DAY/DATE
ITINERARY
COMMENTS/SUGGESTIONS
Day 01 October 10 Thursday
ARRIVAL AND THE BOAT
Arrive in Dalaman Airport
Transfer to the Boat
Dinner and overnight at the boat
FLIGHT TO DALAMAN
·
Please book your
flights to Dalaman Airport not to Istanbul.
With international flights arriving to Istanbul, connecting in
Istanbul and flying to Dalaman does not change the flight price.
There are many direct flight from Europe to Dalaman
The flights originating in Europe arriving in SABIHA GOKCEN
AIRPORT in Istanbul have good connections to Dalaman Air port
Day 02 October 11 Friday BOAT
Overnight at GEMILER ISLAND
Gemiler Island was a strategic
stop for the fleets cruising in the Mediterranean During the
Roman and Byzantine era.
The ancient city which covers the whole Island is intimately
surrounded with the typical vegetation of the Mediterranean.
Easy climb to the peak will give
you the best location to watch sun set and enjoy the mosaics of
a 11th Century church.
Having wine at beautiful settings is MELITOUR’s tradition.
Melitour will provide the Drink and the snacks.
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner are
included
Gemiler Island is a great place for swimming, hiking, watching sun set, visit and archaeological site. We will dock at the island after the day tour boats leave.
Day 03 October 12 Saturday BOAT
BEDRI RAHMI BAY
Bedri Rahmi is a well known artist, poet and philosopher of Turkey. He is one of the first who had discovered the Turkish Coast to be a great destination for the “Blue Voyage”
He drew a fish on a rock at his favorite bay, therefore we call this bay by his name.Breakfast Lunch and Dinner included. Overnight on the boat
Bedri Rahmi Bay in the shade of Lycian tombs carved on the hill side. Bedri Rahmi’s “fish” is hiding behind the tree. Bedri Rahmi Bay will be a great stop to swim, hike and chase the wild goats, or do nothing
Day 04 October 13 Sunday GOCEK BOAT
HIDDEN BAYS OF GOCEK
Generally a day on a boat starts at 07:30 AM with an excellent breakfast.
Everyone can have their say about what they want for breakfast.
There is almost no limit to what you might want to eat for breakfast.
Fresh Orange juice, Typical Turkish breakfast with 3 different type of cheese, local honey, 3 different homemade jams, organic tomatoes and cucumbers, organic eggs cooked your way, yogurt, and whatever else you might want.
After Breakfast, we will have swimming/activity time. Those who
might want to have their morning walk in the forest, Those who
prefer the water can swim, snorkel …The boat will then sail through
beautiful bays until noon.
At a hidden bay away from everyone else we will stop for lunch. Swim/Activity time after lunch
Then we will sail to our final
destination for the evening
The History, the music of the
air, the pine forests, incredible blue color of the water,
snorkeling, hiking, swimming, wind surfing or ding nothing will
again be your choice for the day.
Breakfast Lunch and Dinner
included
Overnight on the boat
Day 05
October 14 Monday
CAPPADOCIA
FLY TO CAPPADOCIA
FROM DALAMAN
After Breakfast
Transfer to Dalaman Air port
( 25 Minutes)
Fly to Cappadocia
Visit Zelve
Visit Dervent
Lunch in Urgup
Visit Ortahisar The village Museum
Dinner and overnight at Lalesaray Hotel
In Cappadocia, Creator and man competed in creating the most unusual and the most beautiful. Enjoy the moon-like landscape with endless forms of work of art, natural and man-made. The colors of the frescoes of the twelve hundred year old churches are just as fresh as the colors of the carpets woven in the region. The rock formations are just as striking as the local pottery made of the clay obtained from the old river beds. St Paul visited the region, called Caesarea, on his 1st Missionary Journey. As one visits the colorful "churches" of Cappadocia and admires the surrounding forms of thrilling art buried in nature, it becomes easier to imagine how the ideas and teachings of St. Paul sprouted into life and affected the Cappadocians for two thousand years. We will visit the carpet cooperative to learn more about the Turkish carpets, which are inseparable part of the Turkish life.
Zelve Open air museum is a UNESCO World Heritage site
Dervent Valley
is nature’s art gallery where you will find the famous fairy
chimneys, which looks like a sculpture zoo made by nature. Some
of the most important, or the easiest seen animal shapes are
camel, snake, seals, and dolphin. If you let your imagination
run free, you will find many others. It is like looking at
clouds and seeing a dragon. There is even a rock pillar, which
looks like Virgin Mary, holding Jesus in her arms
October 13th
ARRIVAL TO ISTANBUL
This pager is for those who will not do the boat and will join the group in Cappadocia.
