The Best of Turkey 13 Days & 12 Nights

Breakfast at the hotel. In Cappadocia, you will have the possibility to take an optional hot air balloon excursion at sunrise to enjoy the sunrise in this region.We will spend a day filled with the wonder of the landscapes. At the beginning we will visit the Goreme museum that is best known in the region and filled with the cave churches that were excavated by the Christians. In these churches we will appreciate the beauty of the frescoes. As Cappadocia is the center of handicraft workshops since ancient times we will visit a workshop where they weave the best carpets in the country, then we will go to see the underground city that was first excavated by the Hittites to stalk the enemies and then expanded by the Christians as shelters against the enemies. We will go to Uçhisar and Avcılar which are beautiful towns where they have a beautiful view. We will appreciate the beauty of the rock formations and the sunset as well. At night an optional excursion is offered to attend to see a show of typical dances of the region. The show includes all types of unlimited drinks such as wine beer rakı (traditional Turkish drink containing 40 degrees of alcohol and anise) dried fruits and fruits without food. We will have dinner at the hotel before going to the place. Return and accommodation at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. We start our visit in the Pasabagı valley where the fairy chimneys are best seen. We will surely be enchanted by the beauty of the formations. We will continue our way this time in the Devrent valley that encompasses various types of curious formations created by nature. Next we will make a stop in the valley uc guzeller (tres linda) to take the beautiful photos. Lunch at a local restaurant. We will have time to visit a stone workshop where various and typical stones that are only found in the
country are exhibited such as onyx, turquoise, agate, zultanite (which is supposed to be worn by Roxelana (Suleiman Magnifico's wife). -semi-precious stones. Then we will stop in the valley of pigeons where ancient civilizations made dovecotes to take advantage of their excrement as fertilizer for the purpose of increasing the fertility of the earth. The visit to the village Çavuşin to see the cave houses. The visit in a pottery workshop. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Urfa. Lunch at a local restaurant. Arrival at the hotel. Overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Urfa is the ancient city where the prophet Abraham is supposed to have lived for several years. In the beginning we will visit on Navel Mount to see the most recent and oldest discovery in the world. Göbekli Tepe (Turkish for "Mount Navel") is an ancient sanctuary that stands at the highest point of an extensive mountain range located about 15 km away in the northeast of the city of Sanliurfa
(formerly Urfa / Edessa), in southeastern Turkey, near the Syrian border. The site, which is currently being excavated by Turkish and German archaeologists. Mysteriously, this entire complex of stones, pillars and sculptures was built in the 10th millennium BC (ca. 11,500 years ago) and deliberately buried around 8000 BC, remaining abandoned for 500 years. Together with Nevali Çori, this site has revolutionized the understanding of our History. Return to Urfa for lunch. Visit to the fish lake (sacred) a large pool full of carp that the water reflects mosque. On the way we will stop in Harran to see beehive
houses with cone-shaped roofs. Accommodation and dinner at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Gaziantep. On the way we will make a stop at the Zeugma mosaic museum. We will have the possibility to appreciate the diversity and beauty of the marvelous mosaics from the Roman era.Lunch at a local restaurant. Arrival in Tarsus. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Tarsus, the place where Saint Paul was born. Saint Paul is considered one of the most important promoters and preachers of the Christian religion, so for many religious groups, the visit to the places that traveled on his pilgrimages is a unique and vital experience. Most of the lands visited by Saint Paul during his pilgrimages are in Anatolia. The main reasons that motivated Saint Paul to make these trips were to spread the Christian faith, convert the inhabitants of the region and in general preach their religion. Lunch at a local restaurant. One of the interesting things that we will see will be the Well of Saint Paul, the Holy Church of Saint Paul including Cleopatra's Gate. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure to Silifke. On the way, we will stop in Kizkalesi to see the beauty of the fortress that was built on a distant island. Then we will visit Alahan monastery is an excellent example of Byzantine architecture in its first epoch (it is the temporary world heritage work).Lunch at a local restaurant. During the trip we will pass next to the Taurus Mountain. At the end we arrive at the sacred city Konya which was the capital of the famous humanist and philosopher Mevlana Rumi who founded
the mystical and religious sect of the Dancing Dervishes. Dinner and accommodation in the hotel.

