Tour Style : Regular Group Basis
Duration : 6 Days – 5 Nights
Departures : All year round – Guaranteed Departure
Highlights : Goreme Open Air Museum, Pigeon Valley, Kaymaklı Underground City, Cave Hotel, Konya, Mevlana Museum

DAY 1: Arrival to Istanbul & Transfer to Hotel
Arrival to Istanbul airport and meet for transfer on to your hotel.
Overnight in Istanbul

DAY 2: Full Day City Tour, Byzantine & Ottoman Relics
08:30 You will be picked up from your hotel for Full day tour of Byzantine & Ottoman Relics In this day you will be able to see:

HAGIA SOPHIA: Byzantium largest cathedral, converted to mosque 1453 by the Ottoman Empire and today open as a museum to see both religion remains.

BLUE MOSQUE: This mosque complex, containing Istanbul’s only mosque with six minarets was built by Sedefkar Mehmet Aga for Sultan Ahmed 1st. early 17th century.

HIPPODROME: Center of sport activities and political events of the Eastern Roman Empire.

GRAND BAZAAR: Famous shopping center worldwide. Shopping possibilities for carpet, jewellery, leather etc

TOPKAPI PALACE: Built between 1475 and 1478 by Mehmet II, Fatih, the conqueror of Istanbul, served as the residence of the sultan and administrative seat of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years.

After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel at around 5:30 pm. Overnight in Istanbul. (B, L).

Please note that St. Sophia is closed on Mondays and the Topkapi Palace is closed on Tuesdays. As such, if your tour falls on these days we will replace either sights with a visit to the Kariye Museum also known as The Chora Church. The Grand Bazaar is closed on Sunday.

EVENING FLIGHT TO KAYSERI

Overnight in Cappadocia.

DAY 3: Cappadocia, North Cappadocia 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.

MONKS 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, göreme 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.

GOREME OPEN AIR MUSEUM: Goreme was an important Christian centre in the early years of the Middle Ages, was a bishopric administered by Mokissos near Aksaray in the 11th and 13th centuries. Despite the vast number of monasteries, churches and chapels in the vicinity of Goreme, there are not many inscriptions bearing dates. For this reason, these religious buildings are mainly dated according to the iconography or architectural features.

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.
Overnight in Cappadocia

DAY 4: OPTIONAL EARLY MORNING HOT AIR BALOON TOUR AT 04:30AM
RETURN TO HOTEL AT 08:00AM FOR RELAX AND BREAKFAST

Full Day City Tour, South Cappadocia AT 09:30AM
Your Tour Guide will meet you at your hotel lobby at 09:30 and you will have a full day city tour. (Kizilcukur, Cavusin, Hospital Monastery, Kaymakli underground city, Pigeon Houses).

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 paintings 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.

KAYMAKLI : Kaymakli underground city is one of the largest and deepest of the 40 others in Cappadocia. It has eight floors, although not all are open to the public.

PIGEON HOUSE : Visit the pigeon houses and rock formations.

Overnight in Cappadocia

DAY 5: EARLY MORNING BUS TO KONYA BY PUBLIC BUS
ARRIVE NOON TIME
AFTER LUNCH PRIVATE KONYA CITY TOUR

Visiting first the Tomb of Rumi in the glittering Mevlana Museum, an important place of pilgrimage for Muslims and indeed all lovers of Rumi. Next door, we visit the Ottoman-era Sultan Selim mosque before having lunch in a traditional Turkish restaurant. We drive along Mevlana Caddesi, Konya’s main avenue, to reach the age-old Alaettin Hill (a prehistoric tumulus) to visit the 1000-year-old Alaaddin Mosque, where Rumi often prayed. In its courtyard are the tombs of many of the Seljuk Turkish sultans who ruled during Rumi’s lifetime, and who consulted him for spiritual guidance. Walking down the north side of the Alaettin Hill we pass the remains of the Seljuk sultan’s palace, then cross the street for a view of the elaborate portal of the medieval Great Karatay Medrese theological college, after which we walk to the Mosque and Tomb of Sems-i Tebrizi, Rumi’s closest companion, spiritual mentor, and inspiration for many of his poetic works.
Overnight in Konya.

DAY 6: FREE DAY IN KONYA
TRANSFER TO KONYA AIRPORT FOR AFTERNOON FLIGHT TO ISTANBUL
OVERNIGHT IN ISTANBUL

DAY 7: FREE DAY / DEPARTURE
TRANSFER TO ISTANBUL AIRPORT ACCORDING TO YOUR FLIGHT TIME TABLE
END OF OUR SERVICE