Arrive in Istanbul. Upon arrival your guide and the bus will be waiting for you at the airport. You will be welcomed and picked by your guide to the bus. The ride will take one hour thirty minutes which depends on traffic at the city. During your ride the guide will give you an orientation both about the itinerary, city and general suggestions during your holiday in Turkey. Your hotel will be at the Taksim Square which is the heart of the city. You are free to either rest at your room or discover the square. Your Trip Experience Leader will give you some suggestions about dinner. Taksim Square is both historical and modern. There are thousands of people are walking through the very well-known street Istiklal. You can wonder around and mingle with local people and have some delicious street food or drinks. Overnight at Istanbul.
Today your guide will meet you at 09:00am. after gathering the whole group you will head to Sultanahmet Square where the worldwide known historical monuments meet. We will start with Hippodrome where the Romans were doing the chariot races and some other games. You will be overwhelmed by the size of the obelisks which were erected hundreds of years ago. You will see Thedosius, Constantine and Serpent obelisks by the time your guide tells you about their history and how were they erected here. Afterwards we will visit a 16th century Blue Mosque which named the Square as well. you be thrilled by its size and beautiful blue tiles. Then we will head to Hagia Sophia which was built as a Christian Cathedral around 1000 years until Ottoman Turks conquered the city. Fatih sultan the conqueror took over the city and converted Hagia Sophia into a mosque and was used as a mosque more than 500 years. At the time of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkish Republic this enormous monument was changed into a museum until recently when the current government altered it and now is used as a mosque. You will be able to see its golden mosaics even though it is activating as a mosque. After your guide will take you to a local restaurant for lunch. You will have both vegetarian and non-vegetarian options. After the lunch you will set off on a walking to Topkapi Palace which was used the ruling palace of Ottoman Empire until 19th century. While walking through the rooms which are full of treasury you will be overwhelmed by looking at one of the biggest diamond in the world. We recommend you to watch a 1970s Hollywood film named “ Topkapi” before coming Turkey. We will finish the day from the Palace and go back to hotel. Your Trip Experience Leader will give you some recommendations for the activities and dinner. Overnight at Istanbul.
After breakfast you will gather and get the bus at 09:00am and head to Sultanahmet Square again to visit Basilica Underground Cistern which was built and used as a drinking water storage during the Roman Empire. It has been leading many theories and push many authors to write down many books about it. Recently a part of James Bond film was taken in this cistern, Hagia Sophia and Grand Bazaar. We recommend you to watch this film as well before coming to the country. After your Trip Experience Leader will take you the Grand Bazaar. It was built at 15th century and since then has been used as a bazaar. You will be thrilled by its size and walking through narrow streets of 4000 shops will make the most enjoyable shopping of yours. You will have plenty time to do your shopping and meet your guide in front of the main gate of it and then get the bus to the Spice Market known as Egyptian Bazaar for Ottomans were bringing most of their spices from. You can taste different spices, olives and different flavours of Turkish Delights. Afterwards we will go back to hotel and have some rest to get ready for the Night Dinner Cruise on the Bosphorus. The show will start at 20:00pm. Upon arrival to the boat we will have a tour on the Bosphorus (the canal which separates Europe and Asia continents. By the time you your dinner will be served you can take beautiful pictures of many luxuries both Ottoman and modern villas and palaces. After dinner 2 hours you will enjoy belly-dancer and many other shows on your boat. The night will be finished around 24:00am and take the bus to the hotel. Overnight at Istanbul.
