Ancient Turkey & Greece

Arrival
Welcome to Istanbul, the city which unites Europe and Asia since the ancient times. It is a city of mosques, tulips and bazars, a city with amazingly rich history, and now you have a great opportunity to discover your own Istanbul!

Upon arrival, your private driver takes you to your centrally-located hotel for check-in. After check-in, the rest of the day is free for you to enjoy the city on your own.

Galata Tower, Bosphorus Cruise & the Flavours of Istanbul
In the morning after breakfast, meet your private guide and driver and embark on a full day tour to explore the enchanting sights Istanbul has to offer. 

You start the day with a short walking tour around Galata Tower (outside) in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul and then continue with a Bosphorus Cruise, an unforgettable experience providing a great opportunity to admire the beautiful city from water, a strait separating Europe from Asia. 

After the cruise, you visit the Spice Market, where you meet the spice experts that tell you all the secrets and specialties of spices. Here you also smell the various spices, learn how to distinguish them and use them with different meals. 

After the tour you return to your hotel and have the evening at leisure. 

Discovering the Old Istanbul
In the morning after breakfast, meet your private guide and driver to embark on a half day tour of Istanbul and discover its most iconic sights. 

You start the day with a visit to the St. Sophia, one of the finest architectural works in the world. It has been nominated as the 8th wonder of the world by many historians. Considered one of the world’s most beautiful buildings, the Hagia Sofia, which means Church of Holy Wisdom of God, is an important surviving example of Byzantine architecture. 

Then you proceed to the Blue Mosque, one of the largest mosques in Istanbul and is one of the principal adornments on the skyline of Istanbul. It is also famous for its blue tiles and 6 minarets. 

Next on your itinerary for today is the Hippodrome, the former centre of sportive and political activities of Constantinople. During the visit you’ll be able to see the Obelisk from Egypt Serpentine Column from Delphi and fountain of Wilhelm II. 

As a culmination of the tour you visit the magnificent Topkapi Palace, its Harem and Treasury. In 1465, Sultan Mehmet, The Conqueror of Istanbul, ordered the construction of the first palace; his successors added new pavilions, thus spreading the palace to a total area of 70,000 sqm (7 hectares). The Ottoman Sultans lived in and reined the empire from this palace until the 19th century.  

In the end of the tour you can visit the famous Grand Bazaar, experience its bustle and meet its unique characters. As a special treat, at the Grand Bazaar you learn to play the ancient game of Backgammon with the locals. 

After the tour you return to your hotel and have the afternoon at leisure.

Departure
Following breakfast, you check out, meet your private driver and depart from Istanbul. 

Arrival
Welcome to Cappadocia, known for its otherwordly landscape and rich history. Upon arrival at Kayseri airport, your private driver takes you to your hotel in Cappadocia for check-in. After check-in, the rest of the evening is free for you to enjoy the town on your own. 

Full Day Tour of Cappadocia
In the morning after breakfast, you meet your private guide and driver to explore the spectacular landscapes of Northern Cappadocia. 

Today you start your exploration of Cappadocia with a visit to the Goreme Open Air Museum, the most famous tourist attraction in Cappadocia. Here you witness ancient cave churches from the 10-12th centuries, cut into the rock by Orthodox monks, decorated by original frescoes. 

Next on your list is the Zelve Valley, an amazing cave town, honeycombed with dwellings, religious and secular chambers. Zelve is among the earliest-settled and last-abandoned monastic valleys in Cappadocia, which was an inhabited town and a living community up until 1952. 

Devrent Valley which you visit next, in contract to Goreme and Zelve, also known as Imaginary Valley, was never even inhabited, but boasts incredible pink hued rock formations and geological anomalies that have been formed by centuries of erosion and forma an amazing lunar landscape. The valley also has many animal shaped rocks, it looks like a sculpture zoo made by nature. 

You then proceed to the Cavusin Village, one of the oldest settlements in the area, is famous for its Church of St.John the Baptist that dates back to the 5th century and is the oldest church in the region. The old Cavusin village, which was abandoned several decades ago due to rock falls, was all carved into the hillside. The inhabitants of Cavusin lived in houses which were cut into a massive rock wall. Now the insides of many of the dwellings are exposed due to hundreds and hundreds of years of weathering and erosion. So, now from a distance you can look into a church or what was once someone’s cozy little cave home. 

As a culmination of the tour you visit the town of Avanos set on the banks of Kizilirmak (Red) river, which supplies the town with clay for pottery, from which the area derives its main livelihood for centuries. It is believed that some of the techniques still used today date back to 2000 BC, and today you have a chance to learn these ancient techniques on a pottery masterclass at a local pottery. 

After the tour and masterclass, you are transferred to your hotel and have the evening at leisure.
 

Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride & Departure
At dawn you have a chance to participate in an amazing hot air balloon experience in this unique location. 

At midday you check out, meet your private driver and depart from Cappadocia.

Arrival
Welcome to the great cultural center of Turkey - Konya! Upon arrival, you are met by your private driver, who transfers you to the hotel for check-in.

The rest of the day is free so you can start exploring the magnificent city on your own, dine in one of the local restaurants or take a good rest in your comfortable room.

Half Day City Tour & Whirling Dervishes Show
After breakfast, you meet your guide at the hotel lobby and start exploring Konya city. You begin with a visit to Mevlana Museum, which holds a great collection of Mevlevi musical instruments, calligraphy specimens, and various fabrics and carpets and located in mausoleum dating from 1247. 

Then you proceed to Karatay Tile museum and Alaaddin Mosque and Palace, the oldest historical building in Anatolia from Seljuk period. 
This touring day finishes at a local bustling Bazaar, where you stroll through the spices and carpets, teas and fruits, local delicacies and authentic city spirit. 

As the final touch to delve into the cultural heritage of the region, you visit Whirling Dervishes Show at Mevlana Cultural Center of Konya. This show is the perfect way to understand the story of Sufism, Sufis and the ritual of the Mevlevi.

After the tour, you return to your hotel and have the rest of the day free.

Departure
Following breakfast in your hotel, you check out and depart from Konya. 

Arrival
Today you arrive in Pamukkale and have a transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free. 

Pamukkale Thermal Springs & Hierapolis Ruins Tour 
After breakfast you meet your local guide and start exploring the amazing region of Pamukkale and Hierapolis.

The first stop for today is at the famous white stepped cliffs of Pamukkale, where you have a chance to walk in the warm waters while learning more from your guide. After enjoying the relaxing waters of Pamukkale, you head to visit the ancient ruins and other unique sights located nearby.

The theatre of Hierapolis is one of the best-preserved entertainment destinations that dates back to the second century, the audience section could hold up to 10,000 and be used to show everything from music, religious ceremonies and even performing live shows. While the theatre isn’t used to put on live entertainment anymore, the seating all around can be explored and used by visitors. Don't hesitate to take as many pictures as you like!

Next stop for today's itinerary is a historical landmark of Agora, which used to be an ancient market where traders would have come to do shopping or to exchange their goods with other people who traveled.

Another destination of this tour is the Karahayit Red Springs. Unusual spring waters are found only five kilometers from the Pamukkale and are believed to have a healing effect. The water comes from hot spring that flows out at 56 degrees and is rich in calcium, magnesium and sulphur.

After your day of exploring ruins and relaxing in legendary healing waters, you will be taken back to your hotel.

Departure
Following breakfast, you check out from the hotel and depart from Pamukkale. 

Arrival
Welcome to Izmir, located on Turkey’s Aegean coast! This city was founded by the Greeks, taken over by the Romans and rebuilt by Alexander the Great before becoming part of the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century. 

Upon arrival, you are transferred to your hotel for check-in. After check-in, the rest of the evening is free for you to enjoy the city on your own.

Ephesus Full Day Tour
In the morning after breakfast, you meet your private guide and driver for a full day tour of Ephesus, located just 1 hour away. 

Ephesus, a UNESCO site and one of the largest and best-preserved ancient cities in the world, is a must for those who are interested in archaeology and culture. Ephesus, once the most important commercial center of the western Anatolia, is one of the top highlights of Turkey. Temple of Artemis, one of the “Seven Wonders of the World" has once been located here as well. Together with your guide you enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeon, the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The theater had seating for 25,000 spectators, which was the site where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, and is used today for a local spring festival. 

You stop for a traditional Turkish open-air lunch just outside of Ephesus (lunch is not included) before continuing the tour. After a break for lunch, you proceed to the Archeological Museum, where you are escorted through the nine exhibits tracing the religious and chronological history of the ancient city. Filled with attractively displayed mosaics, statuary, and other artefacts, the museum exhibits several marble statues of the Mother Goddess Artemis. The Open Air Museum and the Archeology Museum combined give you a very fulfilling idea of the city of Ephesus and its importance in the ancient times. 

Today you also visit the House of the Virgin Mary, the place where Mary may have spent her last days. Indeed, she may have come in the area together with Saint John, who spent several years in the area to spread Christianity. Although this sights has never been officially recognised by the Catholic Church as the home of Mary, a lot of gestures made by the popes authenticated its history in the eyes of the faithful and House of the Virgin Mary became a major place of Christian pilgrimage. 

Another sight on your list for today is the ruins of St. John’s Basilica. It is believed that the evangelist St. John spent his last years in this region and was buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill. Three hundred years after the death of St. John, a small chapel was constructed over the grave in the 4th century. The church of St John was changed into a marvellous basilica during the region of Emperor Justinian. 

Please note: The site requires stair climbing at the entrance and walking over uneven ground, stones and gravel walkways. The site has some fallen ruins and some light climbing will be required. 

After the tour you are transferred to your hotel in Izmir and have the evening at leisure.
 

Departure
Following breakfast, you check out, meet your private driver and depart from Izmir. 

Arrival 
Upon arrival to Athens, you have a  transfer to the hotel. The rest of the day is at your own leisure.  

City Tour 
Following breakfast in the hotel, meet your guide and driver to make your way to Kerameikos, the biggest and most important necropolis in Athens.

The walls of Athens, which were constructed in the 5th century B.C. by Themistokles, divided the area into two sections: The Inner Kerameikos which was the potter's quarter of the city and τhe Outer Kerameikos of an important cemetery and numerous funerary sculptures erected along the road out of the city towards Eleusis. 

After, you will make your way to The Temple of Olympian Zeus & Hadrian's Arch (short visit). This colossal ruined temple was dedicated to Zeus, king of the Olympian gods. 
Your next stop is the Panathenaic Stadium, also known as the Kallimarmaro (meaning the "beautifully marbled"), is an athletic stadium in Athens that hosted the first modern Olympic Games in 1896. Continue on to the highest hill of Athens Lycabettus, which appears in various legends. 

Witness the Royal Palace and today's Parliament, with the elite unit known as the Evzones in their picturesque uniforms guarding the Memorial of the Unknown Soldier. 
Drive along Panepistimiou Avenue to get a glimpse of the beauty of the most famous Athenian Neo­Classical buildings before arriving to our next destination the Ancient Agora. 

After the tour, you are transferred back to your hotel.

Tour of Acropolis
Following breakfast in the hotel, meet your guide and start a 4­-hour tour with your private guide. 

Walk through Dionisiou Areopagitou street one of the most impressive streets of Athens, offering an extraordinary view of the southern slope of the Acropolis, where some of the most significant monuments stand. You will enter the archeological area of the Acropolis on the southern slope to avoid the crowds and just to your right is the most ancient theatre of the world, the Theatre of Dionysus. 

Your next stop is the Odeion of Herodes Atticus and before reaching Acropolis top point, you pass through Beule Gate, part of the Roman fortifications of the Acropolis. See the Temple Of the Athena Victory also known as Temple of Athena Nike, a small, elegant, Ionian, amphiprostyle temple, built by the architect Callicrates in 426 - ­421 B.C. in commemoration of the victory of the Greeks against the Persians.

Reach The Propylaea one of the masterpieces of classical architecture. Left of the Parthenon lies the Temple of Erechtheion built from 420­ - 406BC at the holiest site of the Acropolis, where the goddess Athena planted the olive tree, her sacred symbol.
Climbing down the Acropolis hill you will reach the New Acropolis museum one of the most important contemporary works of architecture in Athens. The last level (The Parthenon room) has the dimensions and the direction of the Parthenon and it is been rotated by 23 degrees in relation to the rest of the building so that the visitor would have an immediate view of the monument.

Departure 
Following breakfast in your hotel, you check out and depart from Athens.