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DAY 1
ISTANBUL
Arrive in
Istanbul, and transfer to your hotel. After a short tour briefing, the
rest of the day is free to rest, relax or walk around to explore the
city. Welcome dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ). [
D ]
DAY 2 ISTANBUL
We spend the
full day visiting the sights of Old Istanbul. We will begin at the
ancient Hippodrome which was the center of the civil activities
back in the Hellenistic and Roman times. At the Hippodrome the chariot
and horse races and athletic runs took place for the entertainment of
the people of Constantinople. We walk to the nearby Ibrahim
Pasha Palace which houses the Museum of
Turkish and Islamic Art where we will see an
impressive exhibit from the various periods of Turkish and Islamic art,
ranging in date from the 7th C. to the 19th. Then we proceed to the
Blue Mosque, famous for its blue tiles covering its interior
walls and also for its six minarets which is a unique feature of this
mosque. Nearby is Hagia Sophia Museum, the former
Cathedral of Constantinople, considered as the masterpiece of the early
Byzantine architecture. Hagia Sophia is renowned for its superb mosaic
decoration as well as its architectural style. Back in Byzantine Empire,
most emperors were crowned in this cathedral after a special ceremony.
After lunch we will visit the Topkapi Palace, residence
and administrative center of the Ottoman Sultans. In the grounds of the
Topkapi Palace are many courtyards surrounded by old buildings each
housing small museums with exhibits of jewelry, costumes, calligraphy
and various objects that belonged to the Imperial treasury of the
Ottoman Sultans. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ).
[ B L D ]
DAY 3 CAPPADOCIA
Morning
flight to Ankara. Sightseeing of Ankara. This morning, we will begin at
the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations housed
in a restored 15th century Ottoman Bedesten that was once Ankara's main
covered bazaar, has one of the most extraordinary collections of
antiquities in the world, ranging in time over the Palaeolithic,
Mesolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Bronze Age, Assyrian, Hittite,
Phrygian, Urartian and Greco-Roman periods. Later, we will visit the
Ataturk's Memorial built for the founder of modern Republic
of Turkey. Rest of the day, drive to Cappadocia with a stop at the
Salt Lake and through the central Anatolian Plateau,
observing the villages and people on our way. Dinner and overnight at
your Hotel ( CAPPADOCIA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 4 CAPPADOCIA
Morning
departure for the sightseeing of CAPPADOCIA. We will spend the full day
walking and driving around this fascinating volcanic area with
incredible formations, a superb work by the mother nature. We will begin
at the Pigeons' valley where there is a nice panoramic
view of the area, stopping at the Uchisar rock castle which was
built hollowed out of the rock, and used for defense purposes at the
times of danger. Next, we will visit the Goreme Open
Air Museum, a large open courtyard surrounded by rock
churches decorated with frescoes and murals. Cappadocia became at an
early time monastic center built by St. Basil who was the bishop of
ancient Caesarea (modern Kayseri). We will make a stop at the Pasabagi
valley with fairy chimneys which are conical formations eroded by the
natural elements over the centuries. Visit local craftspeople (Rug
weavers, doll makers, pottery workshops). We will visit Avanos, a
town famous for its pottery, built on the banks of the Red River of
Turkey which flows through the town and brings down red clay from the
surrounding mountains for the potters who transform it, on kick-wheels,
to beautiful pots, vases, cups, plates. Dinner and overnight at your
Hotel ( CAPPADOCIA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 5 ANTAKYA
Drive to
Antakya. Enroute visit one of the most remarkable rock-cut Monastery
of Gumusler with well preserved frescoes on its walls. After driving
through the Taurus mountains and passing through the Cilician Gate, we
will arrive at Tarsus where the apostle St. Paul was born and
Antony met Cleopatra. Tarsus with its Ottoman houses, rambling streets
and some ancient monuments is a charming town. Our tour in Tarsus will
include the St. Paul's well, from which it is believed that St.
