Tour the Magnificent Mediterranean in Turkey For 16 Days

What's Included

Meeting and pickup

Itinerary

Day 1
Arrival Day
1 stop
1
Istanbul Airport
Arrival to Istanbul Airport where our driver/guide will meet you and transfer to your hotel for check-in before having the rest of the day at your leisure.
Admission ticket free
Day 2
Sultanahmet – Old Istanbul
4 stops
2
TopkapI Palace
Go to the Topkapi Palace, which was once used by the Ottoman Sultans from the 15th to 19th centuries and see the magnificent collection of priceless jewels, silver, crystal, and porcelain, robes that were worn by the sultans and the relics of the prophet Mohammed. (Entrance to the Harem is extra).
2 hours • Admission ticket included
3
Blue Mosque
After lunch, we will visit the stunning Blue Mosque that was built for Sultan Ahmet I, and is a unique piece of architecture with its six minarets and features 20,000 beautiful Iznik tiles.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
4
Hippodrome
Visit the ancient Hippodrome with Obelisk of Theodosius, Snake Pillar and German Fountain of Wilhelm II and visit the hidden Underground Cistern. See the Grand Covered Bazaar with its many shops perfect for your holiday souvenirs. 

2 hours • Admission ticket included
5
Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque
Time for lunch in a lovely seaside fish restaurant. Cruise is on a public boat unless other arrangements are made. Visit the Hagia Sophia, which was built by Emperor Justinian and was the largest building in the world for over 1000 years and has intricate mosaics and a huge central dome. Order of visits may be reversed.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
Day 3
Bosphorus Cruise with and Beylerbeyi Palace
3 stops
6
Misir Carsisi (Spice Market)
Visit the exotic Egyptian Spice Market located on the Golden Horn before boarding your cruise of the Bosphorus where the waterway separates the two continents Europe and Asia.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
7
Rumeli Fortress
Pass by Rumeli fortress which was built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452, so he could prepare for his conquest of Istanbul.
Admission ticket free
8
Beylerbeyi Palace
Cross over the Bosphorus Bridge to Asia where you will visit Beylerbeyi Palace, which was once the summer address of the Ottoman Sultans, then on to Camlica Hill for a fantastic view of Istanbul.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 4
Istanbul - Cappadocia
4 stops
9
Kaymakli Underground City
Fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia, and upon arrival, you will be met at the airport just outside the arrival’s gate and transfer to Cappadocia. 

