Discovery Star

10 Days – 9 Nights / Friday Arrival

Day 1 – Friday
Istanbul
Welcome to Istanbul, meeting point of East and West. We’ll be here to greet you at the airport and get you to your hotel – tonight you’ll sleep in one of the world’s truly magical cities.

Day 2 – Saturday
Istanbul
There may be no city on earth quite as beautiful – join your expert guide on a tour you’ll remember always….Marvel at the jewel encrusted treasures of Topkapi, tribute paid to the sultans for safe passage east and west, the Emperor Justinian’s Hagia Sophia covered in glorious moasics, the Blue Mosque, the Byzantine Hippodrome (the bronze snake statue was a monument set up at Plataea to celebrate the Greek victory over the Persians – its travelled from Persia to Greece, from Greece to Rome and from Rome to here…). You’ll end the day exploring the fabled Grand Bazaar – under this roof, one can find anything from linens to gold. Watch the sun set over the Bosphorus, you’ll sleep here tonight. (B)

Day 3 – Sunday
Istanbul • Cappadocia
After breakfast we’ll head to the airport and a short flight eastward to Cappadocia. Upon arrival we’ll be greeted at the airport and get a taste of this region’s remarkable beauty on the way to our lodgings for the night. (B,D)

Day 4 – Monday
Cappadocia
With our expert guide, today you’ll explore the almost “lunar” landscape of Cappadocia – “fairy castles” are just some of the geologic wonders that abound in the Pasagabi (Monk’s) Valley — we’ll visit on our way to Avanos, where we’ll admire the hand-crafted ceramics synonymous with the town. The afternoon will find you in the Goreme Open Air Museum, a fascinating complex of richly frescoed churches, chapels and monasteries established in the tenth century. From here to a city underground – the Kaymakli Underground City (or possibly that of Ozkonak), a massive structure created by the early Christians of the area in an attempt to escape persecution. Housed completely underground, nearly one hundred tunnels connect floors of store rooms, stables, kitchens, living quarters, a church, graveyards – all protected by ingenious defenses and traps in the event of attack. Before our day ends we’ll visit Pigeon Valley, once home to huge flock of the birds. Early Christian inhabitants in the area prized the birds as a source of food, fertilizer and long-distance communication and chiseled elaborate dovecotes into the rock walls of the valley to encourage them to stay. It’s said that the fertilizer (pigeon droppings…) of the valley account for the superb vintages turned out by local wineries. we’ll share dinner and stay the night in Cappadocia. (B,D)

Day 5 – Tuesday
Cappadocia • Konya • Pamukkale
After breakfast, we’ll drive to Konya, capital of the Seljuk Empire. En route we’ll explore the Sultanhani Caravanserai, a remarkable survival of 13th century architecture under the Seljuks. In Konya we’ll visit the lovely Mevlana Museum and the Mausoleum of Melvana Rumi, the Sufi mystic at the center of Whirling Dervish sect. Tonight you’ll take dinner and lodge in Pamukkale. (B, D)

Day 6 – Wednesday
Pamukkale • Kusadasi
Today we’ll devote to Hierapolis, a fascinating city devoted in ancient times to the healing powers of the local thermal springs. After a chance to explore the city and its waters, we’ll drive on to Kusadasi, our evening meal and a good night’s rest. (B, D)

Day 7 – Thursday
Kusadasi • Ephesus
Our destination is Ephesus, home to one of the wonders of the ancient world. That wonder, the Temple of Artemis, is fugitive, but the site remains one of the grandest in the eastern Mediterranean – the theatre is thought to have held 24,000 citizens. We’ll travel on to the House of the Virgin Mary, long thought a place of refuge for the saint. Tonight we’ll share dinner and spend the night in Kusadasi. (B, D)

Day 8 – Friday
Kusadasi • Pergamum • Canakkale
Today is a journey back in time – first, a mere two-thousand years – the Sanctuary of Asclepius at Pergamon will leave you with a true sense of the scale and grandeur of a classical city at its height. Fall back another fifteen-hundred years…Achilles, Ajax, Hector and Agamemnon – these legendary figures were all given life when Heinrich Schliemann discovered ancient Troy. The foundations of western literature all derive from the stories of this place – the Iliad and the Odyssey. To gaze at the sea from its walls is an inspiring treat. You’ll have dinner and spend the night in nearby Canakkale. (B, D)

Day 9 – Saturday
Canakkale • Istanbul
We’ll leave Canakkale and journey to Gallipoli, site of the tragic WWI battle and a pivotal instance in the creation of modern Turkey. You’ll walk the beach at ANZAC Cove and contemplate the stirring Lone Pine Cemetery. From here we’ll cross the Dardenelles for Istanbul. We’ll spend the night in this crossroads of East and West. (B)

Day 10 – Sunday
Istanbul
After breakfast, sadly, it’s time to end our journey we’ll make sure you get to the airport in plenty of time for your flight. (B)

Tour Highlights