Please arrive in Istanbul on the 13th of October the latest. The land only quotation quoted below includes
Ø the transfer from the Istanbul airport to the hotel in Istanbul on
the 13th October.
Ø Hotel for the evening of the 13th in Istanbul
Ø Transfer to the Airport from Istanbul Hotel to Istanbul Airport
on the October 14th
Ø And air plane ticket to Cappadocia from Istanbul
You will be on the same plane with the rest of the group flying in from Dalaman where they take the plane after the boat. The Dalaman – Cappadocia flight goes via Istanbul.
If you choose to arrive earlier and need hotel/transfer services we can arrange the transfer and hotel with no problem
This pager is for those who will not do the boat and
will join the group in Cappadocia.
Please arrive in Istanbul on the 13th of October the latest. The land only quotation quoted below includes
Ø the transfer from the Istanbul airport to the hotel in Istanbul on the 13th October.
Ø Hotel for the evening of the 13th in Istanbul
Ø Transfer to the Airport from Istanbul Hotel to Istanbul Airporon the October 14
Ø And air plane ticket to Cappadocia from Istanbul
You will be on the same plane with the rest of the group flying in from Dalaman where they take the plane after the boat. The Dalaman – Cappadocia flight goes via Istanbul.
October 14 Monday
CAPPADOCIA
FLY TO
CAPPADOCIA
FROM ISTANBUL
After Breakfast
Transfer to Istanbul Air port
Fly to Cappadocia
Visit Zelve
Visit Dervent
Lunch in Urgup
Visit Ortahisar The village Museum
Dinner and overnight at Lalesaray Hotel
Day 06
October 15 Tuesday
CAPPADOCIA
Ø Optional Hot Air Balloon Ride
The Balloon comp will pick you up at 05:00 AM. You will be back at the hotel at 08:30 AM. You will have time for shower and breakfast before we start the tour.
Free time in the morning for those who like to have late morning. Departure from the hotel will be at 10:00 am
Ø EBRU MAKING
Learn about a traditional Ottoman Art – EBRU, Marbling. 2 Members of the group will be given a chance to work with the master to create art on water
Ø VISIT UCHISAR
Ø VISIT GOREME- A UNESCO WORLD HERRITAGE SITE
Ø
Lunch at a Village
house
HOT AIR BALLOON RIDE
The terrain of Cappadocia is wonderful no matter from what angle you might be looking at it. However, at sun rise as the sun starts to wash the curves and holes and red, green, yellow, white, brown, beige, pink and many more colored rock formations, you feel like you could be Alice and now you are in your “wonderland”
MELITOUR does not include the Balloon ride in the quotation, since the ride depends on weather conditions. But we do make sure you have the reservation. The demand is so much that finding a ride with out a prior reservation is almost impossible. Clients can pay with credit card directly to the Balloon Company the day of the ride.
Painting on a water, walking through the neighborhoods will be all amazing experiences of the day. When you walk through the old neighborhoods , will feel like you are in a time tunnel going back for hundreds of years but with all the conveniences of the 21st century.
Fatma and Hasan will be happy to have you visit in their house.
Day 07
October 16 Wednesday
CAPPADOCIA
Late departure for those who like to have free time for themselves in the morning
Leave the hotel at 10:00 am
Visit Kaymakli Underground City – A UNESCO WORLD HERRITAGE SITE
Visit Soganli
Lunch at Ayvali village in a house with a lovely mother son and daughter in law who will join us for lunch.
Visit Synasos
Visit a Carpet Cooperative
KAYMAKLI UNDERGROUND CITY
Kaymakli is one of 39 underground cities excavated in Cappadocia. The 3 of 9 layers of the city which could accommodate 1500 people were carved 4000 years ago by the Hittites. The rest were carved and renovated by the Byzantines who were exposed to the Roman Persecution of the Christians. We will see their Churches, Wineries, homes, kitchens and airshafts.
LUNCH
Ayvali is one of the few villages of Cappadocia where you see no
postcards, no tour busses and no neon signs. This small family
of three mother son and daughter in law cooks the best
traditional meal and serve it in the warmth of their home.
