Bora’s New Special Tour

This tour will begin in Izmir / Kusadasi and will visit Bodrum (Didyma / Miletus), Kalkan (Turquoise Coast, Myra and St. Nicholas’ Church), Konya (Çatalhöyük) and Mt. Nemrut.

19 Nights/21 Day Tours      

Tour Codes: #BORA D

2010 Bora’s New Special Tour Dates & Prices

 DAY 1 – DEPART (May 16)
Your international direct flight will depart from the United States, arriving in Istanbul the next day.

Day 2, 3 – ISTANBUL / KUSADASI (Ephesus) (May 17, 18)
Upon arriving in Istanbul, we will fly to Izmir and then drive one hour to Kusadasi where we will check into the 5-star deluxe Korumar Hotel.  Cultural Folk Tours only uses rooms that feature the beautiful view of the Aegean Sea.  A wonderful buffet dinner will follow the check in.   

The next day we will drive to the incredible city of Ephesus and its colossal Greek Theater, which is still used for performances today.  The Marble Road, the Celsus Library, and the Temple of Diana are just a few of the things that we will be seeing here. We will also visit the house where the Virgin Mary lived her final days. After the crucifixion of Jesus, St. John brought her to Ephesus.  We will also go to the small museum in Ephesus that features many of the artifacts found there.  This area is famous for its leather  products and we will be offered high quality leather for 60% reduced rates, special to Bora’s groups.  We will be back at the Korumar hotel late in the afternoon to enjoy the amenities, the view or swim in the Aegean Sea.  

Day 4 – BODRUM (May 19)
In the morning, we will drive to Miletus and Didyma.  Miletus was the great city in Ionia long before Ephesus until its harbor got silted.  Much of the city is buried by the silt that ruined the harbor, but what remains is quite spectacular.  A lot of the ancient Greek philosophers, mathematicians and thinkers had their origins in Miletus.  The theater is quite impressive.  We will then drive half an hour to Didyma, which was built by the orders of Alexander the Great in 4^th century B.C..  Its marble columns are gigantic and it was built to honor the God Apollo.  This temple was one of the largest buildings of antiquity.  We will then drive ninety minutes to Bodrum, arriving early in the afternoon.  Bodrum is the site of one of the seven wonders of antiquity.  The Mausoleum was built as a funerary monument to honor Mausolos, the ruler of Caria.  We will also visit the World-famous Bodrum Museum of Underwater Archaeology and the Bodrum Castle of the Knights.  The hotel will be the delightful 5-star Bodrum Salmakis Resort. Dinner will be at the hotel. 

Day 5 – PAMUKKALE (One of the Natural Wonders of the World) Hierapolis (May 20)
Today we will drive to Aphrodisias, the city of art dedicated to the Goddess Aphrodite.  The marble theatre there is beautiful and the immense stadium, which is the largest and best preserved in the world, seats over 35,000.  We will also visit the museum there.  Afterwards, we will continue to Pamukkale.  Also called “Hierapolis”, this city has an incredible necropolis, the city of the dead, and is world famous for its calcium-travertine.  We will stay at the 5-star Colossae Hotel and spa.  At the hotel, you can swim in the heated pools of enriched mineral water that can cure many illnesses including stomach ailments and skin diseases.

Day 6, 7 – KALKAN (May 21, 22)
On the drive from Pamukkale to Kalkan, the view will be incredible.  This region has been listed by National Geographic as one of the fifty “must see” places on the planet.  On the way to Kalkan, we will stop in Xanthos, the ancient capitol of the Lycian League.  It has extensive and spectacular remains from 5^th century B.C..  We will also stop and visit Patara (the birthplace of St. Nicholas/Santa Claus).  Our stay in Kalkan will allow us enough time to spend quality time in these antique cities.  We will stay in a lovely hotel while in the Kalkan area.   

Day 8, 9 – ANTALYA – Turkish Riviera (May 23, 24)
Going East towards Antalya, following the beautiful coast, we will stop and visit Myra, the city that St. Nicholas was the Bishop of when he died 340 A.D..  The Lycean tombs carved into the rocks are very impressive and a dream for a photographer.  Also in Myra, we will visit the theater that St. Nicholas must have preached in, complete with a vomitorium.  This 15,000 capacity theater will be added to your list of the “most amazing lists of antique theaters” that you will see on this tour.  Also in Myra, we will visit the Church built in honor of St. Nicholas, displaying the sarcophagus (grave) that he was laid to rest in (it was broken by “merchants” from Bari, Italy in the 12^th century and his bones were stolen and taken to Italy).  Continuing towards Antalya, we will also visit Phaselis, a small Roman city on the coast that was visited by Hadrian.  In Antalya, we will stay at the 5-star Dedeman Hotel and we pay extra to make sure each room has a beautiful view of the Mediterranean Sea and the mountains.

Antalya, also known as the Turkish Riviera, is a beautiful city snuggled between the Mediterranean Sea and the Toros Mountains. During our stay in Antalya, we will tour the city as well as visit the ruined cities of Aspendos and Perge. Aspendos dates back to the time of the Hittites, yet the only visible remains are from the Roman period.  The restored theater at Aspendos is said to be the best in all of Turkey.  Perge reached its height under the Romans and Alexander the Great.  Today, what remains are the ruins of a great theater, a stadium, and the colonnaded main street. 

