8 Days MINI Group Tour Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Konya, Cappadocia

Welcome to Turkey. Arrive in Istanbul Airport ( IST ) or to Sabiha Gokcen Airport ( SAW ) , Our representative will meet you at the airport with your name sign and private transfer to the hotel for overnight stay in Istanbul. 

Blue Mosque

09:00 a.m. After breakfast , our guided tour starts with Blue Mosque has its fame from its beautiful blue Iznik tiles

Hippodrome Square

Our next stop is Hippodrome Square where used to take place for chariot races and the Byzantine riots during Roman & Byzantine period.

Topkapi Palace

We will continue walking to Topkapi Palace, was not only the residence of the Ottoman sultans, but also the administrative and educational center of the state. It was constructed between 1460 and 1478 by Sultan Mehmed II, the conqueror of Constantinople. We will visit the Topkapi Palace including weapons section.

Hagia Sophia

Only a short walk away, reaches Hagia Sophia built in 532 AD by Roman Emperor Justinian I.

Update for St. Sophia interior visit : 

Live guiding is not allowed in St. Sophia after the 15th January 2024. Guests have to have their smart phones and headphones during their visit. If guests do not have a headphone, they can buy at the entrance at the cost of 3,5-USD

The system is similar to audio guide system. Guests who does not have smart phones will follow the signs and the given informations on the signs .

Grand Bazaar

Last stop is Grand Bazaar where is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with more than 58 covered streets and over 1,200 shops which attract between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. Opened in 1461, it is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops.

Drive back to the Hotel 

Kayseri Airport

Early morning pick up from hotel in Istanbul and transfer to Istanbul airport for flight to Cappadocia . Arrival to Cappadocia. Our Tour guide will meet you at the airport and start for Cappadocia tour. 

Three Sisters Fairy Chimneys

Drive to Cappadocia and First meeting with Cappadocia, visiting Three Sisters Fairy Chimneys in Urgup which are the most popular and seen on advertisements… That’s why people carved some pigeon houses to keep them in certain places. You will see that the houses for the pigeons are like the houses for the people. 

Ozkonak Underground City

Our Next stop is Ozkonak Underground City. The city has many strata made up of volcanic granite. Its larger areas are connected to each other by tunnels, and it contains a pipe communication system reaching each of its levels. This feature is unique when compared to the Kaymaklı Underground City and the Derinkuyu Underground City. Each carved room had ventilation provided by further piping when the city was sealed during sieges. After the tour program transfer to your hotel.

Pasabag

In the morning, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; a journey in the past with its troglodyte houses, visit to Pasabag “fairy chimneys” where the voice of wind mixes with the “songs of fairies” near Zelve.

Avanos

Avanos, center of terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC and a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop

Goreme Open Air Museum

Afternoon, visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum and see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings (10th to 13th century).

Uchisar Rock-Castle

Continue to Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia. After the tour program transfer to your hotel.

Sultanhan Caravanserai

Early departure for Pamukkale. On the way visit to the 13th century Seljukian masterpiece Sultanhan Caravanserai

Mausoleum of Mevlana

Early departure for Pamukkale. Upon arrival to Konya visit the Mausoleum of Mevlana, the world-wide famous mystic, Drive to Pamukkale.

Pamukkale

Upon our arrival to Pamukkale, check in to your thermal hotel for overnight. You will have a chance to swim in thermal pools until 22.30.

Discovery of Travertine terraces and Hierapolis. The travertine terraces at Pamukkale are one of the most spectacular natural wonders we ever have seen from various mineral springs in a vast white cliff side, about 200 m overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have dripped down over a series of terraced levels and created a fairyland of bizarre solidified cascades and shell-shaped basins. It looks like creations from snow or like balls from cotton, which gave the scenery the Turkish name Pamukkale (cotton castle): Moreover the water in the basins is changing its color according to how the light enters Then drive to Kusadasi and overnight.

House of Virgin Mary

After breakfast drive to The House of Virgin Mary. This house is located on the Aladag Mountains 5 miles from Ephesus. At the third Ecumenical Council of 431 in Ephesus, it was claimed that Mary came to Ephesus with St. John in 37 A.D. and lived there until her death in 48 A.D. After the discovery of the house, the Archbishop of Izmir declared it a place of pilgrimage in 1892. On July 26, 1967, Pope Paul VI visited this place and prayed here.

Ancient City of Ephesus

Continue to Ephesus, Walk through history along marble streets lined with wonderful public buildings, among them The State Agora, Odeon, Memnius Monument, the Temple of Domitian, , Polio Fountain, Curetes Street, The Trajan Fountain, The Baths of Scholastica, Hadrian Temple, Latrina, Celcus Library, the gate of Mihridates and Mazues, Commercial Agora and The Grand Theater are two of the most impressive buildings in Ephesus. Grand theatre was built in 3rd century B.C and it was later expanded to 24.000 spectators by the Romans in the 1st century A.D.After Ephesus

Artemis Temple

Our last stop the Artemis Temple where is one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. 

After Ephesus tour Drive to Izmir airport for our flight back to Istanbul. Arrival to Istanbul, met by our representative and transfer to the hotel for overnight

After breakfast check out from the hotel and private transfer to Istanbul airport or Sabiha Gokcen airport for your flight back home.