With over 8 million inhabitants, Istanbul is Turkey’s largest city and each year, thousands of visitors are attracted by the magic of this cultural and business centre. The metropolis on the Bosphorus, the Golden Horn and the Sea of Marmara is captivating not just because of the hospitality of its inhabitants but also because of the breath-taking Byzantine and Ottoman architecture such as the Chora Church, the Hagia Sophia, the Topkapi Palace and the Blue Mosque. The charm of an oriental bazaar is also a piece of Turkish culture as much as the town palaces and traditional Turkish wooden houses.

Alongside this magnificent city, the beaches of this admirable country shine with a breath taking brightness; from Kusadaei to Bordum, from Marmara to Antalya and of course, Side and Alanya.

Few travellers actually visit the interior of the country such as Lake Van far to the East or the Taurus and Pontic mountain ranges near the Black Sea where tea plantations flourish in a sub-tropical climate. The complexities of ancient civilisations disclose themselves to the visitor; Hattians, Hittites or Uratäer ruled here who are intermingled in legend with Egyptians, Persians and Assyrian.

Greece – characteristic for Greece is the variety of its landscape, its very significant history and the hospitality of its inhabitants.

On one side, one can see towering mountains and ranges like the Pindus range and Mount Olympus where valleys infrequently break through the mountain chains in Macedonia and Thrace, in which numerous small streams and rivers have their source.

Mount Olympus is a cult. The devout breeze from the wooded Kronos hill blows softly over the holy Cyprus groves.

In the north west of the Peloponnese, the ancient world is predominant. Where once one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world stood, the statue of Zeus by Phidias, now lie the colossal pillars round the huge temple to Zeus. In spite of a present lack of order, the old, venerable pillars transmit a powerful atmosphere of ancient days.

The modern place with the same name is very different. Olympia is a small town which can be overlooked, almost merging into the excavation area. Many visitors wanting to complete the oldest of the Olympic disciplines, the stadium race, stand directly at the stadium which is a monument to Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the founder of the modern Olympic Games, whose motto was: "The most important thing is not to win but to take part!"

In ancient Olympia there was peace, at least once most of the visitors to the games had departed. If ancient Athens can be counted as a symbol for Democracy then ancient Olympia stands for Unity.

The Peloponnese, the Greek mainland, stretches out three fingers southwards into the Mediterranean. Almost at the tip of the middle finger lies the Mani peninsula. At the time of Hercules and Odysseus, the entrance to the Realm of the Dead was thought to be here far in the south. Not so far south, are the stalactite caves at Pirgos Dirou one of the largest and most beautiful in Europe. They were discovered in 1900 but it wasn’t until after the Second World War that they became accessible and interesting for visitors. Additionally, this area is ideal for lengthy and restorative hikes. Past ancient towns to the southern tip of Greece, past monasteries and former fortresses, through typical Greek villages travelling as much on donkey trails as on laid out paths and roads. The countryside conveys an unbelievable calmness and there are marvellous scents on the breeze – pure recuperation.  

With “Optima Tours”, you can travel from Villach in Austria direct to Edirne. DB Autozug can take you and your car from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg or Hildesheim to Villach, where you can change trains for a journey to Turkey with “Optima Tours”. From Edirne you can begin your journey in the country on two continents or you can make a detour to Greece.