Essential Turkey Tour

Culture

30%

Nature

30%

History

40%

Food

10%

Departure from Italy with Pegasus flights. Upon arrival in Istanbul, meeting with the assistant and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation in reserved rooms, dinner on your own, and overnight stay.

Culture

50%

Nature

40%

History

50%

Adventure

30%

Food

30%

Breakfast in the morning, we will start with a half-day “Byzantine” tour: we will begin by visiting the Süleymaniye Mosque, considered the most beautiful of Istanbul's imperial mosques, built between 1550 and 1557 by Sinan, the chief architect of the Ottoman golden age. Then we will head to the ancient walls of Constantinople, currently Mevlana Gate, built by Emperor Theodosius II in 413. These solid walls, several stories high and three to six meters thick, protected the city from attacks by Goths, Bulgarians, Russians, Arabs, and Turks. The walls were breached only twice, by the Crusaders in 1204 and by Mehmet "The Conqueror" in 1453. Next, we will visit the Monastery of the Virgin of the Spring. According to historians Procopius and Cedrenus, the church was originally built by Emperor Justinian in the last years of his reign, near a spring previously known as the "spring of miracles," located outside the walls of Theodosius II, at the present-day Silivri Gate. The tour ends in Eminönü, once the main entrance to the city, now a bustling area home to the "Egyptian Market," also known as the "Spice Bazaar." Free afternoon to explore the city, or you can join the optional "Bosphorus" excursion proposed by our guide. Overnight stay.

Culture

50%

Nature

25%

History

50%

Adventure

30%

Food

20%

Breakfast, departure for a half-day visit to the "Golden Horn": we will head towards the picturesque and colorful neighborhoods of Fener and Balat, protected by UNESCO and considered the first settlements of ancient Constantinople. Then, we will pass along the Golden Horn waterfront and visit the Iron Church of St. Stephen, a Bulgarian Orthodox church located in a Turkish city, associated with the struggle for ecclesiastical independence in the 1830s and 1840s, and the only iron Orthodox church in the world. Next, we will visit the Grand Bazaar, with over 4,500 shops grouped into specialized areas for different products: jewelry, clothing, and more. The excursion ends here. Free afternoon to explore the city, or you can join the optional "Classic" excursion proposed by our guide. Overnight stay.

Culture

50%

Nature

50%

History

50%

Adventure

40%

Food

30%

Full board. In the morning, we will depart by bus to Ankara. Upon arrival in Ankara, the capital of the Republic, we will visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, located at the foot of Ankara Castle. This archaeological museum houses a unique collection of prehistoric and Hittite artifacts. Lunch. We will then continue towards Cappadocia. Arrival in Cappadocia. Dinner and overnight stay.

Culture

30%

Nature

60%

History

40%

Adventure

20%

Food

20%

Full board. Optionally, you can take part in a breathtaking hot air balloon flight at sunrise (The program described is for informational purposes and may be modified or canceled due to weather conditions). Today, we will explore the Cappadocia region, unique in the world, combining natural formations with sites of great cultural interest.We will begin our tour with a walk through the enchanting Devrent Valley, known as the "Valley of the Fairy Chimneys," where wind and water erosion on volcanic terrain have created a spectacular landscape of peaks, cones, and obelisks.

Next, we will visit the underground city of Özkonak or a similar one, built by Christian communities to protect themselves from Persian and Arab attacks. We will stop at a workshop of carpets and kilims. We will continue with a visit to the Göreme Open-Air Museum, which preserves an impressive collection of churches, chapels, and monasteries carved into the rock with 11th-century frescoes, declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Lunch. In the afternoon, we will visit the spectacular volcanic sites of Avcilar (Hunters’ Valley) and Güvercinlik (Pigeon Valley) and admire a breathtaking panoramic view of Uçhisar Castle, located on a volcanic rock promontory pierced by tunnels and windows. We will stop at a handicraft workshop for decorations and jewelry. Return to the hotel for dinner and overnight stay. In the evening, optionally, you can attend a show of traditional Turkish folk dances.

Culture

30%

Nature

60%

History

30%

Adventure

30%

Food

30%

Full Board. We will depart early in the morning to visit the Seljuk Caravanserai "Sultanhani" or similar, located along the legendary Silk Road, which served as a stopover for merchant caravans, pilgrims, or military groups. Lunch along the way at a highway restaurant. We will continue towards Pamukkale, or "Cotton Castle," a small town famous for its white petrified travertine pools formed by the calcium in the thermal waters flowing in the area. Dinner and overnight stay.

Culture

40%

Nature

70%

History

50%

Adventure

20%

Food

20%

Full Board. In the morning, we will visit Hierapolis, an ancient thermal city founded around 190 BC by the King of Pergamon and flourished during the Roman era, located above the pools and with a beautiful theater and a large necropolis. Later, we will head towards Ephesus, the best-preserved classical city in Turkey, founded around 1000 BC (the remains we see today date from the 4th century BC), where the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian, and the great theater stand out. Lunch. Finally, we will stop at one of the places where fashion shows are held and leather clothing is sold. Dinner and overnight stay.

Culture

50%

Nature

50%

History

60%

Adventure

30%

Food

30%

Full Board. Departure for Pergamon, an important Greco-Roman city that left us a great cultural legacy: it was here that parchment was invented! Upon arrival, visit the Asclepion, the famous hospital of the ancient world dedicated to the god of health, Asclepius. The renowned physician Galen lived here. The sleep galleries, the small theater for patients, the pools, the long ancient road, and the courtyard with Ionic columns are the monuments that have survived from those glorious times. Lunch at a restaurant. Proceed to Troy, whose very name evokes a wealth of characters, places, adventures, heroes, and the destruction of the mystical city. It was Schliemann, in 1872, who, using Homer’s "Iliad," the oldest account of the Trojan War, as a guide, proved that the mythical city was part of universal heritage. Visit its ruins and the famous reconstructed wooden "Horse." Later, time permitting, visit the Troy Museum (European Museum of the Year Award 2020), which showcases historical artifacts discovered during archaeological excavations in the Troy region. Departure for Canakkale, located on the shores of the Dardanelles Strait. Dinner and overnight stay.

Culture

50%

Nature

20%

History

50%

Food

50%

Breakfast. We will depart in the morning for Istanbul. Upon arrival, transfer to the hotel. Free afternoon to explore the city or join the optional excursion suggested by our guide. Overnight stay.

Breakfast. At the designated time, transfer to the airport to catch the return flight. End of our services.