Join our tour of this fascinating country, one
of the most culturally and historically diversified places on earth, the cauldron
of nations since time immemorial.
Day 1.Saturday / Arrive Istanbul
Meet and greet. A
short orientation tour. Then transfer to the hotel for a welcome briefing.
Time at leisure. Overnight.
Day
2. Sunday
/ Istanbul
Discover the
Byzantine and Ottoman treasures of Istanbul. Visit the Royal TOPKAPI
PALACE, home of the Ottoman Sultans, the BLUE MOSQUE, unique with six
minarets, the Roman HIPPODROME SQUARE and the ST. SOPHIA CHURCH which is
considered as one of the worlds greatest architectural marvels. Return to
the hotel. Evening at leisure. (B)
Day 3. Monday / Istanbul-Troy-Çanakkale
Drive to GALLIPOLI
through the European lands of Turkey. Cross the Dardanelles Strait by
ferryboat. Visit the ancient TROY, see its legendary walls and the replica
of the wooden horse. Dinner and overnight in Canakkale. (B, D)
Day 4. Tuesday/ Pergamon-Izmir
Drive to Bergama. Visit the
ACROPOLIS, the steepest Theater of the ancient world, the Temple of Trojan,
the Library. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then visit ASCLEPION, the ancient medical center, the oldest know hospital
in the world and the RED BASILICA, one of the Seven Churches of the
Apocalypse (rev:2-12). Evening at leisure. Overnight in Izmir. (B, L)
Day 5.
Wednesday /
Ephesus-Izmir
Leave for EPHESUS,
cradle of early Christianity (rev:2-1-7). Visit the HOUSE where the VIRGIN
MARY spent the last years of her life, the ancient Ephesus, the
ARCHAEOLOGICAL
MUSEUM and the TEMPLE OF DIANA which is one of the Seven Wonders
of the Ancient World. Return to Izmir. Evening at leisure. Overnight in
Izmir. (B, L)
Day 6.
Thursday / Sardes-Pamukkale
Drive to
SARDES, capital of ancient Lydia with the legendary King Kroesus famous for his
tremendous wealth. Visit the Temple of Cybele which later became a church,
the famous SYNAGOGUE from the third century, the Gymnasium and the new
excavation area. See the Golden River Pactalos. Lunch en route. Proceed to Pamukkale for
dinner and overnight. (B, L, D)
Day 7.Friday /
Hierapolis-Aphrodisias-Antalya
Morning departure to
PAMUKKALE, the noted ancient spa, where pure white travertine forms frozen
waterfalls. Observation of carpet weaving at one of the local workshops.
Drive to APHRODISIAS, the bucolic city of the Goddess of Love. Visit the
best preserved ancient stadium in the world, the Odeon, the Theater and
the Agora. Continue to coastal city of Antalya for dinner and overnight.
(B, D)
Day 8.
Saturday /
Antalya
Full day excursion
to the ancient Pamphylian, Hellenistic and Roman cities of PERGE and
ASPENDOS with the best preserved Roman theatre in the world. Visit
to the award winning Antalya Archeological Museum housing Santa Clause's (St. Nicholas)
bones. Dinner and overnight in Antalya. (B, L, D)
Day 9. Sunday/
Antalya-Konya-Cappadocia
Early departure to
KONYA. Visit the Mevlana Museum, 13th century Whirling Dervish Monastery.
After lunch continue to CAPPADOCIA where nature has scoured surrealistic
moonscape shapes and where the persecuted Christians dug underground
cities and churches during the 9th century. Dinner and overnight in
Cappadocia. (B, L, D)
Optional: Folklore Show with Belly Dancers at one of
the Cave Restaurants in Cappadocia.
Day 10. Monday
/
Cappadocia
Full day
Cappadocia visit, including Göreme Open Air Museum, Avanos - the pottery making town, the
natural citadel of Uchisar and the fascinating underground city of
Kaymakli . Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia. (B, L, D)
Day
11. Tuesday/ Cappadocia-Ankara
Continue your sightseeing among Cappadocia's natural
wonder landscape. After lunch, visit the Agzikarahan Caravanserai from the Seljuk period.
Drive to Ankara, the capital city of Turkey via Salt Lake. Evening at leisure. Overnight in
Ankara. (B, L)
Day 12. Wednesday /
Ankara-Bursa
Visit the Museum
of Anatolian Civilizations with its rich collection of Hati, Hittite,
Phrygian, Urartu, Assyrian collections and see the replica of Catalhuyuk,
the oldest settlement on earth. Continue on to the Mausoleum of Kemal
Atatürk. Drive to BURSA. Dinner and overnight. (B, D)
Day 13. Thursday
/
Bursa-Istanbul
Visit the Green
Mosque, the Green Tomb and Bursa's colorful Silk Bazaar. Drive to
Istanbul, the only city in the world spanning on two continents. Evening at
leisure. Overnight in Istanbul. (B)
Day 14.Friday/
Istanbul
Escorted transfer
to Istanbul airport for flight back to your home city (B)
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