Glories of Turkey

(WED)- Enjoy a relaxing overnight flight to Istanbul.

(THU)- 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.

(FRI)- Enjoy a full-day tour of Istanbul including Topkapi Palace (excluding harem), the Hippodrome, the Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, and the Grand Bazaar. Consider an optional dinner with belly-dancing entertainment.(B)

(SAT)- 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)

(SUN)- Visit Troy's legendary walls and replica of the famous wooden horse used during the Trojan War. Tour ancient Pergamum, home to the Altar of Zeus. Continue to Kusadasi.(B,D)

(MON)- 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)

(TUE)- 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)

(WED)- 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)

(THU)- 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 Barceló Tat Beach Golf Resort in Belek (20 miles east of Antalya).

(FRI)- 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)

(SAT)- 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)

(SUN)- 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)

(MON)- 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)

(TUE)- 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)

(WED)- You will be transferred to the airport for your return flight home.(B)