ISTANBUL and CAPPADOCIA TOUR

675 Euros per person sharing in a double / twin room
This is a great way to start your holiday in Turkey or if you are passing through this exotic city.
Because we believe that you have not seen Turkey if you haven't seen Istanbul.

Day 1

ISTANBUL
After clearing customs and immigration our Travel representative meets you at the airport and helps you transfer to your hotel. You have the balance of the day at leisure to settle in and relax after your flight.
Overnight in Istanbul

Day 2

ISTANBUL SIGHTSEEING TOUR
First thing in the morning we will visit Spice Bazaar with mystical smells of different aromas of various spices. Shops selling fruits, vegetables, fish, flowers, etc. We will continue to visit the extraordinary Dolmabahce Palace, built in the mid-19th century by order of Sultan Abdul Mecit I. The Sultan’s architect was given the order that this building should “surpass the palace of any potentate anywhere in the world.”

The architect certainly fulfilled the order! The facade of the palace stretches for more than 1,200 feet on the European shores of the Bosporus. Its vast reception salon, with 56 columns and a huge crystal chandelier (weighing four and a half tons and lit by 750 lights) never fails to astonish visitors. Next you’ll board a boat for a Cruise on the Bosphorus.

Through the waterway separating the two continents, Europe and Asia, with a possibility to take photographs of marble palaces, ancient wooden villas of Ottoman architecture besides modern residentials and luxurious apartments. After the lunch we will drive via Bosphorous Bridge, unique chance to step from one continent (EUROPE) to another (ASIA) in 2 minutes. We will finish the day with a stop at Camlica Hill, exposing a panoramic view of Istanbul and Bosphorus from the best point of view. Overnight in Istanbul (B+L).

Day 3

ISTANBUL BOSPHOROUS CRUISE TOUR - CAPPADOCIA
After breakfast at your hotel, join us on a Splendors of Empires tour and marvel at a pair of the most extraordinary museums. First, visit Hagia Sofia, the Museum of St. Sophia, a museum that was once an Islamic mosque and the largest church in the world. It is the single most famous Byzantine structure.

Afterwards we visit the supremely elegant Sultan Ahmet Mosque, with its heavenly six minarets. Built between 1609 and 1616 by the architect Mehmet under the orders of Sultan Ahmet I, the building is more familiarly known as the Blue Mosque because its interior gleams with a magnificent paneling of blue and white Iznik tiles. The mosque is part of a large complex consisting of tombs, medreses (theological schools), fountains, a health center, homes, storehouses, and other buildings. As an interesting fact, Sultan Ahmet I ascended the throne at the age of 14, was the 14th ruler, and died only 14 years later.

We will continue the sightseeing with Topkapi Palace, the maze of opulent buildings that was the center of the Ottoman Empire between the 15th and 19th centuries. The Topkapi was a city-palace with a population of approximately 4,000 people. It housed all the Ottoman sultans from Sultan Mehmet II to Abdulmecit—nearly 400 years and 25 sultans. This palace where the sultans and their courts lived and governed is now one of the world’s richest museums. You’ll see its magnificent gardens, courts, and galleries exhibiting the imperial collection of crystal, silver, fabled jewels, and Chinese porcelain.

In the afternoon, you are free to explore the labyrinth tunnels of the Grand Bazaar that houses more than 4, 000 shops. The names recall the days when each trade had its own quarter: the goldsmiths' street, the carpet sellers' street, and the street of the skullcap makers. Still the commercial center of the old city, the bazaar is the original shopping mall with something to suit every taste and budget.

The day will finish with the visit to the Mosque of Suleymaniye the Magnificent.

End of the tour you will be transferred to your hotel and the evening will be at leisure.

After the tour, you will be transferred to Istanbul Airport for the flight to Kayseri with OHY064 at 19:45. On you arrival you will be met at Kayseri Airport for the transfer to your hotel in Cappadocia.

Dinner and Overnight in Cappadocia (B+L+D).

Day 4

CAPPADOCIA NORTH REGION TOUR
After the breakfast at the hotel we will start a full day tour of Cappadocia to visit, Devrent Valley , has various types of fairy chimneys. Among these are those with caps, cones, mushroom like forms pillar and pointed rocks. With the action of smaller, secondary volcanoes and the action of rivers, wind and flood waters, this layer of tuff has slowly but steadily been eroded to produce the rock formations know as "fairy chimneys". We will take a walk through this amazing valley.

Pasabaglari ( Monks Valley )
Many fairy chimneys with multiple stems and caps can be found here, this style being unique to this area. A chapel dedicated to St. Simeon and a hermit's shelter is built into one such fairy chimney with three heads.

Avanos
Avanos is known for the pottery, a craft dating back to the Hittite period. The red clay which is worked by local craftsmen comes from the residue in the Kizilirmak River. The izilirmak, which divides Avanos into two, is Anatolia's longest river.

Goreme Open Air Museum
Goreme Open Air Museum is the place where this religious education was started. You will visit the churches chapels and monasteries carved into the fairy chimneys from the 10th to the 13th centuries with frescos painted on the walls. In the 4th century three important men created a now unity here they are the Great St. Basil, Bishop of Kayseri his brother St Gregory of Nyssa and St. George of Nazianus.

Piegon Vallley Piegon Vallley here you will see where the Pigeons and hear of how they were used to help the people. Some examples where to send messages and to fertilize the grapes. Also you will see a wonderful panoramic view.

Uchisar Castle Uchisar Castle is the highest point in the region. The castle and its surrounds used to be the most populated area this settlement, which resembles Ortahisar in style. The top of the citadel provides a magnificent panorama of the surrounding area.
End of the tour transfer back to the hotel and evening at leisure.
Dinner and OvernightCappadocia (B+L+D).

Day 5

CAPPADOCIA SOUTH REGION TOUR - ISTANBUL
After the breakfast at the hotel we will start another full day tour to visit, Derinkuyu or Kaymaklı Underground City, these two underground cities where dwellings for the Christian communities to use as refuges. It contains all the usual rooms found in an underground city such as stables, cellars, storage rooms, refectories, churches, and wineries. Apart from these, was a missionary school.

Ihlara Valley
Ihlara Valley, this canyon was created by the cracking and collapsing which occurred as basalt and andesine lava from Mt. Hasandag cooled. The Melendiz River found its way through these cracks, eroding the canyon bed and helping to form canyon we see today.

Selime
Selime is situated at the end of the Ihlara valley. Fairy chimneys rest on the steep hillside, and a basilica style cathedral the Selime Sultan tomb, a hollowed out citadel and churches are also found here.

Yaprakhisar Monastery, panoramic view point.

Agzıkarahan Caravanserai
Agzıkarahan Caravanserai was a very important place for the Seljuk rulers of Anatolia to trade. They developed the old trade routes, and built Caravansaries along the way to act as shelters and provide protection to traders.

At the and of the day, you will be transferred to Kayseri Airport for the flight to Istanbul with OHY 069 which will depart at 21:50 PM. On your arrival to Istanbul, you will be met at the airport for the transfer to your hotel in Istanbul.
Overnight in Istanbul (B+L).

Day 6

ISTANBUL - DEPARTURE
After the breakfast at the hotel, according to your flight details, you will be met at your hotel for your transfer to Istanbul Ataturk Airport for your flight to India.