EPHESUS, PAMUKKALE AND CAPPADOCIA TOUR FROM ISTANBUL BY BUS

Discounted Turkey package tours from reputable travel agency of Turkey

TURKEY TOUR #4 - 4 DAYS - 5 NIGHTS

TOUR ITINERARY 

DAY 1 : ISTANBUL – KUSADASI OVERNIGHT BUS

DAY 2 : EPHESUS TOUR (L/D)

Get ready to visit the city which held one of the seven wonders of ancient times.
Today's program will be as below:.

Arrival to Kusadasi or Selcuk early in the morning and check in to your hotel You will have enough time to settle up and rest before the tour.
Breakfast at Hotel
Full day tour of Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary, including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Lunch during the tour is included.
Where you visit:
Ephesus - Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeum, the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The Theater had seating for 25,000, was the site where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, and is used today for a local spring festival.
House of the Virgin Mary - The Vatican has recognized this small house in the Solmissos Mountains as the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A small shrine dedicated to St. Mary was found when the ruins of the house were first discovered.
 

Besides being a popular summer resort, Kusadasi is also a major base for visiting many neighborhood ancient sights.

What you see along the way: From Kusadasi, you travel north to St. John’s Basilica, passing the Byzantine fortress at Selcuk and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. Continue to Ephesus Open Museum then up to the House of Virgin Mary located in Bulbul Mountain. After the visit head for the upper gate of Ephesus. By the end of touring Ephesus, return to Kusadasi.

Special notes: Ephesus requires walking long distances over uneven surfaces

Transfer back to hotel after the tour.

Dinner at your hotel included.

Hotel accommodation in Kusadasi (or Selcuk if you prefer).
Private rooms with air condition and bath/WC.

DAY 3 : PAMUKKALE HIERAPOLIS TOUR (B/L)

Hot spring pools of Pamukkale are created by nature in thousands of years

A miracle of Nature (Pamukkale) and one of the most prominent city of ancient times (Hierapolis) are just next to each other waiting to be discovered by you. You must not miss this ! 

Breakfast at hotel included
Pamukkale & Hierapolis tour including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Lunch during the tour is included.
(Visiting the amazing white colored travertines, hot spring pools and water terraces have been created by nature in millions of years on the mountain slopes of Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest ancient Necropolis in present Turkey with 1200 gravestones)
Transfer to bus station.
Overnight bus to Cappadocia.
Transfer to hotel

 

DAY 4 : CAPPADOCIA TOUR (L)

Your bus will arrive to Cappadocia next day early in the morning.
You will be transferred to your hotel (or join directly to tour on rare occasions) After you settle up at your hotel and rest a little you will be picked up from your hotel for the below tour:

Full day Northern Cappadocia tour including transfers, guide and entrance fee. This tour will cover the most famous parts of the region such as Goreme Open Air Museum, Zelve, Urgup and Dervent Valley.
Lunch will be served during the tour in a nice Turkish Restaurant.
Transfer back to hotel.

Hotel accommodation in Cappadocia. Private rooms with air condition and bath/WC.
 

DAY 5 : SOUTHERN CAPPADOCIA TOUR (B/L)

One day is never enough to see the wonders of the vast Cappadocia region. You have so many things more to see on your second day that will keep your eyes wide open with amazement.

The second day's itinerary will be like this:

Breakfast in your hotel included
Full day Southern Cappadocia Tour including transfers, entrance fees, guide
This tour will cover Underground city of Derinkuyu or Kaymakli, wonderful Ihlara Valley as well as a caravanserai of Seljuk period, which is the great Turkish Empire before Ottomans.
Lunch included in a typical Turkish Restaurant during the day tour.
Transfer to bus station
Overnight bus to Istanbul, arriving next morning (Day 6)
End of the package upon arrival to bus terminal in Istanbul.


 

TOUR PRICE

Tour Price:
400 Euro per person in single room (1 pax)
340 Euro per person in double room (2 pax)
320 Euro per person in triple room (3 pax)

Click here to see flight version of this package

5 % winter discount from November 01-March 31, except Christmas period (December 23-January 03)

Ask for group discount for participants over 7 pax

Above tour prices include:
All taxes.
Mentioned guided day tours with lunch. 
Entrance fees for museums
Accommodation in private rooms at 3 star or equal quality special class boutique hotels.
All mentioned meals above in the itinerary (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
Transportation by non-smoking, air-conditioned long distance bus, with Pullman seats.
All connecting transfers in between the tour period.

Customize this tour package:

Flights:
Instead of overnight bus ride on departure, transfers + 1 hour morning flight from Istanbul to Cappadocia (via Kayseri Airport) next morning (70-100 Euro extra cost depending on season and early reservation)

Instead of overnight bus on return, transfer from Kusadasi + Izmir-Istanbul evening flight (70-100 Euro extra cost depending on season and early reservation)

In Summer season, Cappadocia-Kusadasi overnight bus can be replaced with a rare direct flight. Additional day is required in the case, because these flight are in noon time. Ask for price and available days.

Click here to see flight version of this package

Replace:
Either one or both Ephesus and Pamukkale tours can be replaced by Pergamum, Sardis or PMD (Priene, Miletus, Dydima) tours. For Pergamum tour, extra 15 Euro pp required
Click here for all Kusadasi departure tours

Possible inclusions :
Airport hotel transfers in Istanbul for your international flights with discounted rates.
Hotel accommodation in Istanbul before or after the tour with discounted rates.
Daily Istanbul Tours with discounted rates as a part of this package.
Extra hotel accommodation in Kusadasi and Cappadocia, if requested.
Hot air balloon tour just before 2nd day Cappadocia tour: 135 Euro per person discounted price.

