shapiro's 'For Nazim Hikmet in the Old Prison, now a Four Seasons Hotel'.
Day 2: Afyon This morning, Take a connecting flight to the capital, Ankara, before driving to Afyon. Stopping en route at Sivrihisar to see the wooden pillared Seljuk Great Mosque before continuing to another wooden mosque, the Ulu Cami, in Afyon.
You will have the chance to enjoy the hotel's thermal swimming pool by late afternoon before dinner.
Day 3-5:
Konya We drive towards Konya, the capital city of the Seljuk empire today. Tracing the ancient caravan route to the Lake District, we visit a 13th century han (inn), theological schools and the Seljuk Sultan of Rum, Alaeddin Keykubad's summer home. Sited to overlook the Beysehir Lake, the choice of location is not coincidental, given the Seljuk Sultans' predilection for sites overlooking bodies of water.

The town of Beysehir contains the Esrefoglu Cami, an outstanding example of the distinctive 'wooden pillared mosques' of the Seljuk Empire. Dinner and overnight in Konya.
Day 5-7: Kayseri
Travelling down ancient caravan routes with stops at two Seljuk caravanserais on the way (the biggest being the Sultan Han) as well as the Zazadin Han. You will also be visiting the Doner Kumbert, the most visually striking of the mausoleums in Kayseri. Built for a Seljuk princess, you'll find, amongst the ornate decorations here, the double-headed eagle that became the symbol for the Seljuk Turks after the crowning of Tugrul (Falcon) Beg- the 'King of the East and West', sphinxes, leopards and the symbol of the sacred tree.

A day trip to visit the birthplace of the great Ottoman architect Sinan, responsible for the building activity and city planning in Istanbul. Believed to have created approximately 400 buildings, most of which are in Istanbul, it is not just the quantity but the quality of these works

Photo Couresy of Murat Cokal.
Day 7-9: Sivas
Here in Sivas, you'll be visiting the significant mosques and medreses as well as a museum housing objects from the Seljuk period. Sivas is also home to one of the most significant monuments from the Seljuk period in Anatolia. The Gok Medrese( Gok referencing, interchangeably, the blue sky or heavens) was designed by a Christian architect from Konya. The name is possibly inspired by the blue enameled tiles in the medrese.

Another interesting building that you would be visiting while in Sivas is the Sifahiye Medresesi, alternately used as a hospital, medical school and mental asylum. With an enlightened take on the treatment of mental patients, music and hypnosis was frequently used as an aide of rehabilitation.

Photo courtesy of Ephe Drin
Day 9-11: Amasya

After breakfast, you'll be transferring by road to the mysterious city of Amasya, stopping at Tokat en route to visit the Gok Medrese, used as a hospital and now functioning as a museum. Amasya allows a better understanding of the transition from the Seljuk to the Ottoman style of architecture. Visiting two outstanding tombs, each with a distinctive style of architecture, the Halifet Gazi and Torumtay tombs, one featuring carpet-weaving motifs associated with a style typical of Seljuk artisanal culture and the other a two-storied structure of hewn stone, a visit of these two unique monuments is supplemented with a visit to the twisted minaret mosque (Burmali Minare Cami) before studying the plan for the reverse T plan mosques at the Yorguc Pasa Cami.
Try the Turkish bath before dinner at the hotel.

The Seljuks(cont'd)

Ankara/Istanbul
Ankara came under Seljuk control after the defeat of the Byzantine Army. Visiting the mosque of the Ahi brotherhood, a 13th c. craft guild with links to the dervish sects, we then visit the Arslanhane Cami.
Visiting the Museum of Ankara, you'll notice a carved door from Alaeddin Cami, the sarcophagus of Ahi Serafettin and the throne of Keyhusrev III. Dinner at an exclusive local restaurant before transferring for an overnight train to Istanbul. (Note: Single travellers recommended to share compartment with a fellow traveler due to limited number of sleeping cars).
Leisurely check-in to hotel in the morning before visit of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art or shopping at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. In the evening, transfer by private boat to the Asian shores of the Bosphorus, having dinner at a seafood restaurant on its shores.
Options/Prices
Private Departures

USD7254 per person on double occupancy basis.

Single Supplement: USD900.

Price Inclusions: All accommodation and meals as mentioned.

All domestic flights and transfers.

Price Exclusions: International flights to and from Istanbul.

Travel Insurance

All meals not mentioned

Gratuities and all items of a personal nature.

A tour appealing to rather niche interests, this trip would also work well in combination with Greece.

The Seljuk Empire, a period marked by intense creativity and lasting for about two centuries produced stunning results in the fields of art and architecture. A precursor to the Ottoman Empire and predominant in eastern Anatolia, this period saw a shift in the power base of the Islamic world from the Arab states to the Seljuk capitals.

On this trip you will be visiting the wooden pillared mosques definitive of Seljuk architecture and 11th century mental asylums with an enlightened take on rehabilitation, frequently using hypnosis and music as methods of therapy. Seljuk caravanserais and medreses, mosques with twisted minarets, royal residences and tekkes- some of the most architecturally and culturally definitive monuments during the Seljuk period will be showcased during this trip.

