Tour duration: 5 nights / 6 days
Itinerary:  Istanbul / Kusadası via Izmir (Pergamum Tour)

 

Day 01: Arrival in Istanbul
Upon arrival at Atatürk International Airport, assisted transfer to the selected hotel. Arrive hotel and walking orientation tour of hotel and the area. The rest of the day is at leisure.

Overnight: Titanic City Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals:-

 

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

Overnight: Titanic City Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals: Breakfast at hotel

 

Hippodrome: Ancient Hippodrome; an enormous public entertainment arena that once seated as many as 100.000 zealous fans witnessing chariot races, executions, and mock battles. Once the centre of Byzantine civic life, it is still decorated by the Egyptian Obelisk, the Bronze Serpentine Column, and the Column of Constantine.

Blue Mosque: The mosque is one of several mosques known as the Blue Mosque for the blue tiles adorning the walls of its interior. It was built between 1609 and 1616, during the rule of Ahmed I. Like many other mosques, it also comprises a tomb of the founder, a madrasah and a hospice.

Hagia Sophia: Hagia Sophia is a former patriarchal basilica, later a mosque, now a museum. Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Medieval Seville Cathedral in 1520.
Although it is sometimes referred to as Saint Sophia it was dedicated to the Holy Wisdom of God rather than a specific saint named Sophia.

Grand Bazaar: Grand Bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops, and has between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily. It is well known for its jewelry, pottery, spice, and carpet shops. Many of the stalls in the bazaar are grouped by type of goods, with special areas for leather coats, gold jewelry and the like. The bazaar contains two bedestens (domed masonry structures built for storage and safe keeping), the first of which was constructed between 1455 and 1461 by the order of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror. The bazaar was vastly enlarged in the 16th century, during the reign of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and in 1894 underwent a major restoration following an earthquake.

 

Day 03:  Istanbul / Half day Bosphorus Tour
After breakfast meet your professional licensed English speaking tour guide at hotel lobby for a half day Bosphorus tour. First we will visit Dolmabahce Palace than Ortakoy and here we will embark public boat to have 1hr 15mnt Bosphorus boat tour. After our tour return back to hotel and the rest of the day is at leisure.

 

Overnight: Titanic City Hotel in Istanbul
Included meals: Breakfast at hotel

 

Dolmabahçe Palace: 
The Dolmabahçe Palace located at the European side of the Bosphorus, served as the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from 1853 to 1922, apart from a twenty-year interval (1889-1909) in which the Yıldız Palace was used.

Ortakoy:
Ortaköy is a neighbourhood, formerly a small village, within the Besiktas district of Istanbul, located in the middle of the European bank of the Bosphorus. Ortaköy is a cosmopolitan area, with communities of Turks, Greeks, Armenians and Jews. The neighbourhood hosts many different religious (Muslim, Jewish, Orthodox, and other Christian) structures. It is also a popular spot for locals and tourists alike, with its art galleries, night clubs, cafés, bars, and restaurants.The Neo-Baroque style Ortakoy Mosque is a beautifully ornate structure, right on the jetty of Ortaköy, bordering the waters of the Bosphorus, and thus highly visible from the passing boats.Several reputable schools, such as Kabatas Erkek Lisesi amd Galatasaray University are located in Ortaköy. The European pylon of the Bosphorus Bridge one of the two bridges that connects the European and Asian banks of İstanbul is also situated in this neighbourhood.

Bosphorus: 
The Bosporus or Bosphorus is a strait that forms the boundary between the European part (Rumelia) of Turkey and its Asian part (Anatolia). The world's narrowest strait used for international navigation, it connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara (which is connected by the Dardanelles to the Aegean Sea, and thereby to the Mediterranean Sea). It is approximately 30 km long, with a maximum width of 3,700 meters at the northern entrance, and a minimum width of 700 metres between Kandilli and Aşiyan; and 750 meters between Anadolu Hisarı and Rumeli Hisarı. The depth varies from 36 to 124 meters in midstream. The shores of the strait are heavily populated as the city of Istanbul (with a metropolitan area in excess of 11 million inhabitants) straddles it.
Two bridges cross the Bosporus. The first, the Bosphorus Bridge, is 1074 meters long and was completed in 1973. The second, Fatih Sultan Mehmet (Bosphorus II) Bridge, is 1090 meters long, and was completed in 1988 about five kilometers north of the first bridge.

