Welcome to Istanbul and welcome to Turkey, a country that revels in preserving the beauty of a forgotten time. Freshen up and relax before an evening of entertainment that showcases one of the country's most bewitching traditions.
Today's guided tour offers the memoirs to Roman rule, like the stunning 6th century Hagia Sophia and columns now hidden beneath the ground. Visit to the Blue Mosque and opulent Topkapi Palace, Each street takes you on journeys into the boutique and poignant.
The Selimiye Mosque minarets glimmer in the distance, four pointed turrets guiding you into the town of Erdine. Visit Ottoman mosque & Selimiye Mosque. Lose your eyes in the domed ceilings, it glistens of gold and turquoise, its calligraphy taking you into a trance.
You're in Cumalikizki, on the outskirts of Bursa, exploring the foundations and birthplace of the Ottoman Empire. Visit the Archaeological Museum, couple of caravansaries & two of the other early Ottoman villages.
Troy has been glamorized for thousands of years. Wooden horses, Greek ruins, towering temples; it's an ancient city that takes the imagination on an almost fictional journey, Troy is the epitome of historic dreams.
Today's tour has a satanic slant, taking you to the Greco Roman city of Pergamon, the place declared as the city of Satan in the Book of Revelations. Pillars of the devil's temple dominate a terrace of green and marble, yet are they that much different from temples dedicated to Greek gods.
Visit the Ephesus and Aphrodisias. Nearby Aphrodisias is about charm and intricacy, the city dedicated to the goddess of love and fulfilling its promise as romantic centerpiece. After visiting both cities you continue to Pamukkale, where the spa is waiting to lull you towards hibernation.
Pamukkale doesn't look real from a distance. The calcite terraces shine inconceivably, spilling shocks of white and turquoise down the hillside. A sparkling wonderland of Antarctic musings stands before you, the alcoves of transparent water as white as snow on a clear winter day.
Soaring amongst the mountains of Antalya, Termessos is a city of myths and postulations, competing historians struggling to decipher between Alexander the Great and the cult of Zeus. This capital of Pisidia is a place where your mind wanders amongst extraordinary architecture.
Drive to Catalhoyok, where Neolithic discoveries provide a key piece of evidence in man's development & continue to Konya and admire some of the world's earliest copies of the Quran at the birthplace of the Whirling Dervishes.
Today you drive to Cappadocia, where the valleys roll to the beat of a magician's drum. Thousands of eroded rock pinnacles fill two of the valleys. Some call them fairytale chimneys, others claim they're upside down mushrooms.
First you will come to Goreme, where churches are marvelously carved into the cliffs and decorated with frescos of pastel beauty. Now you go underground, into a hidden labyrinthine of corridors. It's moving and mysterious, each corridor lined with the caved homes of fleeing families.
Two Bronze Age lions greet you in Hattusha, their faces simple yet eerily imposing. Corridors of rocky slabs wind across the old Hittite capital, enabling journeys to sculpted gods of the underworld and sphinxes that warn of upsetting the kings.
This is Sanfranbolu, an unspoiled trading town with its roots in the old Silk Road. song breaking the tranquility. This is Sanfranbolu, an unspoiled trading town with its roots in the old Silk Road. Saffron was its specialty, a sought after spice that went both east and west from the caravansaries that linger in the town.
An early start takes you over to Istanbul for a late lunch along the Bosphorus. One of Istanbul's elegant riverfront restaurants is the ideal place to relax before your evening international flight, the sounds and smells of two continents keeping you company on the roof terrace.