Once again we are returning to Turkey.
This is a land and a people which captures your senses and keeps you coming back for more.
Lands of the Bible, of the Greeks, Romans, Ottomans; of St. Paul and St. John and Mary, the Mother of Jesus.
Old Constantinople, Byzantium, the Ottoman Empire, the Bosphorus - so much to see.
Early Christian Churches hidden in caves, mosques with their daily haunting calls to prayer, Palaces of the Sultans, more Greek ruins than in Greece.
Four nights in Istanbul, three in our cave hotel in Cappadocia and three in the daughter of the Sultans hotel on the Aegean.
And - to make life easy, we travel by aircraft from each location saving hours on a coach.
Join us and discover the growing and thriving lands of Turkey.
Call or email us for more details. See pricing at sidebar on the right.
Big booking incentives:
Bring four friends (not wife, husband or significant other) and
get your tour half price.
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Your Turkish Itinerary
October 6 Day 1 Early Day - Yasmak Sultan Hotel, Istanbul. Arrival in Istanbul where our guide will greet you at the Ataturk Airport and accompany to your hotel where you can relax after your long flight.
October 7 Day 2 Yasmak Sultan. Istanbul - Today's sightseeing begins with a visit to the magnificent Topkapi Palace once home to the great Sultans; it is filled with treasures and antiquities. Then we explore the Blue Mosque built in 1609 by Sultan Ahmet. We will also see the Basilica of St. Sophia, which was built in 326 by Constantine the Great, it has been a cathedral, a mosque, and now a museum.This evening we enjoy a Welcome Dinner in one of the famous kebab restaurants.(B.D)
October 8 Day 3 Yasmak Sultan, Istanbul - After breakfast we will continue to explore the city visiting the Spice Bazaar where the scent of hundreds of spices permeates the air and Grand Bazaar, famous for it's thousands of shops and then a breathtaking Bosphorus Cruise. More to see as well before heading back to the hotel and dinner. (B, D)
October 9 Day 4 Yasmak Sultan, Istanbul - A totally free day to explore Istanbul at leisure. Our hotel is within walking distance of all the major sites including the Grand Bazaar and the Spice Bazaar. Happy Shopping! (B)
October 10 Day 5 Yunak Elveri Cave Hotel, Cappadocia - Today we will have a short flight of about an hour from Istanbul to Cappadocia where we will explore Ihlara Valley, the small canyon which has rock-carved churches and dwellings belonging to the Byzantine era and Soganli Valley, an open air museum with its different style Rock-Cut churches and frescoes. (B, D)
October 11 Day 6 Yunak Elveri Cave Hotel, Cappadocia - The lunar like landscape of this region is eerie, yet beautiful. Over thousands of years, rain has eroded this landscape to give rise to strange rock formations known as “Fairy Chimneys”. Many of these have homes and churches carved into them. Some of the grottos are magnificently decorated with colorful frescoes depicting biblical scenes. Later we enjoy a visit to local carpet co-op. In the afternoon we visit the hidden monastic valley of Pasabagi, which has a large number of cave houses and churches for the early Christian community. (B, D)
October 12 Day 7 Yunak Elveri Cave Hotel, Cappadocia - After breakfast discover the Underground City of Kaymakli. Around the sixth century the Christian inhabitants of this region began to tunnel into the soft volcanic rock. As deep as two hundred and seventy five feet with eight different levels, several thousand people lived in this subterranean city. Then explore the Alladin’s Cave at Avenos to see the techniques of ceramic art dating from 12th B.C. to 3rd B.C. periods. In the afternoon we will enjoy tasting local wine and visiting a local family to learn about the local culture while having Turkish tea and Baklava. (B, D)
October 13 Day 8 Kismet Hotel, Kusadasi -Transfer to airport for a short direct flight to Izmir and then drive to Kusadasi discovering the richness of the ancient Greek world before reaching our hotel on a small peninsula jutting out into the Aegean Sea. (B, D)
October 14 Day 9 Kismet Hotel, Kusadasi - Today's excursion takes us to Ephesus, the largest ancient city ever uncovered. Once populated with 300,000 people, it has an enormous amphitheatre, which can still hold 24,000 spectators. As you walk down the marble covered streets, see gymnasiums, bath houses, public latrines, the library of Celsus and the Temple of Artemis. We continue to the House of the Virgin Mary, where she is believed to have spent her last few days. (B, D)
October 15 Day 10 Kismet Hotel, Kusadasi - Today is at leisure. You might wish to go to Samos on your own to explore the Island and Archaeological Museum, regarded as one of the most interesting provincial museums in Greece. (B, D)
October 16 Day 11 Romance Boutique Hotel, Istanbul - A short flight back to Istanbul this morning followed by time to relax and repack and maybe a last minute bit of shopping and a stroll before our last evening together. (B, D)
October 17 Day 12. Istanbul Departure - We'll arrange your transfer to Istanbul airport today for your flight home. (B)
Circumstances beyond the control of Fraser Connection Tours may cause some changes to the itinerary.
Personal notes on Turkey...
After our first tour to Turkey we said it was one of our best ever. And after our second visit? Even more so.
There is something special here. Perhaps it is the fact that it is the cradle of civilisation or perhaps it is because of all the old Arabian Night stories and the great old movies like Ali Baba and the 40 Thieves.
