BETCHART EXPEDITIONS Inc. 17050 Montebello Road, Cupertino, CA 95014-5435 THE LEGENDARY VOYAGE OF JASON & THE ARGONAUTS A Journey in the Ancient Black and Aegean Seas Aboard the 26-Cabin Artemis August 17 – 29, 2015 A lecture at the theaterIstanbul’s of Troy, skyliTurkey ne Dear Traveler, Modern civilization has few celebrated heroes like those of Jason and his fearless Argonauts, whose fantastic quest was one of the boldest and most captivating adventures of classical mythology. Sailing aboard the intrepid Argo from the Aegean Sea to the Black Sea, this daring band overcame unmitigated perils and performed remarkable feats, tantalizing imaginations for centuries with the romantic wonder of their voyage, and the tragic relationship between Jason and Medea. Next summer, relive this thrilling adventure aboard the privately chartered, 50-guest Artemis as we sail the same seas as the Argonauts, in the pursuit of their ultimate goal—the Golden Fleece. The epic of Jason and the Argonauts is a tale of discovery, exploration, and adventure. Sailing the same sea lanes as the ancient mariners, our voyage through the Black and Aegean Seas is also a journey of exploration and discovery to ports and sites that remain beyond the circuit of mega cruise ships and mass tourism. While some of the natural wonders of Jason’s era have vanished, many have gently fused with modern culture. Using Apollonius’ epic Argonautica as our guide, we begin in Turkey’s Trabzon, an ancient city along the silk route that has fueled the western imagination for centuries. In the Republic of Georgia, we’ll call at Batumi and Poti, just as the Argonauts did over 3,000 years ago. It was here that Jason met and fell in love with Medea, who helped him capture the Golden Fleece. As Artemis continues cruising Turkey’s northern coast, we’ll sail past landmarks associated with the Argonautic expedition to the Black Sea towns of Amasra, Samsun, and Giresun, home to the mythical Amazons. A full day in Istanbul reveals the great historical landmarks of this enchanting city before we sail the narrow Dardanelles to fabled Troy and the quintessentially Greek island of Skyros. Although much of our journey traces Jason’s bold adventure, in one way it will be very different: while the Argonauts sailed on the Argo, we’ll travel in all the comfort and style of a private yacht. The Artemis accommodates just 50 guests in 26 spacious cabins that all enjoy sea views and most feature private balconies. An elegant dining room serves all guests in a single, open seating, the lounge and bar encourage mixing and mingling among your fellow travelers, and the sun deck is ideal for relaxed observation. We hope you will join us next August aboard Artemis as we trace the spellbinding Voyage of Jason and the Argonauts. Sincerely, Margaret M. Betchart President, Betchart Expeditions Inc. Cover: Originally founded in the 4th century, Sumela Monastery is sited at a spectacular location near Trabzon The spectacular city of Istanbul ITINERARY Monday, August 17, 2015 factors in the story of the Argonauts as the place where Apsyrtus, USA King Aeete’s son killed by Jason, was buried. It is also said to Fly from the U.S. to Trabzon, Turkey. be the burial place of the Apostle Matthew. Next tour the Batumi Museum of Archaeology showcasing finds from excavations Tuesday, August 18 throughout Adjara and Batumi from the Bronze Age to Medieval TRABZON, Turkey | EMBARK times. Also see the main sights of the city including the Orthodox Arrive in Trabzon and embark Artemis. Overnight aboard ship Church of St. Nicholas, the Synagogue and Freedom Square. docked in Trabzon. (D) (B, L, D) Wednesday, August 19 Friday, August 21 TRABZON POTI Ancient Trapezus, one of antiquity’s greatest cities and commercial Call at Poti in ancient Colchis, the land of the Golden Fleece, as centers, was founded by Greek colonists during the early part of the Argonauts did over 3,300 years ago. Travel upland to Kutaisi, the 1st millennium B.C. It continued to prosper under the Romans Georgia’s second largest city and one-time seat of Georgian and Byzantines. Travel to the Sumela Monastery, founded in the 4th monarchs. Kutaisi has been identified by some as ancient century and set high in the mountains. Back in Trabzon, visit the Aeae, Aeete’s capital. Aeete’s daughter Medea fell in love with 13th-century church of Hagia Sophia. (B, L, D) Jason and helped him capture the Golden Fleece. A tour of this Thursday, August 20 culturally rich and historic city includes its many churches and BATUMI, Georgia palaces, including the Church of King Bagrat and the 12th-century From Batumi, the capital of Georgia’s Adjara region, we visit the Gelati Monastery. (B, L, D) nearby Gonio-Apsaros fortress, the oldest fortress in Georgia. It Saturday, August 22 