17 Days Great Discovery of Turkey

Arrive in Istanbul, meet our team at the airport, and transfer to your hotel. The rest of the day is free for recovery from travel.

Overnight stay in Istanbul.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

08:30 - Pick up from your hotel and transfer to the Sultanahmet historic district.

• Blue Mosque: The Sultan Ahmed Mosque is the only imperial mosque in Istanbul with six minarets, a number that caused diplomatic controversy when it was built in 1616 because it matched the mosque count at Mecca. The tiles covering the interior in blue-white floral patterns, over 20,000 hand-painted Iznik pieces, give the building its widely used popular name.
• Hagia Sophia: Completed in 537 AD, Hagia Sophia held the record as the largest cathedral in the world for nearly a thousand years and its dome was an engineering breakthrough not surpassed in span for centuries. Today it stands as a layered monument to both Byzantine Christianity and Ottoman Islam, with the original mosaics and the later calligraphic medallions both present in the same space.
• Hippodrome: The ancient Hippodrome was the public heart of Constantinople, where chariot races, imperial ceremonies, and riots drew the city's entire population. The Egyptian Obelisk, brought to Constantinople in 390 AD from Luxor, still stands at its original position, one of the oldest monuments in any European city.
• Topkapi Palace and Harem: For nearly four centuries the Ottoman sultans ruled an empire stretching from Vienna to the Persian Gulf from the Topkapi complex, and the palace's treasury, sacred relics, and harem quarters all remain open to visitors. The fourth courtyard terrace above the Golden Horn gives one of Istanbul's finest single views across the water.
• Grand Bazaar: Built in 1461 and continuously in use since, the Grand Bazaar is one of the oldest and largest covered markets on Earth, with 61 interconnected streets and over 4,000 shops. The atmospheric density of the place, the vaulted ceilings, the smell of spices and leather, the sound of bargaining in six languages, makes it worth visiting even without any intention to buy.

17:00 - Transfer back to your hotel after the tour.

Overnight stay in Istanbul.

Meal: Breakfast

This day stays free in Istanbul. It gives you time for your own pace before the longer eastern section begins.

Overnight stay in Istanbul.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

05:00 - Early pick up from your hotel and transfer to the airport for the flight to Adiyaman. (Pickup time and airport may change.)

09:35 - Flight from Istanbul to Adiyaman. (Flight time may change.)

11:30 - Arrival in Adiyaman and transfer to begin the Commagene route. (Arrival time may change according to availability.)

• Karakus Tumulus: The Karakus Tumulus is a royal funerary monument of the Commagene dynasty, a massive earthen mound topped with eagle, bull, and lion statues on column pedestals. It establishes the visual and symbolic language of the Commagene kingdom, a unique Hellenistic-Persian cultural hybrid, before the larger Nemrut summit is reached.
• Arsameia and Cendere Bridge: Arsameia was the summer capital of Commagene and contains a rock-carved inscription in Greek describing the afterlife beliefs of King Antiochus. The nearby Cendere Bridge, a Roman-era single-span arch bridge over the Kahta River, has survived more than 1,800 years and is still in active use today.
• Mount Nemrut: King Antiochus I of Commagene built his own tomb and sanctuary on the highest peak of the Anti-Taurus range in the first century BC, surrounding it with colossal stone figures of gods and himself seated together in a divine assembly. The eastern and western terraces, with their rows of fallen and standing heads at 2,150 meters above sea level, remain one of the most visually extraordinary and geographically remote monumental sites in the entire Mediterranean world.

Evening drive from the Nemrut area toward Diyarbakir. The journey takes about 2.5 hours.

Overnight stay in Diyarbakir.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel to begin the Diyarbakir city program.

• Four-Legged Minaret, Hazrat Suleiman Mosque, and Great Mosque: The Four-Legged Minaret is architecturally eccentric in the best possible way, a slender tower rising from four basalt columns straddling a pedestrian alley. Together with the Hazrat Suleiman complex and the Ulu Camii (the oldest mosque in Anatolia, built in 639 AD), these monuments frame the city's Islamic identity across thirteen centuries.
• Archaeological Museum and Ickale: The Diyarbakir Archaeological Museum covers civilizations from the Neolithic through the Byzantine period, with particular strength in Hurrian and Assyrian-era objects from the Tigris basin. The Ickale citadel perches at the highest point of the old town with panoramic views over the river bend below.
• Surp Giragos Church, Telegraph Street, Hasan Pasha Caravanserai, and Suluklu Inn: Surp Giragos was the largest Armenian church in the Middle East before its destruction and subsequent restoration, its reopening in 2011 was a significant event in the city's recent cultural history. Telegraph Street, the Han Hasan Pasha, and the Suluklu Inn together create a dense urban walk through different layers of the city's commercial and civic memory.
• 10 Arches Bridge: The Ten-Arched Bridge crossing the Tigris River south of the old city walls dates back to at least the tenth century, making it one of the oldest surviving Anatolian bridges. The view from the bridge back toward the dark basalt walls rising above the river is one of the most powerful visual moments in the entire southeastern section.

