Garden Destinations - Turkey Garden Tour - 2025

Introduction:

Take a journey along Turkish history and culture through its horticulture, gardens and botany.

This 10-day horticulture tour will take you through:

Historical parks and gardens, Lectures, Private Landscapes, Arboretums, Nature walks for wildflowers, Organic Farms, Vineyards, Artist Studios, Botanic Gardens, Nurseries, and Authentic Local Life while paying a visit to beautiful towns and cities along our way.

Neither East nor West… This stereotypical assessment of where Turkey stands geographically and geopolitically plays an important role in its ecological composition. As a land of transition between three continents, Turkey is a country that has critical natural and biological reserves at the global level and diverse species and agro-environmental landscapes.

Turkey hosts a large array of fragile natural assets and is witness to a unique merging of diversity on the entire Eurasian continent.

Tour Leader:

Gursan Ergil

Gursan Ergil spent six years living in the United States and studying landscape design, history, and preservation at Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum, where he later lectured on Islamic Gardens for two years. After moving to United Kingdom from US, he continued studying at Cambridge Universtiy’s advanced garden history program. Today, based in Istanbul, Turkey, he splits his time between lecturing, leading tours and writing books on gardens. Ergil’s eco-friendly furniture and sustainable landscape designs are published on international media and his mobile gardens series was exhibited at Marta Herford Museum in Germany. Ergil currently works as landscape curator at Prince’s Island Museum in Istanbul and he is the author of the book ‘Gardens of Princes Islands’.

Itinerary:

Day 1 - Istanbul (Arrival)
Welcome to Istanbul. Today is the arrival day.

This evening you will meet Gursan Ergil, your tour leader for an introduction about our tour, over a welcome dinner we will have together.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 2 - Istanbul (Old City)

Today will be a mixture of a city tour with historic gardens. An English speaking, professional local guide will also accompany the group as well as Gursan Ergil.

We will visit interiors and the gardens of Topkapi Palace, as well as Ayasofia, Hippodrome, and Turkish & Islamic Art Museum.

Topkapi Palace: Our visits include the spacious grounds, four courtyards, treasury and you also have the option of visiting Harem (entrance fee for Harem to be paid locally)

Ayasofia Museum: The 6th century Byzantine basilica was the largest church of its era and the architectural glory of the Byzantines. It was then turned into a mosque during Ottoman era and finally into a museum by Ataturk.

Hippodrome: Hippodrome was considered the heart of Constantinopole and the chariot races were held here. We will also see the Obelisk and the Serpentine Coloumn.

Turkish & Islamic Arts Museum: Turkish and Islamic Art Museum is the first museum in our country to include Turkish - Islamic artworks together and at the same time, it has the distinction of being the last museum opened during the Ottoman Empire Period.

Private Garden: We will finish today with a visit to a private garden, located in the Old City.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 3 - Istanbul (Princes’ Islands)
We will be traveling from mainland lstanbul to nearby Princes’ Islands by a public boat and will pay visits to several famous gardens and architecturally-distinguished landmarks. These 19th and early 20th-century gardens are normally closed off to the public and are made accessible for our group only. The Gardens of Princes’ Islands are worth experiencing amongst the gardens of Istanbul.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 4 - Istanbul (Bosphorus)
Start today with a 2-hour private cruise along the Bosphorus.

After disembarking, Gursan Ergil will lead the group to various gardens of Istanbul along the Bosphorus.

Emirgan Park: Emirgan Park is one of the largest urban parks in Istanbul with Europe’s biggest grotto. These dates will coincide with the tulip festival, and the park will be very pretty.

Sakip Sabanci Museum and Gardens: One of the most interesting private museums of Istanbul also has a beautifully designed garden worth a visit.

Private garden: We will be visiting gardens of historic house in Bebek facing Bosphorus with spectacular panorama.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 5 - Iznik, Bursa
Taking a very early departure, our first visit is to a private garden of an internationally renowned Turkish sculptor. His sculpture garden and workshop are located on the Asian side.

Next, we are heading to Karaca Arboretum which is run by a foundation.

After a traditional lunch along the way, we will arrive in Iznik, an important and historical town where Councils of Nicaea took place. Iznik is a lovely town located by Iznik Lake and famous for its ceramic tiles, plus monumental Cypress trees.

We will also visit the Gardens of the Iznik Foundation and learn about the procedure of tile making.

We will drive around two hours to reach Bursa. On the way we will drive through Iznik Lake, fruit orchards, walnuts and olive trees.

Overnight in Bursa.

Day 6 - Bursa
Spend a morning at your leisure and enjoy the thermal facilities of your hotel.

In the afternoon, we will visit the historical centre of the town including Ulu Cami, Kozahan and the Covered Bazaar.

We will also visit a private garden in Bursa.

Overnight in Bursa.

Day 7 - Izmir, Sirince
After breakfast, on our way to Izmir, we will visit Cumalikizik, a well preserved Ottoman Village. We will walk amongst the picturesque old houses, reflecting the medieval Ottoman architecture. The village is also home to fruit gardens famous with raspberry and other type of berries.

Upon arrival in Izmir (the 3rd biggest city of Turkey), we will visit a private garden.

We will then proceed to Sirince, a beautiful Old Greek Town on top of a hill close to Ephesus for overnight.

Overnight in Sirince.

Day 8 - Ephesus
We start our morning with a walk around Sirince town around peach & cherry fields and historic houses. We will continue with a very traditional experience visiting Can Carpet. This is an atelier located in Camlik village. Here we will learn about the art of extracting colors from plants and roots to dye wool.

This afternoon, we are visiting a breathtakingly beautiful and very well preserved ancient city, Ephesus. We will spend a memorable two hours in this ancient city, visiting the Fountains of Trojan, Polio, the Temples of Hadrian and Domition, Private House, the Library of Celsius, Various and Scholastic Baths, Bouloterion and the Great Theatre with capacity of 24,000 spectators. Prepare to be amazed.

Day 9 - Odemis / Birgi
Today after breakfast, we will drive about 1.5 hours to for visiting Ödemiş plain to see some of the biggest nurseries in Turkey. We will also stop by the Odemis Handcrafts Market, where the women of the region exhibit their art, mostly textile on a street market every Saturday.

We will then arrive in Birgi, a very well preserved village, with a lovely river cutting through its streets. Enjoy an afternoon walk in town visiting the Cakiraga Konagi (Old Ottoman Mansion), a Monumental Cypress Tree, lovely private gardens and a local silk producer (from cocoon) - weaver.

Tonight, we will have a farewell dinner in Yedibilgeler Vineyards.

Overnight in Sirince.

Day 10 - Izmir (Departure - Connecting to International Flight)
Today, we will transfer you to Izmir for your connection flight back home.