Day 1 Sun: Istanbul

• Upon arrival, you will be greeted and transferred to your hotel. Welcome briefing.

 

Day 2 Mon: Istanbul (B)

• Enjoy a full-day tour including a visit to Topkapi Palace Museum, the residence of the Ottoman Sultans between 1453–1852 (excluding Harem).

• Visit the Hippodrome, once the center of life where chariot racing and other public events took place.

• Tour the Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616, famous for its blue ceramic tiles.

• An optional visit to St. Sophia, a church built in the 6th century Byzantine capital, converted to a mosque by the Ottomans, still functioning as a mosque today and one of the world’s greatest architectural wonders.

• Your last stop is the Grand Bazaar.

• Join an optional dinner with belly dancing entertainment.

 

Day 3 Tue: Istanbul – Ankara (B)

• This morning, depart on an optional Bosphorus cruise and enjoy the strait that separates Asia and Europe. Its shores are lined with fine neighborhoods, Ottoman palaces, fortresses, old wooden villas, hotels, parks, gardens, restaurants, and cafés.

• The tour will end on the Asian side, followed by a drive to the capital city, Ankara, for an overnight stay.

 

Day 4 Wed: Ankara – Cappadocia (B,D)

• Visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, a historic caravanserai holding artifacts up to 7500 years old, including the most extensive and valuable collection of Hittite artifacts in the world.

• Visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey.

• Pay a visit to the underground city of Saratli, one of the many underground settlements built for protection and religious reasons.

• Continue to a regional rug production center to experience this unique art form firsthand.

• Enjoy dinner at the hotel and join an optional Whirling Dervishes performance. Overnight in Cappadocia. 

 

Day 5 Thu: Cappadocia (B,D)

• Consider an optional early morning hot air balloon tour and experience floating through volcanic valleys, fairy chimneys, and caves at sunrise.

• Spend the day at leisure, or join the full-day optional Cappadocia tour.

• Visit to a 13th-century caravanserai

• Visit the Göreme Open-Air Museum (a UNESCO World Heritage site), a historical region of Turkey located among rock formations, which was first settled during the Roman period. Many rock churches can still be seen today, as Christianity was the prevailing religion in that region.

• Then explore Red Valley.

• Continue to the town of Avanos, renowned for its high-quality earthenware, and attend a brief regional pottery workshop in a cave.

• On the way back to the hotel, visit Devrent Valley. 

 

Day 6 Fri: Cappadocia – Pamukkale(B,D)

• Drive to Pamukkale.

• Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.

 

Day 7 Sat: Pamukkale – Izmir (B)

• Visit the unique cotton fortress of Pamukkale, with its white lime cascades formed by mineral springs, and the ruins of the Roman health spa of Hierapolis (a UNESCO World Heritage site).

• Visit a leather factory, where you can see and purchase exquisite samples of Turkish-made leather products after watching a fashion show.

• Proceed to Izmir for overnight. 

 

Day 8 Sun: Ephesus & St. Mary’s House – Izmir (B)

• Spend a full day at leisure, or join the optional tour to Ancient Ephesus, an important cultural center of the ancient world.

• Explore the 2,000-year-old marble streets, a theater, the Library of Celsus, a gymnasium, and Hadrian’s Temple.

• Take a short drive to see the stone cottage of St. Mary, where it is believed the Virgin Mary spent her last years with St. John.

 

 Day 9 Mon: Izmir – Return (B)

• Transfer to the airport for your return flight home. B

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Meal Codes:

(B) Breakfast

(L) Lunch

(D) Dinner