Day 1: Friday - Depart

En Route

Depart USA on your international flight.

Day 2: Saturday - Arrive Istanbul

Four Seasons/Ciragan

Arrive Istanbul. Transfer to the your hotel.

Day 3: Sunday - Istanbul

Four Seasons/Ciragan

Full day tour of Istanbul with a skyline shaped by over 400 mosques. The 17th century Blue Mosque, Sultan Ahmet, is the only mosque in Turkey with six minarets. St. Sophia, an amazing architectural feat, was built in 365 and is now a Byzantine art museum. Nearby is the ancient Hippodrome. On the promontory over the Bosphorus and the Golden Horn is the famous Topkapi Palace, with its famous Harem, porcelains, gold and silver robes and the jewels in the Treasury. (B,L)

Day 4: Monday - Istanbul

Four Seasons/Ciragan

Morning cruise on the Bosphorous, the waterway separating Europe from Asia. See beautiful Ottoman buildings, imposing Dolmabahce Palace and Rumeli Hisar, a huge castle built by Mehmet the Conqueror to complete his stranglehold of Constantinople. Visit the Spice Market, tour the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent and end your day at the covered Grand Bazaar, considered the finest in the Middle East. (B,L)

Day 5: Tuesday - Istanbul/Cappadocia

Yanuk Evleri

Fly to Kayseri and drive to Cappadocia. Visit the fascinating monastic site of Goreme, an untamed valley with hundreds of early Byzantine chapels, the insides of which are covered with colorful 10th century biblical frescoes. Travel to Uchisar, a tiny village whose citadel has a commanding view of the Goreme Valley below, and Cavusin in Zelve, to see the spectacular rock formations known as ³fairy chimneys². Overnight in a rock-carved hotel. (B,L,D)

Day 6: Wednesday - Cappadocia

Yanuk Evleri

Spend another day exploring Cappadocia. Homes have been cut in its soft volcanic rock since 400 BC including hundreds still is use around the villages of Aucilar and Urgup. Drive to Kaymakli, an underground refuge built between the 6th and 10th centuries. This eight-story underground town contains chapels, bedrooms, storerooms, kitchens and wine cellars dug into the earth to a depth of 250 feet! End your day with a lovely stroll through the beautiful and secluded Soganli Valley. (B,L,D)

Day 7: Thursday - Pammukale

Colossae Hotel Thermal

Drive to the 13th century Seljukian Caravanserai at Azy´karahan. Continue to Ankara, the capital of Turkey with a history beginning during Trojan War. Tour two of Ankara's most famous sites -- Ataturk's beautiful mausoleum and the superb Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, housing the greatest collection of Hittite artifacts. Fly to Pammukale with its hot springs and dramatic travertine basins. (B,L)

Day 8: Friday - Afrodiasis/Antalya

Hotel Marina Antalya

Morning visit to the nearby ruins of ancient Hieropolis, first mentioned in 183 BC. Continue to Afrodiasias, one of Turkey's greatest archaeological treasures. Under the auspices of Professor Kenan Erim of NYU, spectacular statutes of outstanding beauty have been discovered. There are remains of a theater, odium, temples, baths, streets and public squares, stadium and Sebasteion with its propylon, porticoes and processional way. Stay in Antalya's old quarter. (B,L)

Day 9: Saturday - Antalya

Hotel Marina Antalya

Drive east to Perge to see the 12,000-seat stadium and a theater for 15,000. Continue to Aspendos, noted for the most well preserved ancient theater in Turkey. Visit the Antalya Museum, declared the European Museum of the Year in 1988. (B,L,D)

Day 10: Sunday - Antalya

Hotel Marina Antalya

Investigate two remote, yet highly rewarding ruins in mountainous Eastern Lycia. Arycanda is considered one of the most beautiful places in Turkey, on par with Delphi in Greece. Continue to Phaselis, according to legend founded by colonists from Rhodes in 690 BC. Blessed with an excellent harbor and vast quantities of timber, Phaselis became one of the most powerful trading states in the area. (B,L)

Day 11: Monday - Dalyan/Kaunos/Gocek

Marina Resort

Travel into the ancient kingdom of Caria. At Dalyan, take a boat excursion to view the rock-cut tombs many with elegant Ionian columns. At Kaunos, see excellent examples of Lycian rock cut tombs and a well preserved theater. Spend this evening in Gocek, a small, chic resort on the Turquoise coast. (B,L).

Day 12: Tuesday - Gocek/Bodrum

Antique Theater Hotel

Drive to Bodrum (ancient Halicarnassus), site of the Mausoleum of King Mausolus, another of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. See the gothic Crusader Castle of St. Peter, located between Bodrum's perfect twin bays and now the Museum of Underwater Archaeology. (B,L,D)

Day 13: Wednesday - Bodrum/Kusadasi

Hotel Kismet

En route to the port of Kusadasi visit four very interesting and less visited sites. The picturesque Temple of Zeus at Euromos is set in the midst of an olive grove surrounded by towering pines. Didyma was the site of a stupendous temple to Apollo, once occupied by an oracle as important as the one at Delphi. The temple porch held 120 huge columns with richly carved bases. The great theater of Miletus (capacity 15,000) rises to greet you as you approach the flood plain's southern boundary. Priene is noted for its splendid hilltop location and incredible view. The five standing columns of the Temple of Athena are the epitome of an Ionian temple. (B,L,D)

Day 14: Thursday - Kusadasi/Ephesus/Izmir

Izmir Hilton

Visit the magnificent ruins of Ephesus, capital of Asia Minor during Roman times (population 250,000). Supposedly built by the Amazons, Ephesus flourished as the center for worship of the fertility goddess Cybele and later of early Christianity. St. Paul preached here and wrote his famous letter to the Ephesians. The Basilica of St. John, located above Selcuk, is said to be built over St. Paul's tomb. The Virgin Mary is reputed to have lived her last years at Meryemana, on a mountaintop nearby. Highlights of Ephesus include the famous Celsus Library, Roman Baths, amphitheater (capacity 24,000!), Temple of Hadrian, Marble Way and Archaeological Museum. The foundations of the Temple of Artemis, are all that remains of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. (B,L)

Day 15: Friday - Sardis & Pergamum

Izmir Hilton

It was at Sardis, capital of the Lydian Kingdom of King Croesus, that coinage appears to have been invented. Highlights are the Synagogue, impressive in size and decoration, the Marble Court and the Temple of Artemis. Continue to Bergama (ancient Pergamum) where parchment was invented. A line of rulers beginning with a general of Alexander the Great governed this small but wealthy kingdom. See the ruins of the Red Basilica, visit Asclepion, the world's first medical center, and tour the dramatic hilltop Acropolis with its restored Temple of Trojan and steep hillside theater. (B,L,D)

Day 16: Saturday - Depart Istanbul/Arrive USA

En Route

Morning departure for Istanbul International Airport and your return USA flight. Welcome Home! (B)

INCLUDED IN YOUR PROGRAM

• Accommodation as above including breakfast daily.
• Internal flights in Turkey as required.
• Special sightseeing, private guides, all entrance fees.
• Meals as indicated by B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner; (B), (B,L), (B,L,D).
• All required transfers and sightseeing by private air-conditioned vehicles.
• Meet & Greet services for all arrivals and departures.
• Gratuities for two pieces of luggage per person.

SORRY, NOT INCLUDED IN YOUR PROGRAM

• Cost of visa and departures taxes.
• Items of a personal nature such as laundry, telephone calls, faxes, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, incidental expense, etc.
• Tips for guides and drivers.