17:00 - The tour ends and you will be transferred back to your hotel.

Overnight stay in Diyarbakir.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel and depart Diyarbakir toward Mardin. The journey takes about 1.5 hours.

• Midyat Old Town: Midyat is a center of the Syriac Christian community in Turkey and its historic core is filled with intricately carved limestone houses whose facades reflect centuries of Assyrian stone-crafting tradition. The narrow lanes and market streets here are genuinely lived-in, not curated for tourism, which gives the opening of the Mardin day an honest and textured atmosphere.
• Mardin Castle (exterior view): The castle's position at the highest point of the limestone ridge defines the drama of Mardin: the entire city cascades down the slope toward the Mesopotamian plain in densely packed terraces of honey-colored stone. Standing at the exterior and looking both inward over the city and outward toward the Syrian border plain simultaneously is one of the most distinctive panoramas in Turkey.
• Deyrulzafaran Monastery and Great Mosque of Mardin: The Saffron Monastery is one of the oldest active monasteries in the world and has served the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate since the fifth century, its name derived from the saffron-colored material used in its construction. The Ulu Camii directly in the city center provides an immediate Islamic architectural counterpoint, both buildings showing how Mardin has carried multiple religious traditions in close proximity for more than fifteen centuries.
• Local Bazaar and Abbara passages: The covered passages and arcaded bazaar streets of Mardin connect historic han buildings, artisan copper workshops, and spice sellers in a network that has served the city's trading population since the medieval period. Wandering through them at a slow pace gives the day a grounded, human-scale closing note.

Continue by road from Mardin to Sanliurfa. The drive takes about 2.5 hours.

Overnight stay in Sanliurfa.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel for the day's prehistoric and spiritual sites.

• Gobeklitepe: Built around 10,000 BC, Gobeklitepe predates farming, pottery, and writing, the civilization that carved its T-shaped pillars organized itself without any of the technologies previously thought necessary for monumental construction. The site reshapes what 'ancient' means: standing between the carved pillars on the hilltop near Sanliurfa places you at what is, by a wide margin, the earliest known religious architecture in human history.
• Sanliurfa Archaeology Museum and Haleplibahce Mosaic Museum: The Sanliurfa museum campus holds the most significant collection directly related to the Gobeklitepe findings, including original carved pillars and the famous Urfa Man statue, the oldest known life-size human sculpture in the world. The Haleplibahce Mosaic Museum occupies a separate building with extraordinary Roman-era floor mosaics, most depicting mythological scenes in a style that rivals the collections at Zeugma.
• Balikligol (Pool of Abraham): The sacred pool and mosque complex around Balikligol is the devotional center of Sanliurfa, drawing pilgrims from across the Islamic world. The carp that swim in the pool are considered sacred and must not be harmed, a tradition that has continued for so long that no one is quite sure when it began. The surrounding courtyards, shaded walkways, and the sound of water create the most spiritually charged atmosphere of any site on the southeastern route.

17:00 - Transfer back to your hotel after the tour.

Overnight stay in Sanliurfa.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel for the Halfeti boat departure on the Euphrates.

• Halfeti Boat Tour: The Euphrates reservoir created by the Birecik Dam submerged the original village of Halfeti in the early 2000s, and today boat tours wind through flooded streets, past partially submerged minarets, and along sandstone cliffs that rise directly from the water. The black tulip, a flower that grows only here, has become the symbol of Halfeti, and the combination of rock, water, and flooded ruins makes this one of the most atmospherically distinctive stops in the entire 17-day route.
• Zeugma Mosaic Museum: After arriving in Gaziantep, the day closes with one of the great museum experiences in Turkey. The Zeugma collection was rescued from a Roman-era city that was being submerged by the same dam system, and the mosaics, depicting gods, myths, and portraits in extraordinary detail, now fill a purpose-built museum of international standing. The 'Gypsy Girl' mosaic is among the most recognized ancient artworks in the country.

