-
 TransAnatolie
TA3404
- 15 Day Cultural
and Natural Heritage Tour in
Turkey
- Western Turkey
and Cappadocia Tour
-
For Pricing Click Here or
Contac Us
Day 1: Europe-
Istanbul
Arrival in Istanbul-Sightseeing
tour of the city. dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 2:
Istanbul
Morning: Discover the
Golden Horn and the Pierre Loti area. We then pay a visit to the Ottoman Cemetery, the
Mosque and Mausoleum of Eyup (Mahomet’s fellow) and explore ancient Roman- Byzantine city walls
and the Chora Church. Lunch in a
traditional Turkish-Greek restaurant next to the Roman Circus.
In the afternoon: Visit St. Sofia Church
(Ayasofya Mosque and Museum) and The Palace of Topkapi (Harem
visit is optional). Late afternoon, the Grand Bazaar (‘Oriental Souk’). Free
dinne and overnight at the hotel.
Day 3:Istanbul
Morning: Visit the Hipodrom; the Ibrahim Pascha Palace and
the Ethnographical Museum; The master-piece Blue
Mosque of the Ottoman Empire. Lunch at Gilgamesche. serving well-known Arab-Kurdish specialties,
located next to the Citern-Basilica.
Afternoon: A cruise on the Bosporus;
discover the Old Egyptian Bazaar and Spices Market as well as the
high quality Armenian jewellery shops, while observing the Galata and Marco Polo Towers. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 4: Istanbul-Edirne
 After breakfast, we head
towards the Second Ottoman Capital:
Andrinople-Edirne
and visit the Selimiye Mosque-the masterpiece of The Architect Sinan;
chief architect of Suleyman The Legislator (Suleyman The Magnificent).
Then the Bazaar-Caravanserai of Rustem Pacha who is the Great Vizir and Suleyman’s son-in-law; the social
complex of the Ottoman sultan Bayezid. We have a time-out and lunch.
Afternoon: we drive to
Dardanelles via Uzunkopru (a classical Ottoman Bridge of 1392 meters). We
explore
Dardanelles and the small streets of Canakkale and get in touch
with the local inhabitants.
Dinner and overnight in Eceabat (or in
Canakkale).
Day 5:
Canakkale-Truva-Bursa
After breakfast, we get to know
the love of Paris and the Beautiful Helen of
Troy. One
imagines Achilles running
after Hector along the walls of Troy, following the Iliad and the Odyssey of
Homer, native of Izmir. Lunch is on the road.
In the afternoon,
Bursa-the first Ottoman capital is explored: the Green Mosque, the Green Mausoleum, the Muradiye Complex
and the Imperial Tombs.
Dinner and overnight at the Thermal
Center of Oylat located at the foot of the Mount Olympus or in Bursa.
Day 6:
Bursa-Oylat-Aizanoi-Emet
We visit Aizanoi and explore its well
preserved Zeus temple, theater, stadium, thermal baths, Roman
bridges and the ‘Stock Exchange’. Later, we continue our journey with the discovery of the Borax mine
pits. Afer a delicious lunch, pay a visit to the Town Hall and to the
School of Emet.
Free afternoon to exploit local thermal hamams and to
socialize with with the hospitable inhabitants of
Phirigia.
Dinner and overnight in
one of the touristic hotels of
Emet.
Day 7: Emet-Sardes-Ephese
Drive early in the morning towards
Sardes;
the
capital of Lydia, home-town of the rich Cresus, watered by the Pactole, in order
to contemplate the Synagogue of the city, which was used as one of the first 7
churches of the Apocalypse of St John.
Lunch in
Ephesus,
the capital of
Ionia and city of Artemis.
In the afternoon, we discover the
Ephesus site, the
Eastern Academy, Agoras, Stoa, the street of Curetes, the Gate of Esculape, the
Odeon, the market place of Domitien, the Monument of Memius, the Fountain of
Trajane dated from the Pax Romana period, the Baths, the Hadrianus Temple, the
House of the Worthy, the Library of Celcus, the Closed Houses, Marble Street,
the Agora of Demos, the St Paul Theater, Arcadian Street, the Church of the
Virgin Marry of the Ecumenical Councils, the Roman Stock Exchange and the Antique
Harbour. Stop in a leather factory. (see
Ephesus Museum)
Dinner and overnight in Ephesus or in
Kusadasi.
Day 8:
Priene-Milet-Didyme-Pamukkale
In the morning, we head towards
Priene, the city of the great city planner Hippodamus (‘the Hippodamian Plan’),
visit
Milet of Thales and discover our future in the Apollo Oracle in
Didyme, the largest temple in the world.
Lunch is in a fish restaurant in Didyme, next to the Apollo Temple. In the afternoon, the
Pamukkale Castles next to the Hieropolis site are explored. Here women were
committing suicide, after
their husbands’ deaths, to demonstrate their love and loyalty to their husbands.
Dinner and overnight in our
hotel. Thermal swimming pool with Jacuzzi is at our service.
Day 9:
Pamukkale-Aphrodisiyas-Sagalassos-Antalya
Early start to take pictures in
the first lights of the day of the cotton and tobacco fields. Arrival in the
city of Aphrodite. Visit to the exceptional site of Aphrodisiyas and its Museum
with the Statue of Aphrodite.
