Treasures in Istanbul's Topkapi Museum and the hubbub of its colorful Grand Bazaar will launch you on this circuit of the Black Sea. Sinop, its beaches and 7th-century castle perch on the narrowest stretch of the Boztepe Peninsula. Sochi, sheltered by the Caucasus Mountains, lines balmy promenades with Trees of Friendship. Yalta will invite you to walk the passages of Livada Palace, once the summer retreat of Tsar Nicholas II. Sieges and Potemkim Steps, plus a call at Canakkale at the top of the infamous Dardanelles recall events both disparate and desperate. An Aegean postscript points to Volos, part idyllic resort, part history trail with beehive tombs, an Acropolis 8,000 years old and a resonating theater at Dimitrias. Marvel at the aerial Meteora Monateries.