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15 Day

Treasures of Turkey Tour

Istanbul to Istanbul (TURK.1)

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Tour Itinerary:

Day 1: Istanbul

Welcome to Turkey. You will be met at Istanbul airport by your Scenic Tours Representative and transferred* to your centrally located hotel. Meet up this evening over a welcome drink with your fellow travellers and Tour Director.

Two Night Special Stay: Istanbul

Day 2: Istanbul (FB,HD)

After breakfast, embark on an Included day tour of this amazing city. Highlights of the day include a visit to the most magnificent example of Byzantium architecture, Hagia Sophia, which boasts a massive dome, a lengthy nave, and an interior decorated with marble, precious stones and pillars from Ephesus. Topkapi is the former palace of the Ottoman sultans and now a museum with an extraordinary collection of artefacts and jewels including the Topkapi Diamond. The Blue Mosque features six graceful minarets, whose superb interior is decorated with more than 20,000 blue Iznik tiles. Have time to wander the evocative Grand Bazaar, the largest covered market in the world with over 4,000 shops before boarding a boat for a cruise on the Bosphorus. This special day concludes with a delicious seafood dinner on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus.

Day 3: Istanbul – Canakkale (FB,L,D)

Today travel to the Gallipoli Peninsula, site of the WWI landings by allied forces including ANZAC troops on the morning of April 25, 1915. Explore the sights and gain an understanding of this unforgettable and sombre location, set amongst steep cliffs, dead-end canyons and barren ridges. The difficulty of the troops’ task can only be appreciated first hand. An Included picnic lunch is provided before time to wander the landmark sites such as ANZAC Cove, the Nek, Lone Pine and Shrapnel Gully.

Overnight Stay: Canakkale

Day 4: Canakkale – Izmir (FB,L,HD)

The Included day’s sightseeing begins with a fascinating tour of Homer’s Troy, a legendary site of the Trojan Wars and home to a replica of the infamous Trojan Horse. Continue your historic journey in Pergamon, surrounded by high mountains for lunch. Visit the magnificent Acropolis, which contains the ruins of Pergamon’s acclaimed 200,000 volume library, whose contents were gifted to Cleopatra by Mark Antony. Depart for Izmir, where this evening a spectacular dinner has been organised at one of the best seafood restaurants in the city.

Overnight Stay: Izmir

Day 5: Izmir – Kusadasi (FB,D)

A treat awaits as you visit incomparable Ephesus, perhaps the world’s best-preserved ancient city that once housed the Temple of Artemis, completed in 550 B.C and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Around 100 AD the city had a population approaching 500,000 people, and to date only 15% has been excavated. Here among other amazing sites such as the Library, you will visit the House of Virgin Mary.

Two Night Stay: Kusadasi

Day 6: Kusadasi (FB,L,D)

Today briefly leave Turkey behind and journey to the Greek island of Samos, located in the shimmering Aegean Sea. Your local guide will show you around Samos town before you learn about the local industries of ceramics and ouzo. Head into the fertile hills, covered with vineyards to visit one of the many beautiful ancient monasteries on the island, Agia Triada and be told about the tragic history of the priest monk who founded it. Arrive in Pythagorion, birthplace of the mathematician and philosopher Pythagoras which also boasts the largest manmade marina in the Mediterranean. An Included Lunch is followed by your ferry ride back to Turkey. Tonight enjoy dinner at your hotel.

Day 7: Kusadasi – Pamukkale (FB,L,D)

Following breakfast, travel to Aphrodisias, a city dedicated to Aphrodite, Goddess of Love and Fertility. Enjoy lunch at a local restaurant, before continuing to remarkable Pamukkale (Hierapolis). Known as the cotton castle, frequent earthquakes in antiquity gave rise to thermal springs containing chalk. The effect leaves thick white layers of limestone and travertine cascading down the hill much like a frozen waterfall. Tonight, watch the sunset over the white cliffs for a truly unique and memorable sight.