 Tour the Kaymaklı Underground City, one of the fascinating underground settlements in Cappadocia then drive to Sahinefendi (Sobesos) which is newly discovered (01 May 2002) mosaic houses and Archaeological excavation site. Villages in the valleys are surrounded by the “tabletop” mountains which are spectacular.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
10
Keslik Monastery
Continue to the Keslik Monastery close to Cemil, that hides its frescoes behind a thin smoke layer which you can only see by torchlight.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
11
Mustafapasa Yeni Cami
Visit Mustafapaşa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with its spectacular old Greek houses; outstanding examples of late Greek settlements and architecture.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
12
Red Valley
Visit Saruhan Caravanserai, a roadside inn where travellers would rest and recover from their day’s journey. Caravanserais supported the flow of information, commerce and people across a network of trade routes of North Africa, Asia, and South-Eastern Europe on the legendary Silk Road and the Spice Road. Continue with the panorama of the Red Valley, with its fabulous volcanic rock formations and is in the heart of Cappadocia but still away from the tourist crowd.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 5
Cappadocia
4 stops
13
Devrent Valley
Meet at the hotel reception after breakfast, then have your first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia with some rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley, walk-in Pasabag near Zelve and wonder at the “fairy chimneys” where the sound of the wind mixes with the “songs of fairies”.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
14
Avanos Oren Yeri
Lunch in Avanos which has been the centre of terra cotta work of art since around 3000 BC and you will get a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
15
Goreme National Park
In the afternoon, visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum and see the best examples of Byzantine art that are in Cappadocia in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings (10th to 13th century).
1 hour • Admission ticket included
16
Uchisar Castle
Continue to Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia.
1 hour • Admission ticket included
Day 6
Cappadocia – Antalya
1 stop
17
Ihlara Valley
OPTION 1: IHLARA CANYON HIKING Drive to Ihlara and on the way walk in the Ihlara Canyon, a “mirage” in the Steps of Anatolia to Belisirma village, the ancient Peristrema: “Valley of the Sky” along the Melendiz River. OPTION 1: TURKISH VILLAGE LIFE AND CULINARY TOUR Starting the day with a visit to the local market (only available only on Mondays, Fridays and Saturdays) or take a morning walk to the fruit orchards in Ayvali Village.
5 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 7
Antalya
2 stops
18
Perge Antik Kenti
We will see Perge, which was initially settled by the Hittites around 1500 BC. Visit the impressive collonaded street, baths, nymphaeum, and agora and the fountain of the River God, where waters once poured down the centre of the city.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
19
Kurşunlu Waterfall
We continue to Aspendos to see one of the best-preserved amphitheatres in the world and also go to see Kursunlu waterfalls or Antalya Museum.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 8
Antalya – Kaş
1 stop
20
Rock tombs in Myra
We will explore the Lycian tombs of Myra and the Church of St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) before continuing along the scenic coast and visiting the ancient site of Phaselis with its harbours, harbour way, Roman theatre and aqueduct.
5 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 9
Kaş
1 stop
21
Kas
Today have a free day at your leisure. We may suggest joining one of the daily cruises to go to Kekova Sunken city and the Lycian rock tombs.
6 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 10
Kaş – Fethiye
2 stops
22
Xanthos Antik Kenti
Drive to visit Xanthos, which was once the capital of Lycia, which has an exceptional Roman theatre and Lycian pillar tombs.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
23
Patara PlajI
The next stop is Patara, with its 17km long white sandy beach and ruins half-buried in sand dunes. Patara was the birthplace of the 4th century Byzantine bishop known later as Santa Claus. Continue to Fethiye and check-in your Hotel.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 11
Fethiye – Tlos – Saklıkent – Dalyan
2 stops
24
Tlos Ruins
Our journey today takes us up into the mountains with visits including the ancient site of Tlos, that is carved out with Lycian tombs and crowned by a ruined stronghold of an 18th-century robber baron. You will see a relief of Bellerophon riding Pegasus the winged horse and an ivy-covered ruin of a Roman bath.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
25
Saklikent
Also, we will visit the gorge of Saklikent, with its Kayakoy steep walls, by walking on a boardwalk over the rapids and/or if we have time visit Kayakoy (abandoned Greek village) or Oludeniz (known as Turkey’s most beautiful beach).
2 hours • Admission ticket free
Day 12
Dalyan
1 stop
26
Iztuzu PlajI
Have an enjoyable day in this charming fishing town with a riverboat tour, where you can enjoy thermal waters and a mud bath, visit the ancient site of Caunos and relax on the sandy Iztuzu beach, which is a breeding ground of the famous Caretta Caretta turtle.
6 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 13
Dalyan - Pamukkale
1 stop
27
Pamukkale Thermal Pools
Drive to the travertine terraces at Pamukkale which are definitely one of the most spectacular natural wonders that you will be able to see from several mineral springs in a substantial white cliffside. About 200 m overlooking the plain you can see how the calcite-laden waters have dripped over a number of terraced levels and created a fairyland of unusual solidified cascades and shell-shaped basins and look like creations made from snow or like balls from cotton, which gave the scenery the Turkish name Pamukkale (cotton castle). Moreover, the water in the basins changes its colour according to how the light enters.
6 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 14
Pamukkale – Kusadasi
2 stops
28
Aphrodisias
Drive to Ephesus, on the way, visit Aphrodisias which was primarily known as a centre for the arts, specifically sculpture. The Aphrodisias School of Sculpture had a distinctive style and was very well circulated throughout the Greek and Roman world.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
29
Priene Antik Kenti
Continue with a visit to Priene. Ephesus might be the creme-de-la-creme of the Aegean ruins but Priene, though less frequently visited is still an important ancient settlement. Priene sits on a dramatic position overlooking the Meander Valley and preserves a spectacular Temple.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 15
Ephesus
3 stops
30
Ephesus Museum
Visit the ancient city of Ephesus and spend a few hours walking in the footsteps of Alexander the Great, Apostles Paul, Caesar, Cicero, and John and many other well-known historical names.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
31
Ephesus Terrace Houses
The recently opened Terrace Houses (entry included) which is where the wealthiest Romans lived and are a great example of sensitive excavation and presentation and the mosaics and frescos are stunning.
2 hours • Admission ticket included
32
Meryemana (The Virgin Mary's House)
Tradition has it that St John brought Virgin Mary hereafter the Crucifixion and lived her last years close to the city of Ephesus on a secluded mountaintop. A lovely chapel was constructed on the site and tended by Franciscans and open to visitors and has been designated a pilgrimage site by the Pope. We will continue with Saint John Church where Apostle John spent his final years and was buried and visit the temple of Artemis to see the remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
3 hours • Admission ticket included
Day 16
Departure Day
1 stop
33
Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport
Transfer to Izmir airport to connect to your international flight.
1 hour • Admission ticket included

Additional info

• Suitable for all physical fitness levels
• Flights are non-refundable

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