Tour Style : Small Group Tour
Duration : 10 Days – 9 Nights
Departures : All year round – Guaranteed Departure
Highlights : Istanbul, Bodrum, Cappadocia, Pamukkale and Ephesus

DAY 1 ARRIVAL
Meet with Yuki Tour representative at Istanbul International Ataturk airport and transfer to your hotel. You will be given your room key and the rest of the day is yours to explore Istanbul. Overnight in Istanbul.

DAY 2 ISTANBUL CITY TOUR
We depart at 08:30 for the Istanbul city tour. We will explore Topkapi Palace. It was the home of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th-19th century A.D. and houses an exquisite collection of crystal, silver, and Chinese porcelain, robes worn by the sultans and their families, the famous jewels of the Imperial Treasury, miniatures, the Holy Mantle; enshrining relics of the Prophet Mohammed. Sultanahmet Imperial Mosque Across from St. Sophia built in the 16th century by the architect Mehmet, is known as the Blue Mosque because of its magnificent interior decoration of blue Iznik tiles. We continue to the Hippodrome, a stadium and meeting place in Byzantine times, and the three monuments: the Obelisk of Theodosius, the bronze Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine. We also visit Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar and the Rustem Pasa Mosque. At the end of the tour, you will be dropped back to your hotel at approximately 5:00 pm.

Day 03:Half Day Morning Bosphorus Cruıse Tour

Bosphorus Cruise Tour
8:30 Departure from your hotel.

SPICE BAZAAR: Mystical smells of various spices. Shops selling fruits, vegetables, flowers, caviar and dry fish etc…

BOSPHORUS BY BOAT: On the waterway separating the two continents, Asia and Europe. Opportunity to take photographs of marble palaces and ancient wooden villas of Ottoman architecture, besides modern residences and luxurious apartments.

RUMELI FORTRESS: From the sea (no interior visit) Built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 prior to the Conquest of Istanbul, was completed in only four months to control and to protect the Bosphorus. It is one of the most beautiful works of military architecture anywhere in the world.

Evenıng Flıght to Bodrum

Stay Bodrum

Day 04:Bodrum Cıty Tour at 09:30am

St Peters Castle
Visit the Castle of St. Peter, the symbol of Bodrum. The Crusader castle was built by the Knights of St. John between 1402 and 1409. After being defeated in Smyrna (The ancient name of Izmir), the Knights came to Halikarnassos and began the construction of the castle. Unknowingly, they used many stones from the great tomb of Mausolus. Today on the walls of the castle you can see lots of stones from Mausoleum, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

The fortifications of the castle consisted of walls to which ramparts and central towers were added. Also there are four towers; The French, Italian, German and English. The French Tower stands at the highest point of the complex, 48 meters above sea level.

Today the castle’s rooms are used as a museum where finds from the Bronze Age, Mycenaean, Archaic, and Classical, Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine period are exhibited. The castle also houses the largest underwater archeological museum in Turkey. It is one of the few of its kind in the world. The reconstruction of a ship-wreck the museum itself is worth a visit.

Mausoleum
See what is left of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the Mausoleum. The Mausoleum, King Mausolus’ tomb, is at the origin of the funerary monuments of great dimensions and sumptuous architecture. Mausolus was the ruler of the Caria Kingdom between 377 and 353 BC; he made Halikarnassos its capital. Then he enclosed his new capital with a huge wall. He also adorned the city with splendid edifices, the most famous of which was the Mausoleum which he designed as a great Carian shrine dedicated to himself.

His sister-wife Artemisia completed it after he died during her own reign. It was so beautiful that it became one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. (The other six wonders were the Pyramids of Egypt, the Lighthouse at Alexandria, the Colossus of Rhodes, and the Hanging gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia and the Artemis Temple. at Ephesus.) The architects of the monumental tomb were Pythius and Satyrus. From south to north it was 63 feet wide and it was surrounded by 36 columns. The funeral chamber itself was 8 by 9 meters and about 2 meters high.

Today you can see the cleared platform and some of the finds from the magnificent Mausoleum. The stones were used for the construction of the castle and some parts of the tomb are exhibited at the British Museum in London, England.

The Amphitheatre
Visit the ancient theater The Theatre is located on the hillside overlooking Bodrum. Built in the time of Mausolus, it is one of the very few surviving pre-Hellenistic theaters in Asia Minor and thus one of the oldest. It had a seating capacity of about 13.000 spectators. The hillside theater that dates from the 4th century BC was built to seat 5.000 people. When rediscovered, it was not in very good condition and therefore has been recently restored. The view of the town from there is beautiful.

