Day 1: USA - Istanbul
Enjoy a relaxing overnight flight to
Istanbul.
Day 2: Istanbul - Arrival
You are greeted upon arrival and
escorted to your hotel. Remainder of the day is at leisure before a welcome
briefing by your tour director.
Day 3: Istanbul
Enjoy a full-day tour of Istanbul
including Topkapi Palace (excluding harem), the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque,
St. Sophia (closed on Mondays), and the Grand Bazaar. Consider an optional
dinner with belly-dancing entertainment.(B)
Day 4: Gallipoli - Dardanelles - Canakkale
En route to Gallipoli, visit Anzac Cove,
the Lone Pine Cemetery, Chunk Bair battlefield and Gabatepe War Museum. Cross
the Dardanelles to Canakkale. (B,D)
Day 5: Troy - Pergamum - Kusadasi
Visit Troy's legendary walls and replica
of the famous wooden horse used during the Trojan War. Tour the ancient medical
center Asklepion in Pergamum. Continue to Kusadasi.(B,D)
Day 6: Ephesus & Virgin Mary's house - Kusadasi
Today tour the ruins of Ephesus, the
Virgin Mary's cottage, the 2,000 year old marble streets, a theater, the
library of Celsius, and Hadrian's Temple. Visit a regional carpet production
center. (B,D)
Day 7: Kusadasi - Pamukkale
Drive through lush valleys to Pamukkale,
which means "Cotton Castle", describing the white lime cascades
formed by mineral springs. Visit the ruins of the Roman health spa of
Hierapolis. Enjoy a swim in your hotel's thermal pool. (B,D)
Day 8: Pamukkale - Perge - Antalya
Relax during a scenic drive from
Pamukkale to Antalya. Pay a visit to the ancient city of Perge with its street
of colonnades. Enjoy a relaxing afternoon by the Mediterranean Sea, an area
known as the Turquoise Coast. (B,D)
Day 9: Antalya
Today enjoy a full day at leisure or
consider an optional tour to Phaselis, a coastal ancient city or a lazy yacht
cruise along the Mediterranean turquoise coast. (B,D)
Note: You can extend your stay for a
week at Crystal Tat Beach Belek Resort (20 miles east of Antalya).
Day 10: Antalya - Aspendos - Konya
After breakfast depart for Konya, en
route visit Aspendos with its magnificently preserved 15,000-person theater. In
Konya visit Mevlana's Mausoleum, founder of the Whirling Dervishes, and the
Karatay Koran School, displaying colorful Turkish tiles. (B,D)
Day 11: Konya - Cappadocia
Drive to Cappadocia, famous for it's
"moon-like" landscapes. En route visit 13th century Seljuk Caravan
Inn of Agzikarahan and the famous underground city of Sarhatli. Enjoy dinner at
a local restaurant and overnight in Cappadocia.(B,D)
Day 12: Cappadocia
Consider an early morning optional
Balloon Tour. Experience the floating through the volcanic valleys, fairy
chimneys and caves with the sunrise. After breakfast, visit Goreme with its
6th-10th century rock chapels decorated with Christian frescoes, the
pottery-making village of Avanos, Pasabagi's Byzantine monastic complex, and
the Red Valley. (B,D)
Day 13: Cappadocia - Ankara
In the morning depart for Ankara.
Afternoon tour of the Ataturk Mausoleum, founder of modern Turkey, and the
Museum of Anatolian Civilizations with its Hittite treasures and artifacts from
the world's oldest city. (B,D)
Day 14: Ankara - Istanbul
After breakfast drive to Istanbul. In
the afternoon, consider an optional, relaxing cruise along the Bosphorus, the
waterway that separates Europe and Asia. Make time for last-minute shopping at
the Spice Market before a farewell dinner. (B,D)
Day 15: Istanbul - Return
You will be transferred to the airport
for your return flight home. (B)