Day 10 – KONYA (Çatalhöyük) (May 25)
Today, we will drive through the Toros Mountains to Konya to visit the Whirling Dervish Museum, a very holy place for Turkish Muslims.  There are exhibits of Dervish costumes, instruments, illuminated manuscripts and various ethnographic artifacts.  We will then visit Çatalhöyük, which is the best preserved and largest Neolithic site found to date and is considered by archaeologists as the oldest-communal living-city in the World.  It goes back to 7,500 B.C..  Layer by layer, archaeologists have excavated this tumulus/mound and put a cover over their excavations.  Very few people visit this site.  In Konya, our stay will be at the 5-star Rixos hotel.        

Day 11, 12 – CAPPADOCIA (One of the Natural Wonders of the World) (May 26, 27)
We will have a short drive of three hours to the Cappadocia region.  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. In 2005, Abercrombie and Kent rated the Cave Suites the seventeenth most boutique hotel in the World.  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 13 – GAZIANTEP (May 28)
Early in the morning, we will drive towards Gaziantep.  On the way, we will stop at Kanesh and visit a 4,500 year old city that was the capitol of the Hatti Empire.  The site is considered to be the largest tumulus in Turkey.  Right outside the city walls, we will visit a settlement used as an Assyrian trade colony.  We will then continue to Gaziantep and check into the 5-star Tugcan hotel.

Day 14 – MT. NEMRUT (May 29)
Early in the morning, we will visit the mosaic museum and see the famous mosaic of a gypsy girl from the ancient city of Zeugma.  This is the one of the two best mosaic museums in the World, displaying 2,000 year old Roman mosaics.  In April 2010, a new museum building that houses all of the mosaics will open.  After lunch, we will drive two and a half hours to Kahta, a small town next to Mt. Nemrut.  After checking into the impressive little tourist class Zeus Hotel, we will take mini buses to visit Mt. Nemrut.      

Resting at an elevation of 7700 ft., this extraordinary mountaintop features a funerary-temple complex composed of two flattened areas strewn with huge statues and fallen heads of Greco-Roman Gods.  Each head measures six to nine feet high, belonging to the likes of Zeus, Hercules, Fortuna, Apollo and the King Antiouchus, who considered himself a God.   There is also a mound of broken gravel that makes a perfect false peak of crushed rock.  Antiouchus built the entire complex 2,050 years ago as a monument to his “divine ancestry”.  

Please Note: The hike to Mt. Nemrut consists of 20 to 40 minutes of a 30% uphill hike, mostly with stairs.  There is no time limit and most can do the hike.  There are also donkeys or mules available for hire.

Day 15 – URFA (Göbekli Tepe) (May 30)
Today, we will drive to Urfa, the birthplace of the prophet Abraham.  On the way, we will stop at the Ataturk Dam, the World’s fourth largest.  Driving through the pistachio orchards, we will then arrive in Urfa.  Right outside the city, we will visit Göbekli Tepe, a recently discovered site where excavations have just begun.  Built in 10,000 B.C., it is the oldest known temple in the World.  This temple was mysteriously buried by the people who built it in 8,000 B.C. and it was not used again. This is another unique place we visit on our tours.  In Urfa, our stay will be at the boutique 5-star El Ruha Hotel.

We will visit nearby Harran and see the incredible beehive houses.  Harran, according to the Bible, was the site where the prophet Abraham lived with his family for several years before moving to Israel, the Promised Land.  We will also visit the holy sites at Ainzelha, a lake with domesticated fish.  There are exceptional photo opportunities in this area.    Dinner will be at the hotel. 

Day 16, 17 – MARDIN (Hasankeyf) (May 31, Jun 1)
The drive from Urfa and Mardin is only three hours through The Fertile Crescent, along the Turkish-Syrian border.  In Mardin, our stay will be at the 13^th century Artuklu caravanserai, a very boutique hotel.   Mardin is a very unique and lovely city with many old Arabic style houses.  It is a city that played an important role in the early development of Christianity. We will take time to visit its busy streets, bazaars and neighborhoods.  We will take superb photographs during our two day stop there.  Just outside of town, we will visit the monks in the Monastery of Deyr-az-Zafaran, which was founded in 4^th century A.D.  It was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch for almost 800 years. This monastery is built on top of a 4,000-year-old temple originally used by sun worshippers.

The next day, we will drive 70 miles to the incredible and ancient city of Hasankeyf.  Hasankeyf is on the banks of the Tigris River and is located in an area of the Fertile Crescent where animals were domesticated and grains were cultivated over twelve thousand years ago.  Similar to Cappadocia with its many carved caves, this city offers spectacular photo opportunities.

Day 18, 19, 20 – ISTANBUL (Jun 2, 3, 4)
We will fly to Istanbul from Mardin or nearby Diyarbakir.

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 depending on the arrival times and availability of various museums on certain days of the week.  This tour will feature more than twenty five World Heritage Sites.

Day 21 – DEPART (Jun 5)
Today, we will be taken from the hotel to the airport for the return flight home, returning to U.S.A. the same day.