Magic Explorer West to East Turkey Tour 12 Days

12 days - West and East Turkey combined tour starts when arrivel at Istanbul Airport.  Transfer to your hotel. You’ll be free for the rest of the day. Explore the hotel’s vicinity and try Turkish coffee at a local cafeteria. Accommodation in Istanbul

After breakfast, we’ll start our Istanbul tour at 08:45 am. First, we will visit the great Hagia Sofia (Saint Sophia Cathedral), built by the emperor Justinian in the 6th century AD as a church and later converted into a mosque. Next, we will visit the Topkapı Palace, a giant walled complex where Ottoman sultans ruled their great empire for over 420 years. Afterwards, we will visit the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque), a 17th-century Ottoman mosque famous for its six minarets and magnificent interior with blue tiles.

Then, we’ll explore Hippodrome Square, which was used as a meeting place for chariot races during the Byzantine period. Here, we will see the Serpent Column from Delphi, the Egyptian Obelisk, and the German Fountain of Wilhelm. In the afternoon, you can get a half-day optional Bosphorus Cruise tour. Accommodation in Istanbul. (Breakfast)

Today, we will depart early for Çanakkale. Pick-up will be between 6:15 am and 6:45 am from your hotel. We will drive to the Gallipoli Peninsula for about 4 hours to visit one of the most important sites of World War I.
Gallipoli is home to the remains of 500,000 soldiers and is one of Turkey's most important war memorials. We will visit the site of the Battle of Gallipoli, including the Lone Pine Australian Memorial, Chunuk Bair Atatürk Monument, Anzac Cove, and Johnston's Jolly Cemetery.  We see The original trenches and tunnels where the bloodiest and most dramatic scenes of the Dardanelles wars took place, and the bayonet wars were fought hand in hand.  At the end of the tour, we’ll drive to Çanakkale.
Dinner and overnight stay in Çanakkale. (Breakfast - Dinner)  

After breakfast, we’ll head to the ancient city of Troia or Troy, the real-life location of the legendary Trojan War described in Homer's Iliad. Next, we will visit the legendary Pergamon, the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon Kings in 282-133 BC. We will visit the Acropolis, the city’s administrative centre, the Temple of Zeus, Dionysus, Athena, Demeter, and the famous Pergamon Library of 200,000 rolls. The Altar of Zeus, excavated during the Pergamon (Bergama) excavations, is now on display at the Pergamonmuseum in Berlin. The Great Theatre of Pergamon here is the world's steepest theatre and it could entertain up to 10,000 spectators in ancient times.
We’ll drive to Kuşadası. Dinner and accommodation in Kuşadası. (Breakfast - Dinner)

Today, we’ll immerse ourselves in the history of the ancient Ephesus World Heritage site.
Ephesus is a World Heritage site and the most beautiful ancient city of the Ionia region. After seeing the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, we will visit the ancient city of Ephesus. You will feel the fascinating atmosphere of Ephesus as you walk on Curetes Street and see the ruins of the 25,000-capacity Grand Theater, the State Agora, the magnificent Celsus Library, the Odeon, Temesos, Prytaneion, Magnesia Gate, Grotto of the Seven Sleepers, and the Harbour of Ephesus. Our next stop will be the House of the Virgin Mary, a Christian pilgrimage site where the Virgin Mary spent her last years. 
Finally, we will visit the former Greek Sirince village, famous for its fruit wines. Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey, and in this carpet village, we’ll learn how the carpets are made by hand and what determines their value—at the end of the tour.
Accommodation in Kuşadası. (Breakfast - Dinner) 

