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Enjoy Our Premium Highlights Plus These Extra Tour Features
Excursions & Sights
* Visit Istanbul's Blue Mosque, Basilica of St. Sophia & famous Grand Bazaar
* Tour Topkapi Palace in Istanbul - former home of the Sultans
* Visit Lone Pine Cemetery and Anzac Cove at Gallipoli
* View the huge reconstructed Trojan Horse in Troy
* Visit Pergamon's Acropolis, Temple of Athena, library & Asklepieon
* Visit the Virgin Mary's House and the Archeological Museum in Selçuk
* Tour the excavations at Ephesus - one of the world's finest archeological sites
* View Pamukkale's cascading white terraces and visit the ruins of Hierapolis
* Visit Konya's famous Mevlana Tekke and see the Karatay Medrese & Ince Minaret
* Tour underground city of Kaymakli and see the cone of Uçhisar
* Tour Cappadocia's lunar landscapes
* Visit well preserved Agzikarahan Caravanserai
* Visit Ataturk's Mausoleum and Hittite Museum in Ankara
Guided City Tours
* In depth sightseeing tours in Istanbul, Gallipoli, Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus & Göreme
* Orientation tours in Konya & Ankara
Insight's First Class Services
* First Class hotels with all service charges, taxes and porterage
* Travel by luxury air-conditioned coach with reclining seats and onboard toilet
* Scheduled flight Ankara to Istanbul
* Insight's professional multilingual Tour Director to escort you
* Travel bag, document wallet, map book journal and information pack
Complimentary Transfers
* Complimentary arrival and departure transfers between Istanbul airport and your Insight tour hotel
Quality Dining & Entertainment
* A spectacular highlight folklore show in an underground cave in Cappadocia
* 9 buffet breakfasts and 6 special-menu dinners, or buffets, plus tea or coffee
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ITINERARY
Tour Pace
This tour captures all of the highlights of Turkey in 10 days, so the pace can be fairly brisk. However, there are 2 night stays in Istanbul and Cappadocia, and the flight back to Istanbul from Ankara, the capital alleviates driving time.
DAY 1 – FRI – ISTANBUL AT LEISURE
Welcome to Turkey, a land rich in archeological sites, historical monuments, warm hearted people and an enormous variety of spectacular scenery. On arrival at Istanbul Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel for your two night stay. Tonight, get together with your Tour Director and fellow passengers for a Welcome Drink. Hotel: Radisson SAS Bosphorus.
DAY 2 – SAT – ISTANBUL SIGHTSEEING
This morning we embark on a superb highlight cruise along the Bosphorus Waterway. Travelling towards the Black Sea, the scenery complements the grandeur of the Ottoman palaces, old mansions and fortresses that we pass. This afternoon we visit the Blue Mosque with its beautiful tiles and the Hippodrome, where Roman chariot races were held. We also visit St. Sophia, at one time a Cathedral and a mosque, and now a magnificent museum. We then visit the fabulous Topkapi Palace, a walled city perched above the Bosphorous and the Golden Horn. Now we're off to the famous Grand Bazaar where – all under cover – there are more than 4,000 shops, cafes and tea houses. Perhaps sample some traditional 'Apple tea'? This evening, you might enjoy watching some belly-dancing! (Buffet breakfast)
DAY 3 – SUN – ISTANBUL – ÇANAKKALE
This morning we drive along the shores of the Sea of Marmara to the peninsula of Gelibolu. Better known in the west as Gallipoli. Here are the battlefields where, for nine disastrous months during the Great War, Anzac troops fought unsuccessfully to gain control of the strategic Dardanelle Straits. We visit Anzac Cove and the emotive Lone Pine Cemetery. Now, from Eceabat it is but a 30 minute sea crossing to Çanakkale, but a crossing that takes us from one continent to another, as we leave Europe behind and enter Asia. We stay in seaside Çanakkale tonight. Hotel: Kolin. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 4 – MON – ÇANAKKALE – IZMIR
Today we drive to Homer's legendary city of Troy, where archeological excavation has established nine levels of habitation, and we see an enormous reconstruction of the famous Trojan wooden horse. We then continue to Pergamon, the seat of an ancient kingdom. We visit the Acropolis, the Temple of Athena and the famous library, which is said to have contained 200,000 volumes. We also view the Red Courtyard and visit the ruins of the Asklepieon, one of the most famous shrines and therapeutic centres in the ancient world. We now continue to the pretty port of Izmir on the Aegean Sea. Hotel: Crowne Plaza. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 5 – TUE – IZMIR – KUSADASI
En route to Ephesus we visit the archeological museum at Selçuk where many of the excavated artifacts of Ephesus are displayed. Next we visit the House of the Virgin Mary, spectacularly situated above the Ephesus ruins. With our appetite whetted, we now tour Ephesus, one of the world's finest archeological sites. We visit the colonnaded Arcadian Way, the splendid facade of the Library of Celsus and see the Amphitheatre, the largest and most impressive structure to survive from Hellenistic Ephesus. Now to the lively coastal town of Kusadasi for our fabulous overnight stay. Relax with a cool drink and take advantage of our hotel's large pool, beach, Turkish bath and fitness centre. Hotel: Pine Bay. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 6 – WED – KUSADASI – PAMUKKALE
We drive inland today to Pamukkale, famous for its 'Cotton Castle', a dazzling chalk-white array of fantastically shaped limestone terraces, which is to be our home for the night. On arrival we visit the ruins of ancient Hierapolis and the fairyland terraces and see the glistening pools and cascades in scallop-shell basins. The rest of the day is yours at leisure to relax and enjoy the blissfully warm thermal pools at our hotel. Hotel: Colossae Thermal. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 7 – THU – PAMUKKALE – CAPPADOCIA
This morning we head for Konya, the old capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Empire. Konya is Turkey's most religious city and home to the mystic Whirling Dervish sect. We visit the Mevlana Tekke, a museum and famous national monument, with its beautiful fluted turquoise dome, which contains the tomb of the Whirling Dervishes' founder. We also see the Karatay Medrese and Ince Minaret before driving on to the historical region of Nevsehir in Cappadocia. Hotel: Dedeman. (Buffet breakfast, Three or four course table d'hote or buffet style dinner)
DAY 8 – FRI – CAPPADOCIA – FULL DAY EXCURSION TO GöREME
Today we enjoy an excursion to Göreme, a unique region of volcanic landscapes and rock-hewn churches decorated with ancient wall paintings, some of which we will see in the open air museum. We continue to the Zelve Valley where the scenery is dotted with churches, caves and troglodyte dwellings. We also tour the underground city of Kaymakli, and see the cone of Uçhisar. Tonight, we enjoy dinner at the hotel followed by a colourful folklore show in an underground cave, featuring dances from different regions. (Buffet breakfast, Speciality Highlight Dinner)
DAY 9 – SAT – CAPPADOCIA – ISTANBUL
This morning we visit Agzikarahan, one of the best-preserved Seljuk caravanserais in Anatolia. Then to Ankara. Here we visit the Hittite Museum and Anit Kabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, Turkey's greatest leader in modern times. Later this afternoon we transfer to the airport for our included scheduled flight back to Istanbul. Tonight, maybe enjoy a farewell dinner with your new found friends at a colourful local restaurant? Hotel: Movenpick. (Buffet breakfast)
DAY 10 – SUN – ISTANBUL
This morning, our tour comes to an end with a transfer to the airport. (Buffet breakfast)
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