2024 - Glories of Turkey Discovery Tour
2024 - Glories of Turkey Discovery Tour
2024 - Glories of Turkey Discovery Tour
17 Days Starting and ending in Istanbul
Visiting: Istanbul, Çanakkale, Kuşadası, Pamukkale, Antalya, Cappadocia, Van, Kars
Tour operator:
Tour code:
GLTD
Guide Type:
Fully Guided
Group size:
2 - 20
Age range:
8-99
Tour operated in:
EnglishTour Overview
This 17 day tour, starts and ends in Istanbul, Turkey.
Highlights
Itinerary
Day 1 : Istanbul
Location: Istanbul
Accommodation: Nidya Hotel Galataport (4 star)
Accommodation Name: Nidya Hotel Galataport (4 star)
Welcome to Istanbul! You will be transferred to your hotel and the remainder of the day is yours, free to explore.
Day 2 : Istanbul Old City
Location: Istanbul
Accommodation: Nidya Hotel Galataport (4 star)
Accommodation Name: Nidya Hotel Galataport (4 star)
Meals Included: Breakfast
After breakfast, you enjoy a fully guided tour of the only city to span two continents, visiting the Blue Mosque, St Sophia Museum, Topkapi Palace (including Hagia Irene and the Harem) and the Hippodrome.
Cruise between two continents on the stretch of water that separates Europe from Asia in the afternoon with an optional 1 hour Bosphorus cruise by public ferry where your guide will explain the historical sites along the way.
Day 3 : Gallipoli Battlefields
Location: Çanakkale
Accommodation: MD Barbaros Hotel (Special Class)
Accommodation Name: MD Barbaros Hotel (Special Class)
Meals Included: Breakfast
One of the most emotionally touching places in Turkey, today we visit the WWI Battlefields of Gallipoli including Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair Memorials, ANZAC Cove, The Nek, Johnston's Jolly, original trenches and tunnels.
Day 4 : Troy, Acropolis Of Pergamon
Location: Kuşadası
Accommodation: Ilayda Avantgarde Hotel (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: Ilayda Avantgarde Hotel (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Step back in time today as we visit Troy where we will explore the ancient city, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the new, award winning, Troy Museum. We continue on to Bergama and up to the magnificent acropolis of Pergamon. Its impressive temples and library made it a renowned cultural and political centre in its time.
Day 5 : Ephesus, Kusadasi
Location: Kuşadası
Accommodation: Ilayda Avantgarde Hotel (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: Ilayda Avantgarde Hotel (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Absorb yourself in history today with a guided tour of Ephesus and a visit to the site of the Temple of Artemis. Feel the mystical atmosphere of the ancient city and theatre before continuing to the former Greek village of Sirince, famous for its fruit wines. Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey and at the carpet village we learn how the carpets are made by hand and what determines their value.
Day 6 : Pamukkale, Hierapolis
Location: Pamukkale
Accommodation: Adem Pira Hotel (4 star)
Accommodation Name: Adem Pira Hotel (4 star)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
This morning we will enjoy a display of locally handcrafted leather goods before heading to the magnificent white calcium terraces, known as Travertines, in Pamukkale where we also tour the ancient city of Hierapolis. Take a dip, amongst ancient columns, in the hot springs that were used in Roman times for their therapeutic powers.
Day 7 : Laodacia, Antalya
Location: Antalya
Accommodation: Mediterra Art Hotel (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: RuinAdalia Hotel (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast
After breakfast we head for the resort town of Antalya, stopping along the way to visit isit the Laodicea which was the chief city of the Lycus River Valley region. The full name of the city was Laodicea ad Lyceum (Laodicea on the Lycus). The city was originally known as Diospolis ("the City of Zeus"). The Greek deity considered to be the greatest of the Olympian gods. Then, we will head to resort town, Antalya. We will visit Antalya Arecheological Museum in the afternoon.
Day 8 : Perge, Aspendos
Location: Antalya
Accommodation: Mediterra Art Hotel (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: RuinAdalia Hotel (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast
Full day tour of the ancient ruins of Perge and Aspendos. In Aspendos, you can see the Roman Theatre built in the 2nd century and seating 15,000 people. Side is one of the best classical sites in Turkey with its Temple of Apollo and ancient ruins.
Day 9 : Antalya, Cappadocia
Location: Cappadocia
Accommodation: Gamirasu Hotel (Boutique Cave)
Accommodation Name: Gamirasu Hotel (Boutique Cave)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Today we travel to Cappadocia, through the central part of the country, visiting Sultanhani Caravansary and the Mevlana museum in Konya along the way.
