ISTANBUL 36ºF - 37ºF

Welcome to Turkey! Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel and accommodation.

ISTANBUL 36ºF - 37ºF

A sightseeing tour of the city. On our tour, we will include a cable car ride up to the Pierre Loti viewpoint and we will enter the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent (the largest in Istanbul). We will see the walls, the Golden Horn, the fishing district, and we will admire the exterior of Hagia Sofia. After the visit, we will offer tickets and a visit to the Topkapi Palace (entrance included), which was the administrative centre 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 neighbourhood, the most commercialised 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. Note: Services during your stay in Istambul the order of the places visited may be modified.

ISTANBUL 36ºF - 37ºF

Today we include a boat trip on the Bosphorus that will last about two hours. 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. We will enjoy seeing the liveliness of the strait with its multitude of boats. We will pass under the two bridges that unite Europe and Asia and we will admire the palaces of the sultans, the typical wooden houses and the Ottoman villas. Free time.

ISTANBUL 36ºF - 37ºF - BANDIRMA 36ºF - 36ºF - EPHESUS 72ºF - 72ºF - KUSADASI 41ºF - 43ºF

We left early from Istanbul. We crosed by fast ferry (variable schedules according to seasons and months) the Sea of Marmara, after about two hours of crossing, we arrived at the port of BANDIRMA (or Yalova according to schedules). We continued route through the interior of Turkey. At the beginning of the afternoon we arrive at EPHESUS, the best preserved ancient city of Asia Minor; 2000 years ago it had a quarter of a million inhabitants. We know Saint John´s Basilica, after it, the house of the Virgin Mary and the archaeological site (tickets included). We then continue to KUSADASI, a popular coastal town with a lot of atmosphere, commercial life and a small castle. Dinner and accommodation.

KUSADASI 41ºF - 43ºF - BODRUM 46ºF - 46ºF - MARMARIS 48ºF - 48ºF

We leave for BODRUM, a very beautiful fortified city of Greek origin. You can visit its castle, stroll through its cozy streets full of life and tourism or go around its sports marina. After lunch, we go on our way to MARMARIS, another very beautiful coastal tourist enclave with its castle, its marina and its fountains. Dinner and accommodation.

MARMARIS 48ºF - 48ºF - DALYAN 48ºF - 48ºF - ANTALYA 48ºF - 48ºF

We leave for DALYAN, an incredible place by a navigable river. We include a two- hour boat trip to see LYCIA’S ROYAL TOMBS, and still on the boat, we go on to a large lake where we stop at the thermal springs. If you want, you can bath in the warm waters or have a mud bath! Time for lunch in one of the numerous restaurants in Daylan by the river. Continuation to ANTALYA, we will make a brief visit to this 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 included.

ANTALYA 48ºF - 48ºF - ASPENDO - SIDE 48ºF - 48ºF - KARAMAN 21ºF - 21ºF - NIGDE 18ºF - 18ºF

We leave Antalya for ASPENDOS, we visit the Roman theatre which many believe to be the best preserved in the world. After this in SIDE we can admire the Greek temple of Apollo by the sea. Time to stroll around the port and through its streets full of life. Amidst impressive countryside we cross the Taurus Mountains, their peaks of over 3,500 metres in height are snow- covered for a large part of the year. A stop in KARAMAN where we visit TARTAN EVI, an ancient Ottoman mansion. Continuation to the edge of the Cappadocia region, NIGDE. Dinner included.Note: Sometimes the Tartan Evi may be closed, in which case the visit would be replaced by another to a mansion of similar characteristics in Cappadocia.

NIGDE 18ºF - 18ºF - CAPADOCIA

A full day in the fantastic region of CAPPADOCIA, with its lunar landscapes, its churches and troglodyte villages. We start by visiting GUMUSLER, an incredible seventh century underground monastery with maybe the best Byzantine frescoes in Turkey. In KAYMAKLI we will see the underground city that could house 30,000 people. We will visit the natural fortress of UCHISAR. After lunch, we will see the GOREME Valley with its open-air museum and its churches dug out of the rocks, (entrance included) Hotel in AVANOS. Dinner included.

CAPADOCIA - IHLARA 19ºF - 19ºF - KONYA 23ºF - 23ºF

At the far end of Cappadocia, we will visit the IHLARA Valley; known for the freshness of its waters, its churches and villages excavated in the rock. Then we continue our route, with a stop in an old CARAVANSERAI from the 13th Century before arriving in KONYA where we visit the Mausoleum of Mevlana. Here we will learn about the sect of the Dervishes (entrance included). Dinner included. At night, we suggest that you attend the dance performance of the whirling dervishes in the cultural centre.

KONYA 23ºF - 23ºF - EGRIDIR - PAMUKKALE 41ºF - 41ºF

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

PAMUKKALE 41ºF - 41ºF - EPHESUS 72ºF - 72ºF - KUSADASI 41ºF - 43ºF

We leave for EPHESUS, the best preserved ancient city of Asia Minor; 2000 years ago it had a quarter of a million inhabitants. We see the house of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of Saint John and the impressive ruins of Ephesus (entrance included). We then go on to KUSADASI, a popular coastal town with a lot of atmosphere, commercial life and a small castle. Dinner included.

KUSADASI 41ºF - 43ºF - IZMIR 41ºF - 41ºF - BURSA 28ºF - 28ºF - ISTANBUL 36ºF - 37ºF

We leave for the city with the fourth largest population in Turkey: IZMIR. We see the church of Saint Polycarp, the oldest in the city, which reminds us of the importance of this area in early Christianity (entrance included). We then return to inland Turkey. Stop en route for lunch before reaching BURSA, whose historic centre 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. End of services. Our guide will drop you off at the agreed point.We hope you have enjoyed your circuit with Europamundo. VERY IMPORTANT INFORMATION: DURING THE MONTH OF RAMADAN THE MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS WILL REMAIN OPEN ALTHOUGH IT IS POSSIBLE TO HAVE CHANGES IN OPENING AND CLOSING TIMES. DURING THE RELIGIOUS HOLIDAYS (END OF RAMADAN AND SACRIFICE) THE BAZAARS AND SOME MONUMENTS WILL BE CLOSED.