DAY 5 Picnic Boat Trip at 09:00am 
(Breakfast, lunch and dinner included)
A day at sea with lunch included and served on board. We set out at approx. 11:00am to cruise the turquoise seas of the Bodrum coastline. We will visit several of the most beautiful bays where you can swim and snorkel in crystal-clear water or simply relax in the mild breeze, enjoy the stunning views and perfect your suntan to the sound of the gently lapping waves. At the black island, half an hour from Bodrum, you can bath in the grotto where the warm mineral waters flowing out of the rocks are believed to beautify the complexion. Back on land at approx. 5:00pm.
Evening bus to Pamukkale
Stay Pamukkale,

DAY 6: Pamukkale Tour AT 09:45AM 
After breakfast we will depart from Kusadasi to Pamukkale, as soon as we arrive we will continue onto guided tour of Pamukkale and Hierapolis.

Pamukkale means cotton castle in Turkish. It is the result of limestone formations built over thousands of years. Warm calcium rich mineral water flowed over the cliffs and as it cooled it deposited the calcium into the formations that are seen today. Pamukkale is now a world heritage site.

Hierapolis was founded as a healing care center in 190 BC, taking advantage of the mineral waters in the area. It was one of the most important intellectual, artistic, religious and commercial centers of the Roman Empire.
STAY KUSADASI

DAY 7: Ephesus Tour AT 09:00AM
08:30 You will be picked up from your hotel for Full day tour of Ephesus & The House of Virgin Mary. First you will visit the Temple of Artemis, which once was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Then you will visit the world famous ancient Greco-Roman City of Ephesus, the best-preserved example in the world. After visiting this impressive site, you will have a lunch break. After lunch, you will visit The House of the Virgin Mary, where it is believed she spent her last days. This is a holy place for both Christians and Muslims
EVENING FLIGHT TO KAYSERİ
STAY CAPPADOCIA

DAY 8:Fairy Chimneys Tour at 09:30am

In this day you will be able to see:
DEVRENT VALLEY: Devrent is situated on the northern slopes of Aktepe, 1km from Pasabaglari (Monks’ Valley) and 5 km from Avanos. The ruins at Devrent are spread over three valleys, which also house several pointed fairy chimneys with large stems.

LOVE VALLEY: The best place to see three-headed fairy chimneys. Pasabag, the Pasha’s Vineyard, is surrounded by incredible natural rock formations; a spectacular scene.

AVANOS: A center of terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC, it is a town where you will be invited to visit a traditional pottery workshop, which is possibly set deep into the hillsides. The clay, which comes from the Red River passing through the town, gives life both to the land and to the local economy.

UCHISAR: Uchisar is a troglodyte town situated right in the middle of Cappadocia. It is named after the enormous piece of rock in the center of the town, which was once used as a castle. This extraordinary rock is the highest peak of the area with the view of whole Cappadocia and Erciyes (Argeus) Mountain.
After the tour, you will be transferred back to your hotel.

At the end of the tour, you will be dropped back to your hotel at approximately 5:00 pm. Overnight in Cappadocia. (L)

DAY 9: Rose Valley & Mazıkoy Underground City Tour at 09:30am

You will be picked up from your hotel for Full day tour of South Cappadocia. In this day you will be able to see:
KIZILCUKUR: is an isolated valley behind Urgup. It has beautiful rock formation with some great hidden rock-carved churches. The most interesting part of this area is the countless tracks connecting the small villages and towns through vineyards and gardens like a spider net. It is always possible to see villagers working in the area and offering grapes, apples or apricots to you.

CAVUSIN: One of the oldest settlements in the area, Cavusin is situated 2km from Goreme, on the Göreme-Avanos road. The Church of St.John the Baptist offers a panoramic view of the village. This church and its paintigs date back to the 5th century, making the oldest church in the region. It had a large courtyard which is unusual for Cappadocia, this has been eroded away 
however.

MAZIKOY: One of largest and deepest of the 40 others in Cappadocia. They both have eight floors, although not all are open to the public.

PIGEON HOUSE: Visit the pigeon houses and rock formations.

EVENING FLIGHT TO ISTANBUL
Overnight in Istanbul

DAY 10 DEPARTURE

(Breakfast included)

After breakfast check out from the hotel. We hope your tour was a memorable one. We make your return airport transfer services.