Paul drank water. We proceed to the Roman gate known as Cleopatra's
gate or St. Paul's gate, afterwards we will visit the Tarsus
Museum which is housed in the Kubad Pasha Medrese, an old Ottoman
bedesten from the 16th C. The museum has in its cells, many ancient
artifacts, sarcophagi and coins from Assyrian, Hittite, Roman and
Byzantine periods, as well as a rich ethnographical section from the
Ottoman times. We will have some time in colorful bazaar area for
the shopping of traditional products of Tarsus. We will drive through
Adana, ancient Danunas, pleasantly laid our along the banks of the
Seyhan river. After the junction, near the town Dortyol was the site of
famous battle of Ipsus, a critical battle which took place between
Alexander the Great and Darius the Persian king in 333 BC. Before
Antakya we will drive by Iskenderun, ancient Alexandretta, a city built
by Alexander the great. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ANTAKYA
). [ B L D ]
DAY 6
ANTAKYA
Antakya
was ancient Antiocheia on the Orontes or known as Antioch was founded by
the Seleucus I Nicator the king of Seleucus kingdom in about 300 BC.
Antioch, in the Roman ages, was one of the four largest cities in the
world. In the early Christian era, Antioch was an important center, and
here Christians came to be called by this name first time. During our
city tour, we will visit the Antakya's Archaeological Museum
which has one of the largest collections of Roman and Byzantine mosaics
in the world. This museum is a testimony to Antakya's glorious past. In
addition to superb mosaics, there are also fine marble sarcophagi with
elaborate carvings, along with some statues and other archaeological
items. Later we drive out the suburbs of the city to the Grotto of
St. Peter. Saint Peter chose Antioch as the base for his first
mission among the unbelievers. St. Peter's church is tucked into the
face of a steep cliff. Although the facade of the present-day church
comes from the 13th C., the caves behind this facade housed some of the
Christianity's earliest liturgies. St. Peter's church may easily be the
oldest working church in the world, as St. Peter preached here and
services are still held here today. From the terrace of the church you
can get a full panoramic view of the city. Excursion to Harbiye
which occupies the site of Ancient Daphne where according to myth the
nymph Daphne, pursued by Apollo, was transformed into a laurel tree.
Returning to the city center, we will take a walk in the old quarters
for possible shopping possibilities for traditional products. Dinner and
overnight at your hotel ( ANTAKYA ). [ B L D ]
DAY 7 KONYA
Drive to
Konya. This morning's highlight will be Tarsus where the apostle
St. Paul was born and Antony met Cleopatra. Tarsus with its Ottoman
houses, rambling streets and some ancient monuments is a charming town.
Our tour in Tarsus will include the St. Paul's well, from which
it is believed that St. Paul drank water. We proceed to the Roman gate
known as Cleopatra's gate or St. Paul's gate, afterwards we will
visit the Tarsus Museum which is housed in the Kubad Pasha
Medrese, an old Ottoman bedesten from the 16th C. The museum has in its
cells, many ancient artifacts, sarcophagi and coins from Assyrian,
Hittite, Roman and Byzantine periods, as well as a rich ethnographical
section from the Ottoman times. We will have some time in colorful
bazaar area for the shopping of traditional products of Tarsus. We
will drive north into the Taurus mountains along the Goksu gorge. The
German emperor Frederick Barbarossa, at the head of the crusader army
was drowned in the river in this gorge, in 1190 on his way to the Holy
Land. The other sites on our way will be Derbe and Lystra
which both have been visited by St. Paul and St. Barnabas during their
missionary journeys. Derbe today is just a mound standing in the middle
of the plain, and has never been excavated. Ancient Lystra is a still
living town and occupied by a Turkish village. We will arrive at Konya
in the evening. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( KONYA ). [ B
L D ]
DAY 8 ANTALYA
Drive to
Antalya. Before we leave for Antalya, we will take a city tour of Konya,
the site of ancient Iconium. Iconium is mentioned several times in the
book of Acts. This morning's visits include the Mevlana Museum,
which is believed to be the holiest place of Turkey and house the
memorial of Mevlana the famous Turkish philosopher and the founder of
the order of whirling dervishes. Proceed to Karatay Medrese, the
Islamic theological college from Turkish-Selcuk period (13th cent.), now
it houses a nice collection of tiles and carved stones produced by the
Seljuks. Continue to Antioch in Pisidia, an ancient site founded
by the Seleucid king Antiochus I in the 3rd. C. St. Paul visited Antioch
on his first missionary journey along with Barnabas. Here Paul addressed
the congregation in the synagogue, his first recorded sermon. The size
of the site tells that Antioch was an important city in ancient times.
