Midday arrival into Istanbul where we will be met by your guide and driver. Your driver will be waiting for you just outside of Customs, after you pick up your luggage.  Transfer to your hotel in the center of the city.

Istanbul, formerly known as Byzantium and Constantinople, played for centuries a major part in world politics, first as the capital of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire, then as the capital of the Ottoman Empire, the most powerful Islamic empire in the world. Nowadays, Istanbul's Asian side is filled with Western-style sprawling suburbs, while its European side is a wonderland of mosques, magnificent palaces, and crowded bazaars.  

This afternoon your guide will take you to visit the 17th century Spice Market also called the Egyptian Bazaar, because in the 17th Century it was built with money paid as duty on Egyptian import goods. From medieval times, spices were an important and expensive part of Oriental cooking and they gradually became the bazaar’s main focus, taking advantage of Istanbul’s strategic position on the main trade route between the East and Europe. Here you can still sense the atmosphere of a bygone era.

Following the market experience, continue on to the Galata district where the Genoese, Venetians and the Jewish Society of Old Constantinople used to live.

Next, your guide will take you to Eminou to board your private boat.  The best way to take in some of the most interesting sights in Turkey is to take this private boat cruise up the Bosphorus. You will depart from Eminonu and sail up the Bosphorus toward the Black Sea, allowing you to see all the interesting structures along this historic waterway.  

This is one of the most unforgettable excursions between two continents, Europe & Asia. The cruise takes you along the latest palaces of Ottomans, The Dolmabahce Palace and Beylerbeyi, as well as 19th and 20th century, beautiful wooden kiosks, mansions and modern villas, which form the elegant section of the city. Enjoy the scenery.  

You will end your Bosphorus boat cruise on the Asian side where you will be met by your vehicle and driver for a brief exploration tour of Istanbul’s Asian part.  

This morning you will start with a visit to the Blue Mosque, one of the most important temples of worship in the world. It is named for the blue Iznik tile work that decorates its interior and its dome can be seen from all over the Sultanahmet district. It was built by Mehmet Aga, the imperial architect and was very controversial due to its six minarets, which many at that time believed wasout in 532 under the rule of Justinian. Don’t miss the columns resting on busts of Medusa’s Head that are believed to be a shrine to the water nymphs!

The rest of the day is dedicated to exploring more of Istanbul including the Turkish and Islamic Art Museum which has a remarkable collection of ancient artifacts. The collection includes spectacular pieces from ancient Babylon, Persia and Mesopotamia.

Evening

Tonight we recommend visiting Ortakoy, one of the chicest neighborhoods in Istanbul, for dinner. This stylish area offers trendy boutiques, wonderful restaurants, and cute cafes.   The cost of dinner and transportation is not included.

This morning you will set out on an overview city tour that covers the highlights, including the most historic section of Istanbul, called Sultanahmet.  En route to Sultanahmet you will pass by the business district, the port and several other important sights that your guide will point out.  

Some of the finest examples of Byzantine mosaics and frescoes can be found in the St. Savior in Chora Church, dating from the 11th Century. Beautifully restored and decorated in the 13th Century, the interiors of the church feature exquisite mosaics in the domes portraying 66 of Christ’s ancestors, whereas the ones in the narthexes depict scenes from the life of Virgin Mary and Christ’s childhood.  

While in Sultanahmet, your guide will first take you into the extraordinary Imperial residence of 25 Ottoman Sultans, Topkapi Palace. You will see the Herem, the library, the treasure, with its royal jewelry and gem collection, and the imperial living quarters, all surrounded by serene gardens and fountains.  Also in the Treasury is the 86-carat Spoonmaker’s diamond and a Case-containing bones said to be from the hand of St. John the Baptist.

While visiting Topkapi, you will be able to step back into time as you explore 500 years of Ottoman history. The Topkapi palace complex will be regarded as a multi-ethnic construction with influences from Central Asia, Asia Minor, Persia and Mesopotamia. Within the historically short period of two centuries, the Ottomans rose from a small, feudal principality to become a major -the major- world power, yet at the same time they possessed a court tradition and culture of their own that was over a thousand years old. Undoubtedly Topkapi involved a synthesis of Byzantine elements but yet it can never be completely separated from its Ottoman roots.

