Itinerary

DAY 01 BOGOTA - ISTANBUL

Arrive 3 hours in advance at El Dorado International Airport in Bogotá to board Turkish Airlines flight TK800, leaving at 17:00 with a technical stopover in Panama, arriving at 18:45 and departing for Istanbul at 20:15. Overnight on board.

DAY 02 ISTANBUL

Arrival at Istanbul International Airport, the third largest airport in the world, at approximately 16:55+1 hrs. A Spanish-speaking representative will meet you at the airport for your transfer to the hotel. Free afternoon. Accommodation.

DAY 03 ISTANBUL

Breakfast. Full-day excursion to the JEWELS OF CONSTANTINOPLE (Istanbul's Old Town) with lunch in a typical restaurant, where we will visit the most representative and historical part of the city, Topkapi Palace (unique in its style), which was the residence of the Ottoman sultans from the 15th to the 19th century and today houses displays of the Ottoman royal treasure and other religious relics. We will continue to the Hagia Sophia museum church, a masterpiece of world architecture from the 5th century, today it presents Christian and Muslim religious references mixed after being converted into a museum.

The Roman Hippodrome, decorated with obelisks, columns and fountains and finally the Blue Mosque with its six minarets and decorated with turquoise tiles.

We continue with the visit to the famous Grand Bazaar (not a shopping tour), built in 1660, it can be considered as a small city covered by domes, alleys, squares, 18 access doors and four thousand shops inside. Accommodation.

DAY 04 ISTANBUL

Breakfast. Free day. (OPTIONAL PANORAMIC TOUR + BOSPHORUS TOUR) Optional full-day excursion with lunch: Panoramic tour of the old part of Istanbul with stops to admire the beautiful view of the Golden Horn at Pierre Loti and visit the Cathedral of St. George, the Greek Patriarchal Orthodox Church, visit the Mosque of Suleyman the Magnificent, currently the largest mosque in Istanbul and a masterpiece of the Ottoman architect Mimar Sinan. Visit to the Spice Bazaar built more than 350 years ago, where spices brought from Egypt during the Ottoman era were sold. Lunch at the typical fish restaurant on the seashore. Finally, we will embark for a fascinating cruise along the Bosphorus, a strait that separates the Asian and European parts of the city and where you can see the beautiful Ottoman villas, palaces and fortresses. Accommodation.

DAY 05 ISTANBUL – ANKARA (5h30min) ANKARA - CAPPADOCIA (3h20min)

Breakfast. Early departure by bus to Ankara, passing through the mountains of Bolu, arrival in Ankara, capital of the Republic, and visit to the Mausoleum of Ataturk, founder of the Turkish Republic. Lunch. Continue to Cappadocia. Along the way you will find one of the natural wonders of Turkey, the brilliant salt flats of Tuz Gölü, the second largest salt lake in Turkey. Arrival in Cappadocia. Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 06 CAPPADOCIA

Breakfast. Optional tour (BALOON RIDE) Visit to Pasabag Valley or Çavusin, Avcilar and Güvercinlik; which have a spectacular view of the Fairy Chimneys. Panoramic visit to the village of Ushisar, a troglodyte village, at the highest point of Cappadocia. Visit to the chapels of Goreme, open-air museum. Lunch. Visit to an underground city Ozkonak or Seratli. Visit to a carpet and jewelry workshop. Optional tour (TURKISH NIGHT). Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 07 CAPPADOCIA – PAMUKKALE (6h50min)

Breakfast. Possibility of taking the Balloon Ride if it was not done the day before due to weather conditions. Lunch and we continue to PAMUKKALE, a true natural wonder that means

Cotton Castle in Turkish and when you see it in front of you you understand why. Pamukkale is one of the most beautiful places, not only in Turkey, but in the whole world.

With a height of 160 metres and an area of about 2,700 metres, the Pamukkale mountain is entirely covered with a white substance that, from a distance, can resemble snow. A giant waterfall, stalactites and natural pools formed over the centuries by the passage of thermal waters loaded with calcareous salts, visit to the ancient sacred city of Hierapolis, an ancient Hellenistic city, now in ruins, said to have been the favourite place of Cleopatra and Marco Polo, world famous for its medicinal waters, UNESCO declared it a World Heritage Site in 1998. Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 08 PAMUKKALE –- EPHESUS (2h20min) --- EPHESUS – KUSADASI or IZMIR (20min)

Breakfast. Departure to Ephesus, the best preserved Greco-Roman city in Asia Minor from the 1st and 2nd centuries, which monopolized the wealth of the Middle East and holds treasures such as the impressive Roman theatre that held more than 25,000 spectators, the magnificent library of Celsus and Marble Street. Lunch.

We will visit the House of the Virgin Mary, supposedly the last resting place of the mother of Jesus, and today it is considered a pilgrimage site. Continue to Kusadasi or Izmir on the Aegean Sea and visit a leather workshop and an outlet of international brands. Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 09 KUSADASI or IZMIR

Breakfast. Free day. OPTIONAL EXCURSION TO THE GREEK ISLAND OF CHIOS: Transfer from the hotel to the port of Çesme. After the immigration process, we depart for the island of Chios.

Arrival in 35 minutes. After immigration to enter the territory of Greece, we have free time to walk around the port area until 11:00 am, when we start our guided tour. First stop is the village famous for the production of Mastic, a special plant resin from the island.

We will continue to Kambos, where we will see some Genoese stone houses, and then to the village of Armolia where we will see mastic trees and visit pottery workshops.

We continue our excursion to the village of Mesta, where we will have the opportunity to walk through the labyrinthine streets from the Byzantine era and visit Megalos Taksiarhis. Free time to walk around the village, and try some local food.

We will head south to the village of Pyrgi, famous for its black and white decorated houses and visiting the church of the Holy Apostle from Byzantine times. Our last stop is at the black volcanic beach Mavra Volia in Empoios.

We finish our excursion with the opportunity to try delicious Greek food in the many restaurants in the area. Transfer to the port and departure to Çesme in Turkey. Arrival and transfer to the hotel. Dinner and accommodation.

DAY 10 KUSADASI or IZMIR – BURSA (4h05min) --- BURSA - ISTANBUL (2h05min)

Breakfast. Departure to Bursa. Panoramic tour of this important city, which was the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. Visit to the Green Mosque and Mausoleum. After lunch, continue the trip to Istanbul. Accommodation.

DAY 11 ISTANBUL

Breakfast. Free day to do personal activities or do some optional activities in this beautiful city. Accommodation.

DAY 12 ISTANBUL – BOGOTA

At the scheduled time 05:00 am, meet at the hotel reception to transfer to the airport and take your flight TK 800 Departure at 10:05 with return to Bogotá arrival at 15:30.