WESTERN TURKEY TOUR
 A Bridge to the Muslim Culture

"Only fools praise the mosque while they oppress the hearts full of faith". 
                     Rumi 13th Century

The importance of faith over organized religion is what Rumi taught the Turkish people. On this tour,  we will learn how the cultures of Anatolia had nourished the philosophies of Rumi and how his ideas and ideals had flourished in the Turkish culture

November is an excellent time for traveling in Turkey. The tourists who come on charter planes would have already left the sites. In late October and in November the good and experienced travelers enjoy the uncrowded museums and the sites. The temperatures very between 65F to 55F at the lowest. While a  heavy jacket at night will be welcome, during the day layers can go down to a cotton T- shirt. For more info on the weather in Turkey in general please Click here 
Or for more details please check our tour    handbook

We can suggest itineraries for those who want to explore on their own 
or with a guide before or after the tour. Simply send us an e-mail with 
your request. In case of unexpected delay or change of flight, should there be a problem in meeting the person who should be waiting for you at the airport please call Hotel Ayasofya at 0212-51694-46 or take a taxi to Hotel Ayasofya. Your taxi fare will be refunded.

Hotel Ayasofya
Kucuk Ayasofya Mahallesi
Demirci Resit Sokak
Sultan Ahmet Meydani Alti

Nov 01 Saturday DAY 1    ISTANBUL
Transfer from the air port to the Hotel. We can arrange individual transfers for every one even if you are arriving not on the first day of the tour but earlier. Please check the information on arrival above.The tour starts with a short orientation meeting at 5 PM in the lobby of Hotel Ayasofya
After visiting the Blue Mosque dinner will be at a nearby restaurant  located in the middle of the two grand Christian and Moslem monuments, the Hagia Sophia of the 6th Century and the Blue Mosque of the 17th Century.
Overnight at Hotel Ayasofya, an old Ottoman house recently renovated to an excellent condition located within walking distance to all the must-see places in Istanbul.
 
 

Nov 02  Sunday  DAY 2     ISTANBUL
In the morning, visit the Byzantine Cistern, and the Turkish Islamic Art Museum. The  art style of the Muslim culture displayed in this museum will  give a foundation of the Islamic dogma which will be one of the topics to be discussed later on this tour.. After lunch visit St Sophia, the grandest standing monument from 1500 years before our time . At 06:30 PM we will have a group meeting at the Lobby of the hotel to go over the tour and to answer the possible questions of the tour members. Dinner will be served at a very colorful quarter of Istanbul where the ambiance is just as memorable as the food we will be served in this fish restaurant . Overnight at Hotel Ayasofya

Nov 03 Monday  DAY 3     TRAIN
 Shop at the famous Covered Bazaar. 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. After lunch.After lunch we will meet the dean of the faculty of Theology  at the University of Istanbul. This gentleman who is an authority on Islam will give us the introduction to the dogma of Islam, The session will allow time for questions and answers.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  
 

Nov 04  Tuesday  DAY 4   UCHISAR CAPPADOCIA
CAPPADOCIA In Ankara, visit the most beautiful museum of Turkey, the Anatolian Civilization 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 Brekfas Lunch Dinner included

Nov 05 Wednesday  DAY 5    UCHISAR CAPPADOCIA
In Cappadocia the Creator and man competed in creating the most unusual and the most beautiful. Enjoy the moon-like terrain of Cappadocia with endless forms of work of art. The colors of the frescoes of the twelve hundred year old churches are just as fresh as the colors of the carpets woven in the region. The rock formations are just as striking as the local pottery made of the clay obtained from the old river beds. In the morning easy hike to Zelve to see the 10-11th century churches, monasteries and houses carved in the rocks. Visit villagers at their rock dwellings. Visit the astonishing GOREME monastery to see how each monk had interpreted in their wall paintings the history of Christianity St Paul had visited the region, Caesarea, to preach the word of God in his 1st Missionary Journey. As one visits the colorful "churches" of Cappadocia, he/she will have no doubt in his/her mind that what is surrounding you in forms of thrilling art form buried in nature  is the ideas and teachings of St. Paul that had sproughted into the life style of the Cappadocians for two thousand years. Visit the carpet cooperative to learn more about the Turkish Carpets which are inseparable part of the Turkish life. Dinner & Overnight at Irmak Hotel Avanos  

