ISTANBUL (7 days /6 nights)

After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby to start the tour
HIPPODROME – HAGHIA SOPHIA – BLUE MOSQUE – TOPKAPI PALACE – GRAND BAZAAR
Let’s start to explore Istanbul. The first visit is to Hippodrome. It was the center of sports activities in Constantinople.
Haghia Sophia: is the most famous museum in Turkey and one of the greatest marvels of architecture. Haghia Sophia was built as a church in the 6th century by Emperor Justinian.
Blue Mosque: as known as the Sultanahmet Mosque, this breath-taking building is one of the most majestic Ottoman mosques in all of Turkey.
Topkapi Palace: which has been home to the Ottoman dynasty for many years, was used for educational administration and as the art center of the state. (Closed on Tuesday.
Grand Bazaar: is the biggest market and the most attractive shopping center of Istanbul which has lots of shopping opportunities. (Closed on Sunday) Overnight in Istanbul

After the tour, we depart for the Istanbul airport for our domestic flight to Kayseri. Upon arrival, you will be picked up and transferred from Kayseri airport to your hotel. Overnight in Cappadocia.

• Optional Hot Air Balloon: Hot air ballooning over the charming landscape during sunrise is optional this morning
  After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby to begin the tour.
• Visiting: GOREME, ESENTEPE, AVANOS, DEVRENT VALLEY, PASABAG VALLEY.
  The first stop will be Esentepe, for a panoramic view of Goreme. Time to take photos. We continue to the Goreme Open Air Museum, a large monastic complex with dozens of monasteries, each with its naves, various rooms, each with its own church. The best samples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia. We continue to visit the most famous valleys of Cappadocia. Pasabag Valley, located in a vineyard. It has formidable rock formations in the shape of a mushroom several meters high. The fairy chimneys sculpted by erosion for years were used as dwellings by various groups of religious hermits, which is why it is also known as the Valley of the Monks. We continue to the Devrent Valley, famous for the rock formations that give it an appearance of a reddish lunar landscape. Many of its formations have animal figures, such as a huge camel, seals, dolphins. There is a rock pillar that resembles the Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus. Let your imagination run wild to resemble rocks to other figures. That is why it is also known as the Valley of Imagination. Advance on the banks of the Kizilirmak, the Red River, the longest river in Turkey that not only divides the city from other parts of Cappadocia but is also a source of supply for the preparation of clay, which is why the clay is red in color. Clay has been the lifeblood of the city for centuries. Drive to Avanos which is known for the pottery and traditional carpet show, a craft dating back to the Hittite period. Here, you will have a chance to see how the pottery is made and if you like you may also try. Then visit a typical handmade carpet workshop to learn about traditional Turkish art and its origin from the Silk Road. Overnight in Cappadocia.

• After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby to begin the tour.
  VISITING: ROSE VALLEY, MESKENDIR VALLEY - CAVUSIN -KAYMAKLI, PIGEONS VALLEY, UCHISAR.
  We continue our visit to Cappadocia knowing more of its valleys. Rose Valley owes its name to the different shades and intensities of the pink color of its rocks that vary according to weather conditions: day, temperature, season. The Meskendir Valley, its entrance is covered with cedars. The hiking trail leads through lush greenery to fairy chimneys, cave houses, passageways, underground tunnels, and the Church of Meskendir, an exquisite underground church from the ancient Christian civilization. We continue to Cavusin, a beautiful abandoned troglodyte village, which offers an incredible view. The houses are carved into the skirt of a hill, with richly decorated facades that last over time. We can see the entire city from the Church of San Juan Bautista, built in the 5th century and where his remains remained, during the Byzantine period. After lunch, we visit the Underground City of Kaymakli, used by ancient Christians to protect themselves from their enemies. Of the underground cities discovered in Cappadocia, this is the widest. Of its 8 floors, only 4 are open to the public. Its ancient inhabitants built their houses around a hundred tunnels. We continue to the Valley of the Doves or Guvercinlik, with different rock formations and where the pigeons make their nests inside the fairy chimneys. We finish in Uchisar, the highest point in Cappadocia famous for its castle dug into the rock that watches over the city from above. Then visit a factory of onyx and turquoise garments.
• After the tour, we depart for the Kayseri airport for our domestic flight to Istanbul. Upon arrival, you will be picked up and transferred from Istanbul airport to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

• After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby to start the tour.
  Visiting: EPHESUS - HOUSE OF THE VIRGIN - TEMPLE OF ARTEMISIA.
  On the way to Ephesus, your guide will explain history. Ephesus is the best-preserved classical city in the Mediterranean and the second-largest city in the Roman Empire. We will enter through the Magnesia gate to continue descending between the ruins of this ancient Roman capital. Through this route you will pass through the Odeon, the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian, the Trajan Fountain, and the Great Theater. The 24,000-seat theater is the place where St. Paul is believed to have spoken to the Ephesians. Today it is used for festivals. We continue to the House of the Virgin Mary, on top of the Bulbul Mountain, hidden among green gardens. Legend has it that the Virgin Mary arrived in Ephesus, accompanied by Saint John, at the end of her life. In 1967 Pope Paul VI visited the place, where the chapel was built and confirmed the authenticity of the legend by recognizing this small house as the last place where the Virgin Mary lived. Years later, Pope John Paul II declared the house of the Virgin Mary as a sanctuary and place of pilgrimage for Christians. It is also visited by Muslims who recognize Mary as the mother of one of their prophets. We finish the day's visits at The Temple of Artemis, which is known as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Today you can only see the ruins of the foundations of this wonderful Hellenistic construction. The most beautiful remains of this temple are on display today in the British Museum in London. Opportunity to visit a leather goods factory. Transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Kusadasi.

• After breakfast, meet your guide in the hotel lobby to begin this tour that balances history and culture with geology and nature. As we get closer to Pamukkale the view is like that of a glacier stretching across the prairie. The translation from Turkish is "Cotton Castle." In truth, they are the gleaming white travertine terraces formed over millennia by mineral deposits where the flowing water is from natural springs. Water is credited with healing powers. Cleopatra is alleged to have swum in one of the pools, which is open to the public. Nearby are the ruins of Hierapolis, where the Roman baths were converted into a church during the Byzantine era, the Baths and the Theater are located. What is truly important about this site is its immense Necropolis, and it is here that the remains of many of the sick who came to be cured in its thermal waters are buried and failed. Each tomb tells a story and they are small works of art.
  You will also have time to walk around Pamukkale and bathe in its waters, reflect and even rejuvenate in its waters. We offer flexibility to swim in Cleopatra's pool (pool entry not included).

• Airport transfer. Flight to Istanbul. Arrive and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Istanbul

• After breakfast, we will pick you up and transfer to Istanbul Airport (international terminal) to take a departure flight back home, bringing back wonderful memories and superb souvenirs from your Turkish vacation.