Itinerary

Day 1: Departure from USA

An overnight flight to Istanbul.

Day 2: Arrive Istanbul 

Arrive Istanbul and private transfer to your hotel. Rest of the day is at leisure.  

Day 3: Full Day Istanbul Tour (B) 

Today enjoy a full-day Istanbul tour with your private tour guide. You will visit the Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet Square Hagia Sophia Museum, Blue Mosque, ncient Hippodrome, the Egyptian Obelisk, Serpentine Column and Fountain of Wilhelm II and the Grand Bazaar. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 4: Istanbul / Cappadocia  (B) 

Short flight to Cappadocia. Meet your guide at the airport and start exploring. See the rock-carved churches, monasteries and chapels at Göreme. It was here, amid the tuff, that one of the most ancient and influential monastic movements took root in the fourth century. Dinner and overnight at a cave hotel.

Day 5: Cappadocia (B) 

This morning, you may choose to take an optional hot air balloon excursion over Cappadocia. Then explore the underground village of Kaymakli, one of the 41 unique cellar villages discovered in the area. After lunch, visit the potters of Avanos, who have practiced their craft for more than 4,000 years.

Day 6: Cappadocia / Izmir/Kusadasi  (B, D) 

Fly to Izmir and view the remains of the great Ionian city of Ephesus, the best-preserved classical city in the eastern Mediterranean. Dating back to 6000 BC, it was an important seaport during the Hittite Empire. Later, roots of early Christianity took hold when St. Paul taught here. It is believed that the Virgin Mary spent her last years in Ephesus. Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi.

Day 7: Kusadasi -Bodrum(B) 

Explore the ruins of Priene, the massive Temple of Apollo at Didyma and the temple at Euromos — all testament to the extraordinary achievements of the Ionians. Continue to Bodrum, where whitewashed Aegean houses climb the hills.  Overnight in Bodrum.

Day 8:  Bodrum (B) 

Discover Bodrum’s fascinating Museum of Underwater Archaeology, housed in a former castle and containing many artifacts salvaged from shipwrecks in the surrounding waters. Exploring the museum provides a significant aid to understanding the extremely crucial role that maritime activities have played in the history of civilization as it arose here.

Day 9: Bodrum / Istanbul (B)

Fly to Istanbul and view the City Walls, constructed by Theodosius II just in time to turn back Attila the Hun. Then visit Dolmabahçe Palace, the largest and finest example of Ottoman Baroque architecture in the city. Continue with An afternoon cruise on the Bosphorus that gives you the opportunity to admire the city’s beautiful skyline.

Day 10: Departure from Istanbul (B)

Transfer to Istanbul Airport for your flight.