Saturday, June 9: Day 1 - Fly overnight to Turkey
Turkey's tumultuous history has left a deep legacy. Its landscape is dotted with battlegrounds and palaces of great empires. This is the land where Alexander the Great slashed the Gordian Knot, where Achilles battled the Trojans in Homer's Iliad, and where the Ottoman Empire ruled for over 500 years.

Sunday, June 10: Day 2 - Arrive in Istanbul
Formerly known as Constantinople, Istanbul is Turkey's most populous city, and is also the world's only city spanning two continents, Europe and Asia. Its history dates back to the seventh century B.C. and is nestled between the Black Sea and the Dardanelles. The city is packed with ancient streets and past remnants of the glorious Byzantine and Ottoman empires.

Monday, June 11: Day 3 - Guided tour of Istanbul:

• Stop at the Hippodrome
  The Hippodrome once served as the public center of Byzantium for social and sporting purposes, most notably chariot and horse racing.

• Visit the Ayasofya
  Currently a museum, however in its antiquity, it was known as the Church of Divine Wisdom. The breathtaking building was the pride of Christendom until it was converted into a mosque under the Ottomans.  

• Visit the Blue Mosque
  This was the first imperial mosque that was built over the span of over 40 years by the Sultan Ahmet in the 17^th century and it is decorated with exquisite blue Iznik tiles.

• Visit the Topkapi Palace
  It was once the primary residence of the Ottoman Sultans for over 400 years! This monument is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is a prime example of Ottoman architecture.

• Stop at the Grand Bazaar
  Here you can browse treasures of all kinds, from brassware to spices among its 58 covered streets and over 4,000 shops.

• Bosphorus Cruise (Optional)
  A relaxing sightseeing cruise on the Golden Horn heading toward the Black Sea doted with six Ottoman palaces, the Fortress of Anatolia, and ancient Constantinople's great city walls.

Tuesday, June 12: Day 4 - Bursa • Canakkale
Take a guided tour of Bursa: The city is one of the most industrialized metropolitan centers in the country and the former capital of the Ottoman Empire before Constantinople.

• Green Mosque
  This architectural gem was commissioned by Sultan Mehmet I and completed in 1424. The mosque is covered in green-blue interior tiles and overlooks a valley.

• Green Mausoleum
  Directly across from the Green Mosque sits the tomb of the 15th century Sultan, Mehmet I. It is also finished with green-blue tiles.

• Grand Mosque
  This is the largest mosque in Bursa and a landmark of early Ottoman architecture. It was constructed in the late 14th century with a total of 20 domes and 2 minarets.

• Covered Bazaar
  Bursa was the final stop in the Silk Route, and this bazaar still thrives with merchants in assorted galleries bursting with clothing, silk goods, jewelry, furniture and other Bursa specialties.

Continue to Canakkale: Canakkale's port touches shores with both Europe and Asia. It was also one of the most important cities for ceramic production within the Ottoman Empire

Wednesday, June 13: Day 5 - Troy
Take a guided tour of Troy: Troy has been on the map for over 4,000 years and is commonly known as the center of ancient civilizations. It is the city where beautiful Helen incited the Trojan War in the 12th century B.C. According to the epic poet Virgil, the Greeks hid in a wooden horse that the Trojans mistakenly believed was a peace offering. The Greeks then emerged from the horse and ransacked the town. You will have a chance to climb into two different versions of this wooden horse (including one that was featured in the 2004 film: Troy).

• Gallipoli
  It is one of the most sacred sites for the nation because of its historical WWI battlefields and memorials in tribute to the fallen soldiers (Turkish, British, Australian). Mustafa Kemal (Ataturk) - later the founder of the Turkish Republic - rose to prominence during the 1915-16 Gallipoli campaign.

Take a guided tour of Pergamon: an ancient Roman, and later Greek, city in the northwestern Anatolia.

• Acropolis
  A citadel perched atop a high, steep-sided hill where its temples and Hellenistic theatre can be seen from everywhere in the city of Pergamon. It is also the site of various ruins including palaces and ancient aqueducts.

Continue to Kusadasi: a picturesque Turkish village that lies on the Aegean coast.

Friday, June 15: Day 7 - Kusadasi • Ephesus
Take a guided tour of Ephesus: Once a center for the cult Artemis, Ephesus is one of the Mediterranean region's best preserved classical cities. Ancient Ephesus was once the second-largest city in the Roman Empire and the greates port city in Asia Minor! It is also famous in its antiquity for its Temple of Diana - one of the seven wonders of the ancient world - and later the home of St. John. See the Temple of Hadrian and the elaborate Library of Celsus. Then visit the Archeological Museum before traveling to the house of the Virgin Mary where she spent her final days.