Day 1: Istanbul. Be met at the airport and transferred to the Four Seasons Sultanahmet. The first jailhouse in Istanbul, this prison built in the neoclassical style was built to house writers, journalists, artists and intellectual dissidents. In contemporary literature, the jailhouse-hotel conversion has been mentioned in Graham Greene's 1932 thriller to Mira Shapiro's 'For Nazim Hikmet in the Old Prison, now a Four Seasons Hotel'.

Day 2: Afyon This morning, Take a connecting flight to the capital, Ankara, before driving to Afyon. Stopping en route at Sivrihisar to see the wooden pillared Seljuk Great Mosque before continuing to another wooden mosque, the Ulu Cami, in Afyon. You will have the chance to enjoy the hotel's thermal swimming pool by late afternoon before dinner.

Day 3-5: Konya We drive towards Konya, the capital city of the Seljuk empire today. Tracing the ancient caravan route to the Lake District, we visit a 13th century han (inn), theological schools and the Seljuk Sultan of Rum, Alaeddin Keykubad's summer home. Sited to overlook the Beysehir Lake, the choice of location is not coincidental, given the Seljuk Sultans' predilection for sites overlooking bodies of water.

The town of Beysehir contains the Esrefoglu Cami, an outstanding example of the distinctive 'wooden pillared mosques' of the Seljuk Empire. Dinner and overnight in Konya.

Day 5-7: Kayseri. Travelling down ancient caravan routes with stops at two Seljuk caravanserais on the way (the biggest being the Sultan Han) as well as the Zazadin Han. You will also be visiting the Doner Kumbert, the most visually striking of the mausoleums in Kayseri. Built for a Seljuk princess, you'll find, amongst the ornate decorations here, the double-headed eagle that became the symbol for the Seljuk Turks after the crowning of Tugrul (Falcon) Beg- the 'King of the East and West', sphinxes, leopards and the symbol of the sacred tree.

A day trip to visit the birthplace of the great Ottoman architect Sinan, responsible for the building activity and city planning in Istanbul. Believed to have created approximately 400 buildings, most of which are in Istanbul, it is not just the quantity but the quality of these works.

Day 7-9: Sivas. Here in Sivas, you'll be visiting the significant mosques and medreses as well as a museum housing objects from the Seljuk period. Sivas is also home to one of the most significant monuments from the Seljuk period in Anatolia. The Gok Medrese( Gok referencing, interchangeably, the blue sky or heavens) was designed by a Christian architect from Konya. The name is possibly inspired by the blue enameled tiles in the medrese. Another interesting building that you would be visiting while in Sivas is the Sifahiye Medresesi, alternately used as a hospital, medical school and mental asylum. With an enlightened take on the treatment of mental patients, music and hypnosis was frequently used as an aide of rehabilitation.

Day 9-11: Amasya. After breakfast, you'll be transferring by road to the mysterious city of Amasya, stopping at Tokat en route to visit the Gok Medrese, used as a hospital and now functioning as a museum. Amasya allows a better understanding of the transition from the Seljuk to the Ottoman style of architecture. Visiting two outstanding tombs, each with a distinctive style of architecture, the Halifet Gazi and Torumtay tombs, one featuring carpet-weaving motifs associated with a style typical of Seljuk artisanal culture and the other a two-storied structure of hewn stone, a visit of these two unique monuments is supplemented with a visit to the twisted minaret mosque (Burmali Minare Cami) before studying the plan for the reverse T plan mosques at the Yorguc Pasa Cami. Try the Turkish bath before dinner at the hotel.

Ankara came under Seljuk control after the defeat of the Byzantine Army. Visiting the mosque of the Ahi brotherhood, a 13th c. craft guild with links to the dervish sects, we then visit the Arslanhane Cami.

Visiting the Museum of Ankara, you'll notice a carved door from Alaeddin Cami, the sarcophagus of Ahi Serafettin and the throne of Keyhusrev III. Dinner at an exclusive local restaurant before transferring for an overnight train to Istanbul. (Note: Single travellers recommended to share compartment with a fellow traveler due to limited number of sleeping cars).

Leisurely check-in to hotel in the morning before visit of the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art or shopping at the Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. In the evening, transfer by private boat to the Asian shores of the Bosphorus, having dinner at a seafood restaurant on its shores.

Options/Prices : Private Departures. USD7254 per person on double occupancy basis. Single Supplement: USD900. Price Inclusions: All accommodation and meals as mentioned. All domestic flights and transfers. Price Exclusions: International flights to and from Istanbul. Travel Insurance. All meals not mentioned. Gratuities and all items of a personal nature. Prices are approximate only.

A tour appealing to rather niche interests, this trip would also work well in combination with Greece.

A trip through Turkey showcasing Seljuk art and architecture that display an almost academic zeal in its research and theme.

Seljuk- Art and Architecture

The Seljuks(cont'd)