17 Day Flexible Turkey And Greece Islands Tour

Upon our arrival at Istanbul International Airport, your guide will meet, assist and transfer you to the hotel. Istanbul’s 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, customs and twelve million people. Overnight in Istanbul.

(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. Please Note: Hagia Sophia is closed on Mondays, Topkapi Palace closed on Tuesdays. If your tour is on one of these days, we would offer you to visit Underground Cistern instead of Hagia Sophia and Topkapi palace museum.

(Breakfast included) After breakfast between 08:00 am and 09:30 am pick ups from hotel. Your tour consultant will give you final timing one day before. BOSPHORUS BY BOAT; a traditional excursion by boat along the waterway separating Europe and Asia. The shore lined with old wooden villas, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. During the excursion, you will see the magnificent sights of the following attractions from your boat. See Dolmabahce Palace, and further along, the parks and imperial pavilions of Yildiz Palace. On the coastal edge of this park, is Ciragan Palace, 300 meters of its marble facade faces the shore. At Ortakoy a great variety of artists, gather every sunday to display their work along the street. Ortakoy is a symbol of tolerance with a church, a mosque and a synagogue existing side by side for centuries. RUMELI FORTRESS (view from boat), Built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1452 prior to the conquest of Istanbul was completed in only four months to control and protect the infamous Bosporus passage. It is one of the most beautiful works of military architecture anywhere in the world. BEYLERBEYI PALACE (view from boat), is the summer residence of Ottoman sultans exists in its original renovated glory featuring original antique furniture and magnificent gardens with the Harem on the Asian side of Istanbul. Lunch break at the Turkish restaurant. After the lunch we will then take you to the GRAND COVERED BAZAAR In this labyrinth of streets and passages are more than 4,000 shops with each trade having its own area: the goldsmiths' street, the carpet sellers, Turkish arts and crafts, such as hand painted ceramic plates, hand-honed copperware, brassware and trays, water ewers, onyx-ware and meerschaum pipes. After the tour transfer back to your hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After an early breakfast, at 06.30, we depart for Gallipoli to visit the battle fields. Two hours later, we will give you 20 minutes for relax in a restaurant area. We arrive Gallipoli around 12.00 and we have lunch break, relax a little bit and then depart for the battlefields. Visit Gabatepe Museum. Start visiting the fields with Ariburnu Cemetery and Anzac Cove where the war had started. Then Beach Cemetery, Shrapnel Valley and Plugges Plateau. After the tour drive to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Canakkale.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After breakfast, we depart at 08.30 and drive 30 minutes to Troy. Visit the famous archeological and mythological site of Troy, home of the Trojan Horse and Helen of Troy. After Troy tour, 3 hour drive to Pergamon. Lunch break around 13.00 and after the lunch, we depart for tour of the magnificent acropolis of Pergamon. Its impressive temples and library made it a renowned cultural and political center at that times. Pergamon is a famous city for its jewelry, stones and silver. So on the way, we will visit a jewelry center for 30 minutes. Arrival to Kusadasi around 18.00. Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After breakfast at 08.30, we depart from hotel for fully guided tour of Ephesus, one of the best preserved ancient sites in the world en-route, visiting the Temple of Artemis, Curetes street, famous Roman baths, Celsus Library, Grand theatre and House of the Virgin Mary. Lunch break around 13.00. After the lunch, we will visit a place, which continues to perform one of the oldest arts of Turkey; a carpet-weaving center. After that, we will have a Turkish Village Tour. Sirince's construction style today belongs to Anatolian Greeks. The houses on the slope are all original with their white paints. Sirince Village also has a fantastic reputation for making some of the best wines in Turkey - especially fruit wines. We will see the vineyards and it is time to learn how to make fruit wine with Turkish wine makers. In the evening, you will be tested about your knowledge of making fruit wine. On the way, we will visit one of the famous leather production centers of the region, where you will have the opportunity to get a good factory rate. On this guided tour, you will avoid the constant nagging and sometimes bullying that is well known in the markets of Turkey. Enabling you to enjoy the shopping experience whilst gaining the knowledge of the ancient craftsmen. Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) At 08.30, after breakfast, we depart for Pamukkale. We visit the calcium terraces of Pamukkale (cotton castle) and the ruins of Hierapolis, then walk around this natural phenomenon and have the option of lying in the waters of the natural springs. Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After breakfast, we head for Antalya. It takes around 4 hours. Upon arrival, meet with our representative and proceed to hotel for check in. Rest of the day is yours. Dinner and overnight in Antalya

