Wonders of Turkey 10 Day tour from $1215   an Insight Vacations luxury tour

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Tour Highlights

Hotels

The First Class and Superior First Class and Deluxe Hotels on this tour are centrally  located in the major cities. You will also get to experience the best scenic locations  in the towns of Izmir, Kusadasi, Pamukkale, and in Cappadocia.

 Fellow Passengers

This tour attracts many first time visitors to Turkey who want to get a taste  of what this fascinating country has to offer. It also appeals to those with a limited  vacation time. Anyone with a love of history and a sense of adventure will also appreciate this tour.

Highlights

Turkey is well endowed with natural wonders like the eerie moonscape of Goreme,  with its rock-hewn churches and dwellings, and the cascading terraces of Pamukkale. But there is also ancient Ephesus, Turkey's grandest and best preserved archeological  site.

Excursions & Sights

• Visit Istanbul's Blue Mosque, Basilica of St. Sophia & famous Grand Bazaar
• Tour Topkapi Palace in Istanbul - former home of the Sultans
• Visit  Lone Pine Cemetery and Anzac Cove at Gallipoli
• View the huge reconstructed Trojan Horse in Troy
• Visit Pergamon's Acropolis, Temple of Athena, library & Asklepieon
• Visit the Virgin Mary's House and the Archeological Museum in Selcuk
• Tour the  excavations at Ephesus - one of the world's finest archeological sites
• View Pamukkale's cascading white terraces and visit the ruins of Hierapolis
• Visit Konya's famous Mevlana Tekke and see the Karatay Medrese & Ince Minaret
• Tour underground city of Kaymakli and see the cone of Uchisar
• Tour Cappadocia's lunar landscapes
• Visit the Goreme Open Air Museum
• Visit well preserved Agzikarahan Caravanserai
• Visit Ataturk's Mausoleum and Hittite Museum in Ankara

Guided City Tours

In depth sightseeing tours in Istanbul, Gallipoli, Troy, Pergamon, Ephesus & Goreme orientation tours in Konya & Ankara

Insight's First Class Services

• Insight's professional multilingual Tour Director to escort  you
• Travel by luxury air-conditioned coach with reclining seats and onboard toilet
• First Class hotels with all service charges, taxes and porterage
• Scheduled flight Ankara to Istanbul

Complimentary Transfers

Complimentary arrival and departure transfers between Istanbul airport and your Insight tour hotel

Quality Dining & Entertainment

A spectacular highlight folklore show in an underground cave in Cappadocia

9 buffet breakfasts and 6 special-menu dinners, or buffets,  plus tea or coffee

Tour Itinerary

Tour Pace

This tour captures all of the highlights of Turkey in 10 days, so the pace can be fairly brisk. However, there are 2 night stays in Istanbul and Cappadocia, and the flight back to Istanbul from the capital alleviates driving time.

 DAY 1 FRI - ISTANBUL AT LEISURE

Welcome to Turkey, a land rich in archeological sites, historical monuments, warm hearted people and an enormous variety of spectacular scenery. On arrival at Istanbul Airport you will be met and transferred to your hotel for your two night  stay. Tonight, get together with your Tour Director and fellow passengers for a Welcome Drink. Hotel: Golden Tulip Eresin Topkapi.

DAY 2 SAT - ISTANBUL SIGHTSEEING

This morning we embark on a superb highlight cruise along the Bosphorus Waterway.  Travelling towards the Black Sea, the scenery complements the grandeur of the Ottoman  palaces, old mansions and fortresses which we pass. This afternoon we visit the  Blue Mosque with its beautiful tiles and the Hippodrome, where Roman chariot races  were held. We also visit St. Sophia, at one time a Cathedral and a mosque, and now a magnificent museum. We then visit the fabulous Topkapi Palace, a walled city perched  above the Bosphorous and the Golden Horn. Now we're off to the famous Grand Bazaar  where -“ all under cover - there are more than 4,000 shops, cafes and tea houses. Perhaps sample some traditional 'Apple tea'? This evening, you might enjoy watching some belly-dancing! (BB)