After the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel in Gaziantep for a leisure evening.

Overnight stay in Gaziantep.

Meal: Breakfast and Lunch

Before leaving Gaziantep, the day gives room for the city center and bazaar atmosphere rather than treating it as a simple transfer point.

After local shopping time, continue by road to Cappadocia. The journey is a long drive and takes about 6 hours.

Overnight stay in Cappadocia.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel. This morning is also the best opportunity for an optional hot air balloon flight before the tour begins.

• Red Valley: Red Valley sits at a slightly higher elevation than the valley floor around Goreme, giving it an elevated perspective over the broader Cappadocia landscape. This added height makes the valley particularly striking for hot air balloon observers, as flights launched from Goreme often drift over Red Valley at low altitude.
• Rose Valley (Gulludere Valley): Sunset turns Rose Valley's pale cliffs into a glowing canvas of pink, peach, and coral tones that deepen as the light angle drops below the canyon rim. Evening visits to Gulludere Valley are technically outside most tour schedules, but travelers who linger discover a color palette that morning visits simply cannot replicate.
• Cavusin Village: Cavusin occupies a strategic position along the road between Goreme and Avanos, and its elevation above the valley floor would have given early inhabitants clear sightlines over approaching travelers from every direction. This defensive advantage likely influenced the original choice of this cliff as a settlement site more than a thousand years ago.
• Pigeon Valley: Pigeon Valley sits between Uchisar and Goreme at the geographic center of Cappadocia's most visited zone, making it a natural transit route for travelers moving between the two settlements. Its location means that almost every visitor to Cappadocia sees Pigeon Valley from at least one angle, even if they pass through without stopping to explore.
• Underground City: Cappadocia's underground cities were rediscovered and mapped primarily in the 20th century, though local residents had always known of their existence and used accessible chambers as storage spaces. Systematic archaeological excavation and documentation of the full extent of these carved cities is an ongoing process, with new sections opened to public access as stability assessments are completed.

17:00 - Transfer back to your hotel after the tour.

Overnight stay in Cappadocia.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel for the second Cappadocia touring day along the classic north route.

• Devrent Valley (Pink Valley): Devrent Valley sometimes appears in Turkish tourism photography under the name Imagination Valley, a translation that captures something the geological description misses. Standing among the formations, you understand why imagination and geology feel inseparable here.
• Pasabag Open Air Museum: Your guide at Pasabag typically spends fifteen to twenty minutes explaining the geological and monastic history before giving you free time to explore and photograph. That combination of explanation and independent exploration is the most effective way to absorb what makes the site genuinely remarkable.
• Avanos Pottery Workshop: Avanos pottery workshops sell finished pieces at prices that reflect the real cost of hand production rather than tourist markup. Bowls, cups, and decorative plates all travel reasonably well, and the workshop team wraps purchases securely for the journey home.
• Goreme Panoramic View: From Goreme Panoramic View, you can trace the path the tour vehicle took through the valley below, connecting stops you have already visited to their geographic positions in the landscape. That retrospective mapping is satisfying in a way that no map or diagram could replicate.
• Zelve Open Air Museum: Zelve's position near Avanos on the Red Tour route means that it comes after the pottery workshop stop, a transition from artisan tradition to archaeological site that works well as a pacing decision. The shift from active demonstration to quiet historical exploration gives the afternoon a different texture from the morning.
• Uchisar Castle (exterior view): Your Red Tour stop at Uchisar is an exterior viewing stop, positioned at the terrace that gives the fullest frontal view of the castle rock. The exterior perspective is genuinely the better angle for photography: you see the full scale, all the carved openings, and the relationship between the rock and the village below simultaneously.

17:00 - Transfer back to your hotel after the tour.

Overnight stay in Cappadocia.

Meal: Breakfast

Breakfast at the hotel and check-out from your rooms.

According to your flight time, we will transfer you to Kayseri or Nevsehir Airport. You may have a direct flight or a flight via Istanbul, depending on flight availability on the date of travel.

Upon your arrival at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport, we will welcome you at the exit and transfer you to your hotel in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Overnight stay in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

07:30 - Pick up from your hotel for the full-day Pamukkale program.

