Classical Anatolian Tour

 
3980 $
Single Suppl.850$
0-2 Child Reduc. Free
2-12 Child Reduc. 50 %
Student Reduc. 10 %

The Prices Include:Transportation with an A/C luxury minivan,Professional guiding,Lunches ,Admission fees to the museums and sights,domestic flight tickets as described in the itinerary taxes
Guaranteed departure
15 May. 2017
10 Sept. 2017(The vintage festival Cappadocia)

Landing off to Istanbul and meeting at the airport, transfer to the hotel, free time

2nd Day – Sultanahmet - Old Istanbul
Meeting at the reception at 9.00 am. First of all, we start our trip with Topkapı Palace which has been an administrative center of the Ottoman Empire for nearly 400 years. Topkapı Palace is the palace where Ottoman Sultans lived and used as the administration center of the State during 400 years of the 600-year history of the Ottoman Empire. Once upon a time nearly 4000 people lived there. Topkapı Palace was built in 1478 by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, and has been the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans and the administrative center of the state for about 380 years until the construction of Dolmabahçe Palace by Sultan Abdülmecid. Today the area of the palace is 80.000 m² and it was located at an area of approximately 700,000 m² during the years of establishment. Then we are visiting Harem which has been the subject of television series. This is a private and prohibited place where the Sultan lived with his family.

In Harem, there are 300 rooms, 9 baths, 2 mosques, 1 hospital, wards and 1 laundry. After we get some information about the Harem life, we are going to the Ayasofya Museum. Ayasofya was a Patriarchal Cathedral with basilica plan which was built at the old city center in Istanbul's historic peninsula center by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian between the years of 532-537 A.D. and was converted into a mosque by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror, after Istanbul was conquered by Turks in 1453. It has been serving as a museum since 1935. Ayasofya is a domed basilica type building which incorporates the basilica plan with the central plan in terms of architecture, is considered to be a turning point in the history of architecture with its dome transit and conveyor system. Here we see the frescoes in the museum and we are having lunch at the famous “Sultanahmet Köftecisi”.

After lunch, we are entering Alman Çeşmesi (German Fountain), Dikilitaş (Obelisk), Yılanlı Sütun (Serpentine Column), Örme Sütun (Stone Obelisk) located in Sultanahmet Meydanı (Sultan Ahmet Square) which was known as Hippodrome in the Byzantine era and we are also entering Sultanahmet Cami (Blue Mosque) which was built by Architect Sedefker Mehmed Aga in the name of Sultan 1.Ahmed. We are browsing around the architecture which is known as the Blue Mosque because of the blue tiles in it and we are returning to the hotel.

 

3th Day
We start our tour from Mısır Çarşısı (Egyptian Bazaar) located in Eminönü district. It is a place where the goods and spice are sold which are brought from Egypt during the era of Ottoman Empire, and that’s why it is named as Egyptian Bazaar. Then we are going to Bosphorus from here.
Bosphorus Tour: The Strait of Istanbul (Bosphorus) which connects the Sea of Marmara and the Black Sea is world-famous for the feature of linking the continents of Asia and Europe. Anatolia and Rumeli Fortresses which were built before the conquest of Istanbul are located at the narrowest part of the Istanbul Strait. The waterside residences lined up along the Bosphorus are the beautiful examples of Ottoman architecture. From here, we are heading towards Beylerbeyi.
Beylerbeyi Palace: The palace was built by the architect Sarkis Balyan between 1861-1865 in the name of Sultan Abdulaziz. While the interior decoration of the palace is intensified with neo-classical architectural features, the exterior decoration relied on the Ottoman architectural style. The palace was used as the summer palace of the sultans as well as for Sultans’ visits from time to time. After Beylerbeyi, we heading towards Çamlıca hill lastly.
Çamlıca Hill: Çamlıca Hill has the distinction of being the top of the highest hill of Istanbul. The hill, which has the height as 267 meters above sea level, is one of the places often visited by local and foreign tourists. When the top of the hill is reached, the spectacular views of the Bosphorus will meet you.

4th Day İstanbul-Kapadokya
Transfer from the airport to Cappadocia according to the flight time. In Cappadocia region, 60 million years ago, interesting erosion images and Fairy Chimneys emerged by the soft layers that have been eroded by the wind and rain throughout millions of years and which were made of the lavas and ashes that Mountains Erciyes, Hasandağı ve Güllüdağ sprayed. 3 volcanos and 1 river are essential for the formation of a capped fairy chimney. And in the world, this is only seen in Cappadocia. There are hundreds of churches, monasteries and chapels that were firstly built by Christians. There are 5 underground cities that are open to visit. This number is 20 with the ones that are not open to visit. Accommodation at the hotel.

5th Day
We start our tour with the Devrent Valley. After, trip to Pasabagi Fairy Chimneys which is also known as Keşişler Vadisi (Valley of Monks) where multi-headed Fairy Chimneys are present. The trip to Avanos Pottery Workshop, lunch, trip to Göreme Open Air Museum, and returning to the hotel.

6th Day

Breakfast.Meeting at 09:15 in the morning .Mustafapaşa(Sinasos-old Greek houses),Taşkınpaşa,Soğanlı Valley and churches.Lunch. Derinkuyu Underground city.Göre panaromic view.Uçhisar Castle.Return to otel,dinner and accommodation in Cappadocia.

7th Day
Meeting at the reception at 09:00 a.m.3 km hiking at Ihlara Valley. Trip to Kaya churches of 13th century in the Valley. We are having lunch in the Valley next to Melendiz stream. Trip to Selime Monastery.Kaymaklı Underground city . Returning to hotel.

8th Day – Kapadokya-Efes
Departure from the hotel according to the flight time. Flight to İzmir from Cappadocia and then we are visiting ancient city of Ephesus. Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Anatolia and located within the borders of present-day Selçuk town. Ephesus was one of the twelve cities of Ionia during the classical Greek era. Its establishment is based on the years of 6000 BC Neolithic age. There, you will see the terrace houses where the rich people lived and also the mosaics and magnificent frescoes. From here, next, we are going to Temple of Artemis. The Temple of Artemis, whose foundations go back to BC 7th century, is one of the world's seven wonders, and the ancient world’s first temple built of marble. It was built by the Lydian king Croesus and dedicated to Goddess Artemis. After our trip to the temple of Artemis, we are finally going to visit the house of the Virgin Mary. It is located in Bülbüldağı (Mountain Koressos) and it was believed that St. Mary, the mother of Jesus, spent her last years there together with St. John. It is a pilgrimage place for Christians and was visited by some Popes. Although it is believed that the tomb of Virgin Mary is at Bülbüldağı, it is believed that the tomb of Virgin Mary is in Selefkos of that era (present-day Silifke), as described in the Bible. Returning to our hotel and overnight stay in Ephesus.

9th Day – Ephesus-Pamukkale
We are going to Pamukkale from here. Pamukkale, which is at the north of the city of Denizli and 20 km away from the center, is intertwined with the ancient city of Hierapolis. Hierapolis which was established in 97 B.C. is known as a holy city because St.Philip, one of the disciples of Jesus, was murdered in here. On the way, we are visiting Aphrodisias. After, we are starting to visit Travertines of Pamukkale. Then Hierapolis, end of the tour and overnight stay in Pamukkale.

10th Day - Pamukkale –İzmir- İstanbul
Transfer to airport and departure from Turkey.