The Charms of Turkey

In garden’s muteness, in spring, in the night’s mist, over a rose sings the nightingale of East.. A. Pushkin

9 days and 8 nights with full board included (three meals per day, from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day) and lodging in 4* and 5* hotels.  Visit Istanbul, the cultural capital of Turkey, the extraordinary region of Cappadocia with its troglodyte dwellings and the Pamphylian coast, finishing in Antalya.

Book an unforgettable hot air balloon ride and fly over the stunning Cappadocia landscapes sculpted by geological erosion. Reservations can be made with your guide for an extra charge.

100% customisable programmes.

THREE REASONS FOR CHOOSING SCOPE VOYAGE

1. IRREPROACHABLE QUALITY

• Enjoy full board throughout your stay: tour price includes catering from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day.
• Reap the benefits of small group travel: 18 participants maximum.
• Be accompanied by an experienced bilingual and knowledgeable tour guide. Individual audio-phones for all guided tours will also be provided.
• Delight in the high standards and comfort of the 4* and 5* hotels we have chosen for you.
• Participate in food and wine tastings of local products.

2. ABSOLUTE COMFORT

• Discover Turkey while having fun and relaxing. Our tours are designed to give you just the right amount of time to explore: fly from Istanbul to Cappadocia, spend 2 nights in Istanbul, 3 nights in Cappadocia, 1 night in Isparta, famous for its rose water and 1 night in
• Airlines: Turkish Airlines, Onur Air, Pegasus Airlines, Sun Express.
• Comfortable, spacious and air-conditioned coaches equipped with Wi-Fi.
• Excellent roadway infrastructure, guaranteeing comfortable travel.

3. UNFORGETTABLE MOMENTS

In addition to the magnificent city of Istanbul and the radiant light of Antalya, you will be captivated by the landscapes of Cappadocia, and gems like the Seljuk Mosque of Esrefoglu or the Hittite Fountain of Eflatunpinar.  One of the main highlights is the boat trip on the Bosphorus.

Itinerary

DAY 1  : Flight to Istanbul

Meeting point at your departure airport. Assistance with check-in and boarding of your flight to Istanbul.  Upon arrival, you will be greeted by your guide, then transfer to your hotel. Welcome cocktail before heading to your room.

Accommodation and dinner for 2 nights at the Yasmak Sultan 4*  or similar hotel.

Istanbul not only has its own colours and smells, but also its own sounds.  The siren of the steam ferry boat « vapur » chugging gently from one continent to the other accompanied by the cry of « marti », the city’s seagulls following the boats.

DAY 2 : From Emperors to Sultans

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

You will start the day with a visit to Hagia Sophia, one of the most remarkable monuments in the world. Its architecture is an example of the refinement of the Byzantine capital during the sixth century and marked the height of the reign of Emperor Justian I.

Onwards to the Basilica Cistern, an ancient water reservoir and superb Roman hydraulic masterpiece of engineering.

Across the Hippodrome Square, you will visit the worldwide famous Blue Mosque, built between 1609 and 1616 for the Sultan Amhet I.  Its six elegant minarets tower over the Sultanahmet Square where sporting, political and cultural activities took place during the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods.

After lunch, you will discover the incredible beauty of the Topkapi Palace; the lavish residence of Ottoman Sultans and ladies of the harem for four hundred years.  Surrounded by five kilometres of ramparts, it stretches over 70 hectares.  In 1985, Unesco inscribed it on the World Heritage list, describing it as «an unmatched assemblage of buildings constructed over four centuries». You will be captivated by its art collections: ceramics, jewellery, silverware, ceremonial furniture, miniatures, weapons and mosaics.

At the end of the day, you will have free time to stroll and shop in the Grand Bazaar.  With its 60 alleys and 4,000 stalls and shops spanning over 30 hectares, it is still the largest indoor market in the world today.

Dinner out in the city and night at the hotel.

Considered as the eighth wonder of the world, Hagia Sophia was built during the reign of Emperor Justinian, in 532. « The Christ Pantocrator of the deesis mosaic» (13th century).

DAY 3 :  From the Bosphorus to Cappadocia

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

In the morning, you will visit the picturesque Spice Market, a complex with vaulted ceilings and a multitude of shops under its arches. Breathe in the perfumes of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint and thyme and experience the colours and flavours of the Silk Road.

Afterwards, take a boat trip on the Bosphorus and admire the best views of Istanbul.  Along the strait on both banks, you will pass by the marble palaces of Dolmabahçe and Beylerbeyi, the beautiful wooden Ottoman mansions (the yali ») and the medieval fortresses.

Lunch and transfer to the airport accompanied by your guide.

Flight to Cappadocia (about 60 minutes).

Accommodation and dinner for 3 nights at the l’hôtel Yunak Evleri  or similar hotel.

Leander’s Tower, also known as the Maiden’s Tower,  with a magnificent view of the Golden Horn, the Bosphorus and the Marmara sea.

DAY 4  : The Cave Churches of Cappadocia

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

Two whole days will be devoted to discovering Cappadocia, this fantastic land with its lunar landscapes.  A unique region, where nature created a strange and colourful world of columns, needles and cones shaped by the erosion of volcanic tuff.  Some of these singular shapes are over 30 meters high.