Breakfast. After breakfast we will visit the mausoleum of the famous religious philosopher Mevlana and the church of San Pablo that was a pilgrimage place for Christian pilgrims before. We will continue traveling towards Pamukkale, visiting the ancient city of Hierapolis. Hierapolis is one of the great deposits of Anatolia, its next to the attraction site of the cotton pools, make the place a point of great interest. Today Pamukkale is located right next to the Ancient City of Herapolis. The town was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO and recognized as one of the most relevant and attractive tourist centers in the world.

The city of Pamukkale gets its name meaning "Cotton Castle" from the white layer formations of limestone. Hierapolis is also called "the Sacred City" due to numerous temples and religious buildings. The beauty of the white stones (travertines) that cover all the natural pools that were formed by thermal water will attract us without a doubt. Transfer to the hotel. How are these small pools of thermal water created? İts origin is found in the tectonic movements that took place in the depression of the fault of the
Menderes river basin. These gave rise to hot springs, and all of these made it possible for Pamukkale to exist. At the end of the visit transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. Departure for Selçuk-Ephesus. Arrival and visit to the ruins of Ephesus, it was the fifth great city of the Roman era. During our visit we will appreciate the famous Celsius library after Alexandria, theater and some Roman and Hellenic temples, the Odeon, the Temple of Hadrian, the House of Amor, the Agora, the Marble street and the Theater too. Lunch at a local restaurant. Next we will visit the house of the Virgin Mary where it is assumed that Mary came to Ephesus together with Saint John and lived there until her Assumption (according to the Catholic doctrine) or Dormition (according to orthodox beliefs).As this house is a place of pilgrimage it is visited by many Christian tourists often during the year. In the afternoon we will stop at a leather production workshop. As Ephesus is a leather tannery center since ancient times we will have the possibility to buy some leather clothes with the most reasonable
price. We will also see a fashion show in which we will be exposed to some of the most elegant jackets in the country. At the end transfer to Izmir airport to catch the domestic flight to Istanbul. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation in Istanbul.

Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, the complete tour: At the beginning we will visit the Sultan Ahmet square and the Old Hipodromo where the horse-drawn bullfights previously took place. Next we head towards Santa Sofia, a masterpiece of Byzantine art. Santa Sofia was an Orthodox church during Byzantine times after the Ottoman conquest, Sultan Mehmet converted it into a mosque. When the Ottoman Empire came to an end, the founder of the Republic of Turkey Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ordered it to be transformed into a museum that continued to be so until 2020 and in the end it has become a mosque. Lunch at a local restaurant. Visit to the Blue Mosque which was built in the 17th century by the order of Sultan Ahmet. It was the only mosque in its time that had 6 minarets (tall towers).After lunch we will visit famous Topkapı Palace which was the residence and administrative center of the Ottoman Sultans and the place where the concubines also lived until the 19th century.At the end we will go to the most famous and oldest Ottoman Market Grand Bazaar that attracts many tourists with its 4000 shops and narrow streets. Transfer and return to the hotel. Accommodations.

Breakfast. Departurefrom the hotel to visit the Egyptian Bazaar (spice market) and then a boat tour of the Bosphorus, thestrait that separates Europe from Asia where we can enjoy the great beauty of the forests of Istanbul, its palaces and the yalı, wooden palaces built on both banks. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then we will visit the Beylerbeyi Palace which was built in white marble by Sultan Abdülaziz in the 19th
century. Lunch at a local restaurant. The palace was used as a summer residence for the sultans and as a guest house for foreign dignitaries. At the end we will head towards the famous Camlıca Hill which is one of the highest in the city where all the Beauty of the Bosphorus Strait. Return and overnight at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel. At the indicated time, transfer to the airport to take the flight back and end of our services.