Tour duration:  15 nights / 16 days
Itinerary:  Istanbul / Antakya / Cappadocia / Konya / Antalya / Pamukkale / Izmir

Day 01: Arrival in Istanbul
Upon arrival at Atatürk International Airport, meet with your professional license tour guide and transfer to the selected hotel. In the evening we will have welcome briefing and orientation walking tour of the hotel area.  After the tour, the guide will lead you to a dinner on own at a Turkish restaurant located near the hotel.
Meal: -

Day 02: Istanbul / Full day Sightseeing tour
Meet your tour guide at hotel lobby for a full sightseeing tour.
Today our visits include Roman Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace and Grand Bazaar. Evening is at leisure.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 03: Istanbul / Full day Bosphorus tour
Meet your tour guide at hotel lobby for a full day Bosphorus tour. First we will visit Spice Market and then we will proceed to pier for a 1, 5 hour Bosphorus tour with a public boat. We will disembark in the Asian part; have a tea and coffee break here and after Bosphorus tour we will visit Dolmabahce Palace.
Evening is at leisure, overnight is in our selected hotel.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 04: Istanbul / Adana / Antakya
After breakfast, we fly to Adana and drive straight to Tarsus, the birth place of St. Paul. During St. Paul's time, Tarsus was also a university city surpassing Athens and Alexandria. Cicero was governor here in 51-50 BC and the romantic meeting between Cleopatra and Mark Anthony took place in Tarsus. Highlights will be a visit to St. Paul's well and Cleopatra's Gate.  Finally, drive to Antakya and overnight is here in our selected hotel.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 05: Antakya / Full day Sightseeing tour
Today after breakfast we will have a full day sightseeing tour of Antakya. Antioch on the Orontes was an ancient city on the eastern side of the Orontes River.  Continuously inhabited since then, it became the modern city of Antakya, Turkey.
Highlights of the tour include the Museum which houses a superb collection of mosaics from Antioch, Daphne and Seleucia Pieria as well as St. Peter's Grotto, the cave church which came to be known as the meeting place of early Christians.
The next site we will visit is Seleucia Pieria which was the port city of Antioch in ancient days. The most interesting monument here is the Tunnel of Titus which is a tremendous canal dug for the purpose of diverting the waters of the Orontes River. Another highlight here will be the rock tombs with their impressive facades of the Hellenistic period. Later then we will transfer to our hotel and the rest of the day is at leisure.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 06: Antakya / Cappadocia
After an early breakfast we drive north to Cappadocia. On our way to the hotel, we will stop at Valley of the Birds (Uçhisar Castle). This 60 meter-high fortress was not built but carved out of a natural hill dominating the area with a breathtaking view of all the surrounding Cappadocia formations. 
Further on arrive hotel and check-in. The rest of the day is at leisure.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 07: Cappadocia / Full day Sightseeing tour
Today we visit the Göreme Valley to see the rock carved churches, dating from the second half of the 9th Century and later, hollowed out of volcanic ash. Highlights will be The Apple Church, The Chapel of St. Basil, and the biggest church in Cappadocia, the Buckle Church of Goreme.

Then we will continue to underground city of Kaymakli. Beginning in the second century AD, as successive armies swept across Asia Minor, the resident of Cappadocia created uniquely defensible communities by digging approximately eight stories down into the volcanic tufa stone.

After lunch on own we will drive to Avanos Village, famous for local pottery and carpet shows. We will allow ample time for shopping in the afternoon before returning to the hotel.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 08: Cappadocia / Konya
After an early breakfast we will drive to Konya (Iconium). St. Paul visited this city during his missionary trips. Arriving to Iconium, Paul and Barnabas went to the Synagogue and had many Greek and Jewish converts.

Konya is also an important place of pilgrimage for Sufi (Mevlevi) Muslims, because their spiritual leader, Mevlâna Celaleddin Rumi was buried here. Rumi, the great philosopher, poet and writer, founded the Mevlevi Order in the 13th century.

The ritual of the Mevlevi Order, known as the sema, is a serious religious ritual performed by Muslim priests “Whirling Dervishes” in a prayer trance to Allah. 
Mevlevi believed that during the “sema” the soul was released from earthly ties and able to freely and jubilantly commune with the divine.
After visiting the tomb of Mevlana, we will enjoy our lunch on own. Later we will visit the 13th century Selcuk’s era “Buyuk Karatay Medresesi” which houses a magnificent collection of tiles.

