Ancient Turkey

You will be greeted at the airport by one of our representative, he/she will accompany you to our vehicle and you will be transferred to your hotel directly. Free day in Istanbul. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.

After breakfast, you will be picked up from your hotel by your guide at 09.00 am to visit the Byzantine and Ottoman Relics found in Sultan Ahmed area. The tour is on foot as the places of visit are walking distance to each other. You will visit Hagia Sophia Museum, Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, Harem of the Palace and Basilica Cictern. The tour ends with Grand Bazaar tour, the most popular historical shopping center of Istanbul. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.

Breakfast at hotel. Departure from your hotel at 08.30 am and start the day by visiting Dolmabahce Palaca, the last residence of Ottoman Sultans located on the shores of Bosphorus. Following the palace, you will get on Bosphorus boat for a tour of about 2 hours. You will view Ciragan Palace, Bosphorus bridges, Rumeli Fortress, Beylerbeyi Palace and Maiden’s Tower during the tour from the sea. In the afternoon, you will visit Istiklal street and Pera District packed with an arbitrary scattering of music and bookstores, movie theaters, cafes, restaurants and bars. You will have the lunch at a kebap restaurant in the area and walk through street with visits at site. At the end of the tour, public transport will be used for getting back to the hotel. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.

Departure from your hotel at around 08:30 and drive to Suleymaniye Mosque, the imperial mosque of Ottoman Empire constructed by Architect Sinan. The next visit is to Chora Church Museum, a small but impressive building dating to 11th century and unique with Christian frescoes and mosaics inside. The best spot looking over the Golden Horn is Pierre Loti Hill.  We will have a break at the tea house there. The tour will go on with a short boat tour on Golden Horn. The lunch will be served at a nice local restaurant. After the lunch, you will visit Egyptian Market (Spice Bazaar), the most popular place in the city for spices, Turkish delights and coffee. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to the airport for a late afternoon flight to Kayseri. Upon your arrival, you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel in Cappadocia. Accommodation in Cappadocia. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.

Pick up from your hotel at around 09:30 and you will visit Devrent Imagination Valley and walk through this lunar landscape. Next, visit Zelve Open Air Museum, where you will witness houses carved into the rocks, a Seljukian mosque as well as the traces of the ancient civilizations, Pasabagi (the world-famous Fairy Chimneys), the village of Avanos, where you will witness a pottery-making demonstration using ancient Hittite techniques. After your lunch at a local cave restaurant, we will visit Uchisar Rock-Castle, (the highest point in the region, Esentepe (a panoramic view of Goreme Valley) and Goreme Open Air Museum (Rock-carved churches, frescoes, and monastery). Then return to the hotel about 17.30. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.

Breakfast at hotel. Depart from your hotel at 09.30 am and the day starts with a 4 km hike through the Rose Valley visiting the churches. The next visit is to Christian&Greek village of Cavusin. We will have the lunch in Pigeons Valley unique with small niches curved in the rocks. Cappadocia has several underground cities used by the residents to escape from their enemies and Kaymakli Underground City is among the famous ones being on our visiting list. You will also visit the Ortahisar Natural Rock Castle offering a beautiful view over the valley. Drop off at your hotel in the afternoon. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.

You will be transferred to the airport for an early flight to Izmir. Upon your arrival, you will be transferred to Ephesus ancient city, the most splendid ancient city in Turkey and requires about 2 hours to visit. The next visit is to Virgin Mary’s House where it is believed she spent the last years of her life and buried there. After lunch, you will visit the remaining important places to see in the area: Ephesus Museum where the objects discovered in Ephesus are exhibited, Temple of Artemis (Diana) which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, St. John Castle and the remains of Church situated at the top of Ayasoluk Hill and Isa Bey Mosque an important structure belonging to Turkish heritage. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel in Kusadasi.

Departure from the hotel at around 08:30 and drive to Aphrodisias ancient city, the famous sculpture school and center of ancient Asia Minor. Aphrodisias Museum keeps some of the best examples of Greek and Roman sculpture works. We arrive at Pamukkale at around lunch time. It is famous with white colored rocks formed by thermal waters containing calcium bicarbonate. The ancient city Hierapolis at site was a famous healing center and the hotels at site are still booked for their thermal water pools in present day. The Roman Pool (Cleopatra Pool) at site is still in use. You may use the ancient pool by paying the entrance fee at site on your own. (55 TL per person. Please have your towels and slippers with you). After the tour, you will be transferred to Denizli Airport for an early evening flight to Istanbul. After arrival at Istanbul get transferred to your hotel. Dinner at restaurant. An overnight stay at hotel.