The Grand Turkish Tour

On arrival at the airport, we shall be waiting to transfer you to the hotel. You can enjoy free time until your tour starts; information about the meeting place and start time can be found on the information boards in the hotel reception area. At 17:00 hrs (approx) – You will make a brief visit to Antalya, a coastal city of more than a million inhabitants, the door of Adrian, the Ottoman district, and its great waterfall that falls straight into the sea. Dinner and accommodation.

You will leave Antalya towards Aspendos. You will visit the Roman theatre, for many, it is the best-preserved in the world. After that, in Side, you will be able to admire the Greek temple of Apollo by the sea. There’s time to walk through its port and streets that are full of life. Travelling through breathtaking landscapes, you will cross the Taurus mountains – their peaks stand at over 3500 meters high, and are covered in snow for most of the year. Stop in Karaman where you will see its fortress from the outside. You will continue on to the Cappadocia region. Nigde, dinner included.

Full day in the fantastic region of Cappadocia, with its lunar landscapes, its churches, and troglodyte villages. You will start by visiting Gumusler, an incredible underground monastery of the 7th century with perhaps the best Byzantine frescoes in Turkey. In Kaimacli, you will visit the underground city that could house 30,000 people. You will visit Uchisar, a natural fortress. After lunch, you will discover the Goreme Valley with its open-air museum and its churches carved out of the rocks, entry tickets included. Hotel in Avanos. Dinner included.

You take a scenic road between the lakes and get to know Egirdir, a beautiful town next to a large lake, with its walls and mosques. There’s time to have lunch. You then continue to Pamukkale-Hierapolis, whose calcareous waters have created the Cotton Castle (entrance included). Dinner included.

You leave in the direction of Ephesus, the best-preserved ancient city of Asia Minor; 2000 years ago it had a quarter of a million inhabitants. You will discover the house of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of Saint John, and the impressive ruins at Ephesus (entrance included). You then go on to Kusadasi, a popular coastal town with a lot of atmosphere, commercial life, and a small castle. Dinner included.

You leave for the city with the fourth largest population in Turkey: Izmir. You make a brief visit with your guide to this city considered the most westernized and modern city in the country in terms of values, ideology, and lifestyle. You then return to inland Turkey. Stop en route for lunch before reaching Bursa, the fourth largest city in Turkey, whose historic center has been declared UNESCO World Heritage, with its traditional commercial districts, mosques, religious schools, public baths. The Green Mosque stands out. Arrival in Istanbul at the end of the day.

You find yourself in a city built on two continents. On your tour, you will enter the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent (the largest in Istanbul). You will see the walls, the Golden Horn, the fishing district, and you will admire the exterior of Hagia Sophia. After the visit, we will offer tickets and a visit to the Topkapi Palace, which was the administrative center of the Ottoman Empire, with its magnificent courtyards and its pavilions. At the end of the afternoon, we will provide a transfer to the Taksim neighborhood, the most commercialized and lively area of the city. There will be time to dine in one of its many restaurants, and you can also take the old tram that crosses the area or go to see the nearby Galata Tower.

Today, you will enjoy a boat trip on the Bosphorus that will last about two hours. The trip will be on a boat exclusively for Europamundo travelers. The Bosphorus is a strait that connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara, which separates Istanbul into two parts: the European part and the Asian one. You will experience the liveliness of the strait with its multitude of boats. Pass under the two bridges that unite Europe and Asia and admire the palaces of the sultans, the typical wooden houses, and the Ottoman villas. Return to the center of Istanbul. Free time.

After breakfast, end of services