Visit Turkey with Rashid
as Your Guide

With Rashid Ergener leading (Author of Anatolia Land of Mother Goddess)
And featuring Lydia Ruyle (Artist of Goddess Icon Spirit Banners, author, scholar)



Twentieth anniversary repetition of the first ever goddess tour which took place in 1990 with Rashid Ergener and Melissa Miller leading and with Asphodel Long, Lydia Ruyle and Adrienne Momi participating.

Visit the sacred goddess sites in Turkey, Home of Cybele who was the "Mother of Gods." Visits include: Istanbul, Troy, Pergamon, Sardis, Ephesus, Magnesia, Lagina, Bodrum, Aphrodisias, Pamukkule, Catalhoyuk, Cappadocia, Hattusas, Ankara, Pessinus and Midas City

Travel Agent and Bookings:
http://www.mythic-travel.com (with MTI Travel in Turkey)
For Questions About the Tour:
mythictravelturkey@gmail.com
rergener@superonline.com
lydiaruyle@aol.com

TOUR ITINERARY*
Download PDF version

You are invited to join the 20th Anniversary of the 1990 journey "On The Trail of the Mother Goddess in Anatolia." Celebrate the Great Mother Goddess, whom the Turks call Ana Tanrica, and experience her 14,000 year old heritage. Visit Goddess sites, museums, do ritual, enjoy a Turkish bath, the Grand Bazaar and Turkish hospitality with fellow travelers on a special journey !

DAY 1, July 4, Arrive in Istanbul, an ancient vibrant city at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, by late afternoon. Your transfer agent meets you at the airport and transfers you to your hotel. A Welcome Circle Ritual is followed by dinner at Arcadia Hotel in Istanbul.

DAY 2, July 5, Begin with a visit to Medusa in the underground water cistern. Following a ritual, we visit Hagia Sophia, the sixth century architectural masterpiece dedicated to Sophia Wisdom. Next we visit the fourteenth century Chora, where Mary is revered as the Great Mother. A cruise of the Bosphorus, which separates Europe from Asia, is followed by dinner at a fish restaurant. Overnight at Arcadia Hotel.

DAY 3, July 6, Our comfortable air conditioned "Goddess Womb" bus takes us through the beautiful Turkish countryside to Troy the home of the matriarchal Amazons. Overnight in Ayvalik with a chance to swim in the Aegean.

DAY 4, July 7, At Pergamom there are temples dedicated to Isis and Athena, and an Aesclepion where ritual and dreams were used for healing. Driving on to Sardis we visit the remains of the temple dedicated to Artemis. Dinner and overnight at Charisma Hotel on the Aegean in Kusadasi.

DAY 5, July 8, Visit the spectacular ruins of ancient city Ephesus, where Lydia's Goddess Icon Banners made their debut in 1995, and the remains of the Artemis Temple, the Ephesus Museum with statues of the Artemis as the Great Mother and the House where the Virgin Mary is believed to have spent the last years of her life. The House is located near Ortega, the birth place of Artemis. Dinner and overnight at Charisma Hotel in Kusadasi.

DAY 6, July 9, At Magnesia there is a temple dedicated to Artemis. At Lagina we visit the sacred grounds of the Temple of Hecate. Dinner and overnight at Marina Vista Hotel in Bodrum, a lively holiday town.

DAY 7, July 10, Drive to Aphrodisias, the city dedicated to the goddess as the Great Mother with fascinating remains of her temple, a stadium and an odeon and a beautiful collection of sculpture at the museum. Drive to Pamukkale, with its unique limestone terraces. Dinner and overnight at Colossae Hotel in Pamukkale.

DAY 8, July 11, Drive to Catalhoyuk, a world heritage archaeological site where we will meet with Shahina Farid, chief excavator and the archaeological teams working there. Catalhoyuk is a neolithic settlement where humans led a peaceful, egalitarian, non stratified existence, guided by the Goddess 8,000 years ago. Dinner and overnight at Dedeman Hotel in Konya.

DAY 9, July 12, In Konya visit the shrine of Rumi, founder of the order of whirling dervishes. Drive to Cappadocia, a striking lunar landscape created by the erosion of volcanic ashes. Dinner and overnight at Yusuf Yigitoglu Cave Hotel in Urgup. In the evening, you will have an opportunity to witness the performance of whirling dervishes in a thirteenth century Caravanserai Sari Han.

DAY 10, July 13, Begin the day with a dawn balloon ride (optional extra) over Cappadocia. Visits to Goreme Open Air Museum and Kaymakli Underground City and scenic stops. Dinner and overnight at Yusuf Yigitoglu Cave Hotel in Urgup.

DAY 11, July 14, A drive through ripening fields of grain takes us to Hattusas, the capital city of Hittites, who ruled over ancient Turkey from 1600 to 1200 BCE. Visit and do ritual at the open air Yazilikaya shrine where we see the Hittite Pantheon with Hepat as the Great Mother. We visit the remains of the magnificent city walls, shrines, palaces and lion gate at Bogazkoy. Dinner and overnight at Divan Hotel in Ankara, the capital of Turkey.

DAY 12, July 15, Visit the Anatolian Civilizations Museum in Ankara with its priceless treasures including the sculpture of the Great Mother of Catalhoyuk. We follow Her to Pessinus center of the cult of Cybele, Mother of Gods, then on to Midas City, a spectacular site of the Phrygian Great Mother Kybele in the mountains. Dinner and overnight at Ibis Hotel in Eskisehir.

DAY 13, July 16, Return to Istanbul for the last minute Shopping Goddess at the Grand Bazaar or enjoy a Turkish bath. Our journey ends with a farewell dinner and shared Herstories. Overnight at Arcadia Hotel in Istanbul.

DAY 14, July 17, Departure. Transfer agents will take tour members to the airport for their respective flights. You may choose to extend your stay in Istanbul. A visit to the Archaeology Museum is recommended after visiting many of the sacred sites. Your airport transfer can be arranged on your date of departure.

*Itinerary and guides are subject to change.

Tour Price: $2650
Single Supplement: $490

Price includes: Arrival and departure transfers, accommodation, all breakfasts and dinners, museum entry fees, parking fees and local taxes, gratuities to hotel staff and baggage handling and a free copy of the new edition of Anatolia Land of Mother Goddess.

Price Does not include: Arrival and departure flight, airport taxes, visa fees, excess baggage, insurance of any kind, lunches, personal expenses such as laundry and soft drinks and alcoholic beverages, communication charges, and gratuities to the driver.