6-Day Turkey Vacation through İstanbul, Ephesus and Pamukkale

• Upon arrival at İstanbul International Airport, your guide will meet you, assist you, and transfer you to the hotel.

Overnight in İstanbul.

• After breakfast, we have an İstanbul City Tour.
• Our first visit will be to the Hippodrome. The ancient Hippodrome was the scene of chariot races and features three monuments: the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine.
• Next, we will visit the Sultanahmet Imperial Mosque. The architect Mehmet built it across from the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in the 16th century. It is known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles.
• Our next visit will be the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque. Previously known as the Church of Divine Wisdom, it is simply the best of its kind. Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque is the greatest surviving example of Byzantine architecture. For 1,000 years, it was the largest church in the world and was decorated with stunning 6th-century golden mosaics. Today, it is a mosque.
• Lunch break at 13:00.
• After lunch, we will take you to Asil Efendi, which offers a unique atmosphere and reasonable prices for shopping. Here, you will find exotic spices and herbs, Turkish baklava, Turkish delights, Turkish coffee, nuts and fruits, small souvenirs such as ceramic handicrafts, Evil Eyes totems, all-natural olive oil, soaps, and many other goods in souvenir shops and stores.
• After the tour, transfer back to your hotel.
• OPTIONAL DINNER CRUISE ON THE BOSPHORUS TOUR: Tonight between 19:30 and 23:30, we offer an optional entertaining dinner cruise program on the Bosphorus, where Europe and Asia are connected. You will spend an unforgettable night on the Bosphorus with dinner, unlimited local alcoholic and non-alcoholic soft drinks, a belly dance show, a Turkish folklore show, DJ performance, and great entertainment on the Bosphorus Dinner Cruise. The entertainment ends at about midnight, followed by a transfer to your hotel. Overnight in İstanbul.

Please note: Please do not forget to carry a headscarf with you to visit religious places like the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia Mosque.

• After breakfast, enjoy the Bosphorus by boat, a traditional excursion along the waterway separating Europe and Asia. The shore is lined with old wooden villas, marble palaces, fortresses, and small fishing villages.
• During the excursion, you will see the magnificent sights of the following attractions from your boat: Dolmabahçe Palace and, further along, the parks and imperial pavilions of Yıldız Palace.
• At Ortaköy, many artists gather every Sunday to display their work along the street. Ortaköy is a symbol of tolerance, with a church, a mosque, and a synagogue existing side by side for centuries.
• View Rumeli Fortress from the boat. It was built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452, prior to the conquest of İstanbul, and was completed in only four months to control and protect the infamous Bosporus passage. It is one of the most beautiful works of military architecture anywhere in the world.
• View Beylerbeyi Palace from the boat, the summer residence of Ottoman sultans. It remains in its original renovated glory, featuring original antique furniture and magnificent gardens with the Harem on the Asian side of İstanbul.
• Lunch break at a Turkish restaurant.
• After lunch, we will take you to the Grand Spice Bazaar, which offers a unique atmosphere and reasonable prices for shopping. Here, you will find exotic spices and herbs, Turkish baklava, Turkish delights, Turkish coffee, nuts and fruits, small souvenirs such as ceramic handicrafts, Evil Eyes totems, all-natural olive oil, soaps, and many other goods in souvenir shops and stores.
• After the tour, transfer to İstanbul Airport for a domestic flight to İzmir. Transfer from the airport and check in to your hotel in Kuşadası. Dinner and overnight in Kuşadası.

• After breakfast, at 08:30, depart from the hotel for a fully guided tour of Ephesus, one of the best-preserved ancient sites in the world.
• En route, visit the Temple of Artemis, Curetes Street, the famous Roman baths, Celsus Library, and the Grand Theatre.
• Lunch break around 13:00.
• After lunch, visit a place that continues to practice one of the oldest arts of Turkey: a carpet-weaving center.
• After lunch, we will continue with a Turkish Village Tour. Şirince's construction style today belongs to Anatolian Greeks. The houses on the slope are all original with their white paint. Şirince Village also has a fantastic reputation for making some of the best wines in Turkey, especially fruit wines. We will see the vineyards, and it is time to learn how fruit wine is made.
• You will be tested on your knowledge of making fruit wine in the evening.
• On the way, we will visit one of the famous leather production centres of the region, where you will have the opportunity to get a good factory rate.
• On this guided tour, you will avoid the constant nagging and sometimes bullying that is well known in the markets of Turkey, enabling you to enjoy the shopping experience while gaining knowledge of the ancient craftsmen.
• Overnight in Kuşadası.

• Depart for Pamukkale at 08:00.
• Upon arrival in Pamukkale, have a lunch break until 13:30.
• Afterwards, visit the calcium terraces of Pamukkale (Cotton Castle) and the ruins of Hierapolis, then walk around this natural phenomenon and have the option of lying in the waters of the natural springs.
• Denizli/Pamukkale means seaside in Turkish and is located on the Büyük Menderes River. It is a growing industrial town known for its textile industry and outlet shopping.
• You will visit one of the famous textile factories of Pamukkale.
• This tour will end at approximately 18:30, and you will return to your hotel. Overnight in Kuşadası.
• OPTIONAL TANDEM PARAGLIDING:
  • After the Pamukkale trip, we recommend the optional Pamukkale Paragliding Tour. Make your Pamukkale Tour unforgettable by participating in the Pamukkale Tandem Paragliding Tour. Enjoy a flight over the stunning and infamous White Mountain in Pamukkale and observe spectacular views of this unique area's attractions. Tandem paragliding in Pamukkale is an ideal alternative experience for those who want excitement. It can also be the perfect way to explore the attractions from above and appreciate the beauty of the natural scenery. This tour will end at 17:30, and you will be back at your hotel. We will stay in the thermal hotel, which has the most beautiful natural hot water in Pamukkale, and you can enjoy the hot thermal pool in the hotel.

• Today we depart for İzmir Airport for our domestic flight to İstanbul and then back home.