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

DAY 2,  MONDAY :  Arrival in ISTANBUL, the only city in the World spanning two continents. After clearing Passport and Customs Controls on your own, meet and transfer to your hotel. Free afternoon to rest. Overnight in  ISTANBUL. ( B )

DAY 3, TUESDAY :  Full day “BOSPHORUS & ASIA” Tour; starting with a short visit to smell the exotic aromas of the EGYPTIAN SPICE MARKET, followed by the  BOSPHORUS BOAT TOUR. After lunch at a local restaurant, cross to the Asian side to visit the CAMLICA HILL to observe a panoramic view of Istanbul, and tour the BEYLERBEYI PALACE (or the DOLMABAHCE PALACE). Overnight in Overnight in ISTANBUL.  ( B, L )

DAY 4,  WEDNESDAY: “HISTORICAL ISTANBUL” Tour (see Page.16); visiting the BLUE MOSQUE (unique with its six minarets), the St. SOPHIA MUSEUM (rebuilt in 536 AD by Emperor Justinian, was once the largest Christian Church), the TOPKAPI PALACE (the oldest and largest of remaining palaces in the World), the HIPPODROME, the SULEYMANIYE MOSQUE, and the GRAND COVERED BAZAAR (most fascinating and crowded shopping center in the World). Overnight in ISTANBUL.  ( B, L )

DAY 5,  THURSDAY:  FREE Morning to explore Istanbul on your own. (You may take one of our optional Daily Tours such as the “JEWISH HERITAGE" tour, or you may visit the UNDERGROUND CISTERN and/or the TURKISH AND ISLAMIC ARTS MUSEUM). Afternoon departure by express train (or on the express highway) to ANKARA  for overnight.  ( B )

(Participants taking the optional “HITTITE SITES” tour [see Page 12], need to take the overnight SLEEPER TRAIN to ANKARA, the night before.) 

DAY 6,  FRIDAY:  Morning touring in Ankara; visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations (the Hittite Museum, which is housed in a restored Caravanserai) and the Mausoleum of Kemal Ataturk in Ankara. Then continue to CAPPADOCIA, where nature has scoured surrealistic moonscape shapes. Visit the KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY, extending several stories below ground, built by the early Christians during the 9th Century. Dinner and overnight in CAPPADOCIA. ( B, L, D )

DAY 7,  SATURDAY:  Full day touring in CAPPADOCIA; visit GOREME Open-Air Museum with its fairy chimneys and dozens of cave churches decorated with frescoes depicting various scenes from the Bible, see the natural Citadel of UCHISAR and the PIGEON Valley, visit the ZELVE Valley and the pottery town AVANOS, with opportunities to shop for local handicrafts like carpets, ceramics, pottery, and tiles.  Dinner and overnight in CAPPADOCIA.  ( B, L, D )

DAY 8,  SUNDAY:  After breakfast, depart to visit the Seljuk period Sultanhan Caravanserai located on the “Silk Road”. Proceed to KONYA (the ancient ICONIUM, which later became the capital of Seljuk Empire), to visit the Mevlana Museum, the “Whirling Dervish” Monastery, and the Karatay Theological School, and admire the Seljuki architecture all around. Drive on to ANTALYA, the largest city on the “Turquoise Coast”. Dinner and overnight in ANTALYA.  ( B, L, D )

DAY 9,  MONDAY:  Visit PERGE (where Hittites originally settled around 1000 B.C.), ASPENDOS (with its 15,000- seat theater, one of the best preserved and the largest theaters of the Ancient World), and the MANAVGAT Waterfalls. (Alternatively, you may join our Optional Day Tour, to DEMRE/MYRA to visit the Church of St. Nicholas “Santa Claus”, the Lycian Rock Tombs, and weather permitting a Boat Tour to KEKOVA Island.).  Dinner and overnight in ANTALYA.  ( B, L, D )  

DAY 10,  TUESDAY:  FREE Morning to enjoy ANTALYA at your leisure. Afternoon departure, for dinner and overnight in PAMUKKALE, the "Cotton Castle”. ( B, D )  (Optionally, you may enjoy a therapeutic bath in the hot mineral spring waters of your hotel’s pool). 

DAY 11, WEDNESDAY:  Tour the snow-white limestone terraces and the ancient healing city of HIERAPOLIS; the Main Street, the Main Gates, the Thermal Baths, the Roman Theater, the Museum, and the magnificently preserved cemetery “Necropolis”. Continue to APHRODISIAS, the city of Aphrodite; to visit the Odeon, the Stadium, the Agora, the Hadrian Baths, and the Bishop’s Palace. Then for dinner and overnight continue to the beautiful Aegean resort town of KUSADASI. ( B, L, D )

DAY 12,  THURSDAY:  Full day touring of the HOUSE OF VIRGIN MARY and EPHESUS, including the Celsus Library, the Marble Road, the Roman Baths, and the Theater (where St. Paul preached). Then visit the Basilica of St. John, and tour the Archaeological Museum of Ephesus in Selcuk. Dinner and overnight in KUSADASI.  ( B, L, D )

DAY 13,  FRIDAY:  Early departure to PERGAMUM (where parchment was invented).  Tour the ACROPOLIS, the Temple of Trajan, the Altar of Zeus, and the “Steepest Theater of the Ancient World” and visit the ASCLEPION (the World’s First Medical Center, where the renowned surgeon Galen taught).  See the Red Basilica and drive on to CANAKKALE (or ASSOS)  for dinner and overnight. ( B, L, D )

DAY 14,  SATURDAY:  Visit Homer’s legendary TROY (with its Wooden Trojan Horse symbolizing the Trojan War), where actually at least nine cities were built upon each other in different eras. Cross the DARDANELLES by car-ferry, to tour the battlegrounds and the monument of the “World War I” in GALLIPOLI. Continue, for overnight, to ISTANBUL. ( B, L )

DAY 15,  SUNDAY:  

FREE DAY to explore Istanbul on your own. (You may take our optional “BURSA TOUR”, or the “DOLMABAHCE & GOLDEN HORN TOUR”, or you may visit the “Whirling Dervishes Museum” or the “Princes' Islands” in Istanbul. Overnight, in ISTANBUL.  ( B )

DAY 16,  MONDAY:  After breakfast, transfer to Istanbul Airport for your NON-STOP flight to NEW YORK  for same day arrival. ( B, S )

Alternatively, if you have so chosen, you may "extend" your stay in Istanbul, and/or start any number of our “MINI-TOURS” and "EXTENSIONS".