Bora’s “Best of Turkey” Tour – Western Portion

Northwestern, Central, the Mediterranean, Turquoise Coast, Western Turkey, The Aegean, and Istanbul

15 Nights / 17 Day Tours (This tour begins in Ankara)

Tour Codes: #A/WEST, #B/WEST, C/WEST, E, G/WEST & #H/WEST

2010 Bora’s Best of Turkey Tour Dates and Prices [21K]

Day 1 – DEPART USA
Your international direct flight will depart from the United States, arriving in Istanbul the next day.

Day 2 – ANKARA (Fly) (Note- land only travelers must fly directly to Ankara to join the tour)
We will arrive in Ankara, the nation’s capital, by plane in the afternoon and then proceed to check into a 5-star hotel. The tour will begin on this day with a welcome dinner at the hotel.

Day 3, 4, 5 – CAPPADOCIA (One of the Natural Wonders of the World)
We will visit the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the father of modern Turkey, and the magnificent Museum of Anatolian Civilizations.  Afterwards, we will depart Ankara and turn our sights toward Cappadocia.  During the 4-1/2 hour drive we will stop frequently for rest breaks. While in Cappadocia we will enjoy the unique landscapes of wind and rain eroded, volcanic rock formations and visit the amazing underground churches carved into the rocks by early Christians. We will visit ancient handicraft shops and see a caravanserai, an ancient caravan motel.  Going off the “tourist track”, we will have wonderful strolls where we visit small villages and discover the unknown Cappadocia.  We will also enjoy an excellent lecture-demonstration on Turkish kilims and carpets. A doll maker from Soganli will also demonstrate how their World-famous Cappadocia dolls are made.  On one of the nights, we will attend a folk dance show with belly-dancing and a Whirling Dervish demonstration.  

Our stay will be at the spectacular Cappadocia Cave Suites, the newest and most “luxurious cave living” in Cappadocia.  Our hotel’s twenty-two spacious units almost all have windows with views to the outside and most feature a Jacuzzi.  Several rooms have fireplaces and eight units include two bedrooms.  Some units have beautiful 200-year-old wooden ceilings and one unit is decorated in original 8th century painted frescoes showing the Maltese cross.  The views are spectacular with the Fairy Chimneys in sight (www.cappadociacavesuites.com).  Breakfast and dinner will be at the Cave Suites restaurant. 

OPTIONAL: Hot air balloon rides over Cappadocia at reduced rates.  A balloon ride in Cappadocia (for people of all ages) is safe and nothing less than spectacular.

Day 6, 7 – MERSIN
While in Cappadocia, we will visit an underground city and the beautiful monastery in Gümüsler, the only undestroyed, untouched church frescos in all of Çappadocia from the 12th century. Afterwards, we will cross the beautiful Toros Mountains on the way to Tarsus, the birthplace of St. Paul. We will visit St. Paul’s well and check into the 5-star hotel Mersin Hilton overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The next day we will visit sites such as the castles of Tirtar, Pompeipolis, the amazing chasm and ancient churches in Neopolis, the city of Olba with its well preserved Zeus Temple, the Corycos fortress and the underground church of St. Thecla. We will have a wonderful day visiting sites unique to our company that no other company knows about since Bora grew up in this region.

Day 8, 9 – ANTALYA – Turkish Riviera
Today, we will take a long and beautiful drive with many stops along the way to Antalya, also known as the Turkish Riviera. It is a beautiful city snuggled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Toros Mountains. During our stay in Antalya, we will tour the city.  A particular highlight here is a museum that features the best preserved Greco-Roman statues in the World.  We will also visit the ruined cities of Aspendos and Perge. Aspendos dates back to the time of the Hittites, yet the only visible remains are left over from the Roman Period. The restored theater at Aspendos is said to be the best in all of Turkey. Perge reached its height under Alexander the Great and the Romans.  Today, what remain are the ruins of a great theater, a stadium, and the colonnaded main street.  We will stay at the 5-star Dedeman Hotel, which has a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains.

