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ISTANBUL - CAPPADOCIA & EPHESUS (7 Nights / 8 Days)
Itinerary: Istanbul / Cappadocia / Kuşadası |
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Package prices (per person and in USD) from: |
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2 participants |
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$ 3,310.00 |
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4 participants |
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$ 2,240.00 |
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| 6 participants |
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$ 1,925.00 |
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10 participants |
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$ 1,660.00 |
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| DAY 01 |
Arrival in Istanbul |
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Arrive at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul. Meet your guide and transfer to The Central Palace Hotel. This charming boutique hotel is located in the modern city center – just within a few minutes walk from Taksim Square and Istiklal Street.
Upon arrival enjoy a welcome briefing and orientation walking tour of the hotel area. Your guide will lead you through Taksim area and show you near-by restaurants, gift shops and the like. The rest of the day is at leisure
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Overnight: at The Central Palace Hotel in Istanbul (see hotel's pictures : exterior , guest room) |
| Included meals: - |
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After breakfast at the hotel, depart for full day sightseeing tour of the old city. The tour includes all significant sites of the city: the ancient Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace Museum and the Grand Bazaar.
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Hippodrome: The ancient Hippodrome is an enormous public entertainment arena that once seated as many as 100.000 zealous fans witnessing chariot races, executions, and mock battles.
Once the centre of Byzantine civic life, it is still decorated by the Egyptian Obelisk, the Bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine.
Blue Mosque: Built between 1609 and 1616, the Sultan Ahmet Mosque is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because its interior gleams with magnificent panels of blue and white 17th Century Iznik tiles. Located near Topkapi Palace, it was considered the Supreme Imperial Mosque during Ottoman Istanbul.
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Hagia Sophia: This famous basilica was constructed in the 6th century A.D. It is often described as the greatest work of Byzantine architecture. Once the Church of Holy Wisdom, Christendom’s crowning glory, and now a museum, it glittered with mosaics, and art treasures filled every corner. Today, Haiga Sophia is the forth largest building made as a church in the world. It was dedicated to the Hagia Sophia which means the Divine Wisdom, an attribute of Christ. |
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Topkapi Palace Museum: Topkapi was the second palace built in Istanbul after the conquest. It was a residence for the Ottoman Sultans and includes a maze of opulent buildings which were at the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. This palace, where the sultans and their courts and harem lived and governed, is now one of the world’s richest museums.
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| For a lunch break we recommend Konyali restaurant, located within the Topkapi Palace Complex and serving traditional meals of Ottoman cuisine. |
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Grand Bazaar: The area of the Grand Bazaar was a trade center during the Byzantine period. Two bedestens (domed masonry structures) were built by Sultan Mehmet the Conqueror to enrich the economic life in the city. Later on as people needed more places for trade, they added other buildings outside these structures.
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Today, the atmosphere of the Grand Bazaar is very interesting and has consequently become a very popular place for visitors to explore a labyrinth of streets and passages housing eighteen entrances and more than 4,000 shops. |
| In late afternoon, return to the hotel for some time at leisure. |
Overnight: at The Central Palace Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals: B |
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After breakfast at the hotel, meet with your guide and depart for a full-day sightseeing tour featuring the Spice Market, a Bosphorus cruise by public boat, and authentic city quarters located on the Asian shore of the Bosphorus Strait.