Hotels
Hotels can be upgraded to 4 or 5 star or equal quality deluxe boutique hotels, if you pay the extra cost. You can tell us specific hotel names you want to stay in each destination.

Click Here for Other Turkey Tour Packages
 

PAYMENT AND RESERVATION

Payment and reservation: Depending on season we will request 25-30% of the total tour price for guaranteed reservations. We will send you a detailed reservation contract by e-mail after all details are confirmed mutually.

For advance payments we accept Visa and Master and American express credit cards by mail order method or money transfer. After you arrive in Istanbul the balance of payment can also be made in cash in Euros or in other internationally accepted currencies from the cross exchange rates valid on payment day. 


 

EPHESUS

Library of Celcus	Temple of Hadrian	Antic Theater

During both the Hellenistic and Roman periods Ephesus was the most important port and cultural center of the eastern world. The remains of the city are still spellbinding today. Of all the ancient cities of Turkey, Ephesus is the best preserved and most visited in all ages and is as popular as it was in ancient times. This is due to the miraculous discovery of the House of the Virgin Mary. The city had splendid buildings and was dedicated to the Goddess Artemis, whose temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The main monuments that we will see during the visit of this fascinating city are: the street of Arcadiane, the majestic theatre, marble road, library of Celsus, market place street of the Curettes, baths of Scholastic state agora, prytaneion, odeon. The town of Seljuk, is dominated by a Byzantine citadel close to the basilica of St. John built in the 5th century, on the site of tomb of the Apostle. Seljuk has also an exceptionally fine archaeological museum.

The Artemis Temple was destroyed in 356BC, and when Alexander the Great passed through in 334 BC he offered to pay for the cost of a new construction, provided it was dedicated to him. The Ephesus people declined, and rebuilt it with great success.

When the Romans made Ephesus their provincial capital, it became a busy town with great commercial, trading and political importance, and a population that grew to around 250,000. A significant Christian community grew, and the city was visited by St John the Evangelist in the 1st century, then by St Paul, who was there between 51-53 AD and wrote some of his epistles. It was also the venue of two Ecumenical Councils.

But the success of Roman Ephesus began to dwindle, mainly because of problems connected to the harbour, which was the main source of trade. The Cayster River was pushing silt up the harbour and despite attempts to dredge it and rebuild the harbour, the sea was pushed back to Pamucak, 4km away, and therefore Ephesus lost its source of wealth. By the 6th century, the city was unliveable and was shifted near to St John’s Basilica, and by 1090 it was taken over by the Turks.
 

CAPPADOCIA

In ancient geography, Cappadocia or Cappadocia (Turkish: Kapadokya) was the name of the extensive inland district of Asia Minor (modern Turkey).

Cappadocian region is the place where nature and history come together most beautifully within the world. While geographic events are forming Peribacalari (fairy chimneys), during the historical period, humans had carried the signs of thousand years old civilizations with carving houses and churches within these earth pillars and decorating them with frisks.

Cappadocia contains several underground cities, largely used by early Christians as hiding places before they became a legitimate religion. The Cappadocian Fathers of the fourth century were integral to much of early Christian philosophy. It also produced, among other people, another Patriarch of Constantinople, John of Cappadocia who held office 517–520. For most of the Byzantine era it remained relatively undisturbed by the conflicts in the area, first with the Sassanid Empire and later against the Islamic expansion led by Arabs.

The area is a world famous and popular tourist destination, as it has many areas with unique geological, historic and cultural features.

The region is southwest of the major city Kayseri, which has airline and railroad service to Ankara and Istanbul.

The Cappadocia region is largely underlain by sedimentary rocks formed in lakes and streams, and ignimbrite deposits erupted from ancient volcanoes approximately 9 to 3 million years ago (late Miocene to Pliocene epochs). The rocks of Cappadocia near Goreme eroded into hundreds of spectacular pillars and minaret-like forms. The volcanic deposits are soft rocks that the people of the villages at the heart of the Cappadocia Region carved out to form houses, churches, monasteries. Goreme became a monastic center between 300-1200 AD. First period settlement in Goreme reaches to the Roman period from Christianity. Yusuf Koc, Ortahane, Durmus Kadir and Bezirhane churches in Goreme, houses and churches carved into rocks till to Uzun Dere, Baglidere and Zemi Valley carries the mystical side of history today. The Goreme Open Air Museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey. It is a complex comprising more than 30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th centuries.
 

PAMUKKALE-HIERAPOLIS

Bathing in pools is no more allowed	Ancient graves	Agora entrance of the ancient city

Pamukkale (Hierapolis) is one of the most enchanting and remarkable sights in the whole of Turkey with the great dazzling white plateau, almost 400 feet high, rising in a curtain of stalagmites and shallow pools, giving one into another on hundreds of different levels, and ancient city of Hierapolis located on this plateau. The great baths were constructed in the second century and are so well-preserved that they now serve as a museum. The impressive and recently restored theatre, the Martyrium of St. Philip the Apostle of the 5th century – a colonnaded street erected by Domitian, a monumental gate of the same period, another bath stretching on for over a Mile, the necropolis with a fascinating variety of tombs and sarcophagus are the famous monuments of this antique city.

Source: Ministry of tourism and Culture