Overnight Stay: Pamukkale

Day 8: Pamukkale – Antalya (FB,L,HD)

Enjoy the thermal waters at the hotel before you depart for Antalya, Turkey’s principal holiday resort which is situated on a cliff over the Mediterranean and surrounded by mountains. Founded in 2 B.C., the town was historically a major Roman and Byzantine port. You’ll get a chance to visit the large archaeological museum rich in Classical, Roman, Byzantine and Seljuk artefacts, which includes ‘God Gallery’ – a collection of 15 statues of classical gods from Aphrodite to Zeus. In total, the museum contains 14 exhibition halls featuring over 5,000 items. The afternoon is at leisure, and dinner tonight is at an exquisite restaurant in the centre of town.

Two Night Stay: Antalya

Day 9: Antalya (FB,HD)

The region around Antalya abounds with astonishing natural beauty and awesome historical treasures. First visit Perge, visited twice by St. Paul and the best example of a Roman city in the Pamphylian plain, with an Acropolis dating back to the Stone Age. Nearby, Aspendos is famous for its exceptionally preserved theatre built in 155 A.D.  Continue to Side, overflowing with archaeological wonders and surrounded on both sides by the deep, blue water of the Mediterranean before returning to Antalya.  Tonight an exclusive dinner has been planned at the renowned Club Arma, located near the old town.

Day 10: Antalya – Cappadocia (FB,D)

This morning drive to Konya, a traditional caravan stop and home of the Whirling Dervishes, a mystical Sufi Muslim group. This unusual religious sect is best known for its ritual dance and haunting music. Visit the Mevlana Museum, former monastery of the Dervishes which contains the tomb of the groups 13th century spiritual leader. Enjoy some leisure time before you head off to the moon-like landscapes of Cappadocia. The rocks in the region have eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars, known as ‘fairy chimneys’. Your hotel for the next three days will amaze you and is one of the most unusual you will experience.

Three Night Special Stay: Cappadocia

Day 11: Cappadocia (FB,D)

Beginning in primitive times, the inhabitants of this region carved out the soft rocks to form houses, churches and monasteries. Visit the main sights of this amazing location, including the surreal moon-landscape of Göreme with its rock chapels carved by early Christians in hiding. Next is the Byzantine monastic complex of Zelve which reached its zenith in the 9th and 13th centuries and the towering peak of Uchisar Castle, a sublime rock formation riddled with a network of tunnels and caves.

Day 12: Cappadocia (FB,HL,D)

Today explore the incredible underground cities of Cappadocia, of which there are estimated to be over 200. Also visit picturesque Sinassos, which is surrounded by fruit orchards and vineyards and was a Greek settlement until 1923 when a population exchange between Turkey and Greece took place. Enjoy a traditional lunch at the Old Greek House Restaurant. SCENIC ENRICH: Be entertained by a Whirling Dervish performance in a 13th century Caravan Inn, where you will be entranced by the intricate dancing and music that is as old as the building you are seated in.

Day 13: Cappadocia – Ankara (FB,HL)

This morning visit Agzikarahan, site of a well preserved Seljuk caravanserai, where for hundreds of years camel caravans traversing ancient trade routes would stop overnight. En-route to Ankara, view the famous Salt Lake of the fabled Silk Road as you drive through the Anatolian countryside. At Ankara, visit the Hittite Museum and Anit Kabir and the mausoleum of Ataturk. A unique luncheon venue awaits in an ancient castle of this historic city. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Overnight Stay: Ankara

Day 14: Ankara – Istanbul (FB,HD)

After breakfast cross from Asia into Europe and return to Istanbul. Choose from the following Included SCENIC FREE CHOICE tours: (1) a traditional Turkish cooking class where you’ll learn the art of making delicious plates of meze, after which you get to eat them, of course; or (2) an insightful tour of Istanbul’s glorious Byzantine past including visits to the Chora museum with its fine mosaics and frescoes and Zeyek Mosque, second only in size to Hagia Sophia as a Byzantium monument; or (3) a visit to an Ottoman Yali, the fashionable summer palaces of the wealthy built mainly in the latter half of the 17th century during the Empire’s glory days. Meet the current residents who’ll chat with you about the building’s history whilst you enjoy homemade refreshments. Tonight, a special treat awaits you as you enjoy your farewell dinner at the stunning Hamdi Restaurant, where outstanding views over the Golden Horn are accompanied by the call to prayer echoing from numerous surrounding mosques.

Overnight Stay: Istanbul

Day 15: Istanbul (FB)

After breakfast, our Scenic Tours Representative will transfer* you to Istanbul airport for your onward or homebound flight.

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Departure Dates: