DAY 1 - OCTOBER 17, 2024 - DEPARTURE FROM CANADA

Departure from Canada.
Flight from Vancouver - see dates & prices tab.
Other Canadian cities departures on request.

DAY 2 - OCTOBER 18TH, 2024 - ARRIVAL IN ISTANBUL (40 KM)

Arrival in Istanbul and transfer to your hotel.
Today or tomorrow, you will receive a small welcome gift. A Nazar Boncuk (Turkish blue-eyed bead), a glass bead that protects the holder from evil eye. This is very common in Turkey; you can see them dangling from cars, rear-view windows, backpacks, above doors, key holders etc… The rest of the day is at leisure. Dinner included at the hotel.

Meals: Dinner

Accomodation: Istanbul for 2 nights.

DAY 3 - OCTOBER 19TH, 2024 - ISTANBUL

Breakfast and full day of sightseeing in Istanbul. Visit the renowned Sultanahmet Mosque, known as the Blue Mosque, an incredibly beautiful mosque known for its blue Iznik (Nicaea) tiles and unique for the fact that it has six minarets. You will continue to the Hippodrome, once a vast arena that functioned as the heart of sporting (chariots races and athletics) events and political activities of the old city. From there, you will head to the Hagia Sophia, the Church of Divine Wisdom. Ranking as one of the greatest marvels of world architecture, this awe-inspiring building was constructed as a basilica in the 6th century by Byzantine Emperor Justinian. After lunch, we will walk to the Underground Cistern, the largest of the many underground cisterns built during the Byztanine Empire to supply the city with water. Continue the tour with the Topkapi Palace. This visit to the Imperial Palace of the Ottoman Sultans will include visits of the imperial treasury, the Chinese porcelain section, the calligraphy section, the jewelry collection, and many more. The tour ends with a visit to the Grand Bazaar, the vast and legendary covered market that is the biggest souk in the world, with nearly 4000 shops of antiques, jewelry, and carpets.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

DAY 4 - OCTOBER 20TH, 2024 - ISTANBUL - CAPPADOCIA (750 KM)

After breakfast, transfer to Istanbul airport for our domestic flight to Kayseri. Arrive in Kayseri and start with a visit to the Uchisar village. After the visit of Uchisar, we will visit the Red and Rose Valley to take a great picture at sunset.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Accommodation: Cappadocia for 3 nights

DAY 5 - OCTOBER 21ST, 2024 - CAPPADOCIA

After breakfast, we will explore the famous valleys of Cappadocia. It is a unique location in the world with one of a kind natural rock formation. Formed a very long time ago by volcanic eruptions that caused lava flow that dried above the Earth’s crust and formed the tufa rocks. Erosion shaped them into famous formations, which are called “fairy chimneys”. It is not only the landscape that makes this place unique. Hittites chiseled the soft tufa stones to carve out this fairytale world into homes, stables, shops, churches, hospitals, etc. Early Christians carved caves and made frescoes of Biblical scenes on the wall of the rock-carved chapels. Some of the frescoes are still incredibly vivid, attesting to the skills and religious fervor of the faithful. We will also visit the Goreme Open-air Museum, the Kaymakli Underground city, Pigeon Valley, Zelve and Avanos, the latter providing an opportunity to purchase some pottery made with the kick-wheel method that has been shaped here for millennia.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Optional Excursions: Hot Air Balloon in Cappadocia (extra fees to pay on site – reservation with the tour guide)
You will be picked up from your hotel about 1 hour before sunrise and be driven to the base. You will be served tea, coffee, cookies, as the passengers meet. You will then head to the designated take off field where the balloon will be ready and waiting for you. After a safety briefing, settle in the basket and get ready for takeoff. During the flight, rise to an altitude of 700 meters, which will give you a good view of all that there is around as you drift through the valleys and canyons and around the fairy chimneys. The duration of the flight is 45 to 55 minutes. After landing, you will have a traditional celebration party with some sparkling wine and cake. You will receive a commemorative flight certificate. You will be transferred back to your hotel on time for breakfast. The duration of the activity from pick-up to drop off is about 3 hours. This excursion can be done on Oct 21st, 22nd, or 23rd.