DAY 3 SUN - ISTANBUL - CANAKKALE

This morning we drive along the shores of the Sea of Marmara to the peninsula  of Gelibolu. Better known in the west as Gallipoli. Here are the battlefields where, for nine disastrous months during the Great War, Anzac troops fought unsuccessfully  to gain control of the strategic Dardanelle Straits. We visit Anzac Cove and the emotive Lone Pine Cemetery. Now, from Eceabat it is but a 30 minute sea crossing to Canakkale, but a crossing that takes us from one continent to another, as we leave Europe behind and enter Asia. We stay in seaside Canakkale tonight.  Hotel: Akol. (BB,D)

DAY 4 MON - CANAKKALE - IZMIR

Today we drive to Homer's legendary city of Troy, where archeological excavation has established nine levels of habitation, and see an enormous reconstruction of  the famous Trojan wooden horse. We then continue to Pergamon, the seat of an ancient  kingdom. We visit the Acropolis, the Temple of Athena and the famous library, which  is said to have contained 200,000 volumes. We also view the Red Courtyard and visit  the ruins of the Asklepieon, one of the most famous shrines and therapeutic centres  in the ancient world. We now continue to the pretty port of Izmir on the Aegean Sea, our home for the night. Hotel: Crowne Plaza. (BB,D)

DAY 5 TUE - IZMIR - KUSADASI

En route to Ephesus we visit the archeological museum at Selcuk where many of the excavated artifacts of Ephesus are displayed. Next we visit the House of the Virgin Mary, spectacularly situated above the Ephesus ruins. With our appetite whetted, we now tour Ephesus, one of the world's finest archeological sites. We  visit the colonnaded Arcadian Way, the splendid facade of the Library of Celsus  and see the Amphitheatre, the largest and most impressive structure to survive from Hellenistic Ephesus. Now to the lively coastal town of Kusadasi for our fabulous  overnight stay. Relax with a cool drink and take advantage of our hotel's large  pool, beach, Turkish bath and fitness centre. Hotel: Korumar/Pine Bay. (BB,D)

DAY 6 WED - KUSADASI - PAMUKKALE

We drive inland today to Pamukkale, famous for its 'Cotton Castle', a dazzling chalk-white array of fantastically shaped limestone terraces, which is to be our home for the night. On arrival we visit the ruins of ancient Hierapolis and the fairyland terraces and see the glistening pools and cascades in scallop-shell basins. The rest of the day is yours at leisure to relax and enjoy the blissfully warm thermal pools at our hotel. Hotel: Colossae Thermal. (BB,D)

DAY 7 THU - PAMUKKALE - CAPPADOCIA

This morning we head for Konya, the old capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Empire. Konya is Turkey's most religious city and home to the mystic Whirling Dervish sect. We visit the Mevlana Tekke, a museum and famous national monument, with its beautiful fluted turquoise dome, which contains the tomb of the Whirling Dervishes' founder. We also see the Karatay Medrese and Ince Minaret before driving on to the historical region of Nevsehir in Cappadocia. Hotel: Dedeman. (BB,D)

DAY 8 FRI - CAPPADOCIA - FULL DAY EXCURSION  TO GOREME

Today we enjoy an excursion to Goreme, a unique region of volcanic landscapes  and rock-hewn churches decorated with ancient wall paintings, some of which we will  see in the open air museum. We continue to the Zelve Valley where the scenery is  dotted with churches, caves and troglodyte dwellings. We also tour the underground  city of Kaymakli, and see the cone of Uchisar. Tonight, we enjoy dinner at the hotel followed by a colourful folklore show in an underground cave, featuring dances from different regions. (BB,HD)

DAY 9 SAT - CAPPADOCIA - ISTANBUL

This morning we visit Agzikarahan, one of the best-preserved Seljuk caravanserais in Anatolia. Then to Ankara. Here we visit the Hittite Museum and Anit Kabir, the mausoleum of Ataturk, Turkey's greatest leader in modern times. Later this afternoon we transfer to the airport for our included scheduled flight back to Istanbul. Tonight, maybe enjoy a farewell dinner with your new found friends at a colourful local restaurant? Hotel: Golden Tulip Eresin Topkapi. (BB)

DAY 10 SUN - ISTANBUL

This morning, our tour comes to an end with a transfer to the airport. (BB)