Today we have an early flight to Denizli (Pamukkale). We gather at the lobby with our luggage and get the bus head to the airport. The duration for the flight is one hour twenty minutes. Upon arrival your guide will lead you to the bus. Afterwards we will drive one hour to the site Pamukkale (cotton castle). The humble town centres simple buildings and quite streets will be your jumping off point for your explorations of the towns mineral-rich thermal waters and well-preserved Roman ruins of Hierapolis. Your Trip Experience Leader will create a picture of this unique site during ride. On arrival you will walk to the amphitheatre which is very well preserved. The 8000 marble seats show the importance of this city during antiquity. Then you will walk to the Cleopatra’s pool. This antic pool hosted many kings and queens even Cleopatra of Egypt. Named after her this pool is still hosting thousands of its visitors every day. The entrance of this pool is extra. Your guide will give you all the instructions before you come to the site. After swimming in the pool you will finally come to the travertines. The limestone here is white enough to look like cotton or snow. That made local people to call here Cotton Castle. The pools are full of thermal water whose warmth is between 16 to 30 degrees. You are allowed to walk into them and even sit in the pools as they are too shallow to swim. You will have enough time to enjoy these unique pools. The tour will be finished afternoon and after gathering at the meeting point we will head to the restaurant for lunch. You will have a local Turkish food. Afterwards we will have three hours driving to Antalya. On arrival we will check into the hotel and free evening. You can either rest at your room or go out discover the area and have some dinner. The location of our hotel is very central so you can easily find cafes and restaurants. You can ask your Trip Experience Leader for recommendations. Overnight at Antalya.
Today we will depart at 09:00am and head to Aspendos whose amphitheatre is the best preserved. After visiting this historical site, we will head to Manavgat waterfall. It is both the biggest waterfall and drinking water supply of the country. We will have our lunch near the waterfall. Afterwards we will head back to hotel. You will have free afternoon in Antalya. You can stroll through the historical streets of Kaleici mingle with local people have your pomegranate juice or a Turkish coffee and perhaps do some shopping. Overnight at Antalya.
After breakfast we will gather at the lobby with our luggage and get to the bus set off on our drive to Cappadocia. After three hours we will get to Konya where the whirling dervishes originated. Upon arrival we will visit Mawlana Rumi museum, tomb and mosque. Then we will go to a local restaurant for lunch. After we will drive another 2 hours to Cappadocia. On arrival we will check into our cave hotel at Goreme or Urgup. You can ask recommendations from your Trip Experience Leader for dinner. Overnight at Cappadocia.
Early risers can join an optional hot-air balloon ride over Cappadocia's tufa formations, soaring over its amber terrain and fairy-tale chimneys in the quiet, rosy light of dawn. Set off by motorcoach from the hotel around 5am, enjoying a quick snack before embarking on an approximate hour-long balloon ride. We'll be back at the hotel between 7:30am and 8am in time for breakfast.Depart around 9:30am by motorcoach for the full day tour of Cappadocia. At around 9:45am, you'll begin to see the legendary fantastical landscapes and “fairy chimneys” of Cappadocia as you journey to the famous Goreme Open-Air Museum. The predominant earth surface of Cappadocia is a white volcanic rock called tufa. Centuries of rain and wind have shaped the soft tufa into rhythmic flow patterns and tall cones and columns. Although the dust from tufa looks like sand, the area is not like a desert but is actually highly fertile, and people have inhabited the region since ancient times. Early Christians often burrowed into tufa rock to create hidden sanctuaries and escape persecution. It is said that the area has more than 600 Christian churches carved into the rock, some dating to the third century AD. At the Goreme Open-Air Museum, you'll see some of these ancient churches and chapels noted for their colorful frescoes. Your tour of the museum wraps up around 11am, at which point we'll return to the bus for the approximate half-hour ride to a local potter's workshop. Here, you'll get the chance to talk to a pottery master about the history and transformation of this art form throughout Asia Minor. We'll spend about an hour at the workshop learning about the intricate processes involved in pottery-making.Then we will stop at a local restaurant for lunch. After lunch around 2pm, we'll embark on a panoramic tour of this fascinating region, including some photo stops. Marvel at the mushroom-like columns of stone with conical lids that seem to spring up from the valley floor.Cappadocia is well known with its Turkish Night show. So you can ask your Trip Experience Leader to arrange this night for you which is optional. Overnight at Cappadocia.
Today we will get ready with our luggage and gather at the lobby then get to the bus. Afterwards we will head to the North of Cappadocia where we will visit Derinkuyu underground city which is the biggest one at the region. Cappadocia”s topoghraphy is very soft that lead ancint and modern people to curve their houses, churches and shelters out of it. So in the case of any war or an invasion people would go into these underground cities to hide themselves until it was over. Walking through these narrow tunnels and small rooms and storages etc. will make you think how did they survived these many months here. Then we will stop for final lunch at a local restaurant and then head to the airport fro flying back to Istanbul.
What's Included • 4 stars hotel accomodation
