This week’s dream: sailing down Turkey’s southwest coast

There's no more romantic way to explore Turkey's "enchanting" southwest coast and discover its "extraordinary classical heritage" than a cruise on a traditional Turkish sailing boat, or gulet, says Jeremy Seal in the Times. These elegant, two-masted vessels "once carried the region's citrus crop to the great markets of Izmir and Antalya"; today, many have been converted into "stately" leisure boats, with spacious decks and wood-panelled cabins. Among the itineraries on offer is a specialised "ancient history cruise", which includes the finest archaeological sites on the coast but also allows plenty of time for dining on deck, soaking up the views of the coastal mountains and swimming in sheltered bays along the way.

A university Classics fellow accompanies the ten or so guests – who tend to be "erudite" and "senior" types – giving daily lectures and acting as a guide. The title of the itinerary – "The Origins of Western Thought" – is no hyperbole: it was in Miletus and elsewhere along this coast that the first Greek philosophers flourished in the early sixth century BC. Indeed, the name scarcely does justice to the glories en route, which include three of the Seven Wonders of the World (the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Colossus of Rhodes) and other sites associated with Homer, Alexander the Great and "a range of cultural firsts from pornography to town planning".

The first port of call is Ephesus, "the best-preserved ancient site in Turkey", where the famed temple pales beside the "exquisite" interiors of recently excavated hillside villas, with their "magnificent frescoes and floor mosaics"; and the trip ends at the "gorgeously sited city of Kaunos, on the banks of the bird-rich Dalyan River".

Westminster Classic Tours (0208 286 7842) offers the 13-night "The Origins of Western Thought" tour from £2,600pp excl. flights.