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Day
1: Arrive Istanbul
This evening you are scheduled to arrive Istanbul International
Airport. Once clearing through Customs & Immigration,
you will be met & transfer to the hotel. This evening
an orientation meeting has been scheduled at around 1900 hrs.
Overnight: Aziyade Hotel (2 nights)
Day 2: Istanbul
After breakfast, visit the Suleymaniye Mosque (the culmination
of Ottoman architecture), as well as the Rustem Pasa Mosque
with its beautiful Iznik (Nicea) tiles and the Spice Market
with its exotic aromas. After lunch, visit treasure-filled
Topkapi Palace (residence of the Ottoman sultans from the
15th to the 19th century) with its terraces overlooking the
Marmara Sea, the Bosphorus, and the Golden Horn. End the day
at the historic Grand Bazaar. Dinner is on your own. (B,
L)
Day 3: Istanbul / Bolu (162 miles)
In the morning, visit the Blue Mosque, recognizable by its
six minarets. Built between 1609 and 1616 for Sultan Ahmet
I, the interior is decorated with some 21,000 blue Iznik tiles.
Visit the Hippodrome, where political, cultural, and athletic
activities took place during Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman
times. Visit the imposing Hagia Sophia, which marked the apogee
of Byzantine Emperor Justinian's reign. Thereafter there is
the possibility of an optional Cruise on the Bosporus, separating
Asia from Europe and connecting the Marmara Sea to the Black
Sea. Relish the best views of the city and its historic monuments.
Discover beautiful marble palaces (Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi),
wooden Ottoman villas (yalis), and medieval fortresses. Lunch
at a seafood restaurant along the Bosphorus. In the afternoon,
drive to Bolu.
Overnight: Koru Hotel (1 night) (B, L, D)
Day 4: Bolu / Ankara / Cappadocia (293 miles)
In the early morning, drive to Ankara, the nation’s
capital since 1923. Explore The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations
with its rich collection from the Hittite, Greek, Roman, Byzantine,
Seljuk, and Ottoman periods. Visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk,
the father of modern Turkey. After lunch, continue to Cappadocia.
Overnight: Mustafa Hotel (2 nights) (B, L, D)
Day 5: Cappadocia
Take a full day to discover Cappadocia. Visit the Goreme Valley,
an open-air museum with rockhewn churches (7th-13th centuries)
adorned with biblical frescoes. At a handicraft center, learn
about the arts of rural Turkey and watch a demonstration on
hand-made rugs. Tour an Underground City. Marvel at the cavedwellings
and fairy chimneys of the Avcilar Valley and the Kiliclar
Valley. (B, L, D)
Day 6: Cappadocia / Konya / Antalya (330 miles)
After breakfast, drive to Konya. En route, stop at the Sultanhani
Caravanserai, Anatolia’s largest staging post for merchants
during the Seljuk period in the 13th century. In Konya, visit
the Museum of Mevlana honoring the famous mystic poet and
founder of the Sufi Order of the Whirling Dervishes. After
lunch, continue to Antalya.
Overnight: Khan Hotel (2 nights) (B, L, D)
Day 7: Antalya / Aspendos / Perge / Antalya
Visit two magnificent sites: Aspendos, a treasure with the
world’s best-preserved Roman Theater, and Perge, a spectacular
Greco-Roman city. On the return to Antalya, discover the tradition
of jewelry-making by visiting one of the largest jewelers
of Turkey. Later in the afternoon, visit Old Antalya - Kaleici
and stroll through the picturesque streets of the old port.
(B, L, D)
Day 8: Antalya / Sagalassos / Pamukkale (209 miles)
Leaving Antalya, travel over the Taurus Mountains to the Greco-Roman
city of Sagalassos, a recently excavated archeological gem.
After lunch, drive to Pamukkale.
Overnight: Pam Hotel (1 night) (B, L, D)
Day 9: Pamukkale / Selcuk (143 miles)
In the morning, admire the unreal landscape at the "Cotton
Castle" of Pamukkale with its white terraces of limestone
deposited by thermal waters through the ages. See the ancient
spa, Hierapolis, still used today. Discover the necropolis,
one of the largest cemeteries from antiquity to the present.
After lunch, drive to Aphrodisias, the ancient site dedicated
to the goddess of beauty, love, and fertility. Appreciate
Anatolia’s best-preserved stadium. At this site, which
drew artisans to its school of sculpture, enjoy the Temple
of Aphrodite, the Tetrapylon, and the Theater. Continue to
Selcuk.
Overnight: Kalehan Hotel (2 nights) (B, L, D)
Day 10: Selcuk / Ephesus / Selcuk
After breakfast, visit Ephesus; discover one of the world’s
best places to visualize an ancient Roman city. View the remains
of the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the
Ancient World. After lunch, drive to one of the most popular
markets in the region: the Market of Tire. Return to Selcuk.
(B, L, D)
Day
11: Selcuk / Sardis / Pergamum / Kucukkuyu (218 miles)
In the morning, travel to the capital of the Kingdom of Lydia,
Sardis. In this Pactolus Valley city famous for inventing
coinage and its wealthy King Croesus, visit the Bath - Gymnasium
Complex, the marble-paved Synagogue (3rd c. AD), and the Temple
of Artemis. Proceed to Pergamum, capital of the Attalid dynasty.
After lunch, explore this ancient city where parchment was
invented. Ride a cable car to the upper city to take in the
ruins of the Acropolis: agoras, temples, palaces, library
(200,000 volumes), and the foundation of the Zeus Altar (now
in Berlin). Gaze in awe at the spectacular panorama from the
impressive theatre built into the steep hillside. In the lower
city, visit the Asclepion, a sanctuary and healing center
dedicated to the god of healing, Asclepius. Continue to Kucukkuyu.
Overnight: Saruhan Hotel (1 night) (B, L, D)
Day 12: Kucukkuyu / Assos / Troy / Canakkale (112
miles)
In the morning, depart for Assos to see the Temple of Athena
overlooking the sea from the highest spot on the acropolis.
Explore the site of the ancient city of Troy, whose 3,400
year history spans nine superimposed settlements (Troy I to
Troy IX). Deepen your understanding of Homer's epic poem,
The Iliad, which immortalized King Priam's glorious city through
the stories of Helen, Menelaus, Paris, Agamemnon, Achilles,
and Hector. Pose at a reconstruction of the legendary Trojan
Wooden Horse at the entrance to the site. Continue to Çanakkale.
Overnight: Akok Hotel (1 night) (B, L, D)
Day 13: Canakkale / Gallipoli / Istanbul (212 miles)
In the morning, cross the Strait of the Dardanelles by ferry
to Gallipoli, where the dramatic battles of WWI took place.
Ponder the battlefields at the Gallipoli Historical National
Park. Continue to Istanbul. Lunch en route. In the evening,
enjoy a goodbye drink at the hotel bar. Dinner including wine.
Overnight: Aziyade Hotel (1 night) (B, L, D)
Day 14: Departure
Check out by 1100 hrs. Transfer to the airport for your flight
out. (B)
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