Lunch with nomad people. In the
afternoon, we walk through some rose gardens and the birds paradise of the
Burden Lake. We continue with the discovery of the hidden site of the
Taurus: Sagalassos.
Dinner and overnight in
Antalya, the city of Attale
(cousin of
Alexander the Great).
Day 10:
Antalya-Konya-Acemhoyuk-Aksaray and
Cappadocia
Imaginations, admirations and
confused feelings as we walk
through the small streets of Antalya and see the small houses of the poor
fishermen in the old harbour while also looking at the Gulets of the Turkish
aristocrats and at the Hellenistico-Roman-Byzantine-Seldjoukid-Ottoman-Turkish
monuments.
After visiting Karpuzkaldiran
waterfalls, we drive through the Taurus Mountains and enjoy the nature and
beauty of landscape with poppy fields, nomads and goats and arrive Caravanserai of Horozluhan and lunch on the
Silk Road.
In the afternoon, in Konya, the Turkish
and Islamic Arts Museum, the
Mevlana Mausoleum
and Museum of the founder of the Dancing
Dervishes are explored. Here one finds a rich collection of ethnographical works, including one of
the few Turkish carpets in the world dated of 16th century (each cm2 contains
144 double knots). In the late afternoon, arrival in Acemhoyuk, the first
capital of Ancient Hitties and visit Sarikaya and Hatiplar Palaces.
Dinner and overnight in
Aksaray, at Agacli Motel (4*) or at Eras Hotel (5*).
Day 11: Cappadocia-
Aksaray-Selime-Ihlara-Saratli
 
After a delicious Turkish
breakfast, the Seljuk city of Karamanoglu, Aksaray is explored: exceptional Pizze Tower and The Great Mosque from the 13th
century. Walk through the Melendiz Canyon and visit typical Anatolian villages Selime, Yaprakhisar, Belisirma and arrive in the Peristrema-Ihlara Valley
and
discover primitive Syriaq churches dated from the 1st period of the
Christian campus in Cappadocia. Possibility to walk in nature for those who love
nature and birds.
Lunch is at the Melendiz Canyon in
Ihlara. In the late afternoon, pay a visit to the underground town of Saratli,
the town of
Simone and Jean van Delft.
Dinner and overnight in our hotel
in Cappadocia.
Day 12:
Cappadocia
After breakfast, we visit the
old Troglodyte houses of Urgup, Uc Guzeller, the Pigeons Valley, Uchisar,
Avcilar, the Goreme Valley and its Rupestrian churches.
Lunch at the hotel or at the
buffet Koru. In the afternoon, possibility to relax and discover different
handworks (carpets). Dinner and overnight in our hotel.
Day 13: Cappadocia-
Venessa-Sezarée-Argee Erciyes-Ankara
After breakfast, we discover on
foot the Rose Valley, the Camels Valley, the Dolphins Valley, the Owl Valley
and the Valley of the Virgin Mary. Stop in an onyx factory. Discovery of the 1st
part of the Zelve Valley: Pasabag. Drive across the Red River, take pictures of
typical houses in Venessa-Avanos.
Lunch in Altinocak Restaurant
in Avanos, the most famous one for Cömlek Kebab. In the afternoon, discovery of
the city of Julius Sezarus-Kayseri: the Roman citywalls, the Huant
Hatun Complex-the Ethnographical Museum, the Grave of the Princess: Döner
Kümbet, Gevher Nesibe, the Museum of Medical History. We then drive through the High
Steppes of Central Anatolia and arrive in Ankara.
Dinner and overnight in Ankara.
Day 14: Ankara-The Pontic Chain
Crossing- Lake of Sapanca- Istanbul
After breakfast, we visit
Atatürk Museum
and the Ataturk Mausoleum as well as the Museum of the 1st World War- the
Dardanelles; the symbol of the rebirth of the Laic Republic of
Turkey. Then, we explore
the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations,
exhibiting the rich
heritage of the ancient Anatolian civilizations from
Hittites to Romans.
Subsequently, discover the old Ankara, walk
through the Spices Market and lunch at the
Ethnographical Museum of Zenger Pacha,
offering a beautiful view of old Ankara.
In the afternoon, drive back to
the Cultural Capital of 5 civilizations: Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul.
Good-bye dinner and overnight
in our hotel in Istanbul.
Day 15: Istanbul-Europe
After breakfast, free time
until transfer to the Istanbul airport.
Pricing:
Full pension (drinks excluded)
from the dinner of the 1st day until the breakfast of the 15th
day:
Options
- Cruise on the Bosphorus
-
Istanbul by Night
-
Evening with fishermen +
Istanbul by Night
- Cabaret evening in Istanbul
at Orient House
- Evening with typical dances
in Cappadocia
- Discovery of Cappadocia in
hot air balloon
- Evening with Dancing Dervishes
Rates Include
- Transportation in Turkey:
air-conditioned bus Mercedes Sprinter, WW Wolt, Mercedes 304-403, Mitsubishi
Safir, Isuzu Minibus-Turquoise
- Hotels: in Istanbul 4*, in
Canakkale 3 or 4*, in Boylat, Emet and Pamukkale 4*, in Selcuk-Kusadasi 4*,
in Antalya 4*, in Cappadocia 4*, in Ankara 3*+.
-
Bilingual
certified prof. guide
Rates Exclude
- Flights Europe/Turkey/Europe
- Airport taxes
-
Drinks
-
Insurance
-
Tips
Acemhoyuk
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