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The 6 days Best of Turkey Tour departing from Istanbul is recommended for first-time travelers to Turkey as it includes visits to Ephesus, Pergamum, Pamukkale, Priene, Miletus, Didyma, and Cappadocia. This tour will include several popular tourist attractions such as the Ephesus ancient city, Pamukkale including Hierapolis, Travertines and Roman Theatre and Cappadocia Underground cities & Pasabag Monks Valley.
You will be picked up from your hotel in Istanbul around 4:00 am and will be transferred to the domestic airport for your flight from Istanbul to Izmir between 6:00 – 7:30 am. Upon arrival at Izmir airport, you will be picked up and transferred to Selçuk. In Selçuk, you will meet your professional tour guide to begin your full-day tour of Ephesus.
You will first visit the Temple of Artemis which was once one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Next you will visit the world-famous ancient Greco-Roman City of Ephesus, the most well-preserved example in the world. After visiting this impressive site, you will have a break for lunch. After lunch, you will visit the House of Virgin Mary, where it is believed she spent her last days. This is a holy place for both Christians and Muslims. Afterwards you will visit the Isabey Mosque. Next, you will be taken to the Sirince Village; which is an old Greek village and is well-know for its quaint beauty and wine tasting and production. Here you will have one hour free to explore on your own without a guide the different foods and wines of the area and visit various small traditional village shops. After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel in Kusadasi for check-in.
You will be picked up from your hotel around 8:30 am and drive to Pergamon. You will visit the Acropolis which was once the cultural center of the Hellenistic Period. It had a very famous library, as big as the one in Alexandria. It also had a famous school of architecture, perfect government buildings, and monuments, including the world famous Zeus Altar. It also played an important role during the beginning of Christianity in the Roman Period, and one of the Seven Churches of the Revelations is located here. After the Acropolis, you will visit the Ascelepion, which was dedicated to the God of Good Health, “Asklepios”. This was an important medical center where people received medical treatments such as massages, mud baths, drinking of the sacred waters, and the use of herbs and ointments. Diagnosis was often by dream analysis. After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.
After breakfast around 8:00 am you will be picked up from your Kusadasi hotel and taken to the meeting point in Selcuk to join the full group. You will then be driven by road for approximately 3 hours starting around 8:30 am to travel from Selcuk to Pamukkale. En route to Pamukkale after 1.5 hours, there will be a 10 minute stop for a restroom break. Upon arrival around 11:45 am, the group will be taken to have lunch and after lunch at around 1:00 pm, the group will begin a guided tour of the Pamukkale and Hierapolis area with a professional licensed tour guide. In Pamukkale, you will see the Cotton Cliffs, one of the natural wonders of the world formed by deposits of calcareous salts. Also, you will visit the ancient ruins of the City of Hierapolis with its basilica, theatre, and Roman Baths. At the end of the guided tour, you will have some free time to explore the area on your own. As an option, you may choose to swim in the Pamukkale antique pools (at your own expense) during this free time. The tour guide will inform you about the exact meeting point and time. At the end of the tour around approximately 4:00 pm, you will be transferred back to your hotel in Kusadasi at around 7:00 pm.
Enjoy your breakfast & then check out of your hotel in Kusadasi. You will be picked up from your hotel at around 8:30 am. Today you will visit Miletus, one of the oldest cities of Ionia, and the ancient cities of Priene and Didyma. First, you will see Priene which in its time was one of the most spectacular of all the ancient Ionians cities. Then we will lead our way to Miletus to see Miletus with its magnificent theatre and the Byzantine fortress on the acropolis above. Our last stop will be Didyma. Here you will find the largest Ionic Temple in the world, that of Apollo. Also in Didyma lies the huge, cracked head of Medusa which long ago fell from the freeze. At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to the Izmir airport for your flight to Kayseri through Istanbul. Upon your arrival, you will be picked up and transferred for check-in to your hotel in Cappadocia.
After breakfast around 9:30 am you will be picked up from your hotel to join the full-day tour of North Cappadocia. Your tour will start with a visit to the Devrent Valley to see the unique fairy chimneys. Next, you will visit the Pasabag Monk’s Valley to see the mushroom-shaped pinnacles. After this visit, you will drive to the city of Avanos. After lunch, you will visit the beautiful open-air museum of Goreme where the remains of rock-cut churches and Christian settlements date back hundreds of years. Finally towards the end of the day tour before returning to your hotel, you will be able to visit the natural castles of Uchisar. After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.
After breakfast at the hotel around 9:30 am, you will be picked up and met by your tour guide to begin your full-day tour of South Cappadocia. Your tour guide will brief you on the day’s activities. Your tour will begin with a visit to the Red Valley where you will be able to explore the famous rock-cut churches and hike approximately 5 km through the Güllüdere (Rose) Valley. Next, you will visit Çavusin village which is famous for its houses and churches of the Christian Clergymen. We will take a break for lunch around noon. After lunch, you will drive to the Pigeon Valley. In the afternoon you will visit the Kaymakli Underground City or Ozkonak Underground City where early Christians lived. This will be the end of your full-day tour. At the end of the tour around approximately 4:00 pm, you will be transferred to Kayseri or Nevsehir airport for your late evening return flight between 7:00 – 10:00 pm (1-hour flight duration) to Istanbul Istanbul airport. This will be the end of our services.
Important Notes :
When To Book
Included in the Tour Price :
You will stay in 4-Star and Cave hotels throughout your tour. You will stay for three nights at the Derici Hotel or Efe Boutique Hotel, or similar, in Kusadasi, two nights at the Holiday Cave Hotel or Dedeli Konak Cave Hotel or Heaven Cave House, or similar in Cappadocia.