12 Days Istanbul-Gallipoli-Troy-Ephesus-Pamukkale-Antalya-Konya-Cappadocia Tour

After arrival at Istanbul Airport, we will pick you up from airport and transfer to hotel, free time and overnight in Istanbul.

After having your breakfast at your hotel, you will be picked up for a half day morning Bosphorus tour for a memorable day. You will have a chance to see: Spice Market, Golden Horn, City Walls and you will admire the beauty of the Bosphorus shores and its most expensive pavillions and palaces.

End of the tour transfer to your hotel. Free afternoon to discover the charming beauty of the historic old city at your leisure. Overnight in Istanbul.

We pick you up from your hotel in the morning (06:30 -07:00 am), to depart for Gallipoli.

Today the Gallipoli battlefields are peaceful places, covered in brush and pine forests. But for nearly nine months in 1915 and 1916, Gallipoli witnessed some of World War I’s most intense fighting with around 100,000 were killed and 400,000 wounded. The battle pitted untested troops from former British colonies in the Pacific against Turks fighting to protect their homeland from foreign invasion. Nearly a century later, Australians, New Zealanders, and Turks all regard the conflict at Gallipoli as a central event in their modern history.

We’ll embark upon a guided tour of the region, once the site of fierce fighting and today almost hauntingly beautiful, with its wooded landscape dotted with understated memorials to the war dead. Full day’s tour of Dardanelles, Brighton Beach, Beach Cemetery, ANZAC Cove, Ariburnu Cemetery, ANZAC Commemorative Site, Respect to Mehmetcik Statue, Lone Pine Australian Memorial, Johnstons Jolly (Turkish and Allied trenches and tunnels), Turkish 57th Infantry Regiment Cemetery, The Nek, Chunuk Bair New Zealand Memorial. End of the tour transfer to your hotel and overnight in Canakkale.

After breakfast at the hotel and depart for our daily guided Troy Tour. We will visit the archaeological site of this 5000 years old ancient city. Troy is a legendary city and scene of the Trojan War, as described in Homer’s Iliad relating the tale of beautiful Helen, the Queen of Sparta, and Paris, the Trojan Prince. We see the Megaron houses, a small Roman theatre and Bouletarion, city walls, a small site museum and reconstructed wooden horse. After visiting Troy then you will take a bus to Kusadası which will take about six hours by comfortable, non-smoking, air-conditioned bus. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel, overnight in Kusadası.

After breakfast at your hotel then our daily guided Ephesus Tour begins by visiting Isa Bey Mosque, the remains of the Artemis Temple, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Afterwards, it proceeds to the stunning main site of Ephesus, undoubtedly the best preserved Greco-Roman city. Unforgettable highlights of the ruins are the Celsius Library, Agora, Theater, Odeon, Trajan Fountain, Domitianus Temple and Roman Latrines. Following a lunch break, visit the House of Virgin Mary; legend has it that this is where she spent her final days after she was brought there by St. John.

After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel and overnight in Kusadası or Selcuk.

After breakfast at your hotel in Kusadası or Selcuk then you will be picked up from the hotel then driven to Pamukkale which is the center of natural thermal spring waters with healing properties. Due to the limestone properties in the water, pure white colored travertines and stepped water terraces have been created on the mountain slope. It is called “Cotton Castle” in Turkish because of its fluffy white aspect. Visit the travertines and the Ancient City of Hierapolis which has the biggest Necropolis in Anatolia with 1200 gravestones. The sacred pool also is one of the main highlights of the site. There shallow thermal waters ripple over ancient Roman ruins which lie beneath.

At the end of the tour, you will take a bus to Antalya which will take about four hours by comfortable, air-conditioned, non-smoking bus. Upon arrival Antalya transfer to your hotel and overnight in Antalya.

After breakfast we will pick you up from your hotel and a full day guided tour will start.

Perge, an astonishing ancient city with city walls, theatre, agora, Hellenistic Stadium.

Kursunlu Waterfalls, a fascinating natural waterfall and idyllic surroundings.

Aspendos, an ancient Lycian city with a superbly preserved Roman Theatre.

Side, an ancient harbour which means pomegranate in the old Anatolian Sidetan language. This pretty resort town is famous for its ancient ruins, beautiful sandy beaches and numerous boutiques.

End of the tour you will be transfered to your hotel. Overnight in Antalya.

After you have your breakfast at your hotel in Antalya, we will transfer you to the bus station then take a bus to Konya which will take about six hours by passing through the world famous Taunus Mountains; upon arrival in Konya, you will be met at the bus station then transferred to your hotel, then you have free time to explore the city and its historic sights at leisure. Stroll through the old city and discover Mevlana Museum, the historical market area, shop for souvenirs in the beautiful boutiques selling clothes, spices, souvenirs near Aziziye Mosque.

Konya is located right in the middle of Turkey. Once known as Iconium, Konya is historically and religiously significant on several counts: it was one of the missionary destinations of St. Paul, the capital of the Seljuk empire from 1150 to 1300 and was the home of Rumi (Mevlana), the Sufi saint who founded the Whirling Dervishes. The Mevlevi sema is the Sufi worship ceremony in which the Mevlevi dervishes whirl in their quest for mystical union with the Divine. The Mevlana Museum shelters the tomb of Jelaleddin Rumî (1207-1273), known to his followers as Mevlana (or Rumî), a Muslim poet and mystic and one of the great spiritual thinkers and teachers of all time.

You should taste the world famous ‘Etli Ekmek’ (Turkish pizza) and ‘Fırın Kebabı’ (oven-baked kebab). Konya cuisine has made great contributions to Turkish cuisine, try the local specialities.

Overnight in Konya.

Breakfast at your hotel in Konya, you can visit Alaaddin Mosque, Karatay Museum, Ince Minare Museum at leisure then you will take a bus to Cappadocia in the afternoon which will take just under four hours. Arrive in Cappadocia and transfer to your hotel. Overnight in Cappadocia.

Breakfast at your hotel and we will pick you up from your hotel to start a full day guided tour of Northern Cappadocia. We then visit the monastic complex of Goreme Open Air Museum with its stunning rock-hewn architecture and vibrant frescoes; Uchisar Rock Castle, the highest point of the rocky region; the lunar landscape of Devrent  Valley; the charming town of Avanos, famous throughout Turkey for its pottery and painted tiles; Pasabag Valley, which has some of the most astonishing fairy chimneys in Cappadocia, Cavusin, an old Christian village and Urgup’s fairy chimneys. End of the tour transfer to hotel and overnight stay in Cappadocia.

After breakfast at your hotel departure for your full guided day tour of Southern Cappadocia which begins at Pigeon Valley, where you see thousands of dovecots lining the steep cliffs. A visit to one of the extraordinary underground cities at Derinkuyu where Christians hid in fear and faith. At Selime Village you will be astonished by the beautiful  churches carved out of the volcanic tufa rock. Visit Ihlara Valley, the most  beautiful gorge in Cappadocia. At the end of your tour we transfer you to airport for a flight to Istanbul, after arrival in Istanbul transfer to your hotel.

After breakfast, our tour concludes and we say goodbye to our new friends and depending on your international flight schedule we transfer you to the airport and say ”have a good flight”.