About this trip

Discover Turkey Tour

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrive Istanbul

Upon your arrival to Istanbul Ataturk Airport meeting with name sign, you will be escorted to your hotel. Stay overnight in Istanbul in a small boutique hotel.

Day 2: Full Day Istanbul Tour (B)

09.00 a.m. After breakfast, pick up from hotel and Our journey begins in Istanbul, the only city in the world situated on two continents. Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul – its three names span more than 2600 years, nearly 1600 of them as the capital of two of the greatest empires the world has known, Byzantine and Ottoman. We visit the Topkapi Palace including Harem, Hagia Sophia, The Blue Mosque and Hippodrome, where chariot races and the Byzantine riots took place.Free time in Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar): The air here is filled with the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme and every other concievable herb and spice.Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 3: Istanbul – Gallipoli – Canakkale (B, D)

Morning departure for Gallipoli and visit Anzac Cove ,Chunuk Bair, Lone pine cemetery and Gabate War Museum then across the Dardanelles to Canakkale for overnight.

Day 4: Canakkale – Troy – Pergamum -Kusadasi (B, D)

Visit the famous archaeological and mythological site of Troy, home of the “Trojan Horse” and “Helen of Troy”. Return Departure for Pergamon Visit The city of Pergamon in the north of the Aegean of West Anatolia with the frontiers to ancient Mysia, forms a significant part of the Aegean and Asia Minor history with Acropolis, one of the centres of Helenistic and Roman ages.Departure for Kusadasi Overnight stay in Kusadasi.

Day 5: Kusadasi – Ephesus Tour – Kusadasi (B, D)

Drive to Ephesus. First visit the Artemission Temple where is one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. Continue to Ephesus.visit Ephesus, one of the 12 cities of Ionia (an ancient Greek district on the western coast of Asia Minor) is located near Izmir. As a port city at the mouth of the Cayster (modern Küçükmenderes) River, it was a major departure point for trade routes into Asia Minor. Known in antiquity for its sacred shrines, notably a famous temple (one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World) to the goddess Artemis, or Diana, the city was also an important center of early Christianity. After Ephesus, lunch will be served in the garden of a local handicrafts center. Here you can see some of the traditional carpet weaving techniques used and enjoy viewing some splendid displays of beautiful carpets. After Lunch visit House of Virgin Mary. This house is located on the Aladag Mountains 5 miles from Ephesus. At the third Ecumenical Council of 431 in Ephesus, it was claimed that Mary came to Ephesus with St. John in 37 A.D. and lived there until her death in 48 A.D. After the discovery of the house, the Archbishop of Izmir declared it a place of pilgrimage in 1892. On July 26, 1967, Pope Paul VI visited this place and prayed here. transfer to the hotel for overnight in Kusadasi.

Day 6 : Kusadasi – Pamukkale Tour (B, D)

Drive to Pamukkale, on the way, visit to Aphrodisias. Aphrodisias was primarily known as a center for the arts, specifically sculpture. The Aphrodisias School of Sculpture had a distinctive style and was very well circulated throughout the Greek and Roman world. Discovery of Travertine terraces and Hierapolis. The travertine terraces at Pamukkale are one of the most spectacular natural wonders we ever have seen from various mineral springs in a vast white cliff side, about 200 m overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have dripped down over a series of terraced levels and created a fairyland of bizarre solidified cascades and shell-shaped basins. It looks like creations from snow or like balls from cotton, which gave the scenery the Turkish name Pamukkale (cotton castle): Moreover the water in the basins is changing its color according to how the light enters. Overnight Pamukkale.

Day 7 : Pamukkale – Konya (B)

Drive to Konya, visit to Mevlana Sufi temple. Mevlana is the founder of Sufism and whirling Dervishes. visiting the Mausoleum of Mevlana, the world-wide famous mystic, proceed to Karatay Theological School in which beautiful tiles are on display. Overnight in Konya.

Day 8:Konya – Cappadocia Tour & Cave Hotel (B)

Drive to Cappadocia. Visit to Sultanhani Caravanseria, roadside inn where travellers could rest and recover from the day’s journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of commerce, information and people across a network of trade routes of Asia, North Africa and South-Eastern Europe on the legendary Silk Road and the Spice road. Overnight in in a cave hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 9: Cappadocia Tour & Cave Hotel (B)

Optional : Hot air ballooning with sunrise, Once in a lifetime experience in Cappadocia Tour to Kaymaklı Underground City, one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia. Soğanlı Valley, an Open Air Museum in a wild natural setting near a typical Cappadocian village with its different style Rock-Cut churches and frescoes. Villages in the valleys, surrounded by the “table top” mountains, are spectacular. Lunch and Visit to Sahinefendi newly discovered (01 May 2002) mosaic houses & Archaeological excavation site Continue with Keslik Monastery near Cemil, that hides its frescoes behind a very thin smoke layer which we can only see by torch light. Our tour finishes with a visit to Mustafapaşa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with its spectacular old Greek houses; very fine examples of late Greek settlements and architecture. Overnight in a cave hotel.

Day 10: Cappadocia Tour & Cave Hotel (B)

In the morning, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; a journey in the past with its troglodyte houses, visit to Pasabag “fairy chimneys” where the voice of wind mixes with the “songs of fairies” near Zelve. Lunch in Avanos, centre of terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC. and a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop. Afternoon, visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum and see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings (10th to 13th century). Continue to Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia. Overnight in a cave hotel.

Day 11: Cappadocia - Ankara (B)

Drive to Ankara, Visit the Ataturk Mausoleum and Anatolian Civilizations Museum Overnight in Ankara.

Day 12: Ankara - Istanbul (B)

After breakfast drive to Istanbul through Bolu . Afternoon Free time in Grand Bazaar for shopping, Boat trip on the bosphorus A traditional excursion by boat along the waterway seperating Europe and Asia. The shore is lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 13: Istanbul - Departure (B)

Check-out at noon. Transfer to airport for your flight back home.

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