Turkish Dreams

June - Oct 2024

Tour Itinerary

Experience 7 Glorious days in Istanbul and Cappadocia.

Cappadocia

Cappadocia region is the place where nature and history come together most beautifully within the world. While geographic events are forming Peribacalari (fairy chimneys), during the historical period, humans had carried the signs of thousand years old civilizations with carving houses and churches within these earth pillars and decorating them with frisks.

Cappadocia contains several underground cities, largely used by early Christians as hiding places before they became a legitimate religion. The Cappadocian Fathers of the fourth century were integral to much of early Christian philosophy.

Cappadocia” means “The land of beautiful horses”. These are wild horses that live in freedom on the foothill of magnificent Erciyes Mountain.

Istanbul

Istanbul is an enchanting blend of Eastern and Western culture, a vibrant, modern city, with a unique identity. Although no longer the capital of Turkiye, Istanbul still remains the country’s cultural and business centre. It is the only city in the world that sits on two continents: Europe and Asia. It is a melting pot of cultures in a city rich with history and a sense of freedom. Istanbul offers an unforgettable experience for its travellers, with its colourful daily city life and dynamic nightlife. The beautiful silhouette of the city combines historical sites and monuments such as Roman aqueducts, Byzantine churches, Venetian towers, Ottoman palaces from the Byzantine, Ottoman and Turkish periods.

Included

Excluded

Tour Plan

Day 1

Arrive at Istanbul Airport – Meet our guide and transfer to Grand Halic Hotel in Istiklal Street area.
Dinner at your hotel.

Feel free to explore this vibrant city after check-in and dinner.

We are located less than 400m from the Galata Tower, an awesome place for some night pics, as well as a little walk away from Istiklall street, with its bustling activity. For the adventurous, you can walk to Taksim Square.

Day 2

After breakfast, meet our guide in the lobby and start by visiting the Hippodrome, in the early period, it was used mainly as an arena for very popular, competitive and occasionally violent chariot races.
 
Hereafter we visit the Hagia Sophia, an enormous architectural marvel in Istanbul, that was originally built as a Christian basilica nearly 1,500 years ago. In July 2020, the Turkish Council of State and President Erdoğan reclassified it as a mosque.
 
We then visit the Basilica Cistern – this is the largest of several hundred ancient cisterns that lie beneath the city of Istanbul.
 
Our next stop is the Grand Bazaar – one of the world’s most famous shopping destinations and, at 30,700 square meters, the world’s biggest enclosed bazaar, where we can shop and bargain to your heart’s content.

After all our shopping we suggest visiting a Hamam for a Turkish Bath.

Day 3

After breakfast today, we will have a lovely cruise of the Bosphorus River. See both continents – Asia and Europe.
We visit the Spice market, with its tantalising tastes and aromas. The famous spices, nuts, Turkish Delight and caviar are the main attraction. Don’t forget to ask the vendors to vacuum seal your spices for easy transport home.
We transfer to the airport for our short flight to Kayseri, Cappadocia.
On arrival, we are met by our guide, transferred to our hotel for dinner and check-in.

Day 4

This morning, after breakfast, we will visit Goreme Open Air Museum – the top attraction of Cappadocia in Turkey’s central Anatolian region is a massive collection of historical monasteries and cave churches displaying fine specimens of ancient Byzantine frescoes.
Our next stop is an Underground City, these cities are carved from soft volcanic stones that are connected with each other by narrow tunnels. There are more than 200 underground cities in the Cappadocia region.
 
We then visit the Citadel of Uchisar, situated at the highest point, we have a magnificent and unrivalled view of the whole region. Our last stop for the day is the Avanos Village where we can view the pottery making.
 
We drive back to our hotel for an overnight in Cappadocia.

Day 6

This morning our tour guide will pick us up after breakfast to visit Ihlara Valley rock church.
 
Ihlara Valley is a deep river canyon in Western Cappadocia with stunning nature and medieval cave churches. The Melendiz River flows year-round through a 14-kilometre valley floor.
 
Our next stop is the Soğanlı Valley which is a serene valley with courtyard monasteries and cave churches from the 10th and 11th centuries. The remote valley is forty kilometres southeast of Nevşehir, about a one-hour drive from Göreme. This makes Soğanlı a destination to experience ancient cave sites in peace and solitude.

Day 7

After breakfast this morning we will depart for the airport for your flight back to Istanbul and then onward to your home, after an awesome tour.

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.

Tour Tip

Book your place now without delay. The following is required on registration:

  • A valid passport with 6 months still to go prior to expiry.
  • UK passport holders do not require a visa to visit Turkiye. South African’s can apply for a free visa online  – https://www.evisa.gov.tr/
  • Deposit of £150 / R3500 secures your place.
  • The balance is payable 10 weeks prior to departure.

All prices are per person, based on double, twin or triple share occupancy. Solo passengers not wishing to pay a single supplement will be accommodated in a double, twin or triple room according to availability with a passenger(s) of the same gender.

Book Now

You may increase the booking quantity should you be paying for more than one passenger. Payment is made via our secure payment partner Stripe.com. There are two payment options:

  1. Full amount 
  2. Deposit – balance payable 10 weeks prior to departure.

Register Now

Register for Turkish Dreams – Istanbul and Cappadocia June to Oct 2024

Once payment is complete please return to this browser and complete your registration for the tour - if more than one passenger was paid for above please fill in the details separately but upload the same Stripe payment or deposit confirmation pdf.