DAY 1 ISTANBUL
Arrive in Istanbul, and transfer to your hotel. After a short tour briefing, the rest of the day is free to rest, relax or walk around to explore the city. Welcome dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ). [ D ]
DAY 2 ISTANBUL
We spend the full day visiting the sights of Old Istanbul. We will begin at the ancient Hippodrome which was the center of the civil activities back in the Hellenistic and Roman times. At the Hippodrome the chariot and horse races and athletic runs took place for the entertainment of the people of Constantinople. We walk to the nearby Ibrahim Pasha Palace which houses the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art where we will see an impressive exhibit from the various periods of Turkish and Islamic art, ranging in date from the 7th C. to the 19th. Then we proceed to the Blue Mosque, famous for its blue tiles covering its interior walls and also for its six minarets which is a unique feature of this mosque. Nearby is Hagia Sophia Museum, the former Cathedral of Constantinople, considered as the masterpiece of the early Byzantine architecture. Hagia Sophia is renowned for its superb mosaic decoration as well as its architectural style. Back in Byzantine Empire, most emperors were crowned in this cathedral after a special ceremony. After lunch we will visit the Topkapi Palace, residence and administrative center of the Ottoman Sultans. In the grounds of the Topkapi Palace are many courtyards surrounded by old buildings each housing small museums with exhibits of jewelry, costumes, calligraphy and various objects that belonged to the Imperial treasury of the Ottoman Sultans. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ). [ B L D ]
DAY 3 CAPPADOCIA
Morning flight to Ankara. Sightseeing of Ankara. This morning, we will begin at the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations housed in a restored 15th century Ottoman Bedesten that was once Ankara's main covered bazaar, has one of the most extraordinary collections of antiquities in the world, ranging in time over the Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Assyrian, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Greco-Roman periods. Later, we will visit the Ataturk's Memorial built for the founder of modern Republic of Turkey. Rest of the day, drive to Cappadocia with a stop at the Salt Lake and through the central Anatolian Plateau, observing the villages and people on our way. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( CAPPADOCIA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 4 CAPPADOCIA
Morning departure for the sightseeing of CAPPADOCIA. We will spend the full day walking and driving around this fascinating volcanic area with incredible formations, a superb work by the mother nature. We will begin at the Pigeons' valley where there is a nice panoramic view of the area, stopping at the Uchisar rock castle which was built hollowed out of the rock, and used for defense purposes at the times of danger. Next, we will visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, a large open courtyard surrounded by rock churches decorated with frescoes and murals. Cappadocia became at an early time monastic center built by St. Basil who was the bishop of ancient Caesarea (modern Kayseri). We will make a stop at the Pasabagi valley with fairy chimneys which are conical formations eroded by the natural elements over the centuries. Visit local craftspeople (Rug weavers, doll makers, pottery workshops). We will visit Avanos, a town famous for its pottery, built on the banks of the Red River of Turkey which flows through the town and brings down red clay from the surrounding mountains for the potters who transform it, on kick-wheels, to beautiful pots, vases, cups, plates. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( CAPPADOCIA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 5 ANTAKYA
Drive to Antakya. Enroute visit one of the most remarkable rock-cut Monastery of Gumusler with well preserved frescoes on its walls. We will drive through Adana, ancient Danunas, pleasantly laid our along the banks of the Seyhan river. After the junction, near the town Dortyol was the site of famous battle of Ipsus, a critical battle which took place between Alexander the Great and Darius the Persian king in 333 BC. Before Antakya we will drive by Iskenderun, ancient Alexandretta, a city built by Alexander the great. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ANTAKYA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 6 ANTAKYA
Antakya was ancient Antiocheia on the Orontes or known as Antioch was founded by the Seleucus I Nicator the king of Seleucus kingdom in about 300 BC. Antioch, in the Roman ages, was one of the four largest cities in the world. In the early Christian era, Antioch was an important center, and here Christians came to be called by this name first time. During our city tour, we will visit the Antakya's Archaeological Museum which has one of the largest collections of Roman and Byzantine mosaics in the world. This museum is a testimony to Antakya's glorious past. In addition to superb mosaics, there are also fine marble sarcophagi with elaborate carvings, along with some statues and other archaeological items. Later we drive out the suburbs of the city to the Grotto of St. Peter. Saint Peter chose Antioch as the base for his first mission among the unbelievers. St. Peter's church is tucked into the face of a steep cliff. Although the facade of the present-day church comes from the 13th C., the caves behind this facade housed some of the Christianity's earliest liturgies. St. Peter's church may easily be the oldest working church in the world, as St. Peter preached here and services are still held here today. From the terrace of the church you can get a full panoramic view of the city. Excursion to Harbiye which occupies the site of Ancient Daphne where according to myth the nymph Daphne, pursued by Apollo, was transformed into a laurel tree. Returning to the city center, we will take a walk in the old quarters for possible shopping possibilities for traditional products. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( ANTAKYA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 7 KONYA