Nov 06 Thursday  DAY 6   GUZELYURT CAPPADOCIA
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 Leave Cappadocia  Drive over the beautiful Toros mountains The grandeur of the mountains explains why they are called ''toro'' the bull traditional symbol of power. Visit the underground city in Kaymakli. The giant ant hole like underground refuge of the Christians explains clearly how difficult it must have been to be a Christian hiding away from the 2nd Century Roman Persecution After visiting the underground city of the early Christians.  Home visit  in a village One best way of having a feel for people's values is to be able to interact with them. We will take this opportunity of visiting a village and we will make home visits and have one to one contact with the villagers at their homes.
Overnight and dinner at a 18th Century Monastery. Home stay can be arranged for those who might be willing to stay with Turkish Families.. You will be given the option of home stay at this small town HOME STAY OPPORTUNITY Brekfast , lunch and dinner are included 


Nov 07 Friday DAY 7    KONYA
We will all have breakfast at the house of a village family. We will discuss more about the dogma of Islam. Visit the nearby mosque and meet the imam to have his point of view on various subjects. Question/Answer session.
We will visit the oldest monastery in Anatolia and enjoy the grandeur of the earliest Cathedral in Anatolia. After lunch continue to Konya on the old silk road and  make a couple of stops at the Caravanserais where the Camels used to take a break on their long journey from china to the Mediterranean.
Dinner and over night in Konya

Nov 08 Saturday  DAY 8   ANTALYA
We will learn about the father of Sufism in Konya . Rumi and his philosophy will be the topic of our morning lecture. The teachings of  Rumi are the essence of our cultural  identity.Discovering Rumi will be the most pleasant experience of Christian / Moslem encounter. Visiting the ancient site of Perge, where St. Paul preached during his 2nd missionary journey. we will try to picture how Paul and Barnabas were thought to be the God and the messenger of God!!
To give the tour members a break from the group feeling tonight's dinner is NOT included in the price of the tour. On Day 9 and 10 the group will split in half and experience the Turkish bath which is a unique experience of Turkish traditions. Overnight at Antalya. At this beautiful Mediterranean city we will stay at a 200 year old renovated house, Atelya Pansion.

Nov 09  Sunday DAY 9   ANTALYA
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 either side. This will be the first Roman site that we visit on this trip. The ancient stones are scattered among the reed pine trees, which grow right out from the waters of the Mediterranean in an incomparably romantic setting. Tonight there is an option of going to a Turkish bath (included in tour). Overnight in Antalya Brekfast  Lunch  included

Nov 10  Monday DAY 10   PAMUKKALE
 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. Though under protection, these white cliffs of calcium deposits are being destroyed dramatically. We will meet with a representative of the local association that is working on the preservation of these cliffs. 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

Nov 11  Tuesday DAY 11     SELCUK
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 

Nov 12  Wednesday DAY 12    SELCUK EPHESUS
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

Nov 13  Thursday DAY 13
The trip ends after breakfast, but you may extend your stay on your own if you wish. There are many options available, such as a yacht tour on the Turkish Riviera at very reasonable rates or the Greek island of Samos (only a one-hour boat ride away). Otherwise, you may return directly to Istanbul by bus or air for more sightseeing before your departure. You may also return to Istanbul via a 3-day bus ride visiting other sites in western Anatolia, such as Pergamum and Troy. 
Transfer to the airport in Izmir  .

IF YOU WANT  SEE OUR AFTER THE TOUR OPTIONS PLEASE CHECK OUR TOUR HAND BOOK

• YACHTING with a GULLET BOAT

The tour size
Maximum 20 people
Tour Price
Per person in a double room  US$  2.000.-
Sept. US$  1.800.-
Single room supplement US$ 180.-

THE PRICE INCLUDES
* 12 nights hotel, double occupancy
* Train ride
* Private boat in Istanbul
* Private boat in Antalya
* Breakfast, lunch and dinner each day  except 2 dinners in Antalya and 1 lunch in Istanbul
* All entrance fees
* Tips at the hotels and the restaurants
* All transportation
* Tip for the guide
* Tip for the driver
*Water with the meals
*Transfer to the air port in Izmir
 
NOT INCLUDED IN THE PRICE
* Flights to and from Turkey
* Beverages and drinks
* Cancellation insurance

 Hotel Chart