Arrival in Istanbul. Reception at Istanbul airport and transfer to the hotel.

Visit the Blue Mosque, whose name comes from the more than 20,000 tiles in shades of green and blue that cover its interior. Built to try to surpass the great Hagia Sophia, it is the only one that has 6 minarets equal to the Mecca.

Then visit the Topkapı Palace, administrative center of the Ottoman Empire and residence of the Sultans until the mid-nineteenth century. Among its collections are an impressive treasury and relics of the major prophets, brought from Egypt when Istanbul became the capital of the Ottoman Caliphate. Panoramic visit of the fountain of Ahmet III.

Visit the Spice Bazaar, also known as the Egyptian Bazaar because many of the spices came from the East. In the afternoon visit the Grand Bazaar, one of the largest covered markets in the world, where all kinds of typical products of the country are marketed in its nearly 4,500 stores.

We will have a Turkish coffee or Turkish tea in a typical cafe of the Grand Bazaar. Lodging.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel

Departure for a panoramic visit of the ancient Basilica of Sergius and Bacchus also called the small Hagia Sophia by the architects. Visit the Roman Hippodrome, sports and social center of ancient Constantinople, of which only three monuments remain: the Obelisk of Theodosius, brought from Egypt, the Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine, originally covered with bronze plates.

We will visit the so-called Zero Point which is supposed to have been the center of the ancient world in Roman times. Visit the Basilica of Hagia Sophia, built in the 6th century and was for centuries the grandest church in Christendom. Later transformed into a mosque and now a museum, it preserves the best examples of Byzantine mosaics. Visit the Byzantine Cistern of Yerebatan, where among its more than 300 columns water was stored for the Imperial Palace.

In the afternoon, visit the Basilica of St. Savior in Chora which exhibits a wonderful display of Byzantine mosaics and frescoes. The main themes are the Incarnation, Salvation and Resurrection of Christ. Continuation to the Orthodox Patriarchate of Constantinople (Byzantine). Panoramic tour. At the end of the visits we will take a 1 hr. private boat ride on the Bosphorus and return to the Hotel.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel.

Morning transfer to airport for flight to Kayseri. TK2016 25MAR ISTASR HK3 1020 1155 Kayseri, the ancient Caesarea and transfer to the region of Cappadocia, "land of beautiful horses", whose peculiar relief, unique in the world and the result of millions of years of erosion, has earned it the name of "lunar landscape ". Arrival at the hotel to drop off luggage. Panoramic visit of the village of Uchisar and the valley of Las Palomas.

In the afternoon panoramic visit of the village of Cavusin.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel.

Early departure for a hot air balloon ride - OPTIONAL Full day tour of Cappadocia. Morning visit of Goreme Valley and Goreme Open Air Museum (Unesco World Heritage Site).

This national park considered a World Heritage Site by Unesco houses several religious enclosures, carved into the rock and decorated with extraordinary frescoes of the Byzantine period (11th and 12th centuries), representing different biblical passages. Lunch in the village of Avanos, famous for its pottery.

In the afternoon visit of the Devrent and Pasabag Valleys, where there are strange rock formations known as "Fairy Chimneys". Lodging.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel.

Visit Kaymaklı or Derinkuyu, subway cities excavated between the 5th and 10th centuries, whose main function was to shelter the inhabitants of the area in case of possible invasions. They are articulated in several levels reaching sometimes a great depth.

Visit of a Kervansaray, Seljuk inn located on the legendary Silk Road, which served as a stopping place for trade, pilgrimage or military caravans.

Lunch in the village of Ayvali. Afternoon transfer to the airport for flight to Izmir. Arrival in Smyrna, one of the seven cities named in Revelation and transfer to hotel.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel.

Departure to Ephesus. It is said that after the death of Christ St. John took the Virgin Mary to Ephesus, and that she spent her last days in a little house built on Mount Koressos.

Visit of the House of the Virgin.

Visit to Ephesus, the best preserved Greco-Roman city in Asia Minor and where St. Paul lived for three years (Unesco World Heritage Site). We will visit the theater, the Marble Avenue, the Church of the Council, the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian.

In the afternoon visit the Basilica of St. John, built by order of Emperor Justinian on the tomb of the saint. Lodging.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel.

Continuation to Aphrodisias, named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. Visit of this Greco-Roman site that perfectly preserves its theater, and which presents one of the best preserved stadiums, with capacity for more than 30,000 spectators (World Heritage Site by Unesco).

In addition, Aphrodisias was a very important sculptural center. Lunch at a restaurant en route. In the afternoon visit of the site of Hierapolis, famous for its large necropolis, where it is said that there was more population than in the city itself, as well as for its Roman baths or its theater.

Visit of Pamukkale, "the cotton castle", a natural wonder of calcareous thermal waters that has formed a kind of waterfall that looks like cotton (World Heritage Site by Unesco).

Transfer to Denizli airport (Pamukkale) for flight to Istanbul. Arrival in Istanbul, reception at the airport and transfer to the hotel.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel and early morning departure.

Departure for Dolmabahce Palace, known as the "Turkish Versailles" for its mid-19th century European style. Here lived the last sultans of the Empire and was also the residence of the founder of the Republic, Atatürk, who died inside the palace.

Among its riches are a chandelier of four and a half tons and a wonderful Harem. We will continue with a panoramic visit of the Jewish quarters of Balat and Fener located on the Golden Horn. Visit of the Eyup Quarter and the Pierre Loti Café. You will have the possibility to have a Turkish coffee in a typical cafe of the neighborhood.

In the afternoon, visit of the Soliman Mosque was built between 1550 - 1557 by order of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, who ruled between 1520 - 1566. It was designed by Sinan, the most famous Ottoman architect.

In the period of Suleiman the Magnificent's sultanate, the empire expanded to its maximum and approached the extent of the Byzantine empire in the brilliant era of Emperor Justinian. Lodging.

Meals: Breakfast at the hotel.

Breakfast at the hotel and transfer to Istanbul airport for your flight back to your home country and end of services.