Drive to Konya. This morning's highlight will be Tarsus where the apostle St. Paul was born and Antony met Cleopatra. Tarsus with its Ottoman houses, rambling streets and some ancient monuments is a charming town. Our tour in Tarsus will include the St. Paul's well, from which it is believed that St. Paul drank water. We proceed to the Roman gate known as Cleopatra's gate or St. Paul's gate, afterwards we will visit the Tarsus Museum which is housed in the Kubad Pasha Medrese, an old Ottoman bedesten from the 16th C. The museum has in its cells, many ancient artifacts, sarcophagi and coins from Assyrian, Hittite, Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as a rich ethnographical section from the Ottoman times. We will have some time in colorful bazaar area for the shopping of traditional products of Tarsus. We will drive north into the Taurus Mountains along the Goksu gorge. The German emperor Frederick Barbarossa, at the head of the crusader army was drowned in the river in this gorge, in 1190 on his way to the Holy Land. The other sites on our way will be Derbe and Lystra which both have been visited by St. Paul and St. Barnabas during their missionary journeys. Derbe today is just a mound standing in the middle of the plain, and has never been excavated. Ancient Lystra is a still living town and occupied by a Turkish village. We will arrive at Konya in the evening. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( KONYA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 8 ANTALYA
Drive to Antalya. Before we leave for Antalya, we will take a city tour of Konya, the site of ancient Iconium. Iconium is mentioned several times in the book of Acts. This morning's visits include the Mevlana Museum, which is believed to be the holiest place of Turkey and house the memorial of Mevlana the famous Turkish philosopher and the founder of the order of whirling dervishes. Proceed to Karatay Medrese, the Islamic theological college from Turkish-Selcuk period (13th cent.), now it houses a nice collection of tiles and carved stones produced by the Seljuks. Continue to Antioch in Pisidia, an ancient site founded by the Seleucid King Antiochus I in the 3rd. C. St. Paul visited Antioch on his first missionary journey along with Barnabas. Here Paul addressed the congregation in the synagogue, his first recorded sermon. The size of the site tells that Antioch was an important city in ancient times. The site is excavated by the archaeologists from the University of Michigan. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( ANTALYA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 9 ANTALYA
Day long excursion to the ancient Greco-Roman sites of the Pamphylia region. We will begin with Perge which is one of the best examples of a complete Roman city. We will take a walk along the main streets and view the well-preserved ancient structures, stadium, agora, Hellenistic towers, roman gate and baths, city walls. Perge was one of the cities that was visited by St. Paul during his missionary journeys. After leaving Perge, we head for the ancient city of Aspendus which has undoubtedly the most perfectly preserved Roman theater in existence. The theater located at the foot of the acropolis was built in the 2nd century by the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Aspendus has also very well preserved aqueducts from Roman times standing to its almost full height. Continue to Side, the great ancient city and also a popular resort town right on the Mediterranean. We will tour the small local museum of Side that houses a fine collection of statues, sarcophagi, architectural sculpture and inscriptions. Right across the street from the Museum is another well preserved Roman theater that offers a magnificent view toward the Mediterranean from the top of the seats. We will walk down the shop-lined street to the site of the twin temples of Apollo and Athena with beautiful setting on the seaside. We head back for Antalya, if time permits, we visit Antalya Archaeological Museum with fine sculptures, sarcophagi and findings from around Pamphylia region. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ANTALYA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 10 PAMUKKALE
This morning, we drive back into Taurus mountains, with spontaneous stops to photograph Nomads in and around their goat-hair tents. Early afternoon arrival at our hotel, and have time to use natural geothermal pools. We will tour the calcified pools of Pamukkale and the ancient ruins of Hierapolis. Most of the cliffs formed by the geothermal waters are as white as the cotton that gives Pamukkale its name, which in Turkish means "Cotton Castle". The ancient city Hierapolis whose ruins are scattered a above the calcium pools, is another well preserved site in Turkey. It has been a popular spa center since the Hellenistic and Roman ages. The view from the ancient theater towards the valley is spectacular. According to tradition, St. Philip, one of the twelve apostles was martyred here at this city, and a monumental martyrdom built for him is there. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( PAMUKKALE ). [ B L D ]
DAY 11 KUSADASI
Drive to Kusadasi. A short drive from Pamukkale is Laodicea, another site of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Laodicea was founded in the 2nd C: BC by the Seleucid king Antiochus II Theos who named it for his wife. Laodicea is known as Laodicea-ad-Lycum, since there were many other towns named Laodicea founded by the Seleucid kings. Laodicea soon became a prosperous city after trading its fine quality purple-color wool. Drive to Colossae, the city is mentioned in the book Colossians in which St. Paul addressed the congregation here. Today there is not much to see at Colossae, other than a large mound which exposes some ancient theater and some ruins of the unidentified buildings. After a short drive, we will visit Philadelphia, one of the sites of Seven Churches of Asia, to see the church of St. John. Continue to the ancient city of Sardis, the capital of the ancient Lydian kingdom from 6th C BC and home of the famous king Croesus. During our walking tour of Sardis, we will see the marble court with a beautiful facade with marble columns, which was the imperial cult built for the Roman emperors, passing the large palaestra we will come to a large Jewish Synagogue built in Roman times, which was one of the largest synagogues ever built in the ancient ages, then we walk out to the ancient street lined with ancient roman and Byzantine shops. On the other side of the highway, we will see the great temple of Artemis built from the Hellenistic ages and offers a spectacular view having the acropolis of Sardis in the background. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( KUSADASI ). [ B L D ]
