Yarn Inspirations and Highlights of Turkey

Begin the day with your first workshop with Jane at the hotel, starting on your projects.

After some free time for lunch, enjoy an afternoon city tour of Istanbul. Some of the sights will include St Sophia Mosque, with its immense dome which seems to hover overhead, before viewing the wonderful mosaics in the upper galleries. We also see the Hippodrome, one of the largest chariot race grounds of the Byzantine Empire, with the Obelisk brought from Egypt by Emperor Theodosius, the Serpentine Column (Tripod of Plataea) from the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, and the Tiled (Walled) Column erected by Constantine Porphyrogenitus in the 10th century AD.

Our tour will continue with a visit to the Blue Mosque, one of Istanbul’s most venerable monuments built in 7 years (1606-1609 AD) by the order of Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I. From the courtyard, you will enjoy a striking view of the cascading domes and semidomes. Once inside, you will see how the mosque got its name, viewing the colourful blue Iznik tiles that were made in the early 17th century.

The tour will culminate with a late afternoon cruise on the Bosphorus, the narrow strait of water separating the Asian and European continents and the life blood of Istanbul. Passing along the shores of the Bosphorus we’ll view magnificent palaces, restored Ottoman villas, impressive fortresses and the waterside residences of Istanbul’s elite before returning to the hotel.

Enjoy this evening at leisure.

Today’s full day tour will begin with a visit to the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, housed in the grandest of all the non-royal Ottoman Empire palaces. Splendidly restored, the building itself is impressive, but its contents are extraordinary, with wonderful examples of antique Turkish carpets amongst other artefacts.

Continue to the Bazaar of Istanbul Arts, home to the old masters of Turkish-Islamic crafts alongside young artisans. Traditional crafts represented here included calligraphy, marbling, ceramics, paper cutting, fabric painting and embroidery.

After some free time for lunch, we will join a local artisan for a traditional felt making (kece in Turkish) workshop. The felt is produced by matting, condensing and pressing woollen fibres. Some types of felt are very soft, others are tough enough to form construction materials. The felt can be of any colour and made into any shape or size. Felt making is still practiced by nomadic peoples in Central Asia and northern parts of East Asia, where rugs, tents and clothing are regularly made.

Oya is one of the most elegant examples of Turkish handicrafts and is traditionally used as a decorative edging, particularly on headscarves. Oya can be produced using a variety of techniques including crochet, embroidery and lace making. The handicraft is thought to date back as far as the 8th century B.C. We’ll stop at an Oya shop, selling items such as jewellery and

Enjoy this evening at leisure.

Our final day in Istanbul will focus on shopping and knitting!

The Grand Bazaar is the largest and oldest covered Bazaar in Turkey with more than 4,000 shops offering a variety of handicrafts. Here, you will be able to see samples of Oya, as well as rare jewels and souvenirs,

Bazaar Bayer is the brainchild of husband-and-wife team Catherine and Abit. Established in 2010 in Istanbul’s Old Town, their studio supports local artisans including weavers, knitters and crocheters. Some of these are educated women, reviving crafts as a hobby or a career. Other women, with fewer opportunities, like to earn money within a safe community of women.

Kurkcu Han is a large historic han and is the oldest surviving caravanserai in the city, although it has been modified and renovated over the centuries. A han is a type of urban caravanserai and was a common type of commercial structure in Ottoman architecture. In its early years, the ground floor of the courtyard was used for storage, while the upper floors were used for residences. Over time, workshops, warehouses and shops for various sectors began to be located on both floors, and the han became solely a commercial area for furriers, hardware stores, haberdashers, booksellers, furniture makers, foundries, carpentry workshops, tailors, brokers and drapers. Nowadays, the han is mostly occupied by wool dealers and haberdashers.

We have some free time for lunch.

Orgutopya (a combination of the Turkish word for knitting Orgu and utopia) is the brainchild of Nurgün and Kuğu, two friends who are passionate about hand knitting and creativity. Their dream was to provide a location for knitters of all levels to discover their true potential and have their talents recognised by others and to teach the technical language of knitting, using the knowledge passed on to them. We’ll enjoy a workshop here.