 

Day 04:  Istanbul / Izmir - Kusadası (Full day Pergamum Tour)
Today pick up from your hotel and transfer to Ataturk Airport for the morning flight to Izmir. Upon arrival, meet with your local tour guide for a full day sightseeing tour of ancient site Pergamum which was an ancient Greek city in modern-day Turkey in Mysia that became an important kingdom during the Hellenistic period, under the Attalid dynasty, 281–133 BC.
Today, the modern city of Bergama is located nearby, later we will visit Acropolis Pergamon's library on the Acropolis (the ancient Library of Pergamum) is the second best in the ancient Greek civilization. The library at Pergamum was believed to contain 200,000 volumes, which Mark Antony later gave to Cleopatra as a wedding present.  And another sight we will visit is Asclepeion Three kilometers south of the Acropolis was the Sanctuary of Asclepius (also known as the Asclepieion), the god of healing. In this place people with health problems could bathe in the water of the sacred spring, and in the patients' dreams Asclepius would appear in a vision to tell them how to cure their illness.
Later transfer to Kusadası and arrive hotel and evening is at leisure.

 

Overnight: Kısmet Hotel in Kusadası
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Turkish Cuisine)

 

Day 05:  İzmir / Kusadası (Full day Ephesus Tour)
Today after breakfast we will depart from our hotel for a full day sightseeing tour of Ephesus Site, House of Virgin Mary and Ephesus Museum. We will also visit a local village and have a lecture and demonstration about carpet making. After our tour we will transfer back to our hotel.

 

Kuşadası is a resort town in the province of Aydın on the Aegean coast of Turkey, 90 km (56 mi) south of İzmir, and 71 km (44 mi) from the inland provincial capital of Aydın.
Kuşadası is near the ancient city of Ephesus and to other places of interest including Miletos,
Didim and Pamukkale, and a short distance across from Kuşadası  lies the island of Samos (Greece).

Ephesus: Ephesus was a city of ancient Anatolia. During the period known as Classical Greece it was located in Ionia, where the Cayster River (Küçük Menderes) flows into the Aegean Sea. It belonged to the Ionian League. Ephesus hosted one of the seven churches of Asia, addressed in the Book of Revelation of The Bible), and the Gospel of John might have been written here. It is also the site of a large gladiator graveyard. The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), and both were destroyed by the Goths in 263. The emperor Constantine rebuilt much of the city and erected a new public bath. The town was again partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614. The importance of the city as a commercial centre declined as the harbor slowly filled with silt from the river. Today's archaeological site lies 3 kilometers south of the Selçuk district of İzmir Province, Turkey.

House of Virgin Mary:The House of the Virgin Mary is a Christian and Muslim shrine located on Mt. Koressos (Bülbüldağı, "Mount Nightingale") in the vicinity of Ephesus, (7 km from Selçuk). It is believed by many Christians and Muslims that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was taken to this stone house by Saint John and lived there until her Assumption into Heaven according to Catholics or Dormition according to the Orthodox.

Overnight: Kısmet Hotel in Kusadası
Included meals: Breakfast, Lunch (Turkish Cuisine)

 

Day 06: Final Day
Today early in the morning transfer to Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport for homebound flight.

Overnight: -
Included meals: Breakfast at hotel

 

2010 PRICES & GENERAL CONDITIONS

 

2 participants	4 participants	6 participants	10 participants

 

*Please contact for prices

*Prices are subject to change in special holidays, congress, etc.

 

Included in the Vacation Price:

Accommodation in 4* superiorTitanic City Hotel in Istanbul

5* Kismet Hotel in Kusadası

Price is per person sharing a double BB room

Domestic flights within the program itinerary (Istanbul - Izmir - Istanbul)

Meals indicated in itinerary B_5_,L_2_,D_0_

Services of a professional English speaking local tour guide & expenses

All vehicles are modern with A/C & driver expenses

Admission fees to all sights and museums indicated in itinerary

Parking, porterage (only at hotel), tipping at hotel, toll ways, ferry

 

Not Included in the Vacation Price:

International flights & related taxes

Passports, visas, vaccinations, customs and immigration

All airline imposed baggage fees

Personal expenses

Laundry, telephone, minibar, beverages, alcohol

Optional excurciones

Porterage at airports

Travel insurance

Tips to your tour director, tour host, tour driver