We typically ask everyone to meet on this evening when the guide can meet everyone. Whilst no evening meal is included we generally dine together in a local restaurant. The restaurant serves a wonderful array of meze and mouth-watering grills. Many of the herbs and vegetables used in preparation come directly from the restaurateur’s garden.

The magnificently-situated Bodrum Castle was built by the Knights of St John in 1406 and now houses Turkey’s Museum of Underwater Archaeology, including exquisite 4thC BCE jewellery from the tomb of Princess Ada - discovered unopened in the 1990’s. In the afternoon we visit villagers who produce silk, traditionally for their wedding garments. In a neighbouring village we find carpets woven in the most traditional manner. The wool is hand-spun on traditional kirman. Dyeing is carried out using traditional local vegetable dyes and each house has a loom where mothers and daughters or sisters weave together. Explanations of each full process, and demonstrations can be given.

Moving north along the Aegean we reach Selçuk. Selçuk is home to the remains of the Temple of Artemis, the Basilica of St John, the mosque of Isa Bey and the Museum of Ephesus. All of these sites are within easy walking distance of our hotel. When we arrive we visit the main site of Ephesus and a beautifully restored once-Greek village which specializes in making its own wine and selling hand-made products such as olive oil and olive oil soap.

We head inland to visit tiny local workshops and witness first hand the skills of saddlemakers, feltmakers and many others. The artisans can demonstrate their craft and explain how the decorations are developed and how the tradition has been handed down through the family. We will visit a town famous for its locally made, locally woven fabrics. Here we will see the craftspeople weave the fabric and we can learn from them the history of the craft and the special techniques employed. We travel on across the plateau to our base for the night – a hotel on the edge of the beautiful Lake Eğirdir, the heart of the Turkish Lake District. Roses are cultivated on a grand scale here; expect to find rose oil, rose jam, rose soap and rose-scented eau de toilette.

We continue toward Cappadocia passing en route Lake Beyşehir and its famous mosque – dating from the 13th century it is made entirely of wood. The local ladies add a bit of colour selling us hand-knitted socks - very noisily! In Konya we visit the Mevlana complex (tomb and museum of Celladin Rumi) the founder of the Whirling Dervishes. We can also have a wander around the bazaar area (lots of interesting sights, sounds and smells).

We continue on our road to Cappadocia across a section of the ancient Silk Road. En route we visit a caravanserai; once the motels and safe havens of the caravans that came this way. In Cappadocia we may have a chance to see some products made from angora wool: angora is the original version of the name Ankara, now Turkey’s capital.

We visit a gentleman who has a tremendous interest in, and collection of, nomadic tribal woven pieces. He can give us demonstrations and explanations of Anatolian carpet and kilim production including the different rug types that exist in Turkey and that are traditionally woven in the various regions. Weaving and knotting techniques as well as the techniques of wool dyeing and the different vegetable and mineral dyes used in the process can also be seen. In the afternoon we visit the Göreme Open Air Museum a preserved site containing several hundred rock-carved churches. In the evening we fly to Istanbul.