Saturday, June 16 and Sunday, June 17: Days 8-9 - Greek Island Cruise

• Patmos
  Patmos united with Greece in 1948 and is one of the 12 Dodecanese Islands that extends off the western coast of Turkey. Despite many centuries of Ottoman rule, Patmos has long retained its Greek language and culture.

• Crete
  Crete is said to be the birthplace of Zeus and is Greece's largest island with a unique culture and history. It is also the home of the Minotaur, a mythical half-man, half-bull creature. Here you can explore some of ancient Greece's most interesting archaeological sites as well as the stunningly situated Tomb of Kazantzakis, honoring the influential 20th century writer Nios Kazantzakis. 

• Santorini
  Santorini is often considered the quintessential Greek Island with its whitewashed houses perched on steep hillsides and its landscapes of plunging cliffs and black-sand beaches - as well as the only active volcano in the eastern Mediterranean.

Monday, June 18: Day 10 - Athens
Disembark and take a guided tour of Athens: Discover the ancient city named for Athena, goddess of war and wisdom. Athens is one of the oldest cities in the world and the current capital of Greece. It is said to be the birthplace of Classical Greece and Western civilization.

Visit the Acropolis: It is the best known acropolis in the world and is proclaimed as one of the most excellent monuments on the European Cultural Heritage List. On the Acropolis, you will also find the Parthenon, Temple of Athena Nike, ancient worship sites and a Greek theatre. A walking tour of Athens will take you through the Palaka District (the oldest district in Athens), Cape Sounion, the Temple of Poseidon and the Temple of Olympian Zeus - a ruined temple built in 515 B.C. situated in the center of Athens to honor the most powerful of all Greek gods, Zeus. Its construction lasted over 600 years and was once the largest temple in all of Greece.

Tuesday, June 19: Day 11 - Athens
Enjoy free time in Athens and a Greek dinner.

Wednesday, June 20: Day 12 - Depart for home

Earn six academic credits (credits issued by Maryville University) through a mixture of pre-departure lectures, site visits/presentations/lectures while in Turkey and Greece and a post-return project.  The courses will transfer back to MU as:

GOVT 323: Government and Politics of the Middle East (G3, D) (3 credits) and ANTH 226: Comparative Societies (G3, W) (3 credits)

OR

GOVT 379: The Politics of the Mediterranean (3 credits) and ANTH 226: Comparative Societies (G3, W) (3 credits)

Students should work with their academic advisor to ensure that these three credits are appropriately utilized for the student's major/minor requirements or to fulfill General Education requirements.

Program Fee:  The$4,999 Program Fee includes:

• Tuition: six academic credits (paid directly to Maryville University).
• Airfare: Round-trip international flight departing from Philadelphia.
• In-country transportation: Comfortable motor coach 2-day Greek island cruise.
• Accommodations: 7 overnight stays in hotels (3-4 people to a room) with private bathrooms 2 nights cabin accommodations while onboard the ship.
• Meals: European breakfast daily 3 dinners.
• Entrance Fees to all program sites in Turkey and Greece.

To hold a place with the program, students will be required to pay a $95 nonrefundable deposit (this is part of the $4999 program fee) directly to EF Tours. Once the deposit is paid, students are guaranteed a spot in the program.  Students can either sign-up for a monthly installment plan with EF or work out an individualized payment schedule with EF.  In either case, partial payments will commence in early December 2011 and the final payment is due by the end of April 2012.  The tuition portion of the program fee ($1500 of the $4999 program fee) will be paid directly to Maryville University by April 15, 2012.

Program fee does not cover: 

• passport costs
• lunches and some dinners
• airport transport to and from Philadelphia
• required International Student Identity Card (ISIC).

Since this program offers 6 academic credits, students should contact the Financial Aid Office to discuss their specific financial aid package.

Students will study abroad (on-site) Saturday, June 9 - Wednesday, June 20, 2012.

Students will be spending 7 nights staying in hotels (3-4 people to a room) with private bathrooms and 2 nights cabin accommodations while onboard the cruise ship.

For more information contact Dr. Robert Bookmiller (GOVT) at 872-3837 or robert.bookmiller@millersville.edu.