After breakfast, we will first enjoy a display of locally handcrafted leather goods. Then, drive to Pamukkale (220 km).
Pamukkale World Heritage site is one of the best-known tourist places in Turkey with white travertines.
We’ll have a lunch break. Visit Hierapolis, where we will see the Gate of Domitian, the Arcadian Street, the ancient 2^nd-century Roman Theater, the Nymphaion, the Temple of Apollo, the Plutonium, and the Necropolis. We will pass through the Roman Gate, admire the ancient Pamukkale Theater, and walk around the grave monuments built to honour heroes. Afterwards, we will have a relaxing walk on the Pamukkale travertine terraces and have a chance to swim in the Ancient Cleopatra Pools (at extra cost).
End of the tour. Overnight stay in a thermal hotel in Pamukkale. (Breakfast - Dinner)

After breakfast, we will drive to Cappadocia via the ancient Silk Road route. On the way, we’ll take a break in the city of Konya to have lunch and visit the Mevlana Museum, which houses the tomb of the great 13th-century Persian poet and founder of the Order of the Whirling Dervishes, Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, also known as Rumi, and the Alaeddin Mosque, which was built on Alaeddin Hill during the Seljuk period. Along the ancient Silk Road, we will also visit the Sultanhanı Caravanserai.
After our visits, we will continue on our way to Cappadocia.
Dinner and accommodation in Cappadocia.  (Breakfast - Dinner)

Today, we will start our tour with a visit to the Underground City and Göreme Open Air Museum, home to a large monastery complex with dozens of monasteries, each of which has its church, offering some of the best examples of Byzantine art. The churches carved into the rock feature paintings and frescoes from the tenth to the thirteenth century, whose colours retain freshness. Next, we will visit Paşabağı Valley on a vineyard on Zelve Road. Some of the mushroom-shaped rock formations here are several meters high. Fairy chimneys shaped by erosion for many years were used as houses by various religious groups. Therefore, it is also known as the Monks Valley. Afterwards, we will visit the Devrent Valley, which offers a reddish moon view, looks like a movie set, and is famous for its rock formations resembling different animal figures.
Overnight stay in Cappadocia.  (Breakfast - Dinner)

*Optional events in Cappadocia
-Turkish Folklore Night features traditional folklore and belly dancing in a cave music hall. (extra cost)
- Cappadocia Balloon Tour extra cost

After breakfast, we drive early to Ankara, the capital of the Republic of Turkey. ( 310 Km ) Flight to Van from Ankara Airport. We met our guide at Van Airport. Afterwards, we will explore the Urartian citadel built 3,000 years ago with a view of Van Lake and witness the sunset over Lake Van.
Accommodation in Van. ( Breakfast )

After breakfast, we Traveled by Ferry on Van Lake to Akdamar Island. Visit Akdamar Church.
Akdamar Church is a magnificent 10th-century church built by an Armenian king. If there is time after the church tour, you can swim in Van Lake, which has a soda water feature.
Afterwards, we will visit the world's largest Urartian museum, where artefacts from the Paleolithic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Urartian, Persian, Roman, Byzantine, Islamic, Seljuk, Turkish-Islamic, and Ottoman periods are exhibited in chronological order, and we will travel to a unique history.
We will visit the Van Cat House. We completed our tour by visiting the Cat House, where Van cats, a wonderful cat breed with white colour and two different eye colours, are bred for the Van region.
Accommodation in Van   (Breakfast)

After our delicious breakfast at the Van Hotel, we drive to Doğubeyazıt via Muradiyr. In Doğubeayzit, we visit the magnificent Ishak Pasha Palace, which combines Seljuk, Ottoman, Georgian, and Armenian-Iranian architecture uniquely.
The İshakpaşa palace, facing the magnificent view of Mount Ararat, was completed between 1685 and 1784.
Having lunch at a local restaurant in Doğubeyazit, transfer to Iğdır Airport, and Flight to Istanbul around 16:00

Transferred from Istanbul Airport to The Hotel. Accommodation in Istanbul ( Breakfast )
Accommodation in Istanbul ( Breakfast)

After breakfast, you will be transferred to Istanbul Airport for your onward flight. Hope to see you on another Turkey holiday.