The site is excavated by the archaeologists from the University of
Michigan. Dinner and overnight at your hotel ( ANTALYA ). [ B L D
]
DAY 9 ANTALYA
Day long
excursion to the ancient Greco-Roman sites of the Pamphylia region. We
will begin with Perge which is one of the best examples of a
complete Roman city. We will take a walk along the main streets and view
the well-preserved ancient structures, stadium, agora, Hellenistic
towers, roman gate and baths, city walls. Perge was one of the cities
that was visited by St. Paul during his missionary journeys. After
leaving Perge, we head for the ancient city of Aspendus which has
undoubtedly the most perfectly preserved Roman theater in existence. The
theater located at the foot of the acropolis was built in the 2nd
century by the emperor Marcus Aurelius. Aspendus has also very well
preserved aqueducts from Roman times standing to its almost full height.
Continue to Side, the great ancient city and also a popular
resort town right on the Mediterranean. We will tour the small local
museum of Side that houses a fine collection of statues, sarcophagi,
architectural sculpture and inscriptions. Right across the street from
the Museum is another well preserved Roman theater that offers a
magnificent view toward the Mediterranean from the top of the seats. We
will walk down the shop-lined street to the site of the twin temples of
Apollo and Athena with beautiful setting on the seaside. We head back
for Antalya, if time permits, we visit Antalya Archaeological
Museum with fine sculptures, sarcophagi and findings from around
Pamphylia region. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( ANTALYA ).
[ B L D ]
DAY 10 PAMUKKALE
This
morning, we drive back into Taurus Mountains, with spontaneous stops to
photograph Nomads in and around their goat-hair tents. Early afternoon
arrival at our hotel, and have time to use natural geothermal pools. We
will tour the calcified pools of Pamukkale and the ancient ruins
of Hierapolis. Most of the cliffs formed by the geothermal waters
are as white as the cotton that gives Pamukkale its name, which in
Turkish means "Cotton Castle". The ancient city Hierapolis whose ruins
are scattered a above the calcium pools, is another well preserved site
in Turkey. It has been a popular spa center since the Hellenistic and
Roman ages. The view from the ancient theater towards the valley is
spectacular. According to tradition, St. Philip, one of the twelve
apostles was martyred here at this city, and a monumental martyrdom
built for him is there. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel (
PAMUKKALE ). [ B L D ]
DAY 11 KUSADASI
Drive to
Kusadasi. A short drive from Pamukkale is Laodicea, another site
of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Laodicea was founded in the 2nd C:
BC by the Seleucid king Antiochus II Theos who named it for his wife.
Laodicea is known as Laodicea-ad-Lycum, since there were many other
towns named Laodicea founded by the Seleucid kings. Laodicea soon became
a prosperous city after trading its fine quality purple-color wool.
Drive to Colossae, the city is mentioned in the book Colossians
in which St. Paul addressed the congregation here. Today there is not
much to see at Colossae, other than a large mound which exposes some
ancient theater and some ruins of the unidentified buildings. After a
short drive, we will visit Philadelphia, one of the sites of
Seven Churches of Asia, to see the church of St. John. Continue to the
ancient city of Sardis, the capital of the ancient Lydian kingdom
from 6 C. BC., and home of the famous king Croesus. During our walking
tour of Sardis, we will see the marble court with a beautiful facade
with marble columns, which was the imperial cult built for the Roman
emperors, passing the large palaestra we will come to a large Jewish
Synagogue built in Roman times, which was one of the largest synagogues
ever built in the ancient ages, then we walk out to the ancient street
lined with ancient roman and Byzantine shops. On the other side of the
highway, we will see the great temple of Artemis built from the
Hellenistic ages and offers a spectacular view having the acropolis of
Sardis in the background. Dinner and overnight at your hotel (
KUSADASI ). [ B L D ]
DAY 12 KUSADASI
Full day
sightseeing of well preserved sites of Ephesus. We begin with Ephesus,
the great city and metropolitan center of the Antiquity, whose extensive
ruins are among the best preserved in the world. As we walk down the
main street of Ephesus, we will visualize its ancient life and
buildings. Then we drive up to the Virgin Mary's House
claimed to be the true place where Mother Mary spent her last years
before she had died in this area. This is one the most important
pilgrimage shrines in the world. Up on the hill above the town Selcuk,
we will visit the Basilica of St. John built for the
apostle author of the book of revelations. Looking at the size of this
church, we can easily say that it was one the largest churches in its
time. Returning to the town Selcuk, we will visit the local Ephesus
Museum with a nice exhibit of the objects such as statues,
sarcophagi, busts, inscriptions, found during the excavations at
Ephesus. If time permits we will drive up to Sirince a
traditional village situated on a hill top. The village people still
produce embroidery and lace work and also a good place to taste some
local Turkish wine. Dinner and overnight at your Hotel ( KUSADASI
). [ B L D ]
DAY 13 GREEK ISLAND PATMOS
Day long
cruise to the Greek Island of Patmos where the evangelist St.
