Magnificent Tour of Turkey

Arrival at Istanbul airport, transfer to the hotel. Our representative will meet you at your hotel, help you with the check-in, inform you of all the details of your trip.

Overnight in Istanbul.

After your breakfast, at the agreed time, we will pick you up from your hotel, or the nearest pick-up point, to begin a full-day tour of this magnificent city. It includes an official English-speaking guide, tickets, lunch at a central city restaurant, and a visit to the most resplendent monuments that the Ottoman, Byzantine, and Roman empires have handed down to future generations: Hagia Sophia, Constantinople Racecourse, The Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar, which houses more than 4000 stores.

At the end of the visit, you may linger some more in the old city, enjoying the amazing atmosphere. Finally, transfer to your hotel.

Overnight in Istanbul.

After your tasty breakfast at your hotel, you will enjoy some free time in the city. We will then pick you up in our air- conditioned bus and, past the Intercontinental bridge, you will travel to Ankara, the capital of Turkey. Ankara is an important trade center and a major intersection in the road network of the country. Upon your arrival, enjoy dinner.

Overnight in Ankara.

After a tasty breakfast, you will visit the city and some of its most interesting landmarks, such as the Mausoleum of Ataturk, dedicated to the founder of the Turkish Republic, the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations with exhibitions from the Palaeolithic, Neolithic, Hittite and Phrygian Urartu past of central Anatolia.

In the afternoon you will depart for Cappadocia, a marvelous and fascinating region of lunar landscapes, formed over the centuries in the thick and soft layer of lavas sculpted by the two nearby volcanoes. On your way there you will stop at one of the 36 underground cities of Cappadocia, which was built by Christian communities as a protection from Muslim Arabs. Here the stables, storage, and other common rooms are perfectly preserved in the soft volcanic rock.

Upon arrival, you will check-in at your hotel, have dinner and enjoy a good rest.

Overnight in Cappadocia.

After your breakfast, you will have the whole day to enjoy the charms of Cappadocia. Start by visiting the Göreme Valley, its open-air museum with the villages of prehistoric cave dwellers and underground cities. It is here where the ideas of Christianity were unified by St Basil the Great and his Christian brothers. You will visit the churches, chapels and monasteries, with their ancient frescoes painted on the walls.
Your next destination will be the troglodyte village of Uçhisar and the Valley of Avcilar, which has a spectacular landscape.

You will continue through the Devrent Valley, also known as Imaginary Valley, with its pointed, mushroom-like structures, many of which are said to resemble animal shapes. Finally, you will visit local artisan workshops, such as carpet-making or jewelry shops with the popular translucent onyx stones.You will return to your hotel, where you will enjoy dinner and spend the night.

Overnight in Cappadocia.

Early in the morning, after a delicious breakfast, you will depart for Pamukkale. On your way there you will stop at the Old Palace and Medieval Fort of Caravanserai, built along the trade route that once led to Persia. Here, in former times, merchants from the east and west used to rest, stock up on supplies and socialize.

Upon your arrival, you will have free time to familiarize yourself with the city and maybe visit Pamukkale's travertine terraces or white calcium cascades formed by the activity of the hot thermal springs in the area. You will enjoy dinner and a good rest at your hotel.

Overnight in Pamukkale.

Have Breakfast at your hotel and, at the agreed time, you will visit the archaeological site of Ephesus, the vast and beautiful Greco- Roman city, a vibrant and rich metropolis. In Ephesus, you will visit the ruins of the Odeon, a small roofed theatre for plays and concerts, the Temple of Hadrian, the Library of Celsus, which once held nearly 12,000 scrolls, the Greco-Roman Theater as well as the Agora and the Basilica of Saint John, built during the reign of the emperor Justinian in the 6th century.

A major tourist attraction is Meryemana, the house, which is believed to be the last resting place of the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus. Afterward, you will stop at a leather production center, where you can pick the 'silk leather' item that you like at much-reduced prices. You will then continue to Izmir, have dinner, and rest.

Overnight in Izmir.

After breakfast and at the time indicated by your guide, you will depart for the ancient city of Pergamon - the current Bergama- one of the cultural, commercial, and medical centers of the ancient world in Asia Minor. In Pergamon, you will visit the Acropolis, the steepest theater in the world, Asclepius, and you will have a panoramic view of the Altar of Zeus, mentioned in the Book of Revelations.

Another important place that you will visit is the Library, which, according to archaeologists, competed with that of Alexandria, with more than 200,000 written records. The name of the city continues to live as a distortion of Pergamon, "Bergamini" or 'parchment', which was the paper that resulted from the treatment of sheepskins and rivaled papyrus for writing purposes. After the visit, you will continue to Troy, a fascinating place that evokes the poetic name of the Iliad Epic Saga of Homer.

After visiting this famous archaeological city of history and literature, you will continue to Çanakkale, located on the southern coast of the Dardanelles, at its narrowest point. Here you will check in at your hotel, have dinner and spend the night.

Overnight in Çanakkale.

After a delicious breakfast, you will head to the Dardanelles Strait, formerly known as the Hellespont, where you will travel by ferry to the Gallipoli Peninsula. You will visit one of the most emotionally evocative places in Turkey, the World War I Battlefields of Gallipoli. There are now many cemeteries and war memorials on the historic site, such as Brighton Beach, the Beach Cemetery, Anzac Cove, Ariburnu Cemetery, the Anzac Commemorative Site, Respect to Mehmetcik Statue dedicated to Little Mehmet who carried a Kiwi soldier to safety, Lone Pine Australian Memorial, the Nek, Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial.

After about a five-hour drive, you will arrive in Istanbul and will be transferred to your hotel, where you will check in and spend the night.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Have a tasty Breakfast. Enjoy a free day in Istanbul or a Full-Day Bosphorus optional tour.

Overnight in Istanbul.

Morning at leisure until the time to transfer to Istanbul airport for your international return flight home. Hope to see you again.