On one of the mornings, you will have the opportunity to take an unforgettable hot air balloon ride (optional, at your own expense).

Not only is the natural scenery remarkable here but in this phantasmagorical environment, our ancestors carved the soft stone to construct houses, stalls, churches, hospitals…

The early Christians painted the walls of their chapels with their own interpretations of the Bible.  These incredibly beautiful frescoes demonstrate the creativity and fervour of their religious beliefs.  In the Goreme Valley open-air museum, you will discover several cave churches: the church of Saint Barbara, the Snake church, the church of the Sandal, the church of the Buckle, and the church of the Apple.

After lunch, you will explore one of the region’s underground towns, an incredible labyrinth on several levels used during times of invasion for the local people to hide in.  In the afternoon, discover the Avcilar and Kiliçlar valleys, with their ancient troglodyte dwellings and fairy chimneys. Onwards, for a stroll through the charming village of Uçhisar.  Its citadel crowns a rocky peak offering a superb panoramic view over the entire region and the Pigeon valley.

Turkish carpet making is an ancestral art and one of the country’s main artisanal industries. This art will be explained during a visit to a renowned carpet factory.

End the day on a majestic note and watch the sun set from the terrace in the midst of the vineyards with a majestic view overlooking the valley.

Dinner and night at the hotel.

The Goreme valley, land of the first anchorites. Cappadocia has numerous cave churches and monasteries and rock art culminates in the Byzantine period, with extraordinary polychrome frescoes.

DAY 5  : The Coloured Valleys

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

In the morning, take a walk off the beaten track in the Soganli Valley along paths lined with apricot and almond trees.  This valley is surrounded by beautifully decorated rock churches as well as unusual dovecotes dug out of the rock.

Stop-off and enjoy a barbecue lunch specially prepared for you by a Cappadocian family.

In the afternoon, at the foot of Mount Melendiz, visit the rocky village of Güzelyurt and discover several Greek churches in the shade of jujube and pistachio trees.

Amidst the scenic old stone houses, participate in a wine tasting of some of the delicious local wines.

Return to the hotel.

The soft, crumbly volcanic rock has been shaped over time by erosion, but also dug by human hands to provide unusual dwellings.

DAY 6  : Cappadocia – Konya – Isparta (460 km – 5 h 30)

Breakfast, lunch and dinner.

In the morning, on the Silk Road, you will cross the plain of Konya, the breadbasket of Turkey with a stop off at the Seljuk Sultanhan caravanserai (13th century).

Arrival at Konya, a religious city and former Seljuk capital of the Sultanate of Rum.  Visit the Mevlana Museum, dedicated to the famous poet and mystic who, in the 13th century, founded the Sufi order of the whirling dervishes.

After lunch, discover Beysehir, a town situated on the banks of Lake Akşehir, Turkey’s largest freshwater reserve. Visit the Esrefogul Mosque (13th century) a remarkable example of Seljuk art, with a forest of interior cedar wood columns, earthenware and mosaics.

Photo stop-off at Eflatunpinar to admire its monumental Hittite fountain decorated with bas-reliefs.

Arrival at Isparta, world famous for its precious natural rose oil.

Accommodation and dinner at the Ramada by Wyndham Isparta  or similar hotel.

Interior of the Esrefoglu Mosque (13th century).

DAY 7 : Isparta – Aspendos – Antalya (255 km – 4 hours)

Breakfast, lunch, dinner.

In the morning, after having crossed the Taurus Mountains, you will reach the Pamphylian coast, and then on to Aspendos, whose 2nd century theatre is the best preserved of all the Roman theatres in Asia minor.

You will also visit one of the largest jewellery stores in Turkey with unique pieces set with precious gemstones.   The country is ranked second in the world in this art form.

After lunch, stroll through the old town of Antalya with its typical wooden houses overlooking the port and close by discover Hadrian’s gate, the fluted minaret, the truncated minaret and the Hidirilik tower.

Accommodation and dinner at the Alp Pasa Butik or similar hotel.

The British archaeologist David George Hogarth wrote in 1909: “This is not like anything that I ever saw before.  You may have seen the amphitheaters in Italy, France, Dalmatia and Africa; temples in Egypt and Greece; the palaces in Crete; you may be sated with antiquity or scornful of it. But you have not seen the theatre of Aspendos.”

DAY 8  :Return flight home

Breakfast and transfer to Antalya airport according to your flight schedule.

Assistance with check-in and departure to your destination.

View of Istanbul, by Le Corbusier (1911).

The price includes

✈ International round trip flights.

✈ Internal flight Istanbul/Kayseri.

o Meeting upon your arrival.

o Transfers airport/hotel/airport.

o Assistance from your experienced bilingual guide during the tour.

o Double room accommodation in the assigned hotels or ones of similar standing, hotel luggage porters.

o Full board from dinner on the first day to lunch on the last day.

o Transportation in comfortable vehicles adapted to the size of the group, a window per person.

o Visits and entrance fees to sites and museums mentioned in the programme.

24/7 assistance from our agency.

The price does not include

X Single room supplements.

X Hot air balloon ride: reservations can be made with your guide (extra charge)

X Drinks and personal expenses, tips for the guide and the driver.

X No insurance is included (Scope Voyage recommends you purchase travel insurance).