Day 1 (Arrival to Istanbul)

After your arrival to Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gokcen Airport (SAW) , we will meet you in front of the exit gate at the international terminal ; with a sign bearing your name and transfer you to your hotel in Old City area (Sultanahmet). You will have free time in the afternoon depending on your arrival time. It is possible to include some tours on this day if you are arriving in the morning. Overnight accommodation in Sultanahmet.

Day 2 (Full day Group Istanbul Tour, breakfast and lunch included)

The tour will depart with a meeting at a central point with our tour guide that we will inform you when you are booking at 9:00am. You will visit The Topkapi Palace; Ottoman Sultan’s Residance built on the slopes of Sarayburnu. Topkapi Palace is a combination of different architectural styles. Topkapi Palace is the most visited museum in Turkey and you will be able to see the Ottoman Empire treasury, Dynasty clothing and Sacred Relics. Harem Section will not be included in the itinerary and there will be an extra entrance fee to visit this section.

The tour will continue with a walking through The Hippodrome which was once used for chariot races, celebrations, riots, executions and other important events through Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. The walk through The Hippodrome will be about 45 minutes. The half day morning portion will end here.

Our next stop will be in a local restaurant for lunch and you will have some delicious Turkish cuisine. The afternoon visit will start around 13:30 and the first stop will be Hagia Sophia (St. Sophia) Museum, bearing the symbols of Christianity and Islam together. The church was built in 537 AD. by Roman Emperor Justinian and has been converted into a mosque in 15th century. You will visit the site about 1 hour and see the courtyard, entrance hall, main gallery and upper gallery.

The next stop will be The Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque) decorated with some of the best examples in Turkish Tile Art History. Built on the 17th century, Blue Mosque is a symbol of Istanbul standing in the heart of the city. Our final stop will be in Grand Bazaar which is one of the biggest trading centers in the world with more than 4000 shops. After this stop, our guide will show you the way to go to your hotel around 17:00. Overnight accommodation in Sultanahmet.

Day 3 (Group Cappadocia Tour, breakfast and lunch included)

With an early pick-up from your hotel around 05:00am , we will transfer you to Istanbul or Sabiha Gokcen Airport and have the flight to Cappadocia. Our driver will meet you at the airport and drive you to your hotel for the breakfast.

After having the breakfast, you will start touring in magical Cappadocia with the most important place in Cappadocia Region: Goreme Open Air Museum. The museum is listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. You will see the best-preserved rock-cut churches in the area. The next visit will be in Cavusin where there were Greek and Turkish people living together until 1924. You will see an old Greek and Turkish Village which was inhabited until 1950’s and then moved by the government to a new place because of the falling rocks from the village. We will visit Pasabag (Monks Valley) which is also known as mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys. The fairy-chimneys in Pasabag are the best-protected ones in the area and it gives the best idea about the formation of a fairy-chimney.

We will have our lunch at a local restaurant in Avanos. After lunch, we will have the kick-wheel pottery demo which is an art for about 4000 years. Starting with the Hittites, this art became the most important cultural heritage of the town. The next visit will be to Zelve Open Air Museum. Your guide will inform you about the significance of Christianity and monastic life in Cappadocia. While Zelve may lack the richly adorned frescoes found at other Cappadocian sites, it features an intricate network of rooms and passages. The valley is also known for its many pointed "fairy chimneys," with stems that rise approximately 40 feet above the valley floor. The tour will conclude with a visit to Devrent Valley, a breathtaking landscape where natural rock formations take on various recognizable shapes, including the iconic camel-shaped rock. We will then return to your hotel at approximately 4:00 PM. Overnight accommodation in Goreme.

Day 4 (Group Cappadocia Tour, breakfast and lunch included)

Optional Hot Air Balloon Flight in the early morning can be a good start the day with sunrise.

This morning will start at 09:30 with a pick-up from your hotel in Goreme and drive about 5 minutes to the Goreme Panorama Point to see Goreme Town and valleys of Cappadocia from a higher point. Our guide will give you information about the history and geography of the region. The next visit will be after 40 minutes drive in Derinkuyu Underground City which is the deepest one in Cappadocia region. The underground city has all the amenities of a classical underground city, but in this one, you will reach 60 meters below the ground.