Continuing into Sultanahmet, you can visit the Hippodrome, which was once the central focus of Constantinople (the Byzantine name of the city). Built by the Romans in the 3rd century AD, only fragments are left of what was once a grand stadium that held 100,000 spectators for public meeting and important events, including chariot races.  Here in the Hippodrome, you will also see the Egyptian Obelisk, the Serpentine Column and the Column of Constantine.  

This afternoon your guide will take you on a tour of the opulent Dolmabache Palace on the banks of the Bosphorus.  This palace more resembles the grand palaces of Europe in the 19th century and was built by Sultan Abdul Mecit to rival the greatest palaces of St. Petersburg, Paris and London.  Don’t miss the crystal staircase, the unique alabaster baths and the enormous Ceremonial Hall, designed to hold 2,500 guests.  

You will make a brief stop to see the exteriors of the magnificent Suleymaniye Mosque - Istanbul’s most important mosque, which was built by the famous 16th Century architect Sinan in an attempt to rival the Hagia Sophia.  It is perhaps the most prominent example of Ottoman architecture and was once the center of a welfare system which fed daily over 1,000 of the city’s poor, regardless of their religion.

Morning check out of hotel and transfer to the airport for your flight to Kayseri departing.  The cost of the flight is included in your itinerary.  

Upon arrival into Kayseri your private driver will meet you at the airport for the approximately one-hour transfer to your unique cave hotel in Cappadocia - a popular area famous with its cone-shaped geological formations.  

The rest of the day is dedicated to discovering the beautiful region of Cappadocia, the land of the fairy chimneys. Cappadocia has an interesting and remarkable topography and a dream-like landscape, complete with beautiful villages and houses carved from soft volcanic ash, underground cities and frescoed churches. The so-called fairy chimneys and troglodyte dwellings will take you to another world and will guarantee an unforgettable impression. The monastic cave churches, some of which date back to the 3rd Century and which are decorated with beautiful frescoes are worth visiting.

After lunch at a local restaurant (cost of lunch not included), you will  visit one of Cappadocia’s underground cites - Derinkuyu or Kaymakli, which were cut out of volcanic rock as deep as 300 feet during the period from the 6th to the 10th Centuries. One can go as deep as seven floor levels of the underground city through an intricate labyrinth of tunnels. These underground cities were used by the local population to hide when invading armies were passing through and are believed to have housed thousands of people.  

This afternoon, your guide will take you to see the Pigeon Valley, where for centuries the locals used to keep pigeons in niches carved in the rock for their valuable fertilizing manure. You may also be able to climb the rock-carved Uchisar Castle and enjoy from its peak the breath-taking views over the valley.  

Evening: You will get a chance to see a ceremony performed by the Whirling Dervishes. This order was founded by a Sufi mystic who believed that music and dance can induce an ecstatic state liberating one’s soul from the stress and suffering of daily life.  The ceremony consists of five parts including prayers, greetings, and musical improvisations. Its culmination is the whirling which symbolizes the spiritual accent to divine harmony.  

This morning, your driver and guide will meet you for a full day of touring in the Goreme National Park – a UNESCO Heritage site.

If you do not mind getting up before sunrise, you will be able to take a hot air balloon ride - are one of the most popular activities in the Goreme valley. Typically these rides last around an hour and a half and literally go wherever the wind may blow in the valley. The balloon carriages hold around ten people with the pilot following the air currents and floating along the valleys, often below the ridge line and close to the famous natural phenomena – the chimney rocks.  

After a volcano eruption about 2000 years ago, the lava and ashes formed soft rocks in the Cappadocia Region.  The rain and wind gradually eroded these soft rocks to form the famous fairy chimneys of Goreme. The local people realized that these soft rocks could be easily carved out to form houses, churches, and monasteries and not before long Goreme became a cultural and religious center.  

Nowadays, the Goreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. It is a complex comprising more than 30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th Centuries. Unremarkable from the outside, the interiors are in a typically Byzantine style with a central dome and a floor plan in the shape of a cross or a rectangle.  The largest and best preserved of the churches in Goreme is the Tokali Church. Its interior walls are covered in some of the richest frescoes in the region depicting scenes from the New Testament.

