1st Day (Sun.) Istanbul
Meet & greet at the airport and take a private transfer to your hotel. At 19:00, meet with your Tour Director at the hotel´s Reception Desk for a welcome meeting. You will also meet your journey's fellow travelers. Welcome Dinner in a local Restornt and accommodation at your hotel. Accommodation at your hotel. (D)
2nd Day (Mon.) Istanbul
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Departure from the hotel to visit the Topkapi Palace, residence of the sultans of the Ottoman Empire. Enjoy lunch at a lunch at a local restaurant. In the afternoon, visit the Sultanahmet neighborhood with the Roman Hippodrome square, the Blue Mosque, unique among all Ottoman mosques in having 6 minarets and the splendid 6th century Hagia Sophia Mosque. In the evening visit the Egyptian Bazaar. Accommodation at your hotel. (BL)
3rd Day (Tue.) Istanbul - Cappadocia
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. In the morning, we will have a panoramic tour of the city, passing through the important neighborhoods of the historical part and the modern part of the city, including a walk along the pedestrian street of Istiklal. Time at leisure in the Grand Bazaar (closed on Sundays, religious holidays and on October 29), a building that houses more than 4,000 shops inside. Take a boat trip through the Bosphorus, the strait that separates Europe from Asia where we can enjoy the great beauty of the forests of Istanbul, its palaces and the yal?, wooden palaces built on both banks. After the tour, transfer to the airport to take a domestic flight to Cappadocia. Arrival in Cappadocia and transfer to your hotel. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel. (BD)
4th Day (Wed.) Cappadocia
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel.
Mapping-in-Depth: Sunrise balloon ride: optionally, depart early morning for a sunrise balloon ride over this amazing land. A champagne breakfast will be served. The ride takes us over such unique sites as ancient Göreme and the mystical Fairy Chimneys and lush landscape. For those who do not wish to take the ride, a delectable buffet breakfast awaits them, and there will be an opportunity to wander in the nearby remarkable cave shops and boutiques.
Upon returning from the balloon ride, we'll visit this fantastic region, its fascinating and original landscape are formed by the lava spewed by the Erciyes and Hasan Volcanoes 3 million years ago. Depart to visit the many monasteries and chapels in the Göreme valley, carved into the rocks and decorated with frescoes. Continue with the visit of the Avcilar and Güvercinlik valleys, which have a spectacular landscape of the 'Fairy Chimneys' and the troglodyte town of Uçhisar, with its landscape and its fortress of the time, carved into the rock. The visit of Cappadocia will also give you the opportunity to visit the typical workshops of Turkish carpets.
Mapping-in-Depth: experience the ceremony of whirling dervishes.
Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)
5th Day (Thu.) Cappadocia - Konya
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. In the morning, visit a traditional pottery workshop See a well-preserved 13th-century caravanserai, at which weary travelers used to rest, On route, visit the underground city of Serhatl?, built by Christian communities to protect themselves from Arab attacks. Once in Konya, we'll tour the monastery of the Mevlana whirling dervishes, a fascinating insight into traditional Turkish culture. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)
6th Day (Fri.) Konya - Pamukkale
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. We depart today to Pamukkale, a natural wonder with a gigantic white waterfall, stalactites, and natural pools from hot springs. Famous for its petrified calcareous waterfalls that have been formed because of the lime from the water that emanates in the area. We will then visit Hierapolis, with a necropolis with more than 150,000 tombs. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)
7th Day (Sat.) Pamukkale - Ephesus - Izmir
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Departure to Ephesus, the capital of Asia Minor in Roman times. Visit the archaeological vestiges, where the temple of Hadrian and the library of Celso stand out. We will have the chance to visit a typical fur production center. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BLD)
8th Day (Sun.) Izmir - Pergamon - Troya - Canakkale
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. Start the "day of legends" with a trip to Pergamon. Once a powerful ancient Greek city, you'll find the Asklepion temple here. A famous shrine and healing centre, it was built in honour of Asklepios, the god of medicine. Continue to Homer's city of Troy, the focal point of the Trojan war and the backdrop to one of history's most famous love stories, that of Paris and Helen of Troy, the face that launched 1000 ships. A replica of the mighty Trojan Horse, which helped the Greeks capture the city back in 1200 B.C., can be found beside the city's walls. After some time exploring, continue your journey to Çanakkale, a gateway to the Gallipoli WWI battlefields. Dinner and accommodation at your hotel. (BD)
9th Day (Mon.) Canakkale - Gallipoli - Istanbul
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. This morning, cross the Dardanelles Strait by ferry to the Gallipoli Peninsula. Located in the southern part of East Thrace, it was here that, for nine months during the Great War, Anzac troops fought to gain control of the Dardanelles Strait. Learn more about these events as you visit Anzac Cove and pay your respects at the Lone Pine Cemetery.
Continue to Istanbul.
In the early evening, join your fellow travelers for a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant. Accommodation at your hotel. (BD)
10th Day (Wed.) Istanbul
Enjoy a full buffet breakfast at your hotel. We drive back to Istanbul. (B) END OF OUR SERVICES