SHOPPING IN CAPPADOCIA Carpets, whether knotted or flat woven (kilim) are among the best known art forms produced by the Turks from time immemorial. There are environmental, sociological, economic, and religious reasons for the widespread art of carpet weaving among the Turkish people from Central Asia to Turkey. Cappadocia is one of the most important carpet production centers of Turkey. The history and the modern day issues of Carpets weaving will be taught to us in a dramatic wonderful presentation. If the wonderful designs, and the warmth of colors tempt the people who might not even had thought of living with a carpet for the rest of their lives, they can purchase the best of these art works of the best quality in Cappadocia
In case you think you might be tempted, bring your color samples and measurements.
SUFI : Celalettin Rum’i of the 13th century expressed his ideas and ideals of humanism, ecumenism and universalism in his verse. The whirling ritual of the dervishes is the physical demonstration of joy, optimism and power that the philosophy of Celalettin Rum’i preaches.
The rituals of the Whirling Dervishes are among the enduring as well as the most exquisite ceremonies of spirituality. The ritual whirling of the dervishes is an act of love and a drama of faith. It possesses a highly structured form within which the gentle turns become increasingly dynamic as the individual dervishes strive to achieve a state of trans. The music that accompanies the whirling from beginning to end ranges from somber to rhapsodical; its effect is intended to be mesmerizing. Chanting of poetry, rhythmic rotation, and incessant music create a synthesis which, according to the faithful, induces a feeling of soaring, of ecstasy, of mystical fligh
Day 08
October 17 Thursday
KONYA
KONYA
(ICONIA) We will
begin our day with a visit to Avanos, on the banks of the
Red River, to see how the potters perform the thousand-year old
tradition of ceramics. After lunch , we will continue to
Konya (Iconium) on the old silk road. Following the
footsteps of St .Paul we will appreciate the distances that St
Paul had to cover on foot or on his donkey. En route, we will
make a couple of stops at the Caravanserais, where Camels
used to take a break on their long journey from China to the
Mediterranean.
Dinner and overnight at hotel Rumi in Konya
Day 09
October 18 Friday
ANTALYA
Leave Konya after we visit the Museum of Celalettin RUMI
Drive through the Toros Mountains
Lunch en route
Visit Perge and Aspendos
Overnight at Antalya Atelya Art Hotel in the old city
Dinner tonight is not included since there are wonderful restaurants around right for every one no matter what their choice of food might be.
Turkish Bath
We will do the Turkish bath in 2 days so we do not creat e our own line
Fabulous drive over the Toros mountains will take us down to the Mediterranean
Visit Perge and Aspendos
Atelya Art Hotel – 200 year old 2 houses
Day 10
October 19 Saturday
ANTALYA
Leisurely Morning. So every one can have a little time to them selves.
Meet at 11:00 AM Lunch at a very special fish restaurant.
Swim in the Mediterranean
Wine and snack at the beach is included in this beach party
Return to the hotel
More Turkish bath
Day 11
October 20 Sunday
PAMUKKALE
Leave Antalya at 08:30
Drive via a wonderful Crater Lake
Have lunch in Serinhisar.
Arrive in Pamukkale in Early Aafternoon.
Our hotel is a spa hotel.
After our visit to Hierapolis you can enjoy every thing that the spa is offering. ( the cost not included in the price)
You can enjoy the hot springs and the thermal pool at no extra cost
Dinner will be at the hotel
Salda Lake
Pamukkale, which literally
means 'cotton castle', is the name the Turks gave to the
extraordinary site of Hierapolis. The name was inspired by the
preternatural landscape of bizarre forms created by calcite
deposits from the hot springs that surface through a fault:
mineral forests, petrified cascades and terraced pools of an
immense natural nymphaeum. The ancients attributing healing
powers to the hot springs (35 °C) equal to their power to
metamorphose the landscape, they founded a thermal station on
the site in the late 2nd century. The history of Hierapolis
followed the same course as many Hellenistic cities in Asia
Minor. The Romans acquired full control of it in 129 BC and it
prospered under its new rulers. It was a cosmopolitan city where
Anatolians, Graeco-Macedonians, Romans and Jews intermingled.
The hot springs which attracted throngs of people 'taking the
waters' also served another purpose: scouring and dying wool.
Pamukkale is a UNESCO WORLD HERITAGE SITE
Day 12
October 21 Monday
SIRINCE KUSADASI
Drive through the Meander Valley
Visit Aphrodisias
Arrive at after lunch.
Free time at the village.
Drive to Kusadasi overnight .
Dinner at the hotel.
If any one like to stay at Meli’s Farm there will be 2 or 3 rooms available by then.
