Visit Pamukkale National Park and the ancient city of Hierapolis with its ruins at Pamukkale. It’s time to plan your next trip to Izmir Turkey! Enjoy a comprehensive tour of Pamukkale from Izmir. Our tour makes many stops in all of the valleys: Göreme, valley of the monks (Pasabag) the open-air museum, Devrent and its imaginary valley and the magnificent valley of the pigeons. Contin-ue to Mount Nemrut, home to a huge funerary sanctuary and admire its Giant Heads. There is another must-see museum in Türkiye: The Zeugma Museum, the setting that houses some of the most fascinating Hellenistic and Roman mosaics that can be seen in the world. Among them, the famous Gypsy or gypsy of Zeugma, often compared to the Mona Lisa.
Day 1: Istanbul
After you arrive at Istanbul Airport, our driver will pick you up and take you to your hotel in Istan-bul. After a nice rest at your hotel, our guide will meet you in the afternoon for a short orientation tour of Istanbul and a night-out. Overnight in Istanbul.
Day 2: Istanbul (Old City)
Our guide will meet you at your hotel after your breakfast, and you will explore the old city of Is-tanbul on foot. Upon arrival at Sultanahmet square, surrounded by Istanbul's jewels, you will first encounter the mighty Hagia Sophia. This huge cathedral was a sat for the Eastern Orthodox Church's patriarchate for more than 6 centuries. The underground cistern Yerebatan is located right next to Hagia Sophia, where you can see the water reservoirs of the palaces of Istanbul and Constantinople. Your next stop will be the Blue Mosque built in the 17th Century by the Ottoman Sultan Ahmed I. The structure is regarded as the best example of Ottoman architecture, where you can see outstanding Iznik tiles. After lunch, our guide will take you to the Topkapi Palace. A Byzantium palace complex was converted to an Ottoman by after the 15th Century, and the Sul-tans ruled the Ottoman land from that gorgeous palace. Secret gardens, harem apartments, kitchens, mosques, and administrative structures will take you back to the Ottoman ages, and you will feel like a sultan while sipping your Turkish coffee in the terraces of the palace overlooking the Asian continent. After a short walk in the Sultanahmet square to see the Serpent Column brought from Delphi, the Walled Obelisk, and the Obelisk of Thutmose III, which was brought from Egypt, you will be dropped at your hotel for an overnight in Istanbul. [B/L]
Day 3: Istanbul (Bosporus cruise & Oriental bazaars)
Our guide will meet you at your hotel after breakfast and will take you to the shores of the Bospo-rus. The first stop will be the Spice Market, the center of silk and spice trade, where the east's goods were traded to the west. After exploring this oriental bazaar, you will catch a public ferry for an experience that can be done only in Istanbul, sail in between two continents. During the Bos-porus cruise, you can see the best examples of Ottoman mansions and palaces in Europe and Asia. You will return to the Eminonu area to visit a small mosque called Rustem Pasha, famous for the exquisite tiles covering its walls. A short walk up the Suleymaniye mosque will show you how the civilizations inspired grand Architect Sinan lived in Anatolia and blended this information in Soliman the Magnificent's mosque. You can finish your day strolling in the many winding streets of the Grand Bazar, which is a must while visiting Istanbul. Our guide will take you to the hotel afterward when you get tired of exploring the Grand Bazaar. Overnight in Istanbul. [B/L]
Day 4: Istanbul, Izmir, Ephesus, Siringe
Our driver will pick you up from your hotel in the morning after your breakfast and will take you to Istanbul Ataturk Airport for a flight to Izmir. Our guide will pick you up from the domestic arrivals, and you will drive together to Ephesus to explore the environs of one of the biggest Ancient cities of the Aegean Region. You will have arrived at the Ancient City of Ephesus to see the official build-ings and the marble streets reflecting the past's rich lifestyles. The Odeon, Trajan Fountain, Hadri-an’s temple, Library of Celsus, and Ephesus's gigantic theater are the most beautiful structures to see, along with the Terrace Houses and the Sanctuary Domitian. You will continue to the House of the Virgin Mary then to see the church and complex where she had lived before passing away. After a break there, our guide will take you to lunch to taste the beautiful cuisine of the Aegean Region of Turkey. The Selcuk museum will compliment your visit to Ephesus, where you can see the artifacts found during the 1,5 centuries of excavations. You will continue to the old Greek vil-lage of Sirince where you will spend the night, but before you retire, a short walk in the narrow Greek streets is recommended to see the houses, cafes, and restaurants whic are nice hideouts from the heat of Ephesus. Overnight in Sirince. [B/L]
