Turkey – West & East Tour

Welcome to the Istanbul!

Upon arrival, meet with your driver and transfer to your accommodating hotel. Spend the day at leisure to relax and rest after your overseas flight in this astonishing city.

Istanbul - Boat trip to the Bosphorus and visit the Dolmabahce Palace

Start the day with a private sightseeing tour of Istanbul. Visit the Egyptian-Spice Bazaar, which was known as a place where shops sold only spices during the Ottoman period. Today, there are only a few spice and herb specialists.  The rest sell dried fruit, basketry, jewelry, etc., then take a boat for a cruise along the Bosphorus. The cruise takes you along the Bosphorus, passing the European-style palaces of the Ottomans, Dolmabahce, Beylerbeyi, and a beautiful wooden kiosk from the 19th century. Visit the Dolmabahce Palace, one of the most magnificent symbolic structures of the Ottoman Empire's changing 19th-century identity. This elegant palace of the Bosphorus is one of the most glamorous palaces in the world.

Istanbul - Old city sightseeing tour

After breakfast departure from the hotel for a full-day private sightseeing tour. Visit Topkapi Palace, which, from the 15th to the 19th century, was the principal residence of the Ottoman Sultans. Topkapi Palace is not a museum and has unrivaled collections of jewelry, including the Spoon maker’s Diamond, the 3rd largest in the world, Ottoman court costumes and ceramics, notable one of the world’s finest collections of Chinese celadon ceramics, much of it gifts from other rulers.

Visit Hagia Sophia, built by Emperor Justinian in the early 6th century AD and designed by Anthemius of Tralles and Isodore of Miletus, the church is one of the marvels of world architecture. It is famed for its mosaics, including glittering portraits of emperors and empresses and a poignant Virgin and Child.

Visit the Blue Mosque, which takes its name from the exquisite tiles adorning its interior. Built by Sultan Ahmet I in the early 17th century, and designed by a pupil of Sinan, the greatest of Ottoman architects, it is the only imperial mosque with six minarets. Visit the Hippodrome, the stadium of ancient Byzantium held 100.000 spectators and featured objects from all corners of the empire. Visit Underground Cistern, which is the largest and most ornate of the cisterns in Istanbul. It was dug and built probably after 542 by Emperor Justinian 1. Visit the Grand Covered Bazaar was the commercial heart of the old city and its 4.000 shops are full of treasures including carpets and kilims, silks, jewelry, ceramics, icons, and leather goods.

Kusadasi - Visit archeological site, Pergamon

After breakfast drive to the Istanbul airport for our flight to Izmir. Arrive at Izmir airport and drive to Bergama. Visit the Acropolis, one of Turkey's most impressive archaeological sites. Acropolis is dramatically sited on a hill to the northeast of the town center. There's plenty to see in this ancient settlement, among these are the Temple of Trajan, the vertigo-inducing 10,000 persons seat Hellenistic theatre, the Altar of Zeus (sadly denuded of its magnificent frieze, which now resides in Berlin), and the Asclepion, built in the 4th Century BC, around a sacred spring that still flows, in honor of Asklepios, god of healing. Asclepion was an ancient healing complex located at the base of the Pergamon acropolis in Turkey. It became one of the best-known healing centers of the ancient world. It was also the world's first psychiatric hospital. After our visits drive to Kusadasi. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Kusadasi is one of Turkey’s beach resort towns and a major cruise ship destination on the western Aegean coast that offers an excellent environment for an unforgettable holiday. The town is close to important historical sites including Ephesus, Temple of Artemis, Goddess Artemis, House of Virgin Mary, Seven Sleepers, Didyma, Priene, Miletos.

Kusadasi - Explore the ancient site of Ephesus

Depart from the hotel after breakfast and drive to Ephesus for a full-day tour. Visits the ancient site of Ephesus, one of the most impressive and well-preserved archaeological sites in the world; House of Virgin Mary, where St. Mary is supposed to spend her last years together with St. John; Selcuk Ephesus museum, it is one of the most important and most visited museums of Turkey. You will see many significant works of anywhere, finds of Ayasuluk and Ephesus excavations are on exhibition. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Pamukkale - Enjoy the small town of Pamukkale with Ancient Roman Spa

After breakfast, drive to Pamukkale which is a small town in western Turkey, best known for its mineral-rich thermal waters that flow down the bright white terraces of a steep valley side. Next to this geological phenomenon is Hierapolis, an ancient Roman spa city founded around 190B.C. The ruins there contain a pristine theatre and a necropolis with tombs that expanse for 1.2 miles. It’s little wonder that Pamukkale-Hierapolis is the main tourist hotspot with a unique combination of natural and man-made marvels.

Visit the ruins of Hierapolis including the magnificently preserved cemetery “Necropolis”, the main street and gates, the thermal baths, the Roman theatre, and the museum. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Konya - Visit the Mausoleum of Mevlana, Konya

After early breakfast drive to Cappadocia via Konya.

The city is in a large fertile plain in Central Anatolia, which is Turkey’s equivalent of the ‘Bible Belt’. A town has existed on its site since at least 1200 BC. The area that was part of the Roman Empire, the town was known as Iconium. Konya was the capital of the Seljuk Turks' kingdom in Anatolia between 1081 and 1334 and contains several historical monuments dating from that period. Konya is a city with considerable history, but now a combination of old and new.

In Konya, visit the Mausoleum of Mevlana, the worldwide famous mystic figure; then continue to Cappadocia. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Cappadocia - Best known for its unique moon-like landscape, underground cities, cave churches

After breakfast departure from the hotel to Cappadocia.

