10-Day Turkey Highlights Tour from İzmir with Cappadocia and Bosphorus

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Day 01

Arrival in İzmir

• Meet us at İzmir International Airport and transfer to your hotel. Enjoy free leisure time for the rest of the day to explore İzmir at your own pace. Overnight in İzmir.

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Day 02

Ephesus, Şirince, and Drive to Pamukkale

• We depart from the hotel to visit the ancient city of Ephesus - one of the world's finest archaeological sites - where we visit the Arcadian Way, the splendid facade of the Library of Celsus, and see the amphitheatre, which is still used for concerts.
• Afterward, join an in-depth guided walking tour of Şirince Village, located next to the city of Ephesus.
• Stroll through the pretty old Orthodox village of Şirince, which means "Cute one" and was once called Çirkince ("ugly").
• Indeed, its inhabitants gave this name on purpose, as they did not want to be bothered by foreigners or to share the beauty of their village.
• Drive to Pamukkale and overnight in Pamukkale.

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Day 03

Pamukkale and Hierapolis to Antalya

• After breakfast, visit Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis, located on hot springs in classical Phrygia in southwestern Anatolia.
• Calcareous thermal springs descending over cliffs have created fascinating travertines in the form of white terraces and basins, also known as the Cotton Castle.
• Drive to Antalya and overnight in Antalya.

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Day 04

Antalya Old Town, Düden Waterfalls, and Boat Trip

• After breakfast, start discovering Antalya, which is surrounded by sandy beaches, soaring mountains, and picturesque waterfalls, and this tour takes in some of the most scenic spots.
• Visit Antalya's Old Town (Kaleiçi), which remains the heart of this modern Turkish city. Home to a number of historic monuments, it is also the city's most atmospheric district, with amazing narrow winding streets dotted with traditional wooden houses, bars, restaurants, and Ottoman-style boutique hotels.
• Continue to visit the gorgeous Düden Waterfalls. The falls consist of two cascades, and the upper part is nearly 50 feet (15 meters) tall and 65 feet (20 meters) wide.
• We will make a 2-hour boat trip to see the best viewpoint of the falls.
• Drive to Konya and overnight in Konya.

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Day 05

Konya, Pigeon Valley, Avanos, and Devrent Valley

• After breakfast, visit the Mevlâna Museum. Konya was the center of the Selçuk Empire as well as the city of Mevlâna, and was famous for his Whirling Dervishes dance.
• Visit the tomb of Rumi, an important place of pilgrimage for Muslims.
• Afterward, drive to Cappadocia.
• The first stop in Cappadocia is Pigeon Valley, which earned its name from the countless man-made dovecotes (pigeon houses) carved into the soft volcanic tuff.
• Since ancient times, pigeons have been used in the Cappadocia region for food and fertilizer for the infertile soil.
• Avanos rests on the banks of Turkey's longest river, the Kızılırmak River. The name Red River comes from the large amounts of clay deposits, which have been used for centuries in the town for pottery. The pottery trade in Avanos dates back to the Hittites, and you can still visit Avanos today and view the workshops in action.
• Unlike other valleys in the Cappadocia region, Devrent Valley was never inhabited by humans. There are no rock-hewn churches or ancient castles, nor are there any troglodyte caves or pigeonholes.
• Instead, what draws visitors to Devrent Valley is the incredible pink-hued rock formations and geological anomalies that have been formed by centuries of erosion. Overnight in Cappadocia.

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Day 06

Cappadocia's Fairy Chimneys, Underground City, and Love Valley

• After breakfast, depart to discover the Cappadocia region, a volcanic area where the geological formation started 10 million years ago.
• As a result of these formations, phallic-like pillars have come to life. The beautiful horse country Katpatuka, as the Persians called it, is an unbelievable strip of land, enchanting and mysterious. Zelve Open Air Museum (Pasabag), the center of the fairy chimneys, reflects life in the Zelve Valley, which was one of the important settlements in the region from the fourth until the thirteenth centuries and continued until 1952. It is generally acknowledged that the variety of large, small, conical, pyramid-shaped, pointed, or blunt fairy chimneys in Zelve are the most beautiful in the region. Zelve presents a picture of the abandonment of a village that still existed until a short time ago, with a Seljuk-type mosque and adjacent homes carved from the rock, some of which still resist the ravages of time.
• One of the most interesting and exciting cultural activities in Cappadocia is to visit an underground city. The underground cities of Cappadocia were built by carving the rocks down into volcanic tuff land.
• We still do not know how they managed to carve this deep underground considering there was no technological equipment. Love Valley is a hidden valley with scenic formations, to say the least.
• Despite the resemblance to manhood, these amazing rock formations are far from man-made. They are ancient structures that sit at over a thousand meters of altitude.
• There is generally no rainfall in the area, but Cappadocia does have really hot, dry summers and cold, snowy winters. Overnight in Cappadocia.

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Day 07

Salt Lake and Anıtkabir in Ankara

• Depart from the hotel for Ankara.
• We will stop by Salt Lake.
• There, you can walk in the lake barefoot and enjoy the intensely white surface and the sparkle of the salt crystals, which look deceptively like snow and ice, and take pictures of it.
• After arriving in Ankara, we will visit the Atatürk Mausoleum.
• Crowning a hill above Ankara, the Atatürk Mausoleum (Anıtkabir) is a modern mausoleum and complex holding the tomb of Turkey's founder, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. Overnight in Ankara.

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Day 08

Journey to Istanbul and Istiklal Street

• After breakfast, depart for Istanbul.
• After arriving in Istanbul, explore the city highlights and walk along Istiklal Street. The heart of Istanbul is undoubtedly Istiklal Street. This street, set in the middle of a thousand years of history, has hosted people from tens of nationalities and preserved part of the culture of these nations for hundreds of years. It contains dozens of local and global brands as well as historical monuments from different cultures. Overnight in Istanbul.

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Day 09

Imperial Istanbul and Bosphorus Cruise

• Visit Topkapı Palace. The great palace of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th centuries housed an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, and the Holy Mantle, enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed. Visit Sultanahmet Imperial Mosque. Across from St. Sophia, this mosque was built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet and is known as the "Blue Mosque" because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue İznik tiles. Continue to the ancient Hippodrome, the scene of chariot races, with its three monuments: the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine.
• We will continue to Hagia Sophia to admire its wonderful Byzantine mosaics. Imagine entering one of the oldest and once the biggest cathedrals in the world, built by the Byzantines 1,500 years ago and used by both Christians and Muslims for years.
• From many aspects, it is unique in the world. Today, it serves as a mosque again.
• We will then take you to the Grand Bazaar. At the end of the program, join the Bosphorus cruise tour. While sailing along the Bosphorus, you will see some of Istanbul's most important landmarks, including the Golden Horn, the Spice Bazaar, Dolmabahçe Palace, Topkapı Palace, Çırağan Palace, Beylerbeyi Palace, Rumeli Fortress, Anatolian Fortress, Ortaköy Mosque, Galata Tower, the Ortaköy neighborhood, Üsküdar, and Maiden Tower.
• All these iconic places will be seen from the water during the Bosphorus tour. Overnight in Istanbul.

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Day 10

Departure from Istanbul

• After breakfast, check out from the hotel and transfer to Istanbul Airport.