Treasures of Turkey – 15 days land only

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- Return airport/hotel transfers
- 14 nights hotel accommodation
- A Welcome Reception & Welcome Dinner with drinks
- Breakfast daily
- Selected dinners
- Touring by luxury coach
- Assistance of a Tour Director
- Sightseeing in all towns & cities visited

SIGNATURE EXPERIENCES :

- Istanbul: Enjoy a relaxing cruise on the Bosphorus, past Ottoman palaces, old mansions and fortresses. Visit the Blue Mosque & St Sophia Museum. Gain an insight into the lives of the Ottoman sultans at the fabulous Topkapi Palace.

- Bursa: Visit the Grand Mosque and the glorious Green Mosque and mausoleum.

- Ankara: Discover the mysterious Hittite civilisation and visit the mausoleum of Ataturk.

- Göreme: Explore underground cities, rock cut churches and fairy tale chimneys and the Pasabag Valley. In Cappadocia, visit a local home to experience Turkish hospitality.

- Konya: Visit the beautiful Mevlana Museum for an insight into the mystic Whirling Dervishes.

- Antalya: Visit the world's best preserved Roman Theatre in Aspendos.

- Pamukkale: See the cascading ‘Cotton Castles' of milky white travertine pools.

- Ephesus: Tour one of the world's finest ancient sites, visit the House of the Virgin Mary and Archaeological Museum.

- Pergamon: Visit Asklepion, one of the most famous shrines and therapeutic centres in the ancient world.

- Gallipoli: Pay your respects at Anzac Cove and Lone Pine Cemetery.

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Welcome to Istanbul

You are met at the airport and transferred to your hotel. Then start exploring the wonders of this glorious city, uniquely located on two continents. At night, join your Tour Director for a Welcome Reception, and get to know each other over a delightful evening of dinner and wine.
Hotel: Moevenpick, Istanbul
Welcome Reception and Dinner

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Bosphorus Cruise to Beautiful Bursa

It's all aboard for a cruise on the Bosphorus Strait which links the Sea of Marmara with the Black Sea. This is one of the world's busiest waterways, with stately cargo ships plying their way up the main channel while ferries constantly dash across their paths to link the villages on the European and Asian sides of the water. Cruise beneath the spectacular modern suspension bridges, past elegant palaces (built in the 18th and 19th centuries by Turkish nobility) and picturesque fishing villages where life seems unchanged since ancient times. Back on dry land, leave Istanbul for the 14th century Ottoman capital of Bursa. There is time in the afternoon to hunt for bargains in the bazaar and colourful silk markets or to explore the gracious monuments.
Hotel: Celik Palas, Bursa
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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Head to Cumalikizik, Gordion and Ankara

Visit the glorious Green Mosque and Mausoleum complex and Grand Mosque in Bursa before driving to the charming Cumalikizik Village with its traditional wooden houses and very narrow cobblestone streets. Move on to Gordion, where Alexander the Great cut the famous Gordion Knot, en route to Turkey's modern capital of Ankara.
Hotel: Hilton, Ankara
Buffet Breakfast

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The Modern Day Capital of Ankara and on to Cappadocia

Sightseeing includes a visit to the Hittite Museum, portraying the fascinating history of Asia Minor from earliest times. You also visit Anit Kabir, the Mausoleum of Ataturk (Turkey's greatest leader in modern times), before heading to Avanos in Cappadocia.
Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Avanos, Cappadocia
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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The Underground Cities of Cappodocia Experience

During your stay in this unique region, visit Göreme's rock-carved churches and see ancient frescoes in the open-air museum. Witness the volcanic landscapes and mushroom shaped ‘fairy-chimneys' of the Pasabag Valley, the underground city of Ozkonak. Later, visit a village house, which has been the home of a Cappadocian local for decades and experience the Turkish hospitality first hand. Dinner at the hotel is followed by a folklore show in a cave setting, featuring vibrant dances from different regions.
Hotel: DoubleTree by Hilton Avanos, Cappadocia
Buffet Breakfast

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To Konya & the Whirling Dervishes