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After crossing Golden Horn Bay, which separates the modern and historical parts of the city, we will visit the Spice Market which was built as part of the Yeni Cami complex and has since been an exciting covered market filled with the fragrant scent of spices from the Orient. |
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Next, we will embark on a public boat and start our cruise of the Bosphorus Strait. The Bosphorus is a narrow, navigable strait between Europe and Asia connecting the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea. It is about 20 miles long and varies between one-half and one and one half miles wide. This boat ride takes you past the late Ottoman Palaces, Dolmabahce and Beylerbeyi, as well as beautiful wooden mansions and modern villas of the 19th & 20th centuries which form this elegant section of the city. |
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We will disembark at Anadolu Kavagi, a former fishermen’s village, located at the Black Sea entrance of the Bosphorus Strait. This place is famous for its seafood restaurants, and we suggest that you have lunch on your own at one of them and order from their fresh fish menu. After lunch, we will take a walk to the ruins of Yoros Castle located on top of the hill. The castle was built by Genoese settlers and dates back to 1190. The location also presents unparalleled views of the Black Sea and the Bosphorus. |
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Then we will be picked up by our vehicle, and continue with a panoramic drive along the Asian coast of the Bosphorus. En route we will visit the picturesque seaside towns of Kanlica and Cengelkoy. Kanlica is a typical, humble Bosphorus district, famous for it’s authentic buildings and for it’s yogurt. Cengelkoy is one of the oldest and nicest residential districts along the Bosphorus. |
In Cengelkoy many mansions and summer residences were built during the Ottoman period and some of them still exist. Cengelkoy is also famous for its orchards.
We will return back to the European part of the city via the Bosphorus Bridge and transfer to the hotel for an evening at leisure. |
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Overnight: at The Central Palace Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals: B |
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| DAY 04 |
Istanbul / Cappadocia |
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This morning after breakfast you will check-out and transfer to Istanbul Airport where you will board your flight to Kayseri for Cappadocia. |
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Upon arrival, meet with your local guide and start to discover the wonders of Cappadocia. On your way to the hotel you will visit Goreme Open-air Museum and Uchisar Fortress.
Goreme: The open air museum of Goreme consist of steep cliffs and many hidden churches dating from the second half of the 9C and afterwards.
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Uchisar Fortress: Uchisar is the name of a town and the fortress in the town. This 60 meter-high fortress was not built but carved out of a natural hill dominating the area with a breathtaking view of all the surrounding Cappadocia formations. After these visits, you will arrive to Karlik Evi Hotel, which is going to be your home fro the next two nights. |
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This hotel is a small boutique hotel with only 20 rooms, and represents a traditional Anatolian-style property. It has been built and decorated with the natural lava stone of Cappadocia. After check-in, spend some time at leisure. In the evening you can choose to join an optional program. |
Overnight: at Karlik Evi Hotel in Uchisar (see hotel's pictures : exterior , guest room)
Included meals: B
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OPTIONAL PROGRAM:
In the evening after dinner on your own, meet with your guide and transfer to a local tavern, part of which is carved in Cappadocian rock. Here you will enjoy the performance of folklore groups and belly dancers. During the show unlimited local drinks and snacks will be served.
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After breakfast we will start a full-day sightseeing tour of Cappadocia. The biblical realm of Cappadocia is a wonderland of unusual geographic formations sprinkled with green vineyards, fruit orchards and frescoed churches. Wind and rain have eroded the brittle volcanic rock and formed rock cones, capped pinnacles and fretted ravines in colors that range from warm reds and gold to cool greens and grays. |
We will visit the underground city of Kaymakli, Pasabag and Zelve as well as the Avanos hand-craft center. During our tour we will have lunch on our own at a local village.
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Kaymakli Underground City: Beginning in the second century AD, as successive armies swept across Asia Minor, the residents of Cappadocia created uniquely defensible communities by digging approximately eight stories down into the volcanic tufa stone.
Pasabag and Zelve: These nature sites are the perfect places to take photos of a remarkable landscape of tufa cones. |
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Avanos Hand-craft Center: Avanos is a small town famous for its pottery and carpets. It is built along the banks of Kizilirmak (Halys) River, the longest river originating and ending within the borders of Turkey. At hand-craft center, you will be introduced to these regional crafts, learning all major aspects of carpet-weaving and pottery-making.
