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The arcaded courtyard of the Süleymaniye Mosque under a clear sky.

Türkiye

Vibrant Turkey — 8 Nights

Istanbul, Kusadasi and Cappadocia

Wellness

Moonik · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

9 days and 8 nights through Istanbul, Kusadasi and Cappadocia. Takes in Hagia Sophia Museum, Blue Mosque and Topkapi Palace Museum. Shaped around your dates, your hotels and your pace — this is the route as it stands, not a fixed departure.

Suits

  • Rest, water and slow days
  • Travellers with a fortnight to give it

Day by day

Day 01

Welcome to Turkey

Arrive IST airport. Arrive IST airport, meet our representative & transfer to hotel. Evening Bosphorus Dinner Cruise Tour with soft drinks and show. Bosphorus Strait is a natural waterway that runs through Istanbul, dividing the city into two continents. The Bosphorus connects Europe and Asia via the Sea of Marmara We pick up our guests from hotels. 3 hours sunset cruise on the bosphorus. Discover the Bosphorus Strait, while cruising between European and Asian sides of Istanbul. Enjoy local cuisine on cruise while watching traditional dances as well as Latin dances and enjoy live DJ performance while cruising. Admire the iconic palaces standing along the strait and see Dolmabahçe palace, Beylerbeyi palace, Cirajan palace, Ortaköy mosque, Camlica mosque, Maiden tower and many nice houses from the sea. End of the tour drop off to the hotels.

Day 02

Istanbul City Tour

Guests will be picked up and brought to the Sultanahmet district, the oldest, most historic part of the city. The first stop of the day will be the Hagia Sophia, as our tour guide explains the significance of this massive building that was once a Christian church, then a mosque, then a museum and now a mosque. Afterward, we will pass the Hippodrome of Constantinople, where we will see the sites impressive obelisk, before reaching the Blue Mosque. We should be sure to take pictures of both the interior and exterior of this impressive building. Next, we will continue to the Grand Bazaar, a massive, bustling complex to find clothing, decorative furnishings, food, and more. On the way to the bazaar, we will see other historical monuments, like the Tomb of Sultan Ahmet I, the Firuz Aga Mosque, and the exterior of the Tomb of Mehmed II. After our visit to the Grand Bazaar, we will make a brief stop for lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit Topkapi Palace (entrance not included), the primary residence of the Ottoman sultans for nearly 400 years. Afterward, the guests are returned to their hotels.

Day 03

Prince’s Island Tour

Breakfast at Hotel. Travel from your hotel by air-conditioned coach to the port with your guide, and board the boat that will take you to the Prince's islands. The largest and most interesting of the islands is Büyükada, which is your destination for the day. From the boat, look back on the sights of Istanbul, seeing iconic landmarks such as Topkapi Palace and the pretty Kiz Kulesi (also known as the Maiden’s Tower), which was featured in the James Bond film, The World is Not Enough. Dock in Büyükada and then take a stroll through the streets on your own, soaking up the laid-back atmosphere of island life. Return to the boat and listen as your guide talks about the island’s history during the ride. Learn about its time as a place of exile for banished statesmen and royalty, and of its life as a monastic settlement during Turkey’s Byzantine-Christian period. Pass lovely wooden mansions that are stunning examples of the island’s late Ottoman-era architecture, and look out over the sparkling sea. Seagulls are everywhere in Büyükada, and if you’d like to feed them your guide will give you simits (bread with sesame seeds) so you can toss them a treat. Have lunch in a restaurant, then spend the rest of your day at leisure on the island. Later, meet your guide at a pre-arranged time for your boat ride back to Istanbul. The last leg of your journey will be by coach, and you’ll be…

Day 04

Istanbul — Kusadasi

After checking out, board the transfer to the airport for your flight. Arrive Kusadasi, transfer to hotel.

Day 05

Kusadasi — Full Day Ephesus City Tour

Breakfast at Hotel. Kusadasi proceed to the House of the Virgin Mary includes scenic views of the Byzantine fortress in Selcuk and the Temple of Artemis. A long and winding road affords wonderful views of the valley en route to the Shrine of St. Mary. The diminutive house, beautifully situated in the Solmissos Mountains, is considered by the Vatican to be the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. Your tour continues to ancient Ephesus, where you’ll pass through the arched Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk to the ruins of the Roman provincial capital. Your knowledgeable guide will highlight such sights as the beautifully preserved Temple of Hadrian, the magnificent Trajan Fountain, the Odeon Theater, once used for both political and entertainment purposes, and the beautiful Celsus Library with its imposing façade and two story Corinthian-style columns. The dramatic Great Theater is one of the few structures still used today. It seats twenty-five thousand and, although it was once an arena for gladiator games, it is now home to annual spring festivals. Temple Of Artemis (Diana), on the side of one of the seven wonders of ancient World.

Day 06

Kusadasi — Pamukkale-Kusadasi

Breakfast at Hotel. You will be picked up from your hotel at around 06:30 for the tour of Pamukkale, which is the center of natural thermal spring waters with healing properties. Due to the chemical properties in the water, pure white colored travertines and stepped water terraces have been created on the mountain slope. It is for its resemblance to cotton piles that it is called "Cotton Castle" in Turkish. Upon arrival, you will visit the travertines and the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest Necropolis with 1200 gravestones in Anatolia. Also, the Sacred Pool is one of the highlights of the site (entrance not included). There shallow thermal waters ripple over a wonderful scattering of ancient roman ruins that lie beneath. After lunch, transfer to Kusadsi. Accommodation in Kusadsi. Overnight stay at Hotel.

Day 07

Kusadasi — Cappadocia

After checking out, board the transfer to the airport for your flight. Arrive Cappadocia, transfer to hotel. Overnight stay at Hotel.

Day 08

Cappadocia Tour: Hot Airballoon (not Included)

Breakfast at Hotel. Depart from your hotel to visit Red Valley through Cavusin and explore the famous rock-cut Churches. Then visit Cavusin village. Old Cavusin was abandoned several decades ago due to avalanches. The current village of Cavusin is located on the road. Old Cavusin, with its rock-cut dwellings and stone houses, had several hermitages. After lunch drive to the Pigeon Valley. In the afternoon visit Underground City, where early Christians lived in fear and faith. The houses in the village are constructed around the nearly one hundred tunnels of the underground city, which is one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia. The underground city was originally carved out as eight floors; however, four floors are available to visit. In wartime about 5000 people can refuge in. The tunnels are still used today as storage areas, stables, and cellars. Overnight stay at Hotel.

Day 09

Fly Back Home

Breakfast at hotel. Check-out. Transfer to airport for flight home

What the service covers

  • All accommodation as listed, with daily breakfast
  • All ground transport by private, air-conditioned vehicle
  • Meals as named in the day-by-day
  • A licensed guide for every sightseeing day
  • Airport transfers on arrival and departure
  • Entrance fees for the sightseeing named in the itinerary
  • A single named trip designer, reachable by WhatsApp for the whole journey

Not included

  • International flights, unless the itinerary says otherwise
  • Visa fees, travel insurance and anything a government charges directly
  • Meals other than those named in the day-by-day
  • Anything personal — minibar, laundry, spa, tips and porterage
  • Optional experiences and upgrades offered on the ground

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