This is the land where Abraham was born, where Paul, James and John lived and preached, and where the ancient Hittite and Greek Empires reached their pinnacles of power.
Dotted along the Aegean are ruins such as Ephesus, Sardis, the ancient Smyrna that did so much to spread the word of democracy and brilliance to other darker corners of the world.
But equal to all this, for us, it is the people who have brought a special dimension to this most ancient of lands.
“Have you ever considered Turkey as a destination?” asked the voice on the telephone about three years ago.
“No” was Bev’s succint response.
“Why not?” came the rejoinder.
And that was the beginning of our relationship with Erkan Karpuz, a young(ish) Turk who runs his own incoming agency and guides out of Istanbul.
From the beginning Erkan came across not only as a businessman but as a warm person who cared deeply about his country. Whether it was walking the streets of Istanbul with him or discovering the delights of Turkish cuisine, including the somewhat dangerous ‘Raki’ (which makes Scotch seem rather tame), we had quickly found a friend.
Together we explored corners of Istanbul and rode on the great old 1913 Streetcar line in Beyoglu and learned about his upcoming wedding last year.
Muge is a stunningly attractive girl whom we met over dinner in October, and the couple are expecting their first child very soon.
And just recently we have another great piece of news. Our pal Seyhun Aktoprak, an historian and archeologist who is one of the guides for Erkan just let us know that he and his wife Merve have a baby boy, named Toprak.
We all travel for different reasons, we see and remember different things. Our gang from this past October will remember the 15 year old Yusef, a young boy working in an Istanbul restaurant who shyly made paper napkin roses for all the ladies in our group while we ate.
Then there is Atek, working as a waiter at Kararifin, a coffee shop near our Istanbul hotel. Atek, whose name he told us means Freeman is from Turkmenistan. Attending the University of Istanbul, he is studying Tax structures.
There was Ali, a jacket seller on the street to whom I promised to come back and see him next year (inshallah) and buy one of his jackets.
And the porter at the hotel who at 3:15 a.m. took Bev to the nearest bank machine while she grabbed some cash. If that sounds a bit strange consider the fact that at three a.m. we had been wakened by a phone call from three of our guests informing us that their prearranged ride to the airport hadn’t shown up. Not much joy there.
They were bundled into a cab with one of them saying they had enough money for the ride. We didn’t, having run out the night before and deciding we could wait till morning to restock. However, if the five a.m. drive didn’t appear, the next group to leave would need money for a taxi so off went Bev to the bank machine with her porter guard.
By the time Bev returned to the room she had seen a number photos of the porter’s new baby and had made a new friend.
Old buildings and ancient sites are great. But they are dead and inamimate until they are brought to life by real live people with hopes, dreams and ambitions.
We are no different from the Turks, the Scots, the Asians, the French. And that is the most important gift that we get from travel.
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| Library at Ephesus |
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Pricing and Booking
Price: $4,295 per person based on double occupancy. Single: $4,995.
A
$500 deposit (non-refundable so take out insurance and protect
yourself) at the time of booking with the remainder due 60 days prior to
departure. You will be invoiced. We accept MasterCard and Visa.
(Please read our fine print pages for more details and all ‘the boring stuff’).
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Your Hotels in Turkey:
Istanbul - Yasmak Sultan Hotel - www.hotelyasmaksultan.com/en/homepage -
Your only five to ten minutes away from the Spice Market, Topkapi
Palace, the waterfront at the Golden Horn, 15 minutes from the Grand
Bazaar and historic mosques,
Cappadocia - Yunak Evleri Hotel - www.yunak.com/en/index.html -
If you have never stayed in a cave, this is the place to start! Each
room with a private terrace. Each cave isolated from the other.This is
pure luxury in a cave.
Kusadasi - Kismet Hotel - www.kismet.com.tr/
Sitting on its own peninsula in the Kusadasi harbor, every room looks
to the sea. Originally built for the daughter of the last Sultan of the
Ottoman Empire, the hotel has played host to actors, authors,
politicians, kings and queens, including Queen Elizabeth II.
Istanbul (last night) - Romance Boutique Hotel - www.romancehotel.com/en/homepage -
A lovely little last night hotel very close to our other Istanbul
Hotel. Grreat spot for our last evening togetrher and maybe a last
stroll around the charm of Iold Istanbul.
Highlights:
Istanbul - City tour, Blue Mosque, Aya Sophia, Grand Bazaar, Spice Bazaar, Walls of Byzantium, Topkapi Palace, Bosphorus Cruise, Chora Church, Free Day
Cappadocia - Goreme Valley, Fairy Chimneys, Cave towns, 4th century cave churches, local winery, Avanos Pottery, Visit to a local home.
Kusadasi - Ephesus, Virgin Mary’s House, Sardis which was conquered by Alexander the Great in 334 BC, Temple of Diana, Free Day.
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| Elaine having fun in the market |
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What's Included:
All ground transportation
Airport Transfers
Driver and guide
Full breakfasts throughout
Seven dinners
All entry fees
Baggage handling
All service charges, local taxes
Background kit
Not included:
Air fare,
lunches,
Dinner for early night and one night Estremoz, one night Lisbon
Alcoholic beverages
Personal expenses
Tipping to guide and driver
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