|
TOUR DATE: Sept 10th -
Sept
22nd, 2007
DAY 1 ISTANBUL
Sept 10 2007 Monday
ISTANBUL Arrival in
Istanbul and transfer to Hotel Ayasofya. The tour members will be given a
transfer to the hotel from the airport. Please check the arrival info for
the details. Hotel Ayasofya is almost as it was 200 years ago and is
situated within walking distance of all the must-see places in Istanbul. The
tour starts at 5.00 pm. After a short introduction we will visit the Blue
Mosque and have dinner
DAY 2
ISTANBUL Sept
11 2007 Tuesday
Start the day with a visit to the Basilica Cistern, and the Turkish
& Islamic Art Museum, especially the ethnographic
section of this museum, makes a perfect introduction to what we will see in the countryside.
After lunch We will
visit the Chora Church to see the exquisite Byzantine mosaics from
the 12th century. If you are interested in early Christian art and dogma you
will be overwhelmed by this museum. Dinner will be at a seafood restaurant
much favored by the locals.
Breakfast Lunch Dinner included
DAY 3 ISTANBUL OVERNIGHT TRAIN
Sept 12
2007 Wednesday
Visit Topkapi Palace.
We will have one hour at the Grand Bazaar .After lunch on your own in the 19th century
Quarter stop at the Spice Market. We will end the day with a cruise on the Bosphoros aboard our own
private boat. The views of the city at dusk with its 600 mosques are
unforgettable. Train to Ankara. In Turkey, trains are regarded as the most
civilized mean of transportation. Your luggage will be with you in your
compartments. Unless you chose to be single 2 people to a compartment. The
train leaves at 10.30 pm and arrives Ankara the next morning at 08.00 am.
Breakfast and Dinner included
DAY 4 ANKARA OVERNIGHT at CAPPADOCIA UCHISAR
CAPPADOCIA
Sept 13 2007 Thursday
In Ankara, visit the most beautiful museum of Turkey, the
Anatolian Civilizations Museum. This is a one of a kind museum, displaying 26
different civilizations. All the artifacts of these civilizations that have
been excavated from Anatolia are in this museum.
Seeing it will give us a better understanding of the cultural and historic
layers of the Anatolian civilization. After lunch we visit the mausoleum of
Ataturk, the father of the Turks, then take a bus to Cappadocia over a
beautiful country road for a taste of lovely Turkish landscapes and farms.
Overnight at Museum Hotel at heart of Cappadocia. Waking up in the morning
to magnificent sights is one of the unique aspects of this motel
Brekfast,
Lunch , & Dinner included
DAY 5 CAPPADOCIA
Sept 14 2007 Friday
Cappadocia is a land where nature and man have competed with each
other to create the most unusual and the most beautiful. We will hike to
10th and 11th century churches, monasteries, and houses carved in the rocks,
and visit a family living in one of these rock dwellings. ( The description
of the hike is below ) The moonlike terrain of Cappadocia with its endless
artwork is a photographer's delight.
Since Cappadocia is the carpet center of Turkey, we will schedule a
demonstration at alocal carpet cooperative where the art of making carpets by hand and dyingwith natural dies is being kept alive. We will see Turkish folk dancing this
evening at dinner. Overnight in Cappadocia
Brekfast Lunch Dinner included
DAY 6 GUZELYURT Sept 15 2007
Saturday
GUZELYURT Avanos will be
our next stop. People have been making pottery here since the time of the
Hittites (3rd century
 BC). We will visit a local potter who is keeping this
art alive After visiting the underground city of the early Christians. Home
visit in a village Dinner and overnight in Guzelyurt, i You will be given the option of
home stay at this small town HOME STAY OPPORTUNITY Brekfast Lunch
& Dinner
included
DAY 7 KONYA
Monday
Sept 16 2007 Sunday
Breakfast at a village
house Visit a church which is now a mosque built in 385 AD The oldest
monastery of Christiandom We then depart for Konya, stopping en route at a
12th century Caravanserai. Konya is the first capital of the Selcuks, the
oldest Turkish Empire in Anatolia. It is also known for being the homeland
of Rumi, a 13th century poet-philosopher and one of the earliest humanists.
The ambiance of the city has not changed much for the past 800 years.
Overnight at a hotel in the center of Konya. Breakfast Lunch Dinner
included
 DAY 08
Sept 17 2007 Monday
Rumi and
his philosophy will be the topic of our morning lecture. We'll then visit
the Mevlana Museum, which is dedicated to him. Next comes the most scenic
drive of our trip -- five hours to Antalya. You will be able to see how the
flora changes as we drive over the grand Taurus Mountains. Poised between
these jagged mountains and the shimmering sea, Antalya is the principal city
on Turkey's central Mediterranean coast. In this beautiful city we will stay
at a 200-year-old stone house that has been renovated as a pension. You'll
be "on your own" for dinner.
DAY 09
Sept. 18 2007 ANTALYA BOAT TRIP
Tuesday
Weather permitting,
we will take a five-hour cruise on the Mediterranean to the ancient site of
Phaselis, located on a peninsula with ancient harbors on both sides. This
will be our first Roman site. The ancient stones are scattered among the
reed pine trees, which grow right out from the sea in an incomparably
romantic setting. Tonight you'll have the option of going to a Turkish bath
(included in the trip cost). We'll overnight in Antalya, with dinner on your
own.
DAY 10 Sept. 19 2007 PAMUKKALE
Wednesday
Via a wonderful lake drive to Pamukkale .
Today we visit Pamukkale (ancient Heirapolis), the most unusual natural
phenomenon of Turkey. The Turkish name literally "cotton castle" - refers
to the extraordinary surface of the snow-white cliffs, shaped over millennia
by the accumulation of calcium deposited by mineral springs. Visit the hot
springs and swim in a spa amid Roman columns. We will have dinner and
overnight in a local pension in the village center where you can continue to
swim in the curative waters of this five-thousand-year-old health center
Brekfast Lunch Dinner included
DAY 11 June Sept. 20 2007 KUSADASI
Thursday
Selcuk (Ephesus) Drive through a meandering valley visit the temple of
Appollo ,the oracle center and Visit Miletus the last stop of St Paul in him
home country Enjoy the pleasure of hiking in an ancient city. Overnight at
Selcuk Brekfast, Lunch & Dinner included
DAY 12 KUSADASI
Sept. 21 2007 Friday
Selcuk (Ephesus) This will be our big day in Ephesus, the best-preserved
classical city on the eastern Mediterranean and among the best places in the
world to get a feel for what life was like in Roman times. Certainly, the
climax of the trip will be at the city of Ephesus, sitting in the theater
visualizing 35,000 Ephesians following the silversmith Demetrius shouting
"...great is Artemis of Ephesians..." in reaction to St. Paul's preaching
"there should be no man-made gods." Overnight in Selcuk
Day 13
Sept. 22 2007 Saturday
End of the tour in
Kusadasi
Transfer to the air port is included
Tour
Price
US$ 2.350.-
Single room supplement US$ 250.-
THE PRICE INCLUDES
* 11 nights hotel, double occupancy
* ONE NIGHT AT THE TRAIN Train ride
* Private boat in Istanbul
*Private boat in Antalya
* Breakfast, lunch and dinner each day except for 2 dinners in Antalya
* All entrance fees
* Tips at the hotels and the restaurants
* All transportation
* Guiding through out the tour
*Water with the meals
NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE
* Flights to and from Turkey
* Domestic flight
* Beverages and drinks
* Cancellation insurance
* Tip to the Driver
TOP |