Day 5: Siringe (Aphrodisias & Pamukkale [Hierapolis])
Our guide will pick you up earlier today and after a short drive, you will start exploring the ancient city of Aphrodisias to see the beautiful sculptures made by the Greeks. After seeing the Tetrapylon, Odeon, Sebasteion, Theater, and the Temple of Aphrodite, you will finish your tour with the Stadi-um, the biggest one in Anatolia. The museum of Aphrodisias is impressive, thanks to the excep-tional sculptures that look like life will come to life. Lunch will be held in one of the restaurants nearby Aphrodisias, and you will continue to another UNESCO registered ancient city called Hier-apolis. The world-famous white travertines will greet you when you start getting closer to Pamuk-kale. Hierapolis is located on top of the white travertines and hosts a beautiful theater that you can see before Cleopatra's pools. Obviously, Marcus Antonius lived his legendary love with the Egyptian Princess Cleopatra here in those pools. The Roman Baths located in the ancient city are housing beautiful sculptures and sarcophagus works of Hierapolis people. You will arrive at the white trav-ertines then walk over the most beautiful natural wonder of the Aegean Region of Turkey. Our guide will take you back to your hotel then for an overnight in Sirince. [B/L]
Day 6: Sirince, Izmir, Cappadocia
Our driver will pick you up from your hotel in Sirince after breakfast for a flight to Kayseri Airport. Our guide in Kayseri will meet you at the airport Airport's domestic arrivals and drive to Cappado-cia. It will take another hour to get to Cappadocia, where you will visit Panoramas of Goreme, Ortahisar, and Uchisar before checking in to your hotel. The castle of Uchisar will be the highlight of the day since it is the highest point in the region, making you feel like the kings once ruled Cappadocia. After lunch, you will be dropped at your hotel for an overnight in a volcanic cave room, with all the modern amenities. Overnight in Cappadocia. [B/L]
Day 7: Cappadocia (Optional Balloon tour)
Our guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel after breakfast to continue discovering Cap-padocia. Your first stop will be the best museum of Cappadocia listed by UNESCO in 1985. Goreme Open Air Museum is a massive monastery housing many churches carved into the rock, and they have beautiful hand-drawn frescoes in them from the late Byzantium period. After seeing the beautiful art painted by the monks who once used to live in this complex monastery, you will con-tinue to the Monks Valley, which is called Pasabag by the locals, to see the best examples of fairy chimneys. After a walk around the fairy chimneys, you will continue to Avanos town for a local lunch and a visit to a pottery workshop to see the local Avanos' handmade tiles and artisans at work. After trying your own pottery skills, our guide will take you to the Underground City of Oz-konak to explore the hidden caves built into the ground by Cappadocians to protect their families, lives, and products from the enemies. Afterward, our guide will take you to the Imagination valley to see the most interesting fairy chimneys eroded, naturally creating a Martian landscape. After taking photos, Urgup wine factories will be happy to serve you their beautiful local Cappadocian wine and tell you the winemaking history in this region. On the way to the hotel, you can take a short photo break by the 3 Beauties of Urgup rock formations and enjoy your wine by the Red Val-ley, watching the sun going down over the poetic landscape of Cappadocia. After sunset, our guide will drop you at your hotel for your last overnight in Cappadocia. [B/L]
Signature option: Hot air balloon flight
You will be picked up by the hot air balloon company and will be taken to their headquarters for a light breakfast before your flight. Your pilots will do the last cross-checks, and you will leave with them to the takeoff area for your flight. Your once-in-a-lifetime experience will start. You will be a part of the balmy morning breeze of Cappadocia right after the takeoff and see the region's phenomenal formations from a totally different perspective. You will celebrate the landing with a glass of champagne and receive your flight certificates. You will be dropped at your hotel then for a nice rest.
