Turkey Marvels 16 Days (Air + Land)

Istanbul - Cappadocia - Konya - Antalya - Kas - Pamukkale - Ephesus -Assos) - Troy 16 days
Guaranteed departure in 2008 !

Day 1
Arrival in Istanbul and meeting at the airport, transfer to the hotel, check- in. Leisure afternoon.
Overnight Istanbul.

Day 2 - Sultanahmet - Old Istanbul (B)
Visit The St. (Haghia) Sophia, which was built by the Emperor Justinian. It was the largest building in the world for over 1000 years. See its intricate mosaics and huge central dome. Continue to the Topkapi palace, which was used by the Ottoman Sultans from the 15th to 19th centuries. We will also see the impressive collection of priceless jewels, crystal, silver and porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and relics of the prophet Mohammed. (Entrance to the Harem is extra). After lunch we will see the Blue Mosque, built for Sultan Ahmet I, which is a unique piece of architecture with its six minarets and features 20,000 beautiful Iznik tiles.

Visit the ancient Hippodrome with Obelisk of Theodosius, Snake Pillar and German Fountain of Wilhelm II. Visit the hidden Underground Cistern. See the Grand Covered Bazaar.
*May be done as a walking tour if your hotel is centrally located. 

Day 3 - Bosphorus Cruise with Dolmabahce (B)
The tour starts with a visit to the exotic and aromatic Egyptian Spice Market. You may buy spices, caviar, and almost anything imaginable. Continue over the Galata Bridge and the Golden horn. We will visit the “Selamlik” chambers of the incredible 19th c. Dolmabahce Palace. We continue up the Bosphorus and cross over to Asia to Camlica Hill for a view of Istanbul. After lunch visit the Sadberk Hanim Museum, with its well-organized archaeological and ethnographical sections.  The Bosphorus cruise begins in the afternoon (ferry). We pass by the Rumeli Fortress and you will enjoy crossing from continent to continent traveling down the Bosphorus, which is lined with old Ottoman seaside mansions, marble palaces and small fishing villages.  Overnight Istanbul

Day 4 - Istanbul- Cappadocia (B.L)
Take the early morning flight from Istanbul Ataturk airport to Kayseri. Arrival and meeting at the airport just outside the arrival's gate with a sign bearing your name and transfer to Cappadocia.Tour to Kaymakli Underground City, one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia. Soganli 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 Mustafapasa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with its spectacular old Greek houses; very fine examples of late Greek settlements and architecture. Overnight Hotel Cappadocia.

Day 5 - Cappadocia (B.L)
In the morning, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; walking in Zelve Open Air Museum: 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". Lunch in Avanos, center 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). Climb on top of the Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia. Overnight Hotel Cappadocia.

Day 6 - Cappadocia (B.L)
Walking in Ihlara Canyon, a "mirage" in the Steps of Anatolia up to Belisirma village, the ancient Peristrema: "Valley of the Sky" along the Melendiz River. Rock-cut churches, spread across a wild plantation, surprise you with their successfully painted representations from the Bible. Lunch in Belisirma a local restaurant by the river. Stop by Selime, a village with cave houses at the end of the canyon and a "star wars" like landscape. Overnight Hotel Cappadocia.

Day 7 - Cappadocia - Konya- Antalya (B)
Drive to Konya, en route, visit to Sultanhani Caravanserai, roadside innwhere travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey. Caravanseraissupported the flow of commerce, information and people across a network oftrade routes of Asia, North Africa and South-Eastern Europe on the legendarySilk Road and the Spice road. In Konya center, visit to Mevlana Sufitemple. Mevlana is the founder of Sufism and whirling Dervishes.Overnight Antalya.


Day 8 - Antalya (B)
Visit to Perge - Aspendos and Kursunlu waterfalls.Overnight Antalya

Day 9 - Antalya - Kas ( B)
Drive to Kas, on the way, visit the Lycian site of Olympos is within theNational park near Cirali, is an unquenchable natural gas flame that hasbeen burning for thousands of years. It is said to be the mythologicalChimaeras (or "burning rocks.")Monster which in legend was slain byBellerophon on his winged Pegasus. Visit also Myra (Demre) which is oneof the most interesting Lycian sites in Turkey where Father Christmas isbelieved to live there. Overnight Kas.

Day 10 - Kas ( B)
Optional (extra): Full day Boat trip to sunken city of Kekova.Overnight Kas.
  
Day 11 - Kas - Pamukkale ( B-D)
Drive to Pamukkale. Discovery of Travertine terraces and Hierapolis. Thetravertine terraces at Pamukkale are one of the most spectacular naturalwonders we ever have seen from various mineral springs in a vast white cliffside, about 200 m overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have drippeddown over a series of terraced levels and created a fairyland of bizarresolidified cascades and shell-shaped basins. It looks like creations fromsnow or like balls from cotton, which gave the scenery the Turkish namePamukkale (cotton castle): "pamuk" for cotton and "kale" for castle.Moreover the water in the basins is changing its color according to how thelight enters Overnight Pamukkale

Day 12- Pamukkale - Kusadasi (B)
Drive to Ephesus, on the way, visit to Aphrodisias. Aphrodisias wasprimarily known as a center for the arts, specifically sculpture. TheAphrodisias School of Sculpture had a distinctive style and was very wellcirculated throughout the Greek and Roman world.Overnight Near Ephesus

Day 13 - Ephesus (B)
Visit to the ancient city of Ephesus and first visit the Temple of Artemis,one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Ephesus was undoubtedly oneof the most important cultural centers of the ancient world. Impressivestructures we will see include the Library of Celsus, Temple of Hadrian,Theatre and Odeon. We also visit the House of the Virgin Mary Overnight nearEphesus. Overnight Near Ephesus
 
Day 14 - Ephesus - Assos (Troy) (B)
Drive to Assos (Troy) , visit Pergamon or Pergamum that became an importantkingdom during the Hellenistic period, Pergamon had the second best libraryin the ancient Greek civilization (the ancient Library of Pergamum), afterAlexandria. When the Ptolemies stopped exporting papyrus, partly because ofcompetitors and partly because of shortages, the Pergamenes invented a newsubstance to use in codices, called pergaminus or parchment after the city.This was made of fine calf skin, a predecessor of vellum. Asclepion, locatedto the southwest of the lower city, was a sanctuary dedicated to the god ofhealth, Asclepics which was one of the largest hospitals in history, islocated to the west of the city, which was a great center of culture, artand medicine. Overnight Assos Troy.

Day 15 - Assos (Troy) - Istanbul (B)
Visit Troy in the morning. Troy (Truva) - 4000 years old Ancient City Troy,popular with the Trojan War and Trojan horse is a city which existed over4000 years and known as the center of ancient civilizations. Many years,people believed that it was the city in tales and never existed until it wasfirst found. At this time it was known as Ilium or New Ilium. Today Troy orNew Ilium places in Hisarlik at Canakkale. The remains of the city - theremains from the thieves and destructors - can be visit in here. Transfer to Istanbul.Overnight Istanbul

Day 16 (B)
Connect to your international flight and leave Turkey.

B= Breakfast L= Lunch D= Dinner

• Please let me know if you wish to join a group tour or have the tour just for you privately.