Return to the hotel in the early evening and have time at leisure |
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Overnight: at Karlik Evi Hotel in Uchisar
Included meals: B
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| DAY 06 |
Cappadocia / Kusadasi |
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This morning after breakfast we will check out and transfer to Kayseri Airport where we will board our flight to Izmir. Upon arrival, meet with our local guide and transfer to Kusadasi. |
Kusadasi, which means “Bird Island” is set in a superb gulf and is known for its sparkling water, broad sandy beaches and large marina with the capacity for 600 boats. We will check-in at the Kismet Hotel, which is located on a peninsula that protrudes into the Aegean Sea like a cruise-ship, and guests are at the center of it all - delightful, year-round sun, gentle breezes, proud pines and swaying palms, colorful spring and summer flowers and the unmistakable perfume of white jasmine. |
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| Add to this picture the magnificent turquoise of the Aegean Sea, for swimming, cruising and diving. All 100 rooms have balconies, views of the sea and many amenities. |
| After check-in – time at leisure. |
Overnight: at Kismet Hotel in Kusadasi (see hotel's pictures:
exterior ,
guest room)
Included meals: B
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After breakfast at the hotel, meet with your guide and start a full day tour of the famous Ephesus sites. During the tour, you will visit the Ephesus ancient site, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Ephesus Archeology Museum and have a lecture and demonstration about carpet making at Sultanköy village |
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Ephesus Ancient Site: As the capital of Roman Asia Minor, Ephesus is still richly endowed with marble temples, mosaics and a 25,000-seat Great Theater. The city, whose wealth and patronage supported its splendid architectural program, was dedicated to the goddess Artemis, and her enormous temple was once considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. |
The House of the Virgin Mary: On Bulbul Dag (Nightingale Mountain) there is the House of the Virgin Mary where it's believed that she passed the last years of her life and died. The Virgin Mary came to Ephesus together with St. John and was taken up to Panaghia Kapulu Mountain to survive the Roman persecutions. Now the House of the Virgin Mary is recognized as a shrine by the Vatican. |
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After these visits, we will drive to a nice local village. Here we will have our included grilled lunch and also become acquainted with local crafts of the area. At the end of the lunch a lecturer will tell us about all aspects of local crafts, such as rug-weaving. You will also be able to see the demonstration performed by local craftsmen.
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Next, we will continue to the town of Selcuk and visit the Ephesus Archeology Museum. Almost all of the exhibits are findings from Ephesus, the most spectacular being two life-size statutes of Artemis Ephesia, both of them dating from the middle Roman imperial era.
Upon the end of the tour, we will return to the hotel and have an evening at leisure. |
Overnight: at Kismet Hotel in Kusadasi
Included meals: B, L
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After breakfast at the hotel transfer to Izmir Airport for our return flight via Istanbul.
Included meals: B
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PRICES AND CONDITIONS: |
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Prices of the package: (per person in double room, in USD) |
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2 participants |
4 participants |
6 participants |
10 participants |
$ 3,310.00 |
$ 2,240.00 |
$ 1,925.00 |
$ 1,660.00 |
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Price of the package includes:
• Accommodation in hotels :
- Istanbul: The Central Palace Hotel – 3 nights (see hotel's pictures:exterior , guest room)
- Cappadocia : Karlik Evi Hotel – 2 nights (see hotel's pictures:exterior , guest room)
- Kusadasi : Kısmet Hotel – 2 nights (see hotel's pictures:exterior , guest room)
• Domestic flights within our program itinerary
(Istanbul-Kayseri, Kayseri-Izmir, and Izmir-Istanbul)
• 8 Meals: 7 breakfasts and 1 lunch
• Services of a professional tour guide and his/her expenses
• Modern, A/C, comfortable minibus for land transportation, and driver’s expenses
• Admission fees to sights and museums
• Parking, portage, tipping (except guide & driver), ferry, toll road
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Price of the package excludes:
• Airfare of international flights and the related taxes
• Bottled beverages or alcohol
• Optional gratuities to trip leaders, drivers.
• Travel insurance
• Visas, laundry, and personal items
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