Day 10 – PAMUKKALE (One of the Natural Wonders of the World) – Hierapolis, (Aphrodisias)
We will depart Antalya early and drive to Aphrodisias, the city of art dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite. Octavian once said that “of all the cities in the world, Aphrodisias is my favorite.”  The marble theatre is beautiful and the stadium that seats over 35,000 is immense.  It is also the largest in the world and the best preserved.  The city was a center to cultivate the finest sculptors, whose works were found all over the Roman Empire.  After Aphrodisias we will continue to Pamukkale. Another Greco-Roman city “Hierapolis” is visited here.  It has an incredible necropolis (city of the dead) and we will see many sarcophagi (burial monuments).  We will visit the snow-like travertine of calcium for which Pamukkale is famous.  Pamukkale is one of the natural wonders of the world with strikingly beautiful mineral springs clinging to the hillsides that will amaze you.  We will stay at the 5-star Colossae Hotel, with a thermal mineral pool for your enjoyment.  The Colossae is the best available hotel in the area.

Day 11, 12 – KUSADASI  (Sardis/Ephesus)
Today we will drive to Sardis, where money was first minted. We will see one of the world’s oldest synagogues in Sardis as well as the excavations, the gymnasium, and the Artemis temple. Then we will drive two hours to Kusadasi where we will stay at the Korumar Hotel, which features a private beach on the coast.  All the rooms assigned to us will be guaranteed to have superb views of the Aegean Sea and the Greek Samos Island on the horizon.

The next day we will drive fifteen minutes to the incredible city of Ephesus and its colossal Greco-Roman Theater where St. Paul preached.  This particular theater is still used for performances today.  The Marble Road, the Celsus Library, and the Temple of Diana are just a few of the sites we will visit.  We will also visit the Ephesus Archaeological Museum as well as the house where St. Mary lived her final days (After the crucifixion of Jesus, St. John brought her to Ephesus).

Day 13 – ÇANAKKALE (Troy)
During a scenic two-hour drive up the Aegean Coast, we will stop in Pergamon to see the Asklepion, an ancient hospital complex. We will then drive three-hours to Çanakkale, where we will visit the legendary city of Troy.  Here, we will have the opportunity to see a replica of the Trojan Horse. To date nine different Troy’s have been discovered, all built one on top of the other. We will have a chance to see this site still in the process of excavation. While in Çanakkale, we will stay at the best available tourist class hotel that overlooks the Dardanelles and Gallipoli across the Straits.

Day 14, 15, 16 – ISTANBUL

We will leave the hotel early in the morning and take a ferryboat from Çanakkale (the Asian continent) to the European side where we will visit Gallipoli to see World War I battle sites, cemeteries and memorials.  Afterwards, we will drive to Istanbul.  Among the many things we will do in Istanbul is visit the Military Museum and enjoy a concert performed in traditional costumes by the world’s first established military marching ensemble.  In the evening, we will have dinner at a local Turkish restaurant.   Our stay will be at the 5-star Barcelo Eresin Topkapi Hotel.  

Istanbul, once called Byzantium in the 7th century B.C., was named Constantinople in 326 A.D. by Constantine the Great when he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to what is now Istanbul.  The city received its current name from Mehmet II in 1453 and is the only city in the world that spans two continents.  It was the capital to three major empires (Rome, Byzantine and Ottoman Empires).  Here, we will visit several of Turkey’s most famous museums and mosques.  Topkapi Palace was first built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 and was the home of the sultan until the 19th century.  St. Sophia was built by Roman Emperor Justinian and was completed in 537 A.D.  It was the greatest Christian church in the world for more than 1000 years.  The Blue Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet in 1603 and was constructed with the deliberate intention of rivaling the St. Sophia.  We will also visit the spice market, the Rustem Pasha Mosque with its exceptional tiles and the mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent.    On the second night, we will have dinner and drinks with lots of live music and entertainment by a gypsy orchestra.  Bora and his staff will play and sing along. 

On the final day in Istanbul, we will take a morning Bosphorus cruise on a private boat.  After the cruise, we will visit the Sadberk Hanim Museum, a private museum, which features artifacts as old as 6,000 B.C. of the many cultures that inhabited Anatolia.  The afternoon will then be free and will give you a chance to go out on your own to explore the city.  Suggested places to visit during your free time are the Cora Church, the Grand Bazaar, the Archeology museum and the Dolmabahçe Palace.  Dinner will be on your own.

Please Note: The order of events may vary with each tour depending on the availability of various museums on certain days of the week.

Day 17 – DEPART FOR USA
We will depart the hotel shortly after breakfast for our return flight, arriving in the United States the same day.

**Flight schedules and itinerary are subject to change**