Turkey - a private tour Western Anatolia

Depart from London and fly to Kayseri (via Istanbul). On arrival you will be greeted outside customs and transferred to the Tas Konadlar boutique cave hotel. Rest of day at leisure

Stay: Tas Konadlar Hotel, Cappadocia

The region's unique landscape of multicolored pinnacles and lunar rock formations known as Fairy Chimneys is hollowed out with Byzantine churches, monasteries and entire subterranean cave towns. Today you will be driven to see the rock-carved churches Göreme National Park, which is like an open-air museum. Within its precincts are 15 churches large and small, seven refectories, and various tombs and cellars including wine cellars. Special visit to the Karanlik, Elmali and Tokali churches. The last named is the finest of all, containing frescoes painted in a sophisticated, classic style.

You will visit the 10th century Church of Cavusin, which contains an unusual group portrait of the Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros Phokas and his family and continue to the village of Avanos at the banks of the Red River, Kizilirmak which is the center for handmade pottery made from clay obtained from the river next to the village. The potters of Avanos, have practiced their craft for more than 4,000 years.

We suggest you start your Cappadocia cuisine experience at the Bizim Ev (our guest house) Restaurant. This beautifully restored Restaurant has been divided into four sections to generate different atmosphere and different taste for all your needs. All those sections are named by clearly indicating their own structures within the Restaurant. Which are: "Cave Entrance", "Cave Wine Cellar", "Stone Arch Room" and the "Closed Terrace". Each section of the Restaurant is designed to stand-alone from others. They all have their own seating plan, including traditional seating by using lowered tables and hand-made cushions as well as today's modern tables and chairs.

Stay: Tas Konadlar Hotel, Cappadocia

Breakfast included

After breakfast your guide will take you for a full day of sightseeing in this fabled area. Visit the ancient town of Zelve lies in three adjacent valleys with buildings carved into the steep sides of the cliffs. The deserted cave dwellings and rock-cut churches give a feeling of an Open Air Museum, which is the right name for the site. You will also visit the Underground City of Kaymakli or Derinkuyu, where early Christians used to hide during difficult times of persecution.

You'll continue to Mustafa Pasa, which was was inhabited by Greek Orthodox families until the beginning of the 20th century. Walk in the village of the houses dating back to the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries display fine can suggest that lunch is examples of stonework. Stop at on of the local house and coffee break. Once again we taken in a local restaurant as recommended by your guide (at own cost). You will be guaranteed an interesting menu, careful efficient & attentive service combined with excellent cuisine. Your tour ends with a gentle hike through orchards, unusual volcanic rock formations and rock-cut houses at Red & Rose Valley.

Stay: Tas Konadlar Hotel, Cappadocia

Breakfast included

This morning you may choose an optional hot air balloon excursion over Cappadocia. Early wake - up. Depending on the weather conditions, in the early morning before sunrise guests will be transferred to the meeting point for the tour with Hot-air balloons. Estimated flying time is 1 hour, after the tour champagne breakfast will be served at the landing site. "Out in the wilderness a Champagne Breakfast". Diplomas will be given to all ballooners.

Transfer back to the hotel to relax and get ready for the flight from Kayseri to Istanbul.

Stay: Grand Hyatt

Breakfast included

After breakfast and, accompanied by your lecturer guide, you'll begin your exploration of the city with a walk up into Sultanahmet Square to the whole morning is spent on Seraglio Point visiting the Sultan Ahmet Camii (Blue Mosque), the great church of Aya Sofia, on to the impressive Yerebatan Saray (Underground Cistern), whose vast underground chamber, supported by rank upon rank of columns, has been superbly restored. You will continue to the legendary Topkapi Sarayi where you will be able to wander through its many pavilions, courtyards and gardens, and see unrivalled treasures from the collections of the Ottoman Sultans including dazzling jewellery and unique porcelain.

This afternoon you'll drive to Istanbul's Grand Bazaar, and you'll be able to wander through one of the world's oldest markets - a myriad of over 4,000 shops and exotic streets. You can watch a carpet weaving demonstration and touch carpets & rugs with your hands. Another option is to head to Sivasli Yazmaci gorgeous textiles which sells new and vintage silk, wool and cotton. We suggest that after your day of shopping take a breather Fez Cafe. a hidden gem off the touristy strip that houses an eclectic mix of furniture and eye-catching wall-hangings. Before you head out, be sure to check-out the loos!

Return to the hotel where the evening is at your leisure to enjoy dinner at one of the City of Light's many fine restaurants.

Stay: Grand Hyatt

Breakfast included

Today you'll visit Spice Bazaar where you can find all manner of Turkish Delight candy (lokum), baklava, teas and Turkish coffee, and dried fruits. Then embark on a cruise down the Bosphorus for a chance to relax and admire the shoreline of beautiful mosques, lavish palaces and decadent villas. You will disembark on the European Side of Istanbul, after a short drive to the SeaFood Restaurant for a leisurely lunch. In the afternoon you'll be taken to the Dolmabahce Palace, built as a summer palace in the mid-19th century in an over-opulent European-Turkish style to show that the Ottoman Empire was still powerful.

Stay: Grand Hyatt

Breakfast included

This morning you will be transferred to Istanbul Ataturk Airport to catch your early morning to Pamukkale
Pamukkale is a natural site and attraction in the Denizli Province. After checking into your hotel take time to swim at the hotel's pool. Pamukkale is a noted spa where pure white travertine forms to create what looks like frozen waterfalls.

Later you will visit Laodicea; an ancient Roman famous for its woolen and cotton cloths.
A large earthquake destroyed Laodicea and it has never been rebuilt. Remnants of the ancient city include a stadium, sarcophagi, an amphitheatre, an odeon, a cistern and an aqueduct.

Last visit of the day before returning to the hotel is the UNESCO World Heritage site of Hierapolis. Visit the ruins of the magnificent Temple of Apollo, the theatre, the fascinating Necropolis and the great baths of Hierapolis, the antique city. Hierapolis 'holy city' was the ancient city on top of the famous Pamukkale hot springs.

Stay: Collosea Hotel, Pamukkale

Breakfast & dinner included

After breakfast your guide will drive you to Antalya (approx 4.5 hrs) Upon arrival to Antalya you will explore its fine Archeological Museum - one of Turkey's largest.

Stay: Kempinski the Dome

Breakfast & dinner included

After breakfast at the Hotel, you'll make your way to the Greco-Roman city of Perge. Like the other cities of the Pamphylian plain, Perge was extremely wealthy, and its citizens could afford to build on the grandest scale. Among the many attractions at the site are an ornate theatre, a remarkably well preserved stadium, a city gate flanked by high towers, two monumental bath-complexes, a supremely elegant agora, and a long, colonnaded street with a water channel running down its centre.

From Perge you move on to the world-renowned theatre of Aspendos, which is in such great condition that it is still used for concerts and operas.

Stay: Kempinski the Dome

Breakfast & dinner included

These days will be at leisure to enjoy the hotels facilities

Stay: Kempinski the Dome

Breakfast & dinner included

The morning is at your leisure with a transfer to the airport for your flight home.

Breakfast included