SIRINCE
This
will be especially interesting for some one who is a painter,
photographer and architect Only 9 km out of Ephesus up at the
top of a mountain, there is a wonderful village. I will attach
few photographs here. The Christians abandoned this village in
1922 in the population exchange with the Moslems coming from
Macedonia and Western Thrace. When the immigrants arrived, they
could not afford to build new houses so they simply started
using what they found here. Eventually this thousand- year old
village became a historic monument for its unique architecture
in a fabulous setting: Peach orchards, olive groves and
vineyards surround the village. It is extremely photogenic; the
nice thing is the villagers are very studious. The ladies either
make wine or make lace and they sell their hand crafts either in
front of their homes or on wooden stands lined in the streets.
The village attracts the Turkish people more than the
foreigners so this is a plus it had not become too touristy
Our Lunch will be the local taste COP SIS. Western Turkey Style Shish Kebab. For the vegetarians we will definitely have another wonderful taste of the region
Day 13
October 22 Tuesday
KUSADASI
Visit Ephesus
Visit Vitgin Mary’s House Lunch at Meli’s Farm
We can have free afternoon at the farm you can pick the vegetables for our salad from our organic vegetable garden.
We can have a cooking class Or just rest!!
Have tea brewed in a copper Semavar
Pick Pomegranates
EPHESUS
It was one of the twelve cities of the
Ionian
League
during the
Classical
Greek
era. In the Roman period, it was for many years the second
largest city of the
Roman
Empire;
ranking behind
Rome,
the empire's capital. Ephesus had a population of more than
250,000 in the 1st century BC, which also made it the second
largest city in the world.
The city was famed for the Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BCE), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. The temple was destroyed in 401 CE by a mob led by St. John Chrysostom. Emperor Constantine I rebuilt much of the city and erected new public baths. The town was again partially destroyed by an earthquake in 614. The city's importance as a commercial center declined as the harbor was slowly silted up by the Cayster River
VIRGIN
MARYS HOUSE
The mother of Jesus was given to the care of St John when Jesus said “thy is your mother take care” . After crucifixion, St John came to Ephesus and spent the rest of his life in this city which was, according to the Bible, one of the Seven Churches of Revelation. Since Mother Mary was trusted in the caring hands of St John, it is believed that he must have brought her along.
Having the church dedicated in the name of the Virgin is another argument used to prove that this is her home because in the early times of Christianity, a church would have been named after a person only if she or he had lEphesus ived in the locality.
If being at the last home of the virgin does not interest you, there is still a good reason to visit this house which stands as the house of peace since Christians and Moslems alike they worship here shoulder to shoulder, side by side.
Day 14
October 23 Wednesday
FLY TO ISTANBUL
Transfer to Izmir Air port
Flight to Istanbul
Transfer from the air port to the Hotel
Visit the Basilaca Cistern
Visit the Spice Market
Free time until dinner time
Dinner at Kumkapi
The
Basilica Cistern
is one of many cisterns in Istanbul built during the Byzantine
era to give life to this grand city. Istanbul is built on two
big peninsulas on two continents, Asia and Europe. Neither side
of the city has any natural source of water. Therefore, the
cisterns and the aqueducts were the vital buildings of the city
at all ages. In the 5th, 6th Century BC,
for the Christians of Constantinople, the pagan temples of the
city were nothing more than architectural material for recycling
for new constructions.
The
Basilica cistern, which was built in 532 A.D, is perfect example
of this mentality. When you walk down to the Basilica cistern,
which is now under one of the busiest streets of Istanbul, you
can see the breath taking pillars of former temples creating a
mystical ambiance
The Spice Market was the connection point of the silk road to the West. The riches of the Ea
st were marketed to the Europeans at this place since the 16th century. Today, of all the old markets of Istanbul, most people find the Spice Market less chaotic and manageable
Day 15
October 24 Thursday
ISTANBUL
Visit Blue Mosque
Visit the Hippodrome
Visit Aya Sophia
Lunch
Visit the Grand Bazaar
Free time in the afternoon
Meet at the hotel for Dinner
The Blue Mosque was completed in 7 years (1609 – 1616) The 24000 blue tiles of this mosque had impressed the Europeans of the 17th Century so much that the mosque is called “ The Blue Mosque’’. The building is a marvel of engineering with its half and quarter domes supporting its huge dome.
The
architect of the mosque, Mehmet Aga was a poet, musician, and a
master of engraving mother of pearl in wood. The mosque reflects
his artistic background and his mathematical genius.
