Day 1
Take the morning flight at 09:00am by Turkish Airlines from Istanbul Ataturk airport to Ankara. Arrival and meeting just outside the arrival's gate with a sign bearing your name. Transfer to Hotel. . Visit to Archeological museum of Ankara, received European Museum of the year award in 1997 With its unique collection including Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hattie, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Roman works and Lydian treasures. If the time permits, visit to Mausoleum of Ataturk, founder of Turkish Republic. Drive to Cappadocia (about 3 and a half hours). Check-in to your hotel in Cappadocia and overnight.
Day 2
In the morning, first meeting with the lunar landscape of Cappadocia: rock formations beyond belief in Devrent valley; walking in Zelve Open Air Museum: 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". Lunch in Avanos, centre 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). Climb on top of the Uchisar Rock-Castle to have a panoramic view of the valleys of Cappadocia and overnight.
Day 3
Tour to Kaymaklı Underground City, one of the most interesting underground settlements in Cappadocia. Soğanlı Valley, an Open Air Museum in a wild natural setting near a typical Cappadocian village with its different style Rock-Cut churches and frescoes. Villages in the valleys, surrounded by the "table top" mountains, are spectacular. Lunch and Visit to Sahinefendi newly discovered (01 May 2002) mosaic houses & archaeological excavation site. Continue with Keslik Monastery near Cemil, that hides its frescoes behind a very thin smoke layer which we can only see by torch light. The Medrese (Theological School) from Seljuk Turks in Taşkınpaşa is the witness of an early and rich Turkish settlement in the town. Our tour finishes with a visit to Mustafapaşa (Sinasos), an old Greek town with its spectacular old Greek houses; very fine examples of late Greek settlements and architecture. Overnight Cappadocia
Day 4
Transfer to airport to take the flight at 10:55am from Kayseri to Istanbul (Atatürk Airport arrival at 12:15am)
Optional :
You may add to the beginning or end of this tour one night in Ankara and visit to Hattusas:
Itinenary : Drive to Hattusas, capital of the Hittite empire in the 2nd millennium BC. The ancient city is on the outskirts of present-day Bogazkale, just over 125 miles east of Ankara. The Hittites were the first true empire in the Anatolian area, and is mentioned in texts from other empires outside the area and in The Bible. Lunch and visit the temples and the castles. Transfer to your hotel in Cappadocia and overnight.
Extra cost: 185 EURO per person, sharing a double room with breakfast at Angora House in Ankara, (Including guide, transportation and entry fees. Excluding lunch)
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