Depart for Istanbul, Turkey
Upon arrival, after clearing customs meet Troy Tours representative and transfer to your hotel.
Remainder of the day is at your leisure
Meals: Dinner
Hotel: Sirkeci Mansion
After breakfast, meet your guide at in the lobby to begin your city tour of exotic city of Istanbul. You will tour the Blue Mosque, famous for its blue Iznik tiles. Next is the , the St Sophia, Church of the Holy Wisdom, a Byzantine church built in 537 A.D. famous for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture. It was the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years, until the completion of the Seville Cathedral in 1520. You will continue your exploration with the Topkapi Palace the seat of the Ottoman Empire for over 400 years. Your final stop is exotic Grand Bazaar with its 4000 shops.
Meals: Breakfast & Lunch
Hotel: Sirkeci Mansion
Full day at your leisure
Meals: Breakfast
Hotel: Sirkeci Mansion
After breakfast, transfer to Istanbul airport for a short flight to Cappadocia, upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. In the afternoon, explore the fascinating underground city at Kaymakli, which dates to as early as the eighth century BC and includes chapels, kitchens, air vents and living quarters carved out of volcanic rock.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Hotel: Kaya Uchisar
Centuries of erosion from rain, wind, and water shaped Cappadocia into a striking, surreal moonscape of cone-shaped pinnacles and towers, all in a variety of lovely hues and fairy chimneys.
Today, you’ll discover the underground city of Kaymakli, then the Goreme Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and view the ancient rock-hewn churches sculpted in the hillsides almost a thousand years ago by the Medieval Christian monks. Continue on to the small town of Urgup, which has many carved dwellings that are still inhabited. Next is the Discovery Series Art of Pottery in Asia Minor event of this afternoon, offering you the opportunity to visit a cave pottery atelier. You will also be able to see some of the local pottery creations in the atelier. Return to the hotel in the late afternoon. On this evening’s tour, you have the opportunity to witness a ritual dance performance by the Whirling Dervishes, monks of the Mevlevi sect of Islam founded in the 13th century.
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Hotel: Kaya Uchisar
After breakfast, full day visit Uchisar Castle, Zelve, Pasabag Village
Meals: Breakfast & Dinner
Hotel: Kaya Uchisar
Your tour ends. Early morning transfer to Cappadocia airport for the journey home.
Meals: Breakfast
Touring ancient Ephesus with an informed, thoughtful local guide Apr 2023 What an experience. We booked a private tour with Troy Tours, and I was impressed by how prepared and communicative the organizers were. They helped us pick the ideal date for our trip (i.e., helping us avoid dates with higher-than-average cruise ship tourists), and worked with us to find the best flights to/from Istanbul. They arranged transportation to and from the airport, making the whole process seamless. Where things really got good: the tour itself. Our tour guide was Leyla, and just as others have said, she was informed, kind, and knew how to make each point of our trip interesting. We could tell that she modified her tour type based on her audience’s interests; we are history and architecture buffs, and she made sure to connect dots for us that only history nerds would care about. Because we were on a private tour, Fatma helped us get a good sense of the day’s activities and re-calibrate how long we spent at each location according to our interests and curiosities. If we end up in Turkey again, Leyla and her team will be hearing from us. What a delight she was, and we cannot recommend her enough. Please note that you will be given the opportunity to see local artisans in the rug-weaving and ceramics industries. They’ll show you the ins and outs of their crafts (e.g., with the weavers, we saw how silk was processed from cocoons, dyed, and bundled, and how the famous Turkish double-knot technique worked). The artisans will, of course, give a sales pitch – they’re trying to make a living like everyone else. You are never pressured into making a purchase; just go in there treating it like a museum experience, ask the questions that interest you, and enjoy local artisans taking time out of their day to teach you things you are unlikely to learn elsewhere. Thank you Troy Tours..Iglesias Tour Group!
Our Highlights of Turkey Trip was a professional set up. Especially Hot Air Balloon flight was once in a lifetime experience. Very well organized and would definitely recommend my friends
Had a great time in Turkey. Troy Tours was great, no problems. Tour guide Ozkan was excellent. So much to see, the people were so friendly and nice, would recommend this trip to anyone . . Also, such nice people on the tour. Troy Tours seems to attract a nice group of people and their guides are terrific . I went to Israel with them previously and loved it as well.
A wonderful trip with a very well-organized tour director I enjoyed this tour very much! The hotels were of the great quality, the tour guide was very intelligent and information he provided was very interesting. Visited great places in Turkey – highlights for me were a cruise in Antalya, ballooning in Cappadocia, and a Bosporus river cruise. Definitely good value for money! Thank you
The best tour I have had This was the best tour I have had – excellent guide in Charlie; the best hotels and food and a great experience of Turkey with the modern and ancient ruins. I would recommend this tour to anyone.