8 Days MINI Group Tour Istanbul, Ephesus, Pamukkale, Konya, Cappadocia

Mini Group Max 10 pax : Istanbul - Cappadocia - Konya  - Pamukkale - Ephesus - Istanbul.  7 nights & 8 days Domestic flights from Istanbul to Cappadocia and from Izmir to Istanbul are included. Fully guided, Cave and 4 and 5 star hotels .This is the best program to visit popular highlights in a short time. We will visit Topkapi Palace, St. Sophia, Hipodromme, Blue Mosque, Grand bazaar in Istanbul. Ephesus, The House of Virgin Mary, Artemission temple in Ephesus, White Terraces and Hierapolis in Pamukkale, Whirling Dervishes museum in Konya, Underground city, Goreme, Uchisar in Cappadocia and many more.

Day 1 : Arrival to Istanbul
Welcome to Turkey. Arrive in Istanbul Airport ( IST ) or to Istanbul Sabiha Gokcen Airport ( SAW ) , Our representative will meet you at the airport with your name sign and private transfer to the hotel for overnight stay in Istanbul. Its original name is Byzantium then Constantinople. It is a most fascinating city, which actually crosses two continents Europe and Asia. It is a city of amalgamation of bazaars, minarets, mosques, churches, palaces, and restaurants catering to every one’s taste, museums and customs.
Overnight stay in Istanbul

Day 2 : Full Day Istanbul Walking Tour (Breakfast) 
09.00 a.m. After breakfast pick up from hotel and our journey begins in Istanbul, the only city in the world situated on two continents. Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul – its three names span more than 2600 years, nearly 1600 of them as the capital of two of the greatest empires the world has known, Byzantine and Ottoman. We visit the Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque and Hippodrome, where chariot races and the Byzantine riots took place. Visit the Grand Bazaar for shopping. Overnight in Istanbul.

Please note that Grand Bazaar is closed on Sundays. Spice Market will be visited on Sundays instead of Grand Bazaar.

Day 3 : Istanbul to Cappadocia by flight – Cappadocia Tour & Cave Hotel (Breakfast)
Early morning pick up from hotel and transfer to Istanbul airport for flight to Cappadocia . Arrival to Cappadocia. Our Tour guide will meet you at the airport and start for Cappadocia tour. First meeting with Cappadocia, visiting Three Sisters Fairy Chimneys in Urgup which are the most popular and seen on advertisements… That’s why people carved some pigeon houses to keep them in certain places. You will see that the houses for the pigeons are like the houses for the people. Then we descend into the center of the earth in the Ozkonak Underground City. After the tour program transfer to your hotel. Cappadocia accommodation in a CAVE Hotel that not to be missed.

Day 4 : Full Day Cappadocia Tour & Cave Hotel (Breakfast)
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 to Pasabag “fairy chimneys” where the voice of wind mixes with the “songs of fairies” near Zelve.
Lunch 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 transfer to your hotel. Stay overnight in Cappadocia (Cave Hotel).

Day 5 : Cappadocia – Konya – Pamukkale (Breakfast – Dinner )
Early departure for Pamukkale. Upon arrival to Konya visit the Mausoleum of Mevlana, the world-wide famous mystic, Drive to Pamukkale and overnight in a Thermal Hotel in Pamukkale. Swim in thermal pools till 22.30

Day 6 : Pamukkale – Kusadasi (Breakfast – Dinner )
In the morning visit to the ancient Hierapolis with the Theatre, Apollo Temple and magnificent Necropolis, the graveyard. Then drive to Kusadasi and overnight.

Day 7 : Kusadasi – Ephesus – Istanbul by flight (Breakfast )
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.After Ephesus, Visit House of Virgin Mary. This house is located on the Aladag Mountains 5 miles from Ephesus. At the third Ecumenical Council of 431 in Ephesus, it was claimed that Mary came to Ephesus with St. John in 37 A.D. and lived there until her death in 48 A.D. After the discovery of the house, the Archbishop of Izmir declared it a place of pilgrimage in 1892. On July 26, 1967, Pope Paul VI visited this place and prayed here.
After Ephesus tour  Drive to Izmir airport for our flight back to Istanbul. Arrival to Istanbul, met by our representative and transfer to the hotel for overnight

Day 8 : Home (Breakfast)

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.

Update for St. Sophia interior visit : 
Live guiding is not allowed in St. Sophia after the 15th January 2024. Guests have to have their smart phones and headphones during their visit. If guests do not have a headphone, they can buy at the entrance at the cost of 3,5-USD
The system is similar to audio guide system. Guests who does not have smart phones will follow the signs and the given informations on the signs .
* Selected centrally Located Boutique , Cave and 4 star Hotels
* Small group ensures personal service with
* Informative, friendly and professional guide
* Domestic flights included.
* Option with Private Tour for your family

Depends upon flights/hotel availabilities, reverse (Istanbul-Capp.-Pamukkale-Ephesus-Izmir-Istanbul) can be organized.