espt-brru

Istanbul and Cappadocia

DAY 1 MADRID – ISTANBUL – ANKARA Meet at the agreed upon time and transfer to the Airport of Barajas to embark on flight for Istanbul. Connection to the flight to Ankara. Arrival in Ankara and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 2 ANKARA – CAPPADOCIA Breakfast. Tour of the city; Mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey and modern country, and Museum of Anatolian Civilizations where where we can see great quantities of examples of diverse civilizations who over the centuries have settled these lands of Asia Minor, called Anatolia by the Turks. Lunch. Departure in coach for Cappadocia, geologically unusual region with a lunar formation and the climatological effect over the thick, soft layer of lava carved by volcanoes nearby. Arrival. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 3 CAPPADOCIA Breakfast. Departure from the hotel to tour the region: Natural castle of Uchisar, from where we can admire a fantastic panoramic view of the formation of this unique region. We will continue with the tour of the outdoor museum of the Göreme Valley, where the rupestrian convents and churches will surprise us. We will be in the typical towns of Avanos; artisan center of the region. Lunch. Subterranean city tour of Kaymakli or Derinkuyu, which were constructed beneath the earth excavating up to 20 floors, thanks to the soft layers of the ground, to save the Christians from persecution. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 4 CAPPADOCIA – ANKARA – KONYA – PAMUKKALE Breakfast. Departure in coach first thing in the morning. En route tour of the ancient caravanserai of Salutanhani. City tour of Konya, which was the capital of the Seleucid Turks in the 12th century. Lunch. Tour of the Mosque and Museum of Mevlana, who founded the theological school and sect of the derviches of the mystical twirling dance. Continuation of the trip to Pamukkale (Hierapolis). Transfer to the hotel. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 5 PAMUKKALE (HIERAPOLIS) – AFRODISIAS – KUSADASI Breakfast. Tour of the ruins of the magnificent temple of Apollo, the Necropolis and the theater of the ancient city of Hierapolis, which was a very important spa center in the period. We will finish the visit of Pamukkale—which means “Castle of Cotton” and is a nickname for this place, due to the white formation with lime stalactites from thermal waters—in the thermal waters admiring this singular landscape. Lunch. We will continue the journey to Afrodisias to visit in the afternoon this ancient Roman city, which was only recently explored, dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite. Continuation of the trip to KUSADASI. Arrival. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 6 KUSADASI – EPHESUS – ISTANBUL Breakfast. Departure to take a tour of Ephesus, the best preserved Greco-Roman city in the world. We are going to admire an entire city, with the Odeon, Trajan’s Fountain, temples of Hadrian and Domitian, the surprising Library of Celsus, the House of Love, the Great Theater, etc. Lunch. We will continue with the Tour of the House of the Most Holy Virgin Mary. Transfer to the Airport of Smyrna and flight to Istanbul. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 7 ISTANBUL Breakfast. Departure to take a full day tour with lunch of the city of Istanbul. Morning tour of Hagia Sophia; the grandiose masterpiece of the Byzantine apogee, the Roman hippodrome; cultural and popular center of the of the colorful life of Byzantium, where today we can appreciate monuments from different periods such as the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpentine Column, the German Fountain, etc., Blue Mosque; the only one with six minarets, and that is, with its unique architecture, without a doubt the most beautiful mosque in the world. Tour of the Grand Bazaar to shop. Afternoon tour of Süleymaniye Mosque; the largest in Istanbul and one of the largest in the country with a simple and peculiar beauty, Palace Topkapi; the first seat of the Ottoman Sultans, today it is one of the most interesting museums in the world with the surprising Treasury of the Ottoman Dynasty, the collection of Chinese and Japanese porcelain; the richest in the world, the sacred relics of Islam, etc. Return to the hotel. Dinner and lodging.

DAY 8 ISTANBUL – MADRID Breakfast. Transfer to the Airport at the designated time to embark on regular flight to Madrid. Arrival and END OF TRIP