GIRESUN, Turkey This quaint port is in the region that was once inhabited by the Amazons, whom the Argonauts met on their way to Colchis. Off Giresun is a small island sacred to the Amazons, who dedicated a temple to the war god Ares there. Phineas, the blind seer, warned the Argonauts that they would find the island infested with hostile birds that attack humans, and they were able to prepare for the danger. This now quiet island is still home to large colonies of birds. (B, L, D) Sunday, August 23 SAMSUN | AMASYA Drive to Amasya, which, legend has it, was founded by the Amazon queen Amasis. Ascend to the cliff-top fortress for panoramic views and probe the rock tombs of the Pontic kings. Also visit the 15th- Istanbul’s colorful Spice Bazaar For reservations or information, please call us at 800-252-4910 www.betchartexpeditions.com century Sultan Beyazit Mosque. Visit the Archaeological Museum CRUISE, LEARN & BE INSPIRED in Samsun before returning to the ship. (B, L, D) Nina Tumarkin is a Professor of History and Monday, August 24 Director of the Russian Area Studies Program at AMASRA Wellesley College, as well a longtime associate Arrive in Amasra, ancient Sesamus, founded by Milesians in the at Harvard’s Davis Center for Russian and 6th century B.C. The city later became an important possession Eurasian Studies. An author of books on Soviet of both Byzantium and Genoa. On a tour of this pleasant and history, she teaches courses at Wellesley on the idyllic town, visit the Genoese citadel, which crowns one of history of Medieval, Imperial, and Soviet Russia, the promontories with a formidable constellation of towers, as well as modern Europe. She first traveled to Europe on a coal battlements, and gates. Then cruise along the coast of ancient freighter at age 12, and since that time, she has been waterborne as Paphlagonia past landmarks associated with the Argonautic frequently as possible. She and her husband, Harvey Cox, have expedition Including the “Mouth of Hell” near Eregli, ancient traveled as lecturers with groups of alumni for almost a quarter- Heracleia Pontica. (B, L, D) century, ranging as far as the Arctic Ocean, Japan, and Mongolia. Professor Tumarkin will bring a global perspective to our Tuesday, August 25 & Wednesday, August 26 conversations on the Black Sea region. CRUISING THE BOSPHORUS | ISTANBUL Sail through the Bosphorus, the narrow waterway separating Harvey Cox is the Hollis Professor of Divinity at Asia from Europe, the northern section of which the ancients Harvard University and the author of many books identified as the location of the notorious Clashing Rocks. Jason on religion, including his most recent, When and the Argonauts, following the advice of the blind seer Phineas, Jesus Came to Harvard: Making Moral Choices sailed successfully by the Rocks to enter the Black Sea. Arrive in Today. He first developed his fondness for ships Istanbul, capital of the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. Over the and canals and locks when, as a young sailor in next day and a half tour some of Istanbul’s principal landmarks, the US Merchant Marine, his ship passed including the famed Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi through the Kiel Canal and into the Baltic Sea. Since then, he and Palace and the wonderful Archaeological Museum. (B, L, D) his wife, Nina Tumarkin, have lectured on numerous cruises and travel/study seminars on various rivers, canals, and inland waterways Thursday, August 27 from the Aegean Sea and the Corinth Canal to the Baltic Sea, the CANAKKALE Rhone, and the Dnieper. Artemis enters the narrow Dardanelles, called Hellespont by the ancient Greeks, for it was here that Princess Helle slipped from Mary Lefkowitz, Andrew W. Mellon Professor in the back of the flying ram with the Golden Fleece and drowned the Humanities Emerita at Wellesley College, is at sea. Call at Canakkale, our gateway for Troy, where ongoing one of the most distinguished classical scholars archaeological excavations have revealed nine different layers of in the United States. Recipient of a National cities superimposed in rings on a massive mound rising above the Humanities Medal for her teaching and Plain of Ilium. It was to one of these cities, as legend has it, that scholarship, she has written extensively about ancient Greek myth and literature and has been the Greeks fought the Trojans as told by Homer in his Iliad. interviewed on television and radio about how ancient history and (B, L, D) mythology have been used and misused in modern politics. She has Friday, August 28 frequently visited and studied ancient sites in the Mediterranean, SKYROS, Greece most recently as a Trustee of the American School of Classical From Linaria, the island’s main port, drive the short distance to Studies at Athens.