Arrival in Istanbul, transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast. Your guide will pick you up from your hotel to start discovering the wonderful old city of Istanbul. We start the tour by visiting the Roman Hippodrome to see the symbolic monuments such as the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpent Column and the German Fountain. Then, we visit the Blue Mosque called Sultanahmet in Turkish; one of the most important and famous Ottoman mosques in the city for its thousands of beautiful tiles. The mosque was built between 1609 – 1616 by Sultan Ahmet I and is the first mosque with 6 minarets (towers) in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The tour continues with the visit of Hagia Sophia where you can see the mixture of 2 religions that was for more than 900 years the Orthodox Cathedral and for almost 500 years the Mosque. Lunch in a restaurant to eat typical Turkish food. In the afternoon, we continue with a visit to the Topkapi Palace, which for centuries was the second largest palace in the world. After the conquest of the city by the Ottomans in 1453, it was the main palace until the end of the 19th century. As the last stop of the tour, we walk about 15 minutes to reach the famous Grand Bazaar which is one of the largest and oldest in the world with more than 4000 shops, where you can see many kinds of Turkish handicrafts. Transfer to the hotel.

Breakfast. Your guide will pick you up from your hotel to see the famous Bosphorus Strait, the border that separates the continents of Europe and Asia. As the first visit of the day, we arrive at the Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Market) where you can get any species for cooking and take very good typical photographs. We continue after the bazaar to the port to take our ferry (regular) that will take us to the Bosphorus Strait. During the tour, we see the monuments that adorn the banks of the Bosphorus such as the Ottoman palaces of the 19th century (Dolmabahce, Ciragan, Beylerbeyi), two intercontinental bridges, the most luxurious neighborhoods of the city and the typical Ottoman houses, etc. Lunch. In the afternoon, we visit the Dolmabahçe Palace, which from the 19th century was the main palace of the Ottoman sultans. At the end, we make a stop at the most famous square in Istanbul, Taksim Square. Transfer to the hotel.

In an early schedule, transfer from the hotel to the Istanbul airport. Arrival at Cappadocia airport.  Transfer to the region of historical center with your guide. We first visit the valley of imagination where we begin to contemplate the lunar landscape of Cappadocia. Next, we continue to another valley known as the valley of the fairy chimneys, which are natural volcanic formations with two different layers. One of the main visits of the day will be the Goreme open-air museum where we get to know the best preserved monastic cave chapels in the region. In the Cappadocia region, Saint Basiland Saint Georgewere born. With the cave chapels of the museum with the beautiful wall paintings, we also see many caves that were used as cellars, kitchens, dining rooms, houses and etc. Lunch. In Avanos, we pass over the red river Kizilirmak, the longest river in Turkey (1350 km). Later, we continue to the village of Cavusin to see a cave mosque.  We head on to the hotel.

The possibility of taking the hot airballoon trip (optional). Breakfast. Your guide will pick you up from your hotel. The second day starts with the underground city of Ozkonak or Kaymakli. The underground cities in Cappadocia were used for the first time by the Hittites. After them, many civilizations used them for different needs such as storing food, wine, water and etc. until the Christians of the 7th century, used them as shelters making huge tunnels. Then, we get to know the other handicrafts of Cappadocia, visiting a pottery factory of a local family. Lunch. Afterwards, we continue towards the panoramic view of the Goreme valley where you can see the very interesting volcanic formations and a spectacular view having your beer, wine, tea or coffee. Next, we stop below the Uchisar castle which is the highest volcanic formation in Cappadocia. At the end, passing through the center of the town of Uchisar, we stop at the Pigeon valley. Back to the hotel.

Transfer from the hotel to the airport to take the flight to Izmir. On arrival, transfer to Ephesus. We visit the ancient city of Ephesus (one of the largest cities of the Roman Empire during the Pax Romana, 1st and 2nd centuries AD). Ephesus is the native city of Heraclitus the Dark who was a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher. During the tour, we visit the small theater (Odeon), the marble avenue, the Trajan Fountain, the Temple of Hadrian, the Roman Baths, the Library of Celsus (the most outstanding building in the ancient city) and the Great Theater that it had capacity for 25,000 spectators. Lunch. Later, we have the visit of the House of the Virgin Mary (according to the Catholic Church, it was the last home of the Virgin Mary). We end the day with a visit to a leather factory that is the typical product of the area. We head on to the hotel in Kusadasi. Dinner at the hotel.

Departure from the hotel for Aphrodisias. After a journey of almost 2 hours we visit the city of Aphrodite; Aphrodisias. Thanks to the nearby quarries, a famous sculpture school was born in the city in Roman times. We visit an old stadium with the capacity of 30,000 people almost totally complete, the Tetrapylon which is one of the most beautiful structures in the city and an agora with its amazing pool. Lunch. The second and last stop of the day is Pamukkale. We enter through the South gate and visit the ancient city of Hierapolis where Epictetus was born (he was a Greek philosopher of the Stoic school), and the natural pools formed by lime over thousands of years of Pamukkale, “Cotton Castle”. Transfer to the hotel in Pamukkale. Dinner at the hotel.

Departure from the hotel. Our day starts with the visit of Laodicea, the richest city of Lycus Valley in ancient times (famous for its wool and textile production at that time), and now known as the last church of the Apocalypse. After a 2 hour journey to Salihli region, first we have lunch and then we make the he last visit of the day: The famous city of Sardis, the capital of Lydian Kingdom who invented coins in the 6th century BC. Transfer to Izmir airport. Flight to Istanbul for the international flight.