New Year in Turkey

New Year's Eve in Turkey is a classic ititnerary that visits the country's main locations. Istanbul welcomes the traveller with its ancient heart, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace and Hagia Sophia, and with the vibrancy of its evening life. Cappadocia amazes with its tuff formations and fairy chimneys and, if one is lucky, whitewashed by snow. Pamukkale with its petrified waterfalls and finally Ephesus, the pearl of the country and Patromion of Humanity.

Day1: Istanbul - Welcome!
Arrival at Istanbul Sabiha airport. Transfer to hotel. Free dinner and overnight stay.

Day 2: Istanbul-Ankara-Cappadocia(Km 750)
breakfast-lunch-dinner
After breakfast and early in the morning, departure by bus for Cappadocia. Passage over the Euroasia Bridge and continuation by motorway to Ankara. Arrival in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, and visit the Archaeological Museum of Anatolian Civilisations. Lunch in a local restaurant. Early afternoon drive to Cappadocia. Arrival, accommodation in a hotel. Dinner and overnight stay. For those who wish, after dinner, the possibility of attending the Dancing Dervishes show (payment on site).

Day 3: Cappadocia (Km70)
breakfast-lunch-dinner
N.B. Before breakfast and the start of the visits, it is possible to take part in a hot-air balloon ride (optional, subject to payment, approximately €350 per person, and subject to availability of places. This trip will take place at dawn and only if weather conditions permit).

At the end of the flight back to the hotel, breakfast and start of the visit of this picturesque region: Devrent Valley, known as the valley of the "fairy chimneys", where the tuff stone eroded by atmospheric agents has given rise to particular shapes such as cones and obelisks. We continue with a visit to an underground city built by Christian communities to protect themselves from Arab attacks. Continue on to the valley of Goreme, technically a UNESCO heritage site. Stop at a carpet and kilim workshop. Lunch in a typical local restaurant. In the afternoon, panoramic visit to the village of Uchisar and the spectacular volcanic sites of Avcilar and Guvercinlik. Stop at a handicraft workshop for decorations and jewellery. Return to the hotel. Dinner and overnight stay. After dinner, for those who wish, the possibility of participating in a folkloristic evening with belly dancing (payment on site).

Day 4: Cappadocia-Pamukkale (Km670)
breakfast-lunch-dinner
Early morning wake up, breakfast and departure for Pamukkale. En route, stop at the Seljuk "Sultanhani" Caravanserai: located on the Silk Road, it served as a resting place for traders, pilgrims and military caravans. Lunch at a local restaurant en route. Arrival in Pamukkale in the evening and tour of the petrified waterfalls, dinner and overnight at the hotel.

Day 5: Pamukkale-Efeso-Kuşadası (Km210)
Breakfast-lunch-dinner
After breakfast, visit the ruins of Hierapolis, a Hellenistic Roman city with the remains of its Necropolis and Theatre. Continue to Ephesus, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World today a World Heritage Site, where you will visit the Library of Celsus, the Temple of Hadrian and its great theatre, and the Basilica of St John, built by Emperor Justinian over the tomb of St John the Apostle, who died in Ephesus. Lunch in a local restaurant. At the end of the visit stop at a leather-clothing workshop. Arrival in Kuşadası in the evening, check-in at the hotel, dinner and overnight stay.

Day 6: Kuşadası-Pergamo-Istanbul (Km590)
Breakfast-lunch
After breakfast and early in the morning, depart for Pergamon, an important Greco-Roman city with a great cultural heritage: parchment was invented here! You will visit the Asclepion, a health and wellness centre of the ancient world dedicated to the god of health, Aesculapius. It was here that the famous physician Galen worked. The sleeping tunnels, the small theatre for patients, the swimming pools, the long ancient street and the courtyard with Ionic columns are the monuments that have been rediscovered from that splendid era. Lunch during the visit and on to Istanbul. On arrival transfer to the hotel. Free dinner and overnight stay.

Day 7: Istanbul
breakfast
After breakfast, meet your guide at the hotel reception and begin a morning of sightseeing in Istanbul. We begin with the Mosque of Suleiman the Magnificent, considered the most beautiful of Istanbul's imperial mosques. We continue to the ancient walls of Constantinople, built by Emperor Theodosius II to protect the city from constant enemy attacks, and visit the Monastery of the Virgin of the Fountain: according to some historians, the church was built by Emperor Justinian near a water source formerly known as the 'Fountain of Miracles'. Lunch and free afternoon at disposal to explore the city. For those who wish, it is possible to take a boat trip on the Bosphorus (payment on site). Dinner at leisure and overnight at the hotel.

Day 8: Istanbul-Italy
Goodbye!
In good time, transfer to Istanbul airport for your flight back to Italy.

The fee includes:
Pegasus Airlines flights from Bologna and Rome and Anadolu Jet flights from Bergamo and Rome
Tour with local Italian-speaking guide
Overnight stay in the hotels indicated or similar
Treatment as per programme
All transfers from/to the airport
Tourist tax
Medical Baggage Insurance

The fee does not include:
Compulsory airport taxes € 175 per person
Entrance fees payable locally € 150 per person
Drinks with meals
Meals not indicated
Tips for guide and driver amounting to € 30 per participant
Travel cancellation insurance, optional