After passing the villages of Ortahisar, Urgup and Mustafapasa (Sinassos), you will continue touring the area with a visit to the Zelve Open Air Museum, which was one of the earliest monastic settlements in the area. Later today, you will have a chance to visit some local villages and craftspeople possibly including a traditional rug workshop.  

This morning, your guide and driver will take you along the Ihlara Valley, a spectacular and less visited part of Cappadocia. The main part of the valley lies between the Selime Village and the town of Ihlara.  Your approximately 2-hour hike along the Peristrema River will take you in an oasis deep in a canyon where once Byzantine monks carved frescoed cave chapels into the canyon walls.  Apparently, the first settlement here was built by the early Christians who were seeking refuge while escaping from Roman soldiers. Of the over 60 churches in the valley which once existed, only about 10 can be seen today, most of which are from the 11th Century and have some rather unusual names, signifying their use or a peculiar feature. It is believed that an ancient medical school where the art of mummification was taught and practiced was located in this area.

Ending your walk at the Selime Village, you will have lunch near here along the river (The cost of the lunch is not included in your itinerary).  Next, you will visit the Selime Monastery where you will have a short walk through the camel tunnel, which was once part of the ancient spice road, before visiting the refectories and the churches carved on the side of a cliff. While visiting the refectory, you may have a chance to see a cooking lesson and learn more about traditional Turkish cuisine and the ingredients and spices used.

Your guide and driver will take you back to your hotel, where you may have a chance to see a cooking lesson and learn more about traditional Turkish cuisine and the ingredients and spices used. The rest of the evening will be at your leisure.  

This morning, your driver will meet you in the hotel lobby for the transfer to Kayseri airport for your flight to Istanbul.

Upon your arrival this morning, you will be treated to a private 2-hour Bosporus cruise. There is no better way to get an overview of Istanbul and the 20-mile waterway linking the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara. Enjoy a leisurely exploration of this historic channel between Europe and Asia. The boat cruise offers beautiful views of the city, including the many traditional wooden houses, mosques, and palaces along the shore.

Your journey across the Bosporus will take you to the Anatolian part of Greater Istanbul where you will again meet your driver. You may visit Kadikoy, a cosmopolitan town picturesquely located on the shores of the Marmara Sea, which is also the traffic hub for all travel between the Asian and the European parts of the city. You may walk along the famous Kadikoy shopping area with its tiny narrow alleyways and shopping arcades.  

Continuing further north, you will have a chance to visit the Florence Nightingale Museum, housed in the Selimiye Barracks. Florence Nightingale was a nurse, who, during the Crimean War, in which Britain, France and Turkey fought against Russia, organized a group of nearly 40 British volunteer nurses and arrived at the Selimiye Barracks after hearing about the terrible conditions in which the wounded soldiers were treated. She took charge of the military hospital, completely re-organizing its operations and bringing the mortality rate in the barracks from 20% to 2%.  

Later today, you will stop in the town of Uskudar, which has been a major port and shipyard since Antquity and was a strategic staging poing in the wars between Perisa and Greece. Uskudar’s long promenade is lined with cafes and restaurants and is very popular in summer as it commands excellent views of the main sights on the European side of the Bosporus. The streets of Salacik, one of Uskudar’s most prominent neighborhoods, still hold a number of classic Ottoman wooden houses.  

Time permitting, you will continue your journey up the coast and visit the Beylerbeyi Palace. Designed in the Turkish Baroque style, the palace was commissioned by Sultan Abdul Aziz and built in the 1860’s as a summer residence and a place to entertain visiting dignitaries, such as the French Empress Eugenie, who visited on her way to the opening of the Suez Canal and supposedly had her face slapped by the sultan's mother for daring to enter the palace on the arm of Abdul Aziz. One of the most attractive rooms in the palace is the reception hall, which has a pool and fountain. Running water was popular in Ottoman houses for its calming sound and the cooling effect in the heat.

You will cross the first Bosporus Bridge back to the European side of Istanbul and return to your hotel for an evening at leisure.  

This morning you will be privately transferred to the airport for your onward flight , or to your next destination in Turkey.