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After breakfast, we will depart for Perge and Aspendos. PERGE: According to the geographer Strabon, Akhas who came down here after the Trojan wars have founded Perge. Perge was first mentioned in 334 BC when Alexander the Great passed through here. In the following years, Perge went under the control of Pergamon when the Kingdom of Pergamon became a part of the Roman city. In the first and the second centuries BC, Perge became one of the richest towns in Pamphylia. Therefore, it is not a surprise that St. Paul started his campaign in Anatolia from Perge in 46 AD. After Perge, we will depart for Aspendos. Lunch break on the way. ASPENDOS: The eastern land of Antalya was called Pamphylia in ancient times. Aspendos (Belkis) lies 47 km east of Antalya in the Pamphylian plain. In 486 BC, Greeks and Persians had a great battle here (Greeks won, they didn't stay for long). During the reign of the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-80 AD) Aspendos got its theatre, which is the best, preserved of all. It was built by Romans and maintained by Byzantines and Seljuks. The ruins of the ancient city are extensive and include a stadium, an agora, and a basilica. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After breakfast, by 12.00 hours check out and free time until departure. Then, we depart for Antalya Airport for our domestic flight to Cappadocia. Transfer from Kayseri airport to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to explore Cappadocia. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

(Breakfast and Dinner included) After breakfast between 08:00 am and 09:30 am pickups from hotel. Your tour consultant will give you final timing one day before. We will drive you to Ozkonak Underground City, one of the best-preserved Underground cities in Cappadocia. Than visit to Uchisar Castle, the highest point of Cappadocia. After Uchisar, you visit Goreme Open Air Museum, the Heart of Cappadocia. Goreme Open Air Museum is famous for frescoes dating to 10th century describing the life of Jesus Christ and monks. Next stop is Cavusin, which is an abandoned village with old cave Greek houses. After Cavusin you go to the restaurant in Avanos to have lunch. After lunch, you visit a pottery workshop, to see how to make potteries. Then you go to Love Valley . Love Valley Cappadocia is a hidden valley with scenic formations to say the least. Despite the resemblance to man hood, these amazing rock formations are far from man-made. After Love Valley you visit another workshop to see Cappadocian handwoven carpets and kilims. Next stop is Devrent Valley, which is also called Imagination Valley, where you can see natural rock formations looking like animals.. Last stop is Three Beauties, three beautiful fairy chimneys with their hats, which is the symbol of Cappadocia. This tour will end approximately at 18.00 and you will be returned back to your hotel. Overnight in Cappadocia.

(Breakfast included) After breakfast, you will have free time shopping in Cappadocia. Then, we depart for Kayseri airport for our domestic flight to Istanbul. From Istanbul, we will have a flight to Athens. Upon arrival in Athens, you will meet with our local representative at the airport and be transferred to your hotel. Once you settle in, you are free to stroll in the old Plaka district. 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.

(Breakfast included) After the breakfast, a morning transfer to the port of Piraeus to take the ferry to the island of Santorini (07:25-14:55). Upon your arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel and then you will have the rest of the time to enjoy the gorgeous island. The largest island is known as Thera, forming the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands. Santorini is essentially what remains of an enormous volcanic explosion, destroying the earliest settlements on what was formerly a single island, and leading to the creation of the current geological caldera. Excavations starting in 1967 at the site called Akrotiri under the late Professor Spyridon Marinatos have made Thera the best-known "Minoan" site outside of Crete, the homeland of the culture. The island remains the home of a small, but flourishing, wine industry, based on the indigenous grape variety, Assyrtiko, with auxiliary cultivations of two other Aegean varietals, Athiri and Aidani. Upon arrive Santorini, meet with our local staff and transfer you to hotel and you will be given your room key. The rest of the day is yours to explore the city. Overnight in Santorini.

(Breakfast included) After breakfast, meet your friendly, English Speaking Escort then hop inside your luxury, air-conditioned vehicle for the tour of the island. First stop is Pyrgos. Situated at the highest point of Santorini, the village offers an idyllic snapshot of old-world Greece. Follow your guide along the winding paths - past the sugar cube houses and blue-domed churches — and make your way to the hilltop ruins of a medieval Venetian castle. From here, gaze out over the entire island, soaking up panoramic views all the way to the village of Oia. Continue driving to the highest area of the island Profitis Elias short stop for panoramic pictures. Continue to Oia village passing through villages of Firostefani & Imerovigli. Oia, the quintessential Greek village that’s known for its incredible sunsets. Stroll along the pretty streets with your guide, learning about the village’s history. Return to hotel. Overnight in Santorini

(Breakfast included) Enjoy your breakfast and have a walk around the paths of Fira to buy some traditional souvenirs and postcards. Afternoon transfer to the port to embark the ferry to Piraeus port (19:00-04:30). Arrival & transfer to hotel in Athens. Overnight in Athens.

(Breakfast included) According to your flight departure time, you will transferred to Athens airport to get the flight back home. We hope your tour was a memorable one and we would like to see you in the future in one of our tours again. Have a nice trip back home and thanks for choosing TravelShop Booking.