Turkey: The Grand Tour

Private Touring including King Midas Extension : Arrive Any Day .

Our 18-day Grand Tour shows you all of Turkey's best cities, sites and beaches: Istanbul, Troy, Izmir, Ephesus, Kusadasi, Hierapolis, Aphrodisias, Antalya, Side, Perge, Aspendos, Konya, Cappadocia, Ankara. No hidden charges, no additional tax

DAY 1- ISTANBUL-Arrive any day
In Istanbul : Our local rep. meets your plane and escorts you to your hotel. Rate doesn't include international air fare from / to home country, please let's know if we may assist with the air fare.

DAY 2 - ISTANBUL-Meet the locals- Home Hosted Dinner (BLD)
We tour historic Istanbul, including the Hippodrome, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Süleymaniye Mosque, and the 4000-shop Grand Bazaar.

This evening we'll venture where few ordinary visitors ever tread . . . right into the homes of some of the people of Istanbul! You'll be invited to a family dinner, and while you enjoy wholesome home-cooked specialties, you'll learn about and appreciate the outlook, aspirations, and way of life of your hosts. Be assured, as curious as you may be about your new friends, they're sure to have questions about your own background. Once the ice is broken, you'll enjoy a lively evening, and find that you have more in common than you ever suspected. Of course, you may enjoy dinner in a quiet restaurant with your travel companions, by letting us know your preferences.

DAY 3 - ISTANBUL(BLD)
After a visit to the aromatic Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar on the Golden Horn, we board a ferryboat and cruise northward along the Bosphorus, the strait which separates Europe and Asia. Sipping Turkish coffee or tea, we pass waterside palaces, mansions, forests and parks. Disembarking at a fishing village, we have a seafood lunch at a local restaurant, then drive south to tour fabled Topkapi Palace, where we will stroll through the palace gardens to see the Treasury and Chinese porcelains. Complimentary ticket for the Harem Section is included in our rate. In the evening, we go out for dinner with live music and belly dancing.

Complimentary ticket for the Topkape Palace's Harem Section is included in our rate

DAY 4 - DARDANELLES & TROY(BLD)
We drive through Thrace (European Turkey) to Gallipoli, scene of famous battles in WWI. After lunch we cross the Dardanelles (Hellespont) and drive to legendary Troy to see the famous walls and a replica of the Trojan Horse before settling in at our hotel in Çanakkale.

DAY 5 - PERGAMON & IZMIR(BLD)
Driving south through the fields and olive groves along the Aegean shore, we come to Bergama, ancient Pergamon. Ascending its lofty acropolis, we see the Altar of Zeus, Temple of Dionysus and the remains of the 200,000-volume library which was surpassed only by Alexandria's. A few miles away, we tour the asclepion, the early medical center where Galen was a physician, before continuing to Izmir for the night.

DAY 6 - EPHESUS & KUSADASI (BLD)
In the morning light we ascend Kadifekale, Izmir's hill crowned by a fortress built by Alexander the Great, to enjoy the view. Then it's off to biblical Ephesus to see the Basilica of St John the Evangelist, who came here with the Virgin Mary. Passing the ruins of the Temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, we reach Ephesus, the most impressive ancient city on the Mediterranean. After our tour, we continue to the fine Ephesus Museum and the hilltop House of the Virgin Mary, said to be her last home on earth. We spend the night in the Aegean resort of Kusadasi.

DAY 7 - PRIENE, MILETUS & DIDYMA (BLD)
A short drive brings us to the well-preserved ruins of Priene, a very ancient city perched above the aptly-named Meander River. We next tour Miletus, where the philosopher Thales was born. Finally, we tour the gigantic oracular temple at Didyma, which challenged the primacy of Delphi, before returning to our hotel in Kusadasi.

DAY 8 - APHRODISIAS & PAMUKKALE (BLD)
Driving east along fertile river valleys crowded with fields and fruit orchards, we reach Aphrodisias, the City of Aphrodite, goddess of love. After our visit, we continue to Pamukkale, the "Cotton Fortress," where cascades of gleaming white calcium cover a hillside. The warm mineral-laden waters attracted the Romans, who built the spa-city of Hierapolis here. We tour its ruins, and enjoy the swimming pool at our hotel here in the evening.

DAY 9 - ANTALYA(BLD)
We drive back to Izmir Fly to Antalya, "capital" of the Mediterranean Turquoise Coast. After settling in at our hotel, there's time for a swim.