After that we will visit the Alaeddin Mosque. Finally we will visit “Ince Minare Medresesi”, the Medrese of the Slender Minaret. The Medrese has been re-opened as a museum of stone and wood carving. Then proceed to the hotel for overnight.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 09: Konya / Antalya
After an early breakfast we will drive to Psidian Antioch (Yalvac) where St. Paul opened Christianity to the world. Yalvac's history goes back to 280 B.C.; during St. Paul's time the population was a mixture of Jews, Romans and Greeks. Antioch played an important role in the life of St. Paul and in the history of the Christian Faith. There is the propylaeum of the acropolis with a number of carved stones and the remains of a Byzantine church.  Finally we will drive to Antalya for dinner and overnight is at our selected hotel.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 10: Antalya / Side / Perge / Aspendos
After breakfast, we will drive to Perge, where St. Paul began preaching after arriving from Cyprus. Visit the Gymnasium, the Bath, the Agora, the Theater, the Stadium and the Hellenistic Gate. Continue to Another the Pamphilian city of Aspendos. The Theater is the best preserved in the world with its incredible acoustics. Visit Side, which is built exactly on top of the ancient city. See the Temples of Athena and Apollo, the State Agora, the Theater and the Museum. Return to Antalya for dinner and overnight
Meal: Breakfast

Day 11: Antalya / Myra
After breakfast we will drive west from Antalya along the beautiful Turkish Riviera to the ancient city of Myra one of the most important cities in Lycia. 
Many splendidly carved rock tombs overlook the magnificent Roman theatre. When St. Paul was taken as a prisoner to Rome in 60 AD, his ship called at Myra. 
Another important sight that we will visit is the Church of St. Nicholas.St. Nicholas (Santa Claus) was the bishop of this Mediterranean city during the fourth century and died here in 342. 
Every year on December 6th the “Santa Claus/Father Christmas Commemoration Ceremony” is held, attracting many tourists who spend their Christmas holiday on the coast of ancient Lycia.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 12: Antalya / Laodicea / Pamukkale
After an early breakfast we will drive to Laodicea. After lunch on own we will visit Laodicea where we find two Theaters, a large Stadium, a Water Tower and an Odeon.
The city was named by Antiochus II in honor of his wife, Laodicea. Laodicea is the most southerly of the Seven Churches of Revelation.
Although it is not known when the seeds of the new church were sown there or when the church took its roots there, the letter addressing the church in Laodicea is the sternest of the seven letters, containing much reprimand but no praise. Then we will continue to Pamukkale one of the most interesting places in the world both for its unique geological formations and for its historical remains. Overnight is in our selected hotel in Pamukkale.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 13: Hierapolis / Philadelphia / İzmir
Today we visit Hierapolis which was founded by the Pergamon King Telephos and named after his wife Hiera. Next we drive to Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love, to see the remains of its churches.

There is no mention of the first establishment of the Philadelphian Church. Like Smyrna church, Philadelphia stands out because of its faithfulness. The city was located on the eastern edge of the Ionian civilization, and it had the most difficult task of spreading Christian faith to the east, outside the Ionian region. 

Philadelphia, together with Smyrna was considered as one of the distinguished churches out of the seven churches of the Revelation about which nothing bad was mentioned by St. John.
Next, continue to Izmir, ancient Smyrna, also having one of the Seven Churches of the Revelation. Overnight is in our selected hotel in Izmir.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 14: İzmir / Ephesus
Today we will drive to see the ancient site of Ephesus where St. Paul spent more than 2 years. St. Paul’s preaching in the area resulted in the uproar of the Guild of Silversmiths and eventually the whole population of Ephesus. Today Ephesus is perhaps the world’s best-preserved ancient city and its ruins attract visitors from across the globe. We will visit House of Virgin Mary, Archeology Museum in Selcuk and drive back to Izmir.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 15: İzmir / Sardis / Pergamum
After breakfast, we drive to Sardis; it felt the influence of Christianity very early and was included in the Seven Churches of the Revelation. Highlights will be a Synagogue, Gymnasium, Byzantine Church and the Temple of Artemis. We will then proceed to Thyatira which was another one of the towns where Christianity spread very fast.

Thyatira was the hometown of Lydia, a rich and notable merchant, who became Paul's first convert on the European Soil in Philippi. Lydia traded in materials colored with Thyatira’s purple dye, and she is mentioned by Luke as “a dealer in purple cloth". Evidently she had moved from her town Thyatira to Philippi for business. It is not known whether Lydia returned to Thyatira to spread the Christian faith or not, but the time when the Revelation was written, Thyatira had a prosperous church.

Then we drive to Pergamum near the town of Bergama. Highlights will include the Altar of Zeus (mentioned in St. John’s letter as “the seat of Satan”), Temple of Trojan and the Theatre. Coming down the mountain we will stop at the Asclepion, a leading health center of the ancient world. After visiting Pergamum we will drive back to Izmir for overnight.
Meal: Breakfast

Day 16: İzmir / Istanbul
Today after breakfast we will transfer to Adnan Menderes airport and fly home via Istanbul.
Meal: Breakfast