The Cappadocia region is the place where nature and history come together most beautifully within the world. The Cappadocian Fathers of the fourth century were integral to much of early Christian philosophy. It also produced, among other people, another Patriarch of Constantinople, John of Cappadocia who held office 517–520. For most of the Byzantine era, it remained relatively undisturbed by the conflicts in the area, first with the Sassanid Empire and later against the Islamic expansion led by Arabs. Cappadocia contains several underground cities, largely used by early Christians as hiding places before they became a legitimate religion.

During the historical period, while the geographic events are forming Peribacalari (fairy chimneys), humans had carried the signs of thousand years old civilizations by carving houses and churches within these earth pillars and decorating them with frisks.
The area is a world-famous and popular tourist destination, as it has many areas with unique geological, historic and cultural features.

Visits the Uc Guzeller, which are famed fairy chimneys; Devrent valley, with various types of fairy chimneys; Pasabaglari (Monk’s valley), where you will see many fairy chimneys with multiple stems and caps can be found here. Drive to Avanos, which is known for the pottery, a craft dating back to the Hittite period. Continue to visit to Goreme Open Air Museum, where this religious education was started. You will visit the churches, chapels and monasteries carved into the fairy chimneys from the 10th to the 13th centuries with frescoes painted on the walls. Taking some photos in Uchisar castle, which is the highest point in the region. After visiting Kaymakli Underground City, the place early Christians hid from persecutors Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Adiyaman - Experience gigantic statues on the mount of Nemrut

Departure from the hotel for Continue to Kahta and drive to the mount of Nemrut with minibusses to see the tumulo of the King Antiochus of Commagene the special tomb, which is known with its gigantic statues, the heads spread around and reflecting the charming periods of past. Transfer to the hotel in Adiyaman for dinner and overnight.

Mount Nemrut, the monumental resting place of King Antiochus I Theos from the Kingdom of Commagene, is one of the most fascinating ancient places in Turkey. A kingdom founded north of Syria and the Euphrates after the breakup of Alexander's empire is one of the most ambitious constructions of the Hellenistic period. The syncretism of its pantheon, and the lineage of its kings, which can be traced back through two sets of legends, Greek and Persian, is evidence of the dual origin of this kingdom's culture. Although the country abounds in magnificent relics of antiquity, Mount Nemrut deserves to be on the top ten list of the archaeological hits of Asia Minor.

Urfa - The Birthplace of the Prophet Abraham

Departure from the hotel after breakfast and drive to Urfa; the birthplace of the prophet Abraham. On our way to Urfa, we will first visit and have a great view of Ataturk Water Dam. Then we will have a Sanliurfa city tour and visit Balikligol and Urfa Museum. After the tour transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Sanliurfa, according to both the Bible and Quran, is the birthplace of Abraham before he migrates to Canaan, now Palestine. The cruel ruler's giant slingshot is represented by two Corinthian columns still standing atop the citadel. Sanliurfa is a surprising mix of the old and new with Turkish, Arab, and Kurdish peasants who come from the countryside haggling in the traditional bazaar. The restaurants are packed with locals and foreigners dining on the famed Urfa kebab of Turkish Cuisine and other delights of the area.

Urfa - Explore the Biblical city of Harran

After breakfast drive to the Biblical city of Harran and see the incredible beehive houses, castles, and the remains of the earliest Islamic University in the world. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Harran is an ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia, dating back to the Early Bronze Age in the 3rd millennium BC. Harran was established as a merchant outpost as it was situated along a trade route between the Mediterranean and the plains of the Tigris river. Today it's located about 28 miles (45 km) south of Sanliurfa city in Southeastern Anatolia, in Turkey. In Harran, the landscape flattens into the Mesopotamian plain, broken only by the ancient mounds and obscure, mud-brick villages. Here lies a part of Turkey experiencing extremely rapid change, especially as it was formerly one of the poorest and least developed areas in the country until a few decades ago.

Mardin - Gobekli Tepe is the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered

After breakfast, a departure from the hotel and drive to Gobeklitepe Archeological site. Gobeklitepe is the oldest human-made place of worship yet discovered. The site, currently undergoing excavations by German and Turkish archaeologists was erected by hunter-gatherers in the 10th millennium BC (c. 11,500 years ago), before the advent of sedentism. Together with Nevalı Çori, it has revolutionized the understanding of the Eurasian Neolithic. Then drive to Mardin where visit the Deyrul-Zefaran Monastery. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Mardin - One of the oldest cities of upper Mesopotamia

Mardin, which is a timeless city where calls to prayer echo with church bell sounds, is created by the delicate spirit of the mason's hands that gave form to its stones. One of the oldest cities of upper Mesopotamia, Mardin is a truly enchanting and poetic city.

After breakfast stroll around the narrow streets of the city, visit the Bazaar, the Zinciriye madrasa, mosques, Mardin Museum and churches. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Diyarbakir - Discover an ancient city, Hasankeyf

Early in the morning, after breakfast drive to Midyat and then continue to Hasankeyf which is an ancient city, located on the shores of the Tigris River of southeastern Turkey. It was a strategic spot on the route from Upper Mesopotamia to Anatolia and a staging point on the Silk Road. The history of the old town goes back 10,000 years. After visiting the site continue to Diyarbakir, visit the city of Diyarbakir including walls and the Grand Mosque. Transfer to the hotel for dinner and overnight.

Istanbul - The city of a focal point of several ancient empires

Departure from the hotel to the airport for their departing flight to Istanbul. Meet the group at Istanbul Airport and transfer to the hotel overnight.

Departure to the Istanbul Airport to fly back home

Today is the final day of our journey. Morning is yours to relax and have breakfast until your departure. Later, check-out and private transfer to Istanbul Airport for your departure flight.