John received the inspiration and wrote the book of Revelation. Sailing
from Kusadasi to Patmos, we will enjoy the blue waters of the Aegean.
Here, we will tour the Monastery of St. John which stands high on
a hill and commands a magnificent view of the coast of Turkey and the
sparkling Aegean Sea. The monastery complex houses a nice collection of
jeweled crosses, manuscripts, intricate mosaics, and more art pieces
from different periods of time. The main place of interest is St.
John's Grotto which is down the stairs from the main monastery
building, where he wrote his book. Late return to Kusadasi. Dinner and
overnight at your hotel ( KUSADASI ). [ B L D ]
DAY 14 CANAKKALE
Drive to
Canakkale. Enroute visit Pergamum, the capital of Pergamum
Kingdom and a great Hellenistic city with superb setting on the top of
the mountain that rises above the surrounding plain. We will walk around
the well preserved ruins of Pergamum. The view from top of the Acropolis
toward the Aegean sea is spectacular. We will stop at Asclepieum,
the famous ancient medical center where Galen, the famous physician of
the ancient world, practiced medicine. Pergamum is also one of the sites
mentioned in the book of Revelation. Drive to Assos, a
spectacular city on the hilltop overlooking the Aegean sea and the
island of Lesbos. We will walk up the hill to the acropolis of Assos
where we will see the ancient Greek Doric temple dedicated to the
goddess Athena. Later we drive down to the lovely little harbor crowded
by the small colorful fishing boats. Continue to Alexandria
Troas, which was a thriving city back in the Hellenistic and Roman
period and controlled a good deal of sea trade. St. Paul visited the
city and preached here twice in the hope of making converts. Even
Constantine the great thought about building his new capital here at
Alexandria, later he changed his mind in favor of Constantinople. Dinner
and overnight at your hotel ( CANAKKALE ). [ B L D ]
DAY 15 ISTANBUL
In the
morning, we will visit Troy, the fabled city of the book "Iliad"
written by Homer and the site of the Trojan War between Achaeans and
Trojans. We will begin our walking tour near the replica of the Trojan
wooden-horse and walk around the ancient city, and observe the
fortification walls, temples, palaces, theater, and megaron style
houses. Have time to have your photos taken on the Trojan horse. Take
the ferry across the Dardanelles, to Thrace which is the European
part of Turkey. Apart from the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul, Dardanelles
(or Hellespont) separates the continents of Europe and Asia, it was one
of the most important water ways in the ancient ages, as it is today. We
will make a brief stop at the Gallipoli war memorials and
cemeteries. Gallipoli was the battlefield where the most crucial
battle took place between the Ottoman army and the combined army of
British and the Anzac forces. Drive along the coast of the Sea of
Marmara back to Istanbul. Early afternoon arrival in Istanbul, the rest
of the day is on your leisure to browse the bazaar area or other
interesting parts of the city. Overnight your Hotel ( ISTANBUL ).
[ B L ]
DAY 16 ISTANBUL
This
morning, we will cruise up the Bosphorus with private boat, sit
on the deck and enjoy the nice traditional water-front houses built by
the Ottomans in the last or in the turn of this century. We will
disembark near the Spice bazaar, and have free time for
shopping in the Spice Market where you will find hundreds of spices and
herbs. Spice market was built by the Ottomans in the 16th C., and has
been used as the main market of spices and herbs since then. We head for
the Grand Bazaar of Istanbul, where will have time for
shopping. In the grand bazaar which is an old ottoman bedesten built in
the 15th. C., and said to have about 3,500 shops under its roof, you
will find almost anything from souvenirs to jewelry, from textiles to
Turkish ethnographic items. Rest of the afternoon is at leisure, you may
want to stay in the grand bazaar or stroll through the streets. Farewell
dinner at a special restaurant. Overnight at your Hotel ( ISTANBUL
). [ B D ]
DAY 17
TRANSFER TO AIRPORT
Check-out
and transfer to the airport for our morning flight back home. [ B ]
[ B ] :
Breakfast
[ L ] :
Lunch
[ D
] : Dinner |