DAY 6 - OCTOBER 22ND, 2024 - CAPPADOCIA

After breakfast, we will set off on a full day of sightseeing in Cappadocia. Start with a visit of the Mustafapsasa Village (Sinassos), an old Greek village, it is the old tranquil and picturesque town formerly known as Sinassos. After lunch, we will drive to Soganli Valley, which has been continuously inhabited since the early days of the Christian era. There are churches that date back from the 9th to the 13th centuries. Soganli, like the other valleys in Cappadocia, exemplifies the harmony between man and nature.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

DAY 7 - OCTOBER 23RD, 2024 - CAPPADOCIA - KONYA - ANTALYA (570 KM)

After breakfast, we will drive to Antalya. On the way, we will visit the famous Mevlana Museum and the Theological Scholl of Whirling Dervishes. Mevlana is a 13th century Anatolian mystic poet and the father of the Mevlevi Order. After lunch, the drive to Antalya continues

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Antalya for 2 nights

DAY 8 - OCTOBER 24TH, 2024 - ANTALYA

Enjoy the day at leisure. Antalya is a beautiful town located by the sea and near beautiful mountains. Here you will find shopping, water sports, boutiques, and restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

DAY 9 - OCTOBER 25TH, 2024 - ANTALYA - PAMUKKALE (250 KM)

After breakfast, we drive to Pamukkale. This town in western Turkey is known for the mineral-rich thermal waters flowing down white travertine terraces on a nearby hillside. We will visit the natural site of course and its neighbors Hierapolis, an ancient Roman spa city founded around 190 B.C. Ruins there include a well-preserved theater and a necropolis with sarcophagi that stretch for 2km. The Antique Pool is famous for its submerged Roman columns, the result of an earthquake. When the tour ends, we will drive to the hotel where you can enjoy the rest of the day and the Thermal installations.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Pamukkale for 1 night

DAY 10 - OCTOBER 26TH, 2024 - PAMUKKALE - KUSADASI (250 KM)

After breakfast we drive to Ephesus, the ruins of a huge, well-preserved city that ranked as one of the largest cities of antiquity. Here we will visit the theater where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, the library, the Odeon, the “Double Church” that hosted the Third Ecumenical Council of 431. We will also visit the site of St. John Basilica, and finally the house where the Virgin Mary spent 9 years. At the end of the tour, we drive to our hotel in Kusadasi.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Kusadasi for 2 nights

DAY 11 - OCTOBER 27TH, 2024 - KUSADASI

Day at leisure in Kusadasi. The hotel is by the sea with some nice pools. It is also located close to the village where you will find boutiques and restaurants.

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

DAY 12 - OCTOBER 28TH, 2024 - KUSADASI - PERGAMON - CANAKKALE (475 KM)

After breakfast, we drive to Pergamon. Along the way we will stop at the hauntingly beautiful Pergamon, where we will take the cable car to the city on top of the hill. The visit includes the Acropolis and Asklepion. After lunch, we drive to Canakkale. Canakkale is a seaport town on the Dardanelles Strait which is the closest location to the site of ancient Troy. Troy was the city of the Trojan War described in Homer’s Iliad. You will visit the ancient ruins of nine separate settlements within the area of Troy and stroll by the seafront to see the wooden horse built from the modern movie of the same name.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Canakkale for 1 night

DAY 13 - OCTOBER 29TH, 2024 - CANAKKALE - ISTANBUL (315 KM)

After breakfast, we drive to Istanbul. Upon our arrival in the city, we will visit the Spice Market, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar. Built in the 17th century, this is the second largest covered bazaar in Istanbul. The Egyptian Spice Bazaar is where the pungent and savory aroma of exotic oils, herbs, and spices have perfumed the arched stone corridors for nearly 350 years. Now also offering nuts, honey, dried fruits, traditional sweets, and herbal remedies, the Spice Bazaar’s redolent wares will transform you into a true spice trader. After that nice shopping stop, we will continue our tour with a short Bosphorus Cruise. A traditional boat tour through the waterway separating Asia and Europe. Along the way you will see old Ottoman wooden mansions, marble palaces, foreign embassies estates, and small fishery villages, located on the Asian and European sides. Do not miss important sightseeing spots at the Bosphorus such as the Dolmabahçe Palace, Rumeli Fortress and Beylerbeyi.

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Accommodation: Istanbul for 2 nights

DAY 14 - OCTOBER 30TH, 2024 - ISTANBUL

Day at leisure in Istanbul. Today you can enjoy this great city the way you want. You can walk in Sultanamet or Taxim or under the Galata Bridge, you can go shopping for Turkish delights, Turkish carpets, cashmere scarf, you can take a half day in a traditional Hammam (ask your guide or the hotel front desk to arrange an appointment for you at a nice Hammam). Lunch and dinner at leisure.

Meals: Breakfast

DAY 15 - OCTOBER 31ST, 2024 - DEPARTURE FROM ISTANBUL

After breakfast, we transfer to Istanbul Airport for our departure flight home.

Meals: Breakfast