Day 10 : Cappadocia
Location: Cappadocia
Accommodation: Gamirasu Hotel (Boutique Cave)
Accommodation Name: Gamirasu Hotel (Boutique Cave)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Today we will visit Pigeon and Red Valley and then we visit Cavusin village and lastly Avanos town where we will learn about hand-made pottery
Day 11 : Goreme, Underground City, Istanbul
Location: Cappadocia
Accommodation: Gamirasu Hotel (Boutique Cave)
Accommodation Name: Gamirasu Hotel (Boutique Cave)
Meals Included: Breakfast, Dinner
Marvel at the lunar landscape of Cappadocia today as we visit the Goreme Valley Open Air Museum and the fairy chimneys, and explore the many levels of an underground city.
Day 12 : Cappadocia, Van
Location: Van
Accommodation: Van Life Hotel (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: Van Life Hotel (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast
Departure in the morning from Cappadocia, we head to Ankara for our direct flight to Van. On arrival to Van Airport, you will meet with your tour guide. Before we go to our hotel, we will explore the Citadel with its three thousand Urartian fortress of Van and witness the extraordinary sunset.
Day 13 : Van, Akdamar Island
Location: Van
Accommodation: Van Life Hotel (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: Van Life Hotel (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast
After breakfast, we will travel by ferry stopping at Akdamar Island to see a spectacular 10th century church built by an Armenian king, if there is time swim in Lake Van.
Then, we will drive back to city centre to visit the largest Urartu Museum in the World. Artifacts from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Urartian, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Seljuk, Turkish-Islamic, and Ottoman Periods are exhibited in chronological order taking our visitors on a unique historical journey.
After the museum visit Van Cat House. Van cats are relatively large, have a chalky white coat, sometimes with ruddy coloration on the head and hindquarters, and have blue, amber eyes or one eye of each colour. This variety has been referred to as "the swimming cat", and has been observed to swim in Lake Van.
Day 14 : Van, Dogubayazit, Ararat, Kars
Location: Kars
Accommodation: Kars Beylerbeyi Palace (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: Kars Beylerbeyi Palace (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast
Today we leave for Dogubayazit via Muradiye and the Bendimaahi Falls. In Dogubayazit, we visit the spectacular Ishak Pasha Palace, 1685 - 1784, which has a unique fusion of architecture from Seljuk, Ottoman, Georgian, and Armenian - Persian styles.
We continue our journey north, skirting around the western edge of Mt Ararat. Mt. Ararat is one of the great natural spectacles of the world,. The name Ararat derives from the Bible (Jeremiah 51:27) and is a transliteration of 'Urartu' the name foreigners gave to this region and its inhabitants in Biblical times.
Day 15 : Kars, Ani
Location: Kars
Accommodation: Kars Beylerbeyi Palace (Boutique)
Accommodation Name: Kars Beylerbeyi Palace (Boutique)
Meals Included: Breakfast
This morning we journey to the site of Ani, the former capital of the Armenian kingdom. In the mid 10th century, nothing in Europe could rival this capital of the Armenian kingdom in terms of either size or magnificence. The remains of the ruined city include several churches as well as the shell of the Cathedral of Ani, the citadel and a mosque. There are also some exciting remains of frescoes in the Church of St Gregory (Tigran Honentz) despite having been exposed to the elements for centuries.
Afternoon, we will visit 12 Aposotles Church and Kars Castle.
Day 16 : Kars, Istanbul
Location: Istanbul
Accommodation: Nidya Hotel Galataport (4 star)
Accommodation Name: Nidya Hotel Galataport (4 star)
Meals Included: Breakfast
Transfer to Kars Airport for your onward flight back to Istanbul. On arrival to Istanbul Airport, you will be transferred to your hotel.
Day 17 : Istanbul
Accommodation: ()
Meals Included: Breakfast
After breakfast our tour concludes and we say goodbye to our new friends and are transferred to the airport for your onward flight.
What's Included
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Meals
16 breakfasts, 0lunches, 7dinners -
Professional English-speaking tour guide for the duration of the tour
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Transportation in a fully air-conditioned, non-smoking vehicle
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Domestic flight between Ankara and Van and transfers
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Domestic flight between Kars and Istanbul and transfers
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Tips except Driver and Guide
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Entrance fees
What's Not Included
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Suggested optional activities
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Tips - Driver and Guide
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Compulsory Travel Insurance
Meals
16 breakfasts, 0 lunches, 6 dinners
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