Western Turkey Tour 1

Day 1 Arrival in Istanbul
Saturday
Upon arrival meet with our representative and transfer to the hotel. Dinner not included.

Day 2 Istanbul
Sunday Breakfast, Lunch
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In the morning, visit imposing Haghia Sophia which marked the apogee of Byzantine Emperor Justinian's reign; St Savior in Chora whose mosaics and frescoes are among the most beautiful in the Byzantine World. After lunch at a fish restaurant visit Rustempasa Mosque with its beautiful Iznik (Nicea) tiles and ; the livelySpice Market with its exotic colors and aromas. You can take a Bosphorus cruise excursion. Dinner not included. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 3 Istanbul
Monday Breakfast, Lunch
A full day tour to explore Istanbul, a fascinating city straddling two continents which, under the name Byzantium and Constantinople was the capital of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, and in 1453, became the third and last Capital of the Ottomans. Visit the Blue Mosque, recognizable from its six minarets, built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmet I and decorated inside with 21,043 tiles from Iznik in a dominant blue color; the Hippodrome where political, cultural, and sports activities took place during Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman times; Topkapi Palace, the residence of the Ottoman sultans between the end of the 15th and the first half of the 19th centuries, with its treasures; and free time to wander and shop at the historical Grand BazaarLunch during sightseeing. Dinner not included. Overnight at the hotel.

Day 4 Istanbul - Ankara
Tuesday 440 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, drive to Ankara, the Turkish capital since 1923. Visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations which displays rich and unique collections such as the treasures in the Hittite section; We will briefly stop to see the Anitkabir, the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 5 Ankara - Hattusa - Cappadocia
Wednesday 395 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, drive to Bogazkale to visit Hattusa, the capital of the powerful Hittites, where numerous cuneiform tablets have been discovered: you will see the Lower City with the Great Temple, the Upper City with the citadel and the double walls, the Royal Gate, the Lions Gate, the tunnel. You will also visit the rock sanctuary of Yazilikaya with its friezes and reliefs depicting the Hittite divinities. Continue south into the heart of central Anatolia to the volcanic region of Cappadocia. Upon arrival, visit charming Uchisar village, with its tufa rock crowned with a citadel which provides a magnificent panorama over the area, and the Valley of the Pigeon Houses. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 6 Cappadocia
Thursday Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
A full day tour to explore Cappadocia, a fantastic region with lunar landscapes. Visit the Red Valley; Goreme Valley, an open-air museum with rock-cut churches (7th-13th centuries) decorated with fine frescoes: the Church of St Barbara, the Church of the Serpent, the Church of the Sandal, the Church of the Apple, the Church of the Buckle... Also visit Avcilar Valley and Kiliclar Valley with their old cave-dwellings and fairy chimneys; underground city, a labyrinth organized on seven levels and used as shelter by the local population in period of invasions. Learn about arts and and crafts of rural Turkey with a pottery atelier visit and attend a lecture on Turkish hand-made rugs. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 7 Cappadocia - Konya - Antalya
Friday 535 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, drive through the Plain of Konya, the granery of Turkey. En route, stop at the Sultanhan Caravanserai built during the Seljuk period in the 13th century and which is the largest in Anatolia. Upon arrival in Konya, the capital of the Sultanate of Rum and the holy city of the Seljuk Turks, visit the Museum of Mevlana, the famous mystic and poet who founded the Sufi Order of the Whirling Dervishes in the 13th century. Crossing the Taurus Mountains, drive to Antalya, overlooking the Turquoise depths of the Mediterranean. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 8 Antalya - Aspendus - Perge - Antalya
Saturday 90 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Through the coastal plain of Pamphylia, drive to Aspendus, whose 2C AD theatre is the best preserved Roman theatre in Asia Minor. Continue to Perge, and visit this other Hellenistico-Roman ancient city with its stadium, colonnaded street and theatre. Drive back to Antalya. Stroll in the narrow streets of the picturesque old town (kaleici) with its narrow streets and typical wooden houses overlooking the marina, to discover the Hadrian Gate, the Fluted Minaret, the Truncated Minaret, and Hidirlik Tower. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 9 Antalya - Aphrodisias - Pamukkale
Sunday 335 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, crossing the Taurus Mountains, drive to Aphrodisias the ancient city dedicated to Aphrodite, the goddess of Beauty, Love and Fertility, also famous for its school of sculpture: visit the stadium, which is the best preserved in Anatolia, the Temple of Aphrodite, the Tetrapylon, the Theatre, the Museum. Continue to Pamukkale, a unique natural site. Visit this " Cotton Castle " where the hot waters, leaving their limestone deposits, have created an unreal landscape with petrified waterfalls and basins; and Hierapolis, an ancient Roman health spa whose well preserved necropolis is one of the largest in the ancient world. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 10 Pamukkale - Ephesus - Kusadasi
Monday 270 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, drive through the plain of the Meander River to reach the imposing city of Ephesus, one of the most fascinating in the ancient world. Visit the site where you will see the Marble Street, the Agora, the Odeon, the Nympheaum of Trajan, the Temple of Hadrian, the Celsius Library, the Theatre, the remains of the Temple of Artemis which was one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Also visit the House of the Virgin Mary which has been designated by the Vatican as a place of pilgrimage and which is located in a remote setting in the heights of Ephesus. Continue to Izmir, the third largest city in Turkey known as "The Pearl of the Aegean". Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 11 Izmir - Pergamum - Troy - Canakkale
Tuesday 310 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, depart for Pergamum, the capital of the Attalid dynasty. Visit the ancient city where parchment was invented: the Acropolis with the ruins of the agoras, temples, palaces, the library which contained 200,000 volumes, the podium on which stood the Zeus Altar which was sent to Berlin, and the impressive theatre built on the hillside which provides a wonderful panorama of the surroundings. In the lower part of the ancient city, visit the Asclepion, a sanctuary and a healing center dedicated to the god of healing, Asclepius. Continue to the ancient city of Troy whose history covers a period of about 3,400 years with nine layers of settlements (Troy I to IX). King Priam's glorious city, which can be found in the Iliad, Homer's epic poem, was immortalized through mythological characters: Helen, Menelas, Paris, Agamemnon, Achilles, Hector...and the legendary Trojan Wooden Horse, a reconstruction of which stands at the entrance of the site. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Canakkale located on the Asian side of the Strait of the Dardanelles.

Day 12 Canakkale - Istanbul
Wednesday 335 km Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
In the morning, cross the Strait of the Dardanelles by ferry. Continue to Gallipolli Peninsula where the Dardanelles War took place. Brief glance at the battlefields, trenches and memorials that remind us of the Turkish, English, French, Australian and New Zealander (ANZAC), and Indian soldiers fallen between 1915-1916. Continue to Istanbul. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 13 Departure
Thursday Breakfast
Transfer to the airport.

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Packed Paradise Turkey 2010