-
 TransAnatolie
TA3408
- 8 Day Cultural Tour in
Turkey
- Ankara-Black Sea-Cappadocia Tour
Cultural Heritage Tour to
Turkey: Hittites, Roman Empire, Amasya and Holly Land Cappadocia
Day
1: Istanbul
Arrival in
Istanbul,
welcome cocktail and sightseeing of the city, dinner and overnight at the
4 star or 5 star high QoS hotel.
Day
2: Istanbul-Ankara (by train)
In the morning, we visit the Golden Horn, the Pierre Loti
Square, the Ottoman Imperial Cemetery and the Eyüp Mosque. We walk through the
Roman-Byzantine City-Walls and visit the Chora Church. Lunch is at a well-known
Turkish-Greek restaurant next to the ancient Roman
Circus.
Topkapı
Palace
After lunch we proceed by the visit to the
St. Sophia Museum and to the Ottoman Topkapi Palace Museum. After shopping
(optional) at the Grand Bazaar, we enjoy the unique Bosporus view, while
driving to the Asian Continent through the high-tech Bridge of Bosporus. We
see Üsküdar and end enjoy our dinner at one of the best restaurants of
Asia. After dinner, we we take our places in Wagon Lits in Orient Express for
a new day in Ankara.
Interior
of Chora Church
Day 3:
Ankara
–
Hattusas –
Amasya (376
km)
After
breakfast at the Orient Express, we drive along the Kizilirmak (Red River)
Valley to the Capital of
Hittite Empire,
Hattusas, and its pantheon
Yazilikaya.
Yazlikaya is registered National Historical Park.
The main sites to be visited date back from the
last period of the great Hittite Empire. On the way to the park, we can see the
big temple at Asagi Sevir (temple n°1), the city walls with the colossal
doors (Gate Arsanli with its lions, Gate Poterni and YER, Royal
Gate Kral).In Yukari Sevir, one admires the 31
temples built on the edge of Nisan Hill, and the Royal Palace, the Big Castle and other buildings.
The open-air Temple of Yazilikaya of the Hittite Empire is located at
the 5 km north-east of Bogazköy.
It consists of two rooms: the small and the large gallery, and is built taking
advantage of the natural placing of the local rocks. Goddesses
cut from the rocks are depicted on the right wall of the large gallery,
while an image of gods are described on the left wall. Those two groups bring us to the rear wall, the
most important one. On the rear wall the meeting of the God of Time Tesup
and his wife Goddess Hepatu is depicted.In a local village, breakfast will enable us
to appreciate an Hittite menu, regional meal prepared with spices dried by the
wind of the High Hittite Plateau.
In the afternoon, we head up to
Amasya,
place of birth of the famous geographer Strabon (1st century before
JC). Amasya is also the centre of education for the Ottoman Princes. At the sunset, we hike trough Yesil Irmak
(Halys River) Valley, take pictures of wooden houses
along the roads of Amasya, known for
their magnificent Ottoman architecture. Dinner and
overnight is at the 4 star hotel with high QoS. The overnight hotel is in Amasya, Apple-Tusan
Grubu ****.
Day 4:
Amasya – Zile – Cekerek –
Bogaziliyan – Cappadocia (330 km)
After the breakfast at the buffet, we explore
the city of Ferhat and Sirin, also known as ‘City
of the Crown’,
Amasya.
One admires the old houses, Hazeranlar Konagi,
the Ethnographical Museum, the royal rot-cut graves dig dating back from
the Hellenistic period, the Castle of Amasya, the Mosque
with the turning minaret Burmali, the Bayezit II Mosque and its
medrese Kulliye, and the Medrese Gök, the bridges (Caglayan, Alcak, Kus), Darussifa-Bimarhane (psychiatric hospital).
We also visit the museum of Amasya, one of the richest
in Turkey. Here more than 27,000 objects, heritages from 11 civilizations are
displayed. We enjoy our lunch in a local restaurant.
