Classics of Turkey and Cairo (with Troy)

Arrival and reception by our representative at Istanbul airport. Transfer to the hotel. Important: Upon arrival at Istanbul Airport, exit through gate no. 8 the transfer staff will be waiting for you with a name sign. 

Optional: Bosphorus cruise at night, includes dinner, unlimited local alcoholic beverages, folk show and DJ. 

Breakfast at the hotel. Day off.

Optional: Ottoman and Byzantine Tour: Visiting the old part where the most outstanding Ottoman and Byzantine monuments are concentrated. We will begin with a visit to the ancient Roman Hippodrome where the Obelisk of Theodosius, the Egyptian Obelisk, the Column stand out Serpentine and the German Fountain. Then visit the famous Blue Mosque, the most important in Istanbul and, until 2016, the only one in the world with 6 minarets. We continue to visit the famous Hagia Sophia, symbol of Istanbul. One of the masterpieces of Byzantine art. Declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1985. We will also visit Topkapi Palace, the famous and gigantic enclosure from where the Ottoman Empire was led for almost 400 years. Finally, your guide will take you to the Grand Bazaar. Free time for shopping.

Breakfast. Departure to Ankara, capital of modern Turkey, passing through the Bolu Mountains. Arrival and visit to the Mausoleum of Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Completed in 1953 it is a stunning fusion of ancient and modern architectural styles. Visit to the Independence Museum which houses a wax statue of Ataturk, his writings, letters and personal objects as well as an exhibition of photographs, recordings of important moments in his life and the constitution of the new Turkish Republic. Stop for lunch and continue to Cappadocia. Upon arriving in Cappadocia we visited a pottery. Arrival at the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

At dawn you will have the opportunity to participate in an optional excursion in a hot air balloon. After breakfast, visit this fantastic region for its fascinating and original landscape formed by the lava spewed by the Erciyes and Hasan volcanoes 3 million years ago. We will make a stop in Esentepe to photograph the beautiful Göreme Valley where we will then visit its numerous monasteries, churches and chapels carved into the rocks. We continue to the valleys of Love, Devrent, Avcilar and Guvercinlik, which have a spectacular landscape of the “Fairy Chimneys”. Stop for lunch. Then we will visit one of the onyx and turquoise jewelry workshops. Visit to a troglodyte city, Uchisar or Cavusin. Stop in Avanos, famous for its clay works which have been the lifeline of the city. We finish in one of the typical carpet workshops to learn the manufacture of this centuries-old Turkish tradition. Dinner at the hotel.

Optional : Possibility of attending the famous ''Turkish Night'', a folk dance show in a typical cave with unlimited regional alcoholic drinks.

Breakfast. Early departure via Konya. Stop at an old “caravansaray” from the 13th century that was part of the old silk route. After lunch we continue to Pamukkale, a spectacular and unique place in the world for its dazzling white waterfalls and natural pools. Its translation from Turkish is “cotton castle.” Next to it is the Ancient Hierapolis with one of the largest necropolises of antiquity. Dinner and accommodation.

Optional opportunity to perform a balloon flight over Pamukkale.

Breakfast. Departure to Ephesus, an ancient Greco-Roman city and one of the best preserved today, where we will visit the Temple of Hadrian, Temple of Trajan, the Theatre, the fabulous Library of Celsus, etc. Lunch. Continuation to the House of the Virgin Mary, where she spent the last years of her life. Opportunity to visit one of the typical leather factories. Arrival in Izmir. Dinner and accommodation.

Breakfast. Panoramic visit to Izmir, third largest city in Türkiye. The icons of the city are the clock tower and the promenade called “kordon”. Lunch. In the afternoon visit to Troy. The legendary town in the Iliad of Homer and the Wooden Horse. Accommodation and Dinner in Çanakkale, on the Dardanelles coast. 

Breakfast. Departure and arrival in Istanbul. Lunch in a typical restaurant on the banks of the Bosphorus. Visit to the colorful and aromatic Spice Bazaar. At the port of Eminonu we will take the boat to cruise through the Bosphorus, a strait that divides Istanbul between Asia and Europe. Transfer to the hotel.

Flight to Cairo (not included).

Arrival at Cairo International Airport, reception, visa processing and transfer to the Hotel. Accommodation.

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will take a panoramic visit to the Three Pyramids of Giza: Cheops, Chefren and Mecerinos, the architectural complex considered the most important of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. We will admire the Sphinx with a human head attributed to King Khafre and the body of a lion and we will visit the Temple of Khafre. Lunch in a typical restaurant, in the afternoon visit to Memphis, (open-air museum where we can admire several colossal statures of Ramses II, a large sphinx and other archaeological remains). We will continue our visits today by visiting the Necropolis of Sakkara and its stepped pyramid, (it was an important cult center where a large number of animal mummies were produced. The pyramid that Imnotep, the first known architect in the world, designed for Pharaoh Djoser stands out. , since it was a revolutionary design, the stepped pyramid, the first of large dimensions). Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will make a cultural visit of the city to learn about the Saladin Citadel, declared a World Heritage Site and which has the Mohamed Ali Mosque or “Alabaster Mosque” and the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities, where the treasures of Tutankhamun are located. We will continue our visits today by visiting the Coptic neighborhood where the church of San Sergio is located where the Holy Family took refuge, Lunch in a typical restaurant and free time to shop in the famous Khan el Khalili market, Transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.

Breakfast at the hotel. Transfer to the international airport to take your departure flight.