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Day 1 Thu: Istanbul

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

 

Day 2 Fri: 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 Sat: Gallipoli – Dardanelles – Canakkale (B,D)

• Depart for Gallipoli, the site of many battles during WWI. 

• Visit Anzac Cove, Lone Pine Cemetery, and Chunuk Bair, then overnight in Canakkale.

 

Day 4 Sun: Troy – Pergamum – Izmir (B,L)

• Visit Troy with its famous wooden horse, best known for being the setting of the Trojan War and many cities built on top of each other. 

• Before arriving into Asklepion, enjoy lunch with locals in a traditional local village. 

• Continue to Pergamum to visit the ancient Medical Center in Asklepion and then continue to Izmir for overnight.

 

Day 5 Mon: Ephesus & St. Mary’s House – Izmir (B)

• Tour the famous ruins of Ephesus, an important cultural center of the ancient world, and explore 2,000-year-old marble streets, a theater, the Library of Celsius, a gymnasium, and Hadrian’s Temple.

• Take a short drive to see St. Mary’s stone cottage where it is believed Virgin Mary spent her last years accompanied by St. John. 

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

• Overnight at the hotel in Izmir.

 

Day 6 Tue: Izmir – Bodrum (B)

• After breakfast, drive to Bodrum to visit the castle of St. Peter and the renowned Underwater Museum that was awarded the best Underwater Museum of the World in the 2000s.

• Overnight in Bodrum.

 

Day 7 Wed: Bodrum (B)

• After breakfast, free time for personal activities. 

• Optional tour to Kos Island. 

• Overnight in Bodrum. (For Kos: Only roundtrip ferry ticket will be provided)

 

Day 8 Thu: Bodrum – Pamukkale (B,D)

• After breakfast, drive through lush valleys to Pamukkale, the Cotton Fortress, with white lime cascades formed by hot mineral springs. 

• Visit ruins of the Roman health spa of Hierapolis and enjoy a swim in your hotel’s thermal pool.

 

Day 9 Fri: Pamukkale – Antalya (B,D)

• After breakfast, depart for Antalya, dinner, and overnight. 

• Walking tour of the old town center.

 

Day 10 Sat: Perge – Aspendos – Antalya (B,D)

• Spend a full day at leisure, or join the optional tour to Perge & Aspendos. 

• Afternoon is free for personal activities. 

• Dinner at the hotel.

 

Day 11 Sun: Antalya – Cappadocia (B,D)

• Early morning departure to Cappadocia with a visit to the 13th century Caravanserai and later visit the underground city of Saratli. 

• Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

 

Day 12 Mon: Cappadocia (B,D)

• Early Morning Optional: Hot Air Balloon Tour. Experience floating through volcanic valleys, fairy chimneys, and caves at sunrise.

• After breakfast, visit Goreme, a historical region of Turkey, located among the rock formations, which were first settled back in the Roman period. Many rock churches can still be observed today, as Christianity was then the prevailing religion in that region.

• Continue to the town of Avanos renowned for its high-quality pottery.

• Also visit Devrent and Red Valley, and attend a brief regional pottery workshop.

• Dinner at the Hotel. 

• Join an optional Whirling Dervishes performance.

 

Day 13 Tue: Cappadocia – Ankara (B)

• Early morning departure to the capital city of Ankara through the Salt Lake area. 

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

• Overnight in Ankara.

 

Day 14 Wed: Ankara – Istanbul (B,D)

• After breakfast, depart for Istanbul.

• In the afternoon, join an optional half-day Bosphorus cruise enjoying the strait that separates Asia and Europe. Its shores are lined with fine neighborhoods, Ottoman palaces, fortresses, old wooden villas, hotels, parks and gardens, restaurants, and cafés. 

• Finish your last-minute shopping at the Spice Market filled with the fragrance of the exotic east. 

• Tonight enjoy a farewell dinner.

 

 

Day 15 Thu: Istanbul - Return (B)

• After breakfast transfer to airport.

 

Meal Codes:

- B: Breakfast

- L: Lunch

- D: Dinner