In the afternoon we drive across Turhal-Zile,
visit the Zile Castle. Zile Castle is the place of wars between the Roman and the Bridge
inhabitants. It is also known by the famous quotation of Julius Caesar: “Veni,
Vidi, Vinci-I came, I saw, I won”. Then we head towards Cekerek, Sorgun and
Bogaziliyan and end up in Cappadocia, one of the most spectacular landscapes in the
world.
Dinner and Overnight in our
4 star or 5 star hotel (depending upon availability at the time of
visit).
Day 5:
Cappadocia
 After the breakfast, we visit the old houses of
Ürgüp, the
Rose Valley, the Camels Valley,
the Valley of the Virgin Maria.
Then we enjoy a relaxing programme aiming
at discovering different craft industries (weaving and knotting of carpets), the
nomadic culture and imperial palaces. Lunch gives one the opportunity to taste the Cömlek
Kebab, specialty of the region in a restaurant offering a beautiful view on
the Kizilirmak (Halys) River.
In the afternoon, we first visit the
underground city of Ozkonak or Derinkuyu, and contemplate the unique and beautiful landscape of Cappadocia.
Then, the old, quiet small village of Mustafapasa (Sinasos), the valley of Cemil-Taskinpasa-Soganli
towns of the Mt. Hasan and Mt. Erciyes volcanos.
Before dinner and overnight, on the
way to the hotel, one admires the hand-made linen poppies
in Soganli, and especially the gloves and socks with Anatolian drawings.
Day 6:
Cappadocia- The Holy Land of
Christianism following the Apocalypse of St Johannes
Hikes through the Valleys of the Three
Cappadocian Graces, Üc Güzeller, the Pigeon Valley, Uchisar,
Avcilar. Stop in an Onyx atelier. Lunch at the hotel or at the buffet of the
restaurant Koru.
In the afternoon, we visit Göreme
Valley, the open-air museum surrounded by churches. Here, one quietly
admires at the sunset the early Christian art and the Byzantine Imperial Art
decorated in these churches: Tokali-Elmali-
St Basilius, Yilanli-Sandal. This region of monasteries, priests
and priestesses was a unique religious campus. It was the place where the apostles, the
first Christians, the 40 Cappadocian Great Fathers, Saint Paul, Saint
John, Saint Timothy, Saint Barnabe, Saint Naziane
and Saint Basilius were welcomed.
Diner en overnight in our
4 star (or 5) hotel of high QoS.
Day 7: Cappadocia – Ankara (320 km)
After breakfast, on the way to Ankara, we
drive to the underground city of Saratli, take photos of Salt Lake with
its rose filamingos and collect salt crystals. Lunch is at the best Doner/Iskender
Kebab Restaurant, Hacibey, in Ankara.
After lunch, we visit the mausoleum built for
Atatürk and Ataturk Museum. Here, one finds his pictures and other exhibitions recalling the
key events of his life and of the constitution of the Republic.
Our guide will then lead us to the
Anatolian
Civilizations Museum, prize-winning museum of the best Worldwide Museums in
1995. This visit will be preceded by a conference on the ancient civilisations
of Anatolia.
After
free time in old part of Ankara, dinner is at the 4 star (or 5*) hotel. After dinner, we
again take our Orient Express of Wagon Lits to go to Istanbul.
Day 8: Istanbul-Europe
After the breakfast either at the Orient Express or
at the hotel in Istanbul, the group enjoys some free time to explore the city at
his/her own pace, until to the transfer to the airport for returning to Europe.
Pricing
Inclusive
-
8 days/7 nights full pension
-
Transportation in Turkey
-
Lunches in traditional Turkish restaurants,
one of the best cuisine in the world.
-
All admission fees to the museums and sites
mentioned
-
Prof. Guide and his/her services
Exclusive
-
Flights Europe/Istanbul/Europe
-
Insurance, Airport tax
-
Drinks and tips
Options
-
Evening with Traditional Turkish Dances and Mevlevi
Performance
-
Cappadocia by Hot Air Balloons
Acemhoyuk
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