DAY 1,  FRIDAY:  Fly USA to ISTANBUL, via NON-STOP overnight TURKISH AIRLINES flight.  ( D )

DAY 2,  SATURDAY:  Arrival in ISTANBUL, transit transfer for your flight to ANKARA, the modern capital of the Republic of Turkey. Meet at the airport, after you clear the Passport and Customs Controls on your own, transfer to your hotel. Free afternoon to rest. Overnight in ANKARA.  ( B, S )

DAY 3,  SUNDAY:  In the morning, visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations and the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk. Then proceed to CAPPADOCIA, where nature has scoured surrealistic moonscape shapes. Visit the underground city of  KAYMAKLI, extending several stories below ground, built by the early Christians during the 9th Century to escape from the invaders. Dinner and overnight in CAPPADOCIA. ( B, L, D )

DAY 4,  MONDAY:  Full day touring in CAPPADOCIA; visit the GOREME Open-Air-Museum with its fairy chimneys and dozens of cave churches, see the natural Citadel of UCHISAR and the PIGEON Valley, visit the ZELVE Valley and the pottery town AVANOS, with an opportunity to shop for local handicrafts like carpets, ceramics, tiles, or pottery. Dinner and overnight in CAPPADOCIA.  ( B, L, D )

DAY 5,  TUESDAY:  Depart to visit the Seljuk period Sultanhan Caravanserai located on the “Silk Road”. Proceed to KONYA, to visit the Mevlana Museum, the “Whirling Dervish” Monastery. Drive, via the Egridir Lake, to PAMUKKALE “Cotton Castle”, the ancient healing city of HIERAPOLIS. Tour the beautiful snow-white “solidified waterfalls”. Dinner and overnight in PAMUKKALE. ( B, L, D ) (Optionally, enjoy a therapeutic bath in the hot spring waters of your hotel’s pool). 

DAY 6, WEDNESDAY:  Visit HIERAPOLIS, including the Necropolis, the Main Street and Gates, the Thermal Baths, and the Theater. Then tour APHRODISIAS, the city of Aphrodite, visiting the Odeon, the Agora, the Palace of Bishops, the Hadrian Baths, the Theater, and the Stadium.  Then for dinner and overnight continue to the beautiful Aegean resort town KUSADASI. ( B, L, D )

DAY 7,  THURSDAY:  Tour the ancient Ionian city EPHESUS; visiting the Celsus Library, the marble Arcadian Road, the Roman Baths, and the Theater. Thereafter, visit the HOUSE OF VIRGIN MARY (where she last resided), tour the Basilica of St. John (built for the evangelist who accompanied Virgin Mary here), and then admire the statue of “Ephesian Artemis” while visiting the Ephesus Archaeological Museum in Selcuk. Dinner and overnight in KUSADASI. ( B, L, D )

DAY 8,  FRIDAY:   FREE DAY in Kusadasi at your leisure. (Alternatively, you may take the “PERGAMUM” optional daily tour, as described on Page 13). Dinner and overnight in KUSADASI.  ( B, D )

DAY 13,  WEDNESDAY:  Disembark in FETHIYE for a FREE DAY on your own. Then, transfer to Dalaman Airport for your afternoon/evening flight to ISTANBUL, the only city in the World spanning two continents. Transfer, to your hotel in ISTANBUL.  ( B )  

[If the afternoon/evening flight is NOT available, then fly to Istanbul about 10 AM].

DAY 14,  THURSDAY:  “HISTORICAL ISTANBUL” Tour (see Page 12); visiting the BLUE MOSQUE (unique with its six minarets, and famous for its more than 20,000 “blue” Iznik tiles), the St. SOPHIA MUSEUM (rebuilt in 536 AD by Emperor Justinian, was once the largest Christian Church), the HIPPODROME, the TOPKAPI PALACE (Imperial Residence of Ottoman Sultans, the oldest, largest and the most intriguing of remaining palaces in the World), the majestic SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE, and then the GRAND COVERED BAZAAR (most fascinating and crowded shopping center in the World, with nearly 4000 shops, selling mostly jewelry, artifacts, carpets and leather). Overnight in ISTANBUL. ( B, L )

DAY 15, FRIDAY:  Full day “BOSPHORUS & ASIA” Tour; starting with a short visit to smell the exotic aromas of the EGYPTIAN SPICE MARKET, followed by the BOSPHORUS FERRY BOAT TOUR, viewing the picturesque beauty of the European and Asian shorelines. Enjoy your lunch at a local restaurant, and then cross to the Asian side to visit CAMLICA HILL to observe the best panoramic view of Istanbul, and then tour the BEYLERBEYI PALACE, the summer residence of the Ottoman Sultans. (occasionally BEYLERBEYI visit may be replaced with the DOLMABAHCE PALACE). Overnight in ISTANBUL. ( B, L )

DAY 16,  SATURDAY:  FREE DAY to explore Istanbul on your own. (We suggest visiting the “Princes' Islands” on your own, or taking our optional “BURSA Tour”, or     the “DOLMABAHCE & GOLDEN HORN Tour” described on Page 12). Overnight, in ISTANBUL. ( B )

DAY 17,  SUNDAY:  After breakfast, transfer to Istanbul Airport for your flight back to USA, for same day arrival.