We will then visit one of the most spectacular canyons in Turkey: Ihlara Gorge. 3 km hike will be one of the highlights of our tour. We will hike through the canyon for about 1 hour along the river, passing by Byzantine rock-cut churches decorated with frescoes. We end the hiking portion of the tour near Belisirma village, where we will have lunch in a quaint riverside restaurant.

After lunch, we will drive about 15 minutes to climb up to Selime Monastery which is the biggest one in the region. We will see the monastery, kitchen, catedral and church sections after climbing there. Then, we will drive about 1,5 hours to get back to Uchisar area to see the traditional stone art demonstration and Pigeon Valley at the same place. After these visits, we will drive you back to your hotel around 17:30. Overnight accommodation in Goreme.

Day 5 (Flight to Ephesus, free day at leisure)

We will pick you up two hours before the flight and take you to Kayseri or Nevsehir Airport. You will have a direct* flight to Izmir Airport. Our driver will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in Selcuk. You will have a free day at leisure today. You can visit St. John Basilica or Selcuk Museum on this day which is going to be very close to your hotel. Overnight accommodation in Selcuk.

Day 6 (Group Ephesus Tour – Flight to Istanbul, breakfast and lunch included)

We will pick you up from your hotel in Selcuk or Kusadasi Hotels around 09:00am and drive to The House of Virgin Mary. The Virgin Mary House was discovered by Sister Anne Catherine Emmerich, a German nun in the year 1812. Sister Emmerich had detailed visions and visited Jerusalem in her sleep where she saw St. John and the Virgin Mary travel from Jerusalem to Ephesus. She remembered seeing a rectangular-shaped stone house which was built by St. John for the Virgin Mary.

After visiting this pilgrimage site, we will drive about 10 minutes to Ephesus Ancient City, one of the biggest excavations in the world. We will visit the Odeon, The Fountain of Trajan, the stream baths of Scholastica, Hadrian and Domitian Temples, impressive library of Celsius. We will then visit The Grand Theatre, where Saint Paul preached. The theatre was the largest one in ancient times with capacity of 24.000 seats. The walk in the Ephesus ruins will be around 2 hours and then we will have the lunch.

After lunch, we will visit The Artemis Temple which is one the Seven Wonders of the World in Ancient World. The final stop will be to Sirince Village after about 15 minutes drive. The village stayed as a Greek Ortodox Village until the exchange agreement between Rupublic of Turkey and Greece in 1924. During this exchange Greeks living in Turkey were exchanged with Turks living in Greece. The tour will end around 4:30pm and then we will take you to Izmir airport for your flight to Istanbul. We will meet you at the airport and take you to your hotel in Old City area. Overnight accommodation in Sultanahmet

Day 7 (Transfer to airport for flight back home)

On your last day in Turkey, you will have free day for your leisure until the transfer time to the airport. We will then drive to Istanbul or Sabiha Gokcen Airport for your flight back to your country.

* Direct Flights to Izmir may not be available in winter or the flight might be in the afternoons. We will offer connecting flight options in those cases. The rate for the package might be a little cheaper or expensive depending on early or late bookings because of the flight ticket rates.

The rate for this tour will be 1830 Euro per person on minimum 2 people in double room. The rate for 3 people will be 1660 Euro per person in triple room and single supplement will be 620 Euro. Please send us an email to get more information and make your booking. We will reply your request the latest in 24 hours.

The hotels in this package will be as (depending on the availability):

Istanbul : Hotel Amira (standard room), Blue House Hotel (standard room) or, Ferman Sultan Hotel (standard room) on Bed & Breakfast basis

Cappadocia : Kelebek Hotel (junior suite room), Hidden Cave Hotel (deluxe room) or Aza Cave Hotel (junior suite room) on Bed & Breakfast basis

Selcuk : Hotel Nilya (standard room) or Hotel Kalehan (standard room) on Bed & Breakfast basis