DAY 12 KUSADASI
Full day sightseeing of well preserved sites of Ephesus. We begin with Ephesus, the great city and metropolitan center of the Antiquity, whose extensive ruins are among the best preserved in the world. As we walk down the main street of Ephesus, we will visualize its ancient life and buildings. Then we drive up to the Virgin Mary's House claimed to be the true place where Mother Mary spent her last years before she had died in this area. This is one the most important pilgrimage shrines in the world. Up on the hill above the town Selcuk, we will visit the Basilica of St. John built for the apostle author of the book of revelations. Looking at the size of this church, we can easily say that it was one the largest churches in its time. Returning to the town Selcuk, we will visit the local Ephesus Museum with a nice exhibit of the objects such as statues, sarcophagi, busts, inscriptions, found during the excavations at Ephesus. If time permits we will drive up to Sirince a traditional village situated on a hill top. The village people still produce embroidery and lace work and also a good place to taste some local Turkish wine. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( KUSADASI ). [ B L D ]
DAY 13 GREEK ISLAND PATMOS
Day long cruise to the Greek Island of Patmos where the evangelist St. John received the inspiration and wrote the book of Revelation. Sailing from Kusadasi to Patmos, we will enjoy the blue waters of the Aegean. Here, we will tour the Monastery of St. John which stands high on a hill and commands a magnificent view of the coast of Turkey and the sparkling Aegean Sea. The monastery complex houses a nice collection of jeweled crosses, manuscripts, intricate mosaics, and more art pieces from different periods of time. The main place of interest is St. John's Grotto which is down the stairs from the main monastery building, where he wrote his book. Late return to Kusadasi. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( KUSADASI ). [ B L D ]
DAY 14 CANAKKALE
Drive to Canakkale. Enroute visit Pergamum, the capital of Pergamum Kingdom and a great Hellenistic city with superb setting on the top of the mountain that rises above the surrounding plain. We will walk around the well preserved ruins of Pergamum. The view from top of the Acropolis toward the Aegean Sea is spectacular. We will stop at Asclepieum, the famous ancient medical center where Galen, the famous physician of the ancient world, practiced medicine. Pergamum is also one of the sites mentioned in the book of Revelation. Drive to Assos, a spectacular city on the hilltop overlooking the Aegean sea and the island of Lesbos. We will walk up the hill to the acropolis of Assos where we will see the ancient Greek Doric temple dedicated to the goddess Athena. Later we drive down to the lovely little harbor crowded by the small colorful fishing boats. Continue to Alexandria Troas, which was a thriving city back in the Hellenistic and Roman period and controlled a good deal of sea trade. St. Paul visited the city and preached here twice in the hope of making converts. Even Constantine the great thought about building his new capital here at Alexandria, later he changed his mind in favor of Constantinople. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( CANAKKALE ). [ B L D ]
DAY 15 ISTANBUL
In the morning, we will visit Troy, the fabled city of the book "Iliad" written by Homer and the site of the Trojan War between Achaeans and Trojans. We will begin our walking tour near the replica of the Trojan wooden-horse and walk around the ancient city, and observe the fortification walls, temples, palaces, theater, and megaron style houses. Have time to have your photos taken on the Trojan horse. Take the ferry across the Dardanelles, to Thrace which is the European part of Turkey. Apart from the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Dardanelles (or Hellespont) separates the continents of Europe and Asia, it was one of the most important water ways in the ancient ages, as it is today. We will make a brief stop at the Gallipoli war memorials and cemeteries. Gallipoli was the battlefield where the most crucial battle took place between the Ottoman army and the combined army of British and the Anzac forces. Drive along the coast of the Sea of Marmara back to Istanbul. Early afternoon arrival in Istanbul, the rest of the day is on your leisure to browse the bazaar area or other interesting parts of the city. Overnight your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ). [ B L ]
DAY 16 ISTANBUL
This morning, we will cruise up the Bosphorus with private boat, sit on the deck and enjoy the nice traditional water-front houses built by the Ottomans in the last or in the turn of this century. We will disembark near the Spice bazaar, and have free time for shopping in the Spice Market where you will find hundreds of spices and herbs. Spice market was built by the Ottomans in the 16th C., and has been used as the main market of spices and herbs since then. We head for the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, where will have time for shopping. In the grand bazaar which is an old ottoman bedesten built in the 15th. C., and said to have about 3,500 shops under its roof, you will find almost anything from souvenirs to jewelry, from textiles to Turkish ethnographic items. Rest of the afternoon is at leisure, you may want to stay in the grand bazaar or stroll through the streets. Farewell dinner at a special restaurant. Overnight at your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ). [ B D ] DAY 17 TRANSFER TO AIRPORT
Check-out and transfer to the airport for our morning flight back home. [ B ]
[ B ] : Breakfast
[ L ] : Lunch
[ D ] : Dinner |