As in all of the other imperial Mosques, the blue mosque is a complex of many buildings, which were in service of the people. We can still see the market place, the Arasta Bazaar, which was used to finance the monumental mosque, the Turkish Bath , the orphanage and the shelter for those who were then homeless.
Byzantine Hippodrome When Constantinople became the capital of the Roman Empire, The Byzantine, trying to compete with the grandeur of the city of Rome, built this Hippodrome three times larger than the biggest stadium of Rome. The Hippodrome had a sitting capacity of one hundred thousand people. The obelisks lined up in the middle of this building were brought from Egypt and Greece representing the lands, which were under the rule of Constantinople. The hippodrome was used for more than sports activities. The heart of the political life was beating here both during the Roman, the Byzantine and the Ottoman era.
Aya
Sophia
is a 1500-year old building, which stands as a witness to the
history of
Constantinople and Christianity. The size of its dome remained to be the highest for one thousand years until the dome of St. Paul’s Cathedral was built in the 16th Century.
The synthesis of cultures can be traced in the building with the pillars from a Temple of a Mother Goddess, Hellenistic urns, Islamic-Ottoman calligraphy and Christian symbols all intermingle to create the grandeur that time could not defeat. Aya Sophia was dedicated in the name of Sacred Wisdom of Jesus. Known as St. Sophia, the Church was used as a church for 1000 years and as a Mosque for close to 500 years. Now it is a museum and a living record of the history of Christianity. (Roman Orthodox)
The
Grand Bazaar
is a 15th century trade center where the products of the Silk
Road found merchants from all over the world. The arched narrow
streets of the Grand Bazaar still offer the riches of Anatolia
and of Central Asia. The hectic, chaotic nature of the Grand
Bazaar is not necessarily an ideal place to shop, but it
certainly is a place to see. Over the centuries, the merchants
of Istanbul had built trade and craft centers around the Grand
Bazaar. They are called the HANS. Today the trade and production
of art work takes place in these HANS which is of course less
crowded with tourists and are ideal locations for shopping.
Some of the hans are built on the foundations of the buildings
dating from the Byzantine Era, 5-6th centuries of our
era. If you have time, seeing these buildings which seems like
are as old as the city remembers its history is amazing. If
the clients are not going to extend their visits in Turkey to
the center of the country to Cappadocia, and if they are
interested in purchasing good quality merchandise, the old
business in these hans are recommended for leather,jewelry, and
ceramics
Day 16
October 25 Friday
ISTANBUL
Visit Chora
Free time for lunch ( Lunch will not be included in the price since there are lots of choices at Ortakoy)
Meet at the dock of Ortakoy after lunch for a cruise on the Bosphorus
Drive to the Hotel
Dinner tonight is not included to give some free time for the group
Chora Church was built in the 12th Century and was used as a Mosque for 500 years after the fall of Istanbul in 1453 AD. The frescoes and the mosaics were perfectly well kept over centuries. They are the best examples of Christian art of the Byzantine era. We will be able to trace the lives of Jesus and Mother Mary through the eyes and the hearts of the artists who had created the images to be the models for the Renaissance Artists.
The Chora church is a jewel in Istanbul. However, since the church is located away from the other see must sights of Istanbul, in one- day excursions of Istanbul, we generally do not suggest the visit of this site. If we can offer two days in Istanbul, Chora will definitely become the highlight
Orta Koy
is where the young and old
of Istanbul congregate. It is somewhat like the Greenwich
Village of New York. Artists open up their little stands for oil
painting, jewelry making etc.
There are dozens of small restaurants. Most of them specialize on baked potatoes with excellent Turkish Salads. The restaurants, which only serve mussels and/or manti (Yogurt based raviolis) are, must to try. Ortakoy also has wonderful ice cream stands. The nicest part of it hardly any tourist come this far to this little neighborhood of Istanbul
Public Cruise on the Bosphorus starts from Ortakoy One hour cruise on the Bosphorus will be superb with purple slopes of Asia framing the 2-3 hundred year old Ottoman Mansions
Day 17
October 26 Saturday
ISTANBUL
Boat ride to the Princes Islands
Horse buggy ride to the peak of the Island
Lunch by the Sea
Ferry back to the hotel
Farewell Dinner
Day 18
October 27 Sunday
DEPARTURE
Transfer to the air port
If people are leaving at different times, we can arrange for 3 transfers for the day
One for leaving until 06:00 AM
One for those leaving between 07:00 and 10:M
The 3rd transfer for those leaving later