Enjoy this evening at leisure.

Leaving Istanbul, we will travel to Bursa, known for its rich history as the first capital of the Ottoman Empire, as well as for its natural hot springs and thermal baths.

Today’s visit will include the Uluumay Museum of Ottoman Folk Costume and Jewellery, a private ethnographic museum where we will be able to view various collections of traditional Ottoman clothing, jewellery and other craft works, dating back to the 15th century.

There will also be an Iznik tile painting workshop where you will be able to create your own design. Iznik ceramic tiles, known in Turkish as Iznik cinisi, have been used in architectural applications for private residences since the late 15th century. They are known for their beautiful, intricate designs and patterns, which often feature blue and white floral or geometric motifs. The tiles are traditionally found in mosques and other religious buildings but can also be used to add colour and character to private residences.

Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

This morning’s half-day tour will start at historical Yorgancilar Bazaar, an important place that reflects Bursa’s rich trade history. Handicraft products, souvenirs and local products can be found here. During the 14th century, covered bazaars started to form as the hans were covered with roofs. In 1958, the bazaar was completely burnt down but was rebuilt; not as a single storey as it was originally, but with shops on both the ground and upper floors and on both sides. We’ll spend some time here before continuing to Merinos Textile Industry Museum.

Housed in a former woollen weaving factory and opened in 2011, this is the first and only textile industry museum in Turkey. The displays will take us through the processes that took place at the former factory, all the way from raw wool to carding, spinning of yarn, dyeing, weaving, finishing and final garments. Hundreds of original artefacts have been brought together in the four exhibition halls including textile machinery, wool samples, photographs, documents, posters and oral history. The museum also has a section on silk manufacturing, which has a very long history in Bursa. The displays follow the process from the silkworm to the final fabric.

This afternoon, we will return to the hotel for our second workshop with Jane. Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

Departing Bursa, we will begin our journey south and travel to the ancient city of Pergamum, also known as Pergamon, where rich history intertwines with the legacy of Alexander the Great. We will visit the Acropolis situated at the top of Kale Hill, with some of the most important remains of the area.

You will also see the Library of Pergamum, built by Eumenes II and one of the most important libraries in the ancient world, before continuing to Kusadasi, located on Turkey's western Aegean coast where we will check-in to our hotel.

Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

Today we travel to Ephesus, a UNESCO World Heritage Centre and one of the finest and best preserved, ancient cities in the world. Once a thriving port city, located at the point where the Aegean Sea met the former estuary of the River Kaystros, Ephesus has a history dating back to around 6000 BC. During our visit, we will be able to see the stunning ruins of the Library of Celsus, renowned for its statues of four female figures symbolising Wisdom, Knowledge, Intelligence and Valor. We will also see the Great Theatre, constructed of marble and could host 24 000 people, the Temple of Hadrian, and other significant monuments, fountains and public baths including the foundations and fragments which remain of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient world.

After some free time for lunch, we continue to the Traditional Turkish Handicrafts Centre – Bulbul, a local co-operative, and learn how hand-woven Turkish carpets are produced along with other handicrafts unique to the area.

Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

This morning, we enjoy our third workshop with Jane at the hotel.

After some free time for lunch, we’ll transfer to Pumukkale.

Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.

This morning, we enjoy our final workshop with Jane at the hotel.

After some free time for lunch, our afternoon excursion starts at the ancient ruins of Hierapolis, the thermal spa city of healing, where visitors would migrate to for relaxation, peace and hopefully find cure for conditions such a rheumatism by bathing in the natural spas.

The word Pamukkale literally translates to ‘Cotton Castle’ which describes the stunning landscape perfectly! White travertine terraces and shallow milky blue pools formed by calcium rich water flowing down the hill resemble a giant cotton wool ball left to dry in the sun. The result is a unique natural wonder not to be missed and, at sunset, the travertines turn different shades of yellow and orange, casting a glow over the mountain and bringing an end to our journey through Turkey.

Dinner at the hotel is included this evening.