• Pamukkale: Your first view of Pamukkale arrives before you expect it, a white hillside visible from the road into Denizli. Up close, warm mineral water flows across terraces of calcium-white travertine, pooling in turquoise basins. The UNESCO World Heritage designation covers both the natural formation and the ancient city of Hierapolis that sits at the top.
• White Calcium Terraces: Looking up at Pamukkale's travertine terraces from the valley road, it genuinely looks as if someone poured white paint down the hillside. Up close, each terrace is a wide shallow pool rimmed by calcium carbonate built up over centuries of mineral overflow. The water flowing through these pools is warm, clear, and rich in the dissolved calcium that keeps the rock brilliant white.
• Hierapolis Ancient City: Some of the most striking imagery in Turkey comes from Hierapolis's necropolis, where hundreds of ancient sarcophagi lie scattered across the hillside as if time simply stopped mid-conversation. Tomb inscriptions survive on many of the stone coffins, recording names, professions, and family warnings against disturbing the graves. It is Anatolia's largest ancient necropolis, and walking through it beside the ruins of a living city is a genuinely powerful experience.
• Cleopatra Antique Thermal Pool: Warm mineral water fed by Pamukkale's thermal springs fills Cleopatra Antique Thermal Pool at a constant 36 degrees, making it one of the more unusual swimming spots in Turkey. The pool floor is carpeted with Roman marble fragments knocked down by seismic activity centuries ago. This optional stop is not covered by the tour, entry is payable on-site for those who want to take a swim among ancient ruins.

16:00 - Transfer back to your hotel in Kusadasi/Selcuk after the tour.

Overnight stay in Kusadasi/Selcuk.

Meal: Breakfast & Lunch

09:00 - Pick up from your hotel for the morning Ephesus program.

• Ephesus Ancient City: Ephesus rewards slow walkers, the more time you spend examining the details, the more the ancient city gives back. Running water channels built into the marble sidewalks reveal how advanced Roman engineering was in this part of Turkey. Between the grand facades and the carved street furniture, every few meters brings something new worth photographing.
• House of Virgin Mary: Bulbul Mountain overlooks the entire Ephesus valley, and the path to the House of Virgin Mary passes through dense forest that feels ancient in its own right. The chapel itself is small and simple, built over the ruins of an even earlier structure, but its plainness is part of what makes it powerful. Nothing here competes with the spiritual purpose of the space.
• Temple of Artemis: Storks nest on top of the single remaining column at the Temple of Artemis site near Selcuk, adding an oddly fitting touch to a monument to one of history's greatest vanished buildings. The nesting birds are a recurring image for visitors who photograph the column, nature reclaiming a spot that humans built, lost, rebuilt, and lost again. It is a quietly poetic ending for a Wonder of the Ancient World.

16:00 - The tour ends and you will be transferred to Izmir Airport.

Flight to Istanbul from Izmir Airport. (Flight time may change.)

Arrival in Istanbul and transfer to your hotel. (Arrival time may change according to availability.)

Overnight stay in Istanbul.

Meal: Breakfast

This is another free Istanbul day and works as a decompression point after the full cross-country route.

Overnight stay in Istanbul.

Meal: Breakfast

You will have a slower morning in Istanbul before the afternoon cruise departure.

13:30 - Pick up from your hotel and transfer to the pier.

• Bosphorus Cruise: The cruise from the European shore covers roughly fifteen kilometers of waterway, passing under the suspension bridges and alongside the forests that line the upper strait before turning back. It is the geographic perspective on Istanbul that completes what two days of street-level touring cannot show.
• Dolmabahce Palace: Seen from the water, Dolmabahce presents its full 600-meter Bosphorus facade, the longest palace waterfront in Europe, built in 1856 as the Ottomans' attempt to match European architectural ambition. The detail of the coastal gates and fountains reads clearly from the boat.
• Ortakoy Mosque and Bridge: The Baroque waterfront mosque at Ortakoy, framed by the first Bosphorus suspension bridge directly behind it, has become one of the most reproduced images of Istanbul. From the cruise boat, the framing is perfect.
• Rumeli Fortress: Built in four months in 1452 by Mehmed II to control Bosphorus traffic in preparation for his siege of Constantinople, Rumeli Fortress still stands in near-complete condition. Viewed from the water, its strategic purpose along the narrowest point of the strait is immediately obvious.

16:00 - Transfer back to your hotel after the cruise.

Overnight stay in Istanbul.

Meal: Breakfast

According to your international departure details, we arrange your hotel transfer to the airport. Your 17-day Turkey discovery route ends today.