Footsteps of Paul and Best of Turkey

Welcome to Turkey. Arrive in Istanbul Airport ( IST ) Our Tour guide and representative will meet you at the airport with YOUR GROUP NAME sign outside of gate number 14 in IST airport. Sign and private transfer to the hotel in Old Town Istanbul area for overnight stay in Istanbul. Optional Hamam.
Dinner and Overnight stay in Istanbul

08.15 a.m. Start for our walking tour of Istanbul. First vist Hagia Sophia before cruise lines ( There will be cruises at Istanbul port and we have to visit St. Sophia before it gets crowded ) We visit the Topkapi Palace & Museum, Hagia Irene, Archeological Museum, Blue Mosque and Hippodrome, where chariot races and the Byzantine riots took place, Visit Basilica Cistern where is a few meters to our hotel
17:45 Pick up from hotel . After 30 minutes visit to Spice Market Spice Bazaar (Egyptian Bazaar): The air here is filled with the enticing aromas of cinnamon, caraway, saffron, mint, thyme and every other conceivable herb and spice then
we will walk to HodjaPasha for Whirling Dervishes show starting at at 19.00 and transfer back to hotel
Dinner and Overnight in Istanbul.

08.15 a.m. Morning drive to Kariye Church/Mosque (if open; also see Theodosian Walls if Kariye Church is open) Transfer to Istanbul airport for flight to Cukurova airport departs at 14.00 and arrival is at 15.35
Drive to our hotel in Adana . Get ready for a local dinner outside in a local restaurant
Overnight in Adana

After breakfast drive to Antioch on the Orontes that believers were first called "Christians" (Acts 11:26). Visit the cave where they met in secret. Paul and Silas departed from here on the second missionary journey (Acts 15:35-36). Discover the impact of leaders such as Ignatius of Antioch and John Chrysostom. In Acts 2:9, pilgrims from Cappadocia were assembled with the thousands in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when they received the initial baptism of the Holy Spirit and heard the Apostle Peter preach his powerful message. Drive back to Adana for dinner and overnight.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel, We will drive to Tarsus the birthplace of the Apostle Paul . Arrival to Tarsus and visit the Apostle Paul's well, the Gate of Cleopatra, and the latest excavations. We will travel to Cappadocia and visit Kaymakli Underground City, one of the best preserved of these cities, you will enjoy your own guided tour into this amazing region. Dinner and Overnight in a Cappadocia.

Optional: Hot air balloon ride with sunrise, once in a lifetime experience in Cappadocia
In the morning, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; a journey in the past with its troglodyte houses, Visit Pasabag. Lunch break and Pottery Demonstration in Avanos, center of terra cotta work of art since 3000 BC and a demonstration in a traditional pottery workshop. Afternoon, visit the famous Goreme Open Air Museum and see the best examples of Byzantine art in Cappadocia in rock-cut churches with frescoes and paintings (10th to 13th century). Continue to Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia. After the tour program driver to our hotel for dinner and overnight

Drive to Pamukkale. Stop at Konya en-route to visit The Home of Whirling Derwishes. Continue to Pamukkale. Dinner and Overnight in Pamukkale.

Discovery of Travertine terraces and Hierapolis. The travertine terraces at Pamukkale are one of the most spectacular natural wonders we ever have seen from various mineral springs in a vast white cliff side, about 200 m overlooking the plain, calcite-laden waters have dripped down over a series of terraced levels and created a fairyland of bizarre solidified cascades and shell-shaped basins. It looks like creations from snow or like balls from cotton, which gave the scenery the Turkish name Pamukkale (cotton castle): Moreover the water in the basins is changing its color according to how the light enters. We visit Hierapolis open-air Museum.

Continue to visit to Laodicia. The city established in the C3 BCE by the Seleucid Antiochus II, the city was named after his wife Laodicea. Built on the Lycus Tributary of the Meander River, it was surnamed Laodicea on Lycus, to distinguish it from other similarly named cities. Laodicia is the last of the seven churches. As a crossroad of two important roads, this city had an important commercial and logistical position.

Drive to Kusadasi for dinner and Overnight in Kusadasi.

First visit the Artemis Temple where is one of the seven wonders of the Ancient World. Continue to Ephesus, Walk through history along marble streets lined with wonderful public buildings, among them The State Agora, Odeon, Memnius Monument, the Temple of Domitian, , Polio Fountain, Curetes Street, The Trajan Fountain, The Baths of Scholastica, Hadrian Temple, Latrina, Celcus Library, the gate of Mihridates and Mazues, Commercial Agora and The Grand Theater are two of the most impressive buildings in Ephesus. Grand theatre was built in 3rd century B.C and it was later expanded to 24.000 spectators by the Romans in the 1st century A.D.Visit Terrace Houses is located on skirt of Pion Mountain. There are 6 residential units which were built on three man-made terraces. These houses were settled by wealthy citizens of Ephesus. These houses were very fancy decorated with wall frescoes and floor mosaics. There are many steps to ascend from bottom to top. drive to Basilica of St. John, where it is believed that the evangelist St. John had spent his last years in the region around Ephesus and buried in the southern slope of Ayosolug Hill.

We experience Carpet weaving demonstration.
After Ephesus tour, Drive to Kusadasi for dinner and Overnight in Kusadasi.

07.30 a.m. Morning transfer to Izmir airport for your domestic flight from Izmir to Istanbul departs at 10.20 a.m. by AJET airkines VF3067 flight. Arrives to SAW airport at 11:30 Drive to Beylerbeyi port in Asian side for 1 hour private Bosphorus cruise ends in European side
Boat trip on the Bosphorus A traditional excursion by boat along the waterway seperating Europe and Asia. The shore is lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages.
Drive to Grand bazaar for free time for shoping and check in. Relax and Get ready for dinner in Arcadia Blue Hotel roof restaurant .
19.30 Walk to Arcadia Blue Hotel for dinner at 20.00 After dinner we wil walk back to our hotel. ( Vogue hotel to Arcadia Blue hotel is around 300 meters far from each other )
Overnight in Istanbul

After breakfast check out from the hotel and private transfer to Istanbul Airport or to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen airport for your flight back home.
The end of our services.