Visit a 13th century Caravanserai before driving to Turkey's most religious city, Konya, which was once the home of the mystic sect of Whirling Dervishes and the old capital of the Anatolian Seljuk Empire. Visit the Mevlana Museum, with its beautiful fluted turquoise dome, and see the Karatay Medrese and Ince Minaret.
Hotel: Dedeman/Anemon, Konya
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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Through the Taurus Mountains to Aspendos and Antalya

Descend the Taurus Mountains and drive to Aspendos to visit what is considered to be the best preserved Roman Theatre anywhere in the world. Continue on to your hotel for the next two nights and enjoy time to relax.
Hotel: Rixos Downtown/Crowne Plaza, Antalya
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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Free time in Antalya

Early in the morning, enjoy a visit on foot to Antalya's Old Town. The rest of the day is free to relax and enjoy the leisure facilities of the hotel. Alternatively, explore Antalya at your own pace. Suggestions include a stroll around the harbour area or taking a boat trip off the coast.
Hotel: Rixos Downtown/Crowne Plaza, Antalya
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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Forests and Mountains lead to the Pools of Pamukkale

Pass pine forests and cross the Taurus Mountains on your way to see the ruins of the ancient city of Hierapolis. Next to the ruins, you can see the gleaming white travertine terraces of Pamukkale. Tea-cup shaped pools of this ‘Cotton Castle' cascade with light blue water, covering the hillside in a waterfall of white.
Hotel: Doğa Thermal Health & Spa, Pamukkale
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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Explore Aphrodisias then on to Sunny Kusadasi

After breakfast, visit the Temple of Aphrodite at amazing Aphrodisias, and be seduced by the collection of sculptural treasures, Greco-Roman statues and ceramics. Then follow the Maeander River Valley, (so full of twists and turns, it gave us the word ‘meander') to your beautiful beachfront hotel in the lively coastal town of Kusadasi. Relax beside the pool and soak up the sun.
Hotel: Charisma/Korumar, Kusadasi
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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Travel to Ancient Ephesus and Izmir

Explore one of the world's finest archaeological sites, Ephesus. Walk along the Arcadian Way to view the splendid façade of the Library of Celsus and visit the Amphitheatre. Visit the House of the Virgin Mary, situated above the ruins, before continuing to the Selçuk Archaeological Museum, where many artefacts from Ephesus are displayed. Stay overnight in the bustling Aegean port of Izmir.
Hotel: Swissôtel Grand Efes, Izmir
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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On to Pergamon, Troy and Çanakkale

Stop in Pergamon, the impressive site of an ancient kingdom, to visit the Asklepion, one of the most famous shrines and therapeutic centres of the ancient world. Drive to Homer's Troy to see the ruins of nine cities built on top of each other and an enormous reconstruction of the famous Wooden Horse. The evening is spent in Çanakkale.
Hotel: Kolin, Çanakkale
Buffet Breakfast, Dinner

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To Gallipoli, Anzac Cove and Istanbul

Cross the Dardanelle Straits by ferry and continue to the Gallipoli Peninsula, scene of fierce fighting in World War One. Here are the battlefields where for nine disastrous months, Anzac Troops fought unsuccessfully to gain control of the strategic Straits, with the loss of over half a million lives. Pay your respects at Anzac Cove and visit the emotive Lone Pine Cemetery before returning to Istanbul.
Hotel: Moevenpick, Istanbul
Buffet Breakfast

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Istanbul & the Ottoman Empire

In the morning, visit the Blue Mosque and the Hippodrome, where Roman chariot races were held. Also visit St. Sophia, a former cathedral and a mosque which is now a magnificent museum. The afternoon is dedicated to the Topkapi Palace, a walled city perched above the Bosphorous and the Golden Horn. Now it's time to test your haggling skills in the Grand Bazaar. Don't worry, your Local Expert will give you a full explanation of the time-honoured ritual of bargaining! In the evening, join a farewell Celebration Dinner at a colourful local restaurant.
Hotel: Moevenpick, Istanbul
Buffet Breakfast, Celebration Dinner

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Farewell Istanbul

The tour ends with transfers to the airport.
Buffet Breakfast

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