12 Day Turkey, Bulgaria & Greece Combination Tour: Istanbul, Sofia, Athens & Mykonos Escape

(Breakfast included)
Our journey begins in Istanbul, the only city in the world situated on two continents. Today we discover the Byzantine and Ottoman treasures of Istanbul. We visit Hippodrome and the Obelisk brought from Egypt. Then our next visit is the Blue Mosque with its six minarets. Visit St. Sophia. This ancient basilica, built by Constantine the Great in the 4th century and reconstructed by Justinian in the 6th century, is one of the architectural marvels of all time. Afternoon we will visit the Topkapi Palace, which was the residence of the Ottoman sultans, with its fabulous treasure chambers. Lunch break at 13:00 pm. After the lunch, Murtis Tour will take you to the Grand Spice Bazaar, which is a unique atmosphere with reasonable prices for your shopping. Here you will find; Exotic Spices and Herbs, Turkish Baklava, Turkish Delights, Turkish Coffee, nuts and fruits, small souvenirs such as Ceramic Handicrafts, Evil Eyes totems, all naturel olive oil, soaps and many other goods in Souvenir Shops and stores. After the tour, transfer back to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

If you would like to visit with entrance below sites;
Topkapi Palace Museum Entrance Fee. You pay the door price.

Please Note: Please do not forget to carry Scarf with you because of visiting to Blue Mosque & Haghia Sophia Mosque.

(Breakfast included)

(Breakfast included)

(Breakfast included)

(Breakfast included)

Breakfast at the hotel. After breakfast, drive to Vergina, the most important remains of the monumental palace of the Kingdom of Macedonia, lavishly decorated with mosaics and painted stuccoes, and the burial ground with more than 300 tumuli, some of which date from the 11th century B.C. One of the royal tombs is identified as that of Philip II, who conquered all the Greek cities, paving the way for his son Alexander and the expansion of the Hellenistic world.

After the visit drive to Athens. On the way, make a short stop at Thermopylae where a fierce battle took place between the Persians and Greeks during the Persian invasion of 480-479 BC. The Greek force (300 strong) was very small but was determined to make a stand against the huge Persian army.  Overnight in Athens.

(Breakfast included)

In the morning, after breakfast, we will pick you up from the hotel and shall start our sightseeing tour of the center of Athens including The Constitution of Greece (Sintagma). It was created by the Fifth Revisional Parliament of the Hellenes and entered into force in 1975. It has been revised three times since, in 1986, in 2001 and in 2008. The Constitutional history of Greece goes back to the Greek War of Independence, during which the first three revolutionary Greek constitutions were adopted. Afterwards we will visit Old Parliament House. The Old Parliament building, which is located at Stadiou Street in Athens, housed the Greek Parliament between 1875 and 1932. It now houses the country's National Historical Museum. In front of the building stands a large equestrian statue of General Theodoros Kolokotronis, cast in bronze. It was sculpted by Lazaros Sochos in Paris in 1900, and erected in its current place in 1904.
Continue our tour, we will go to The National Library of Greece which is situated near the center of city of Athens. It holds 4,500 Greek manuscripts, which is one of the greatest collection of Greek scripts. There are also many chrysobulls and archives of the Greek Revolution
Then we will continue driving down Herod Atticus Street, you will see the Evzones in their picturesque uniform and the PRESIDENTIAL PALACE which is the official residence of the President of the Hellenic Republic. It previously served as the Royal Palace, until the abolition of the monarchy by referendum in 1974. On your way to the Acropolis you will see the Hadrian's Arch, visit the Temple of Olympian Zeus. and you will make a short stop at the Panathenaic Stadium which was refurbished a second time in 1895 for the 1896 Olympics, with completion funding provided by the Greek benefactor George Averoff whose marble statue now stands at the entrance, based on designs by architects Anastasios Metaxas and Ernst Ziller.
Upon arrive Acropolis, we will visit Acropolis Museum which is focused on the findings of the archaeological site of the Acropolis of Athens. The museum was built to house every artifact found on the rock and on its feet, from the Greek Bronze Age to Roman and Byzantine Greece. It also lies on the archaeological site of Makrygianni and the ruins of a part of Roman and early Byzantine Athens. Also, we will visit the architectural masterpieces of the Golden Age of Athens: the PROPYLAEA, the TEMPLE of ATHENA NIKE, the ERECHTHEION. The last stop before we back to hotel is The Parthenon. The Parthenon is a temple in Acropolis, the harmony between material and spirit, the monument that puts order in the mind. Early evening, we will back to hotel, you can relax in the rest of the day. Overnight in Athens.