Day 8: Cappadocia, Mount Nemrut National Park, Adiyaman
Our guide and driver will pick you up from your hotel to take you to the Mount Nemrut National Park. Early departure is recommended to catch the sunset from the top of the National Park of Mount Nemrut, which is the resting place of the mightiest king of Southeast Anatolia during the Hellenistic times; Antiochus I Theos of Commagene. After a 4-hour drive, you will arrive in Kahramanmaras city for a lunch break and taste our national ice cream made from goat milk and cream. You will continue to Adiyaman to visit the historical sites on the way up to Mount Nemrut. Starting with the Karakus Mound, which was the resting place of the family of Antiochus, you will walk over a Roman bridge then, which was built to honor Septimius Severus. The bridge also en-couraged trade in the region and supported the navigation of the Roman army. You will start driv-ing up to Mount Nemrut to visit Antiochus I Theos' shrine, which is among Turkey's most impres-sive sites. The Shrine is full of statues and friezes of Greek, Armenian and Persian gods because Antiochus followed a rigorous religious program in the area and yet considered himself one of them. Commemorations were taking a day from sunrise to sunset from the Eastern terrace to the Western terrace. You will have the experience of seeing the 3 terraces except the southern one de-stroyed because of an earthquake. The sunset and the Western terrace views are phenomenal, making you feel like you are on top of the world. After sunset, you will drive leave the national park for a late dinner and overnight in Adiyaman. [B/L]
Day 9: Adiyaman, Gobeklitepe, Urfa, Harran, Sanliurfa
You will leave your hotel with our guide and driver to take you to a short drive for a break at the biggest reservoir of the Middle East, Ataturk dam. It is built over the Euphrates River named after the Greek river gods, bringing life to the Middle East from the tall Anatolian mountains. You will then continue to Gobeklitepe, which is still rocking everything we know about archaeology. Go-beklitepe is a current excavation site built by the hunters and gatherers 12,000 years ago, making it the oldest temple is known so far. The limestone pillars were erected to create worship spaces for the gods of the ancient civilizations that once lived in the area that triggered agriculture and domestication of wheat for the first time in the world. After updating our information about the development of agriculture and religion in the world, you will continue to Sanliurfa city to visit the cave of Abraham where he was born and also the Holy Fish Lake, which is believed to be the place where he was thrown into the fire by the king Nimrod of Edessa. After lunch and a short walk in the bazaars of Sanliurfa, you will continue to Harran city to see the unique beehive-shaped houses made from terra cotta bricks. Creating a perfect space to survive from Mesopotamia's heat, bee-hive houses are still occupied by Harran's Arabian families, which lies right next to Harran's an-cient city. The tower you will easily notice in Harran belongs to one of the world's first science cen-ters along with Athens. Overnight in Sanliurfa. [B/L]
Day 10: Sanliurfa, Zeugma, Gaziantep, Istanbul
Our guide and driver will take you to Gaziantep city after breakfast at your hotel, which will take 2 hours. You will first visit the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, the second biggest mosaic museum glob-ally. The mosaics there were saved from Zeugma ancient city, which was a trading outpost for the Romans. The Roman officials had created a sophisticated lifestyle there that is seen in the mosa-ics of the houses once decorated the houses of the rich Romans. Our guide will take you to lunch after the museum, which is an experience itself since the cuisine of Gaziantep: a fusion of Anatoli-an, Mediterranean and Middle Eastern was listed as a UNESCO "The Creative Cities Network." You will continue exploring the old city of Gaziantep after lunch and see the coppersmiths on duty, marveling at the rhythm of the hammers they use. Once in Gaziantep, one should try the world-famous baklava filled with pistachio, and you can finish the day in one of the oldest tea houses of Turkey with a cup of terebinth coffee. Our guide and driver will take you to Gaziantep Airport af-terward for a flight back to Istanbul. On arrival you’ll be met and driven to your hotel for overnight. [B/L]
Day 11: Istanbul, USA
Breakfast at your hotel. At the appointed time you’ll be picked-up for your transfer to the airport to board your flight back home. [B]
[B] = Breakfast | [B/L] = Breakfast and Lunch