DAY 10 - PERGE, ASPENDOS & SIDE(BLD)
We tour three ancient cities close to Antalya, including Perge, with its great gates and colonnaded street; Aspendos, with its perfectly-preserved theater; and Side, with its creamy marble temples of Athena and Apollo, where Cleopatra once met Marc Anthony for a romantic tryst.

DAY 11 - LAKE DISTRICT & KONYA (BLD)
Climbing up onto the Anatolian plateau, we drive through Turkey's lake district on our way to Konya, the capital of the 11th-century Seljuk Turkish Empire and the home of the mystical whirling dervishes. We visit the Mevlana Museum, with the tomb of Jelaleddin Rumi, founder of the Whirling Dervish order, and also the Karatay Museum, a 13th-century theological seminary.

DAY 12 - KONYA & CAPPADOCIA(BLD)
We travel eastwards along the ancient Silk Road, stopping at the camel caravanserai of Sultanhan for a look at this "caravan motel." Entering biblical Cappadocia, we descend into the ground at Derinkuyu or Kaymakli to explore an entire city carved from the soft volcanic rock by ancient Christians.

DAY 13 - CAPPADOCIA (BLD)
Continuing our explorations of Cappadocia, we tour the Göreme Valley, filled with brightly-painted cave-churches hollowed from the rock. Next is the monastic Zelve Valley, and then the farming towns of Avanos and UÇhisar.

DAY 14 - ANKARA (BLD)
After breakfast we head north for Ankara , known to the Romans as Angora, and now the modern capital of the Turkish Republic. We visit the renowned Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and the monumental mausoleum of AtatÜrk, founder of the republic, lunch is included at a local restaurant or your hotel. Remainder of the day at leisure. Dinner is included at the hotel.

DAY 15 - ANKARA- King Midas & Gordian / Istanbul (BLD)
Driving north, Gordion the capital of the Phirigian Empire, the famous Gordion Knot, King Midas and his golden touch are all related with the history of this city. The visits will include the ruins of the ancient city and the Tumulus of King Midas. Lunch is included enroute, before flying to Istanbul and your hotel. Dinner is included at your hotel

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DAY 16 - ISTANBUL - Saturday (BLD)
" Imperial Constantinople in the Belle Epoque" (late 19th century), the exotic romance of the "Paris of the East:"

Morning walking tour : We start with our guide in Karaköy where the foreign bankers and shipping companies had their headquarters, then take the Tünel up to istiklal Caddesi; stop in the whirling dervish tekke, and walk past the various old embassy buildings (now consulates), and point out the architecture. Stop for tea (included) at the famous Pera Palace Hotel.
Walk at least as far as Galatasaray Square, and have lunch in the Çicek Pasaji (Flower Passage); then walk up to Taksim Square and be picked up for the afternoon tour.
In the afternoon the tour visit Yildiz Palace Park and the Ihlamur Kasri, a mini-palace south of Yildiz, and finish up with a visit to the Military History Museum in Harbiye in time to hear the "Mehter," or Ottoman military band (mid-afternoon) . Return to the hotel for a leisurely dinner.

DAY 17 - Istanbul - Sunday (B)
Full day at leisure in Istanbul

DAY 17 - DEPARTURE - Monday (B)
We escort you to the airport for your flight home. Bon Voyage.

RATES per person in USD $

"Turkey: The Grand Tour" does include:

• Domestic airfare in Turkey, in economy class , tax included .
• Tea or coffee with every meal.
• Bottled water with every meal.
• All meals, preset menu, as per itinerary: BLD : Breakfast/lunch/dinner.
• First class , 4 star hotels with tax. Upgrade to 5 star hotels is available upon request.
• All transfers in Turkey.
• Private Guided sightseeing , entrance fees.
• Locally escorted throughout Turkey.
• For this private touring : Air conditioned Mercedes Sedan in Istanbul & private air conditioned vehicle outside Istanbul.
  
  

What's not included...

• Turkish Visa Fee payable in cash upon arrival at the airport in Istanbul, or contact any of the Turkish Consulates near you .
• Any shore excursion while cruising/sailing.
• Travel Insurance. Please ask us for the flyer
• Gratuities (at your discretion)

• International airfare

Sample Hotels used or similar:
Istanbul Madison Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Canakkale Tusan Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Izmir Princess Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Kusadasi Pine Marina Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Pamukkale Lycus River Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Antalya Golden Ring Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Konya Dundar Hotel or similar (local 4 star)
Cappadocia Perissia Hotel or similar (local 4 star)

Extend your  stay in Turkey on board a comfortable Gulet

Amusing airplane/train/bus or end-of-the-day reading? Turkey: Bright
Sun, Strong Tea, my humorous travel memoir:
http://www.brightsunstrongtea.com/