EPHESUS, PAMUKKALE AND CAPPADOCIA TOUR BY PLANE

Economy Class Turkey package tours from reputable travel agency of Turkey

TURKEY TOUR #4A  (4 DAYS - 3 NIGHTS)

EVERYDAY DEPARTURE BY FLIGHT

DAY 1 : EPHESUS TOUR (L/D)

Click here to see bus version of this package

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

Transfer to Ataturk Airport.
Istanbul > Izmir morning flight (about 1 hour flight)
Pick up from airport and transfer to Ephesus tour
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.
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

Dinner in your hotel is included.
Overnight in Kusadasi hotel - Palm Hotel, Grand Onder, Derici Hotel or similar quality / location 4 star hotels to be selected by us if they are not available at the time of booking.
 

DAY 2 : 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 in your 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 3 : CAPPADOCIA TOUR (L)

Cappadocia balloon flights make you feel like flying over the moon

Your bus will arrive to Cappadocia next day early in the morning.
You will be transferred to your hotel or join directly to tour. If time permits, you can settle up to your room and rest a little until you will be picked up 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. Possible hotels are
Antik Cave, SOS Cave Hotel, Urgup Inn or similar quality & location boutique cave hotels to be selected by us if they are not available at the time of booking.

 

DAY 4 : 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 and lunch.
This tour will cover wonderful Rose Valley, either Derinkuyu or Kaymakli underground city, as well as a caravanserai of Seljuk period, which was the great Turkish Empire founded in Anatolia even before Ottomans.
Lunch included in a typical Turkish Restaurant during the day tour.
Transfer to Airport.
Evening flight to Istanbul

End of the package upon arrival to Ataturk Airport/Istanbul...

 

TOUR PRICE

EVERYDAY DEPARTURE

Attention !
* Itinerary can be changed/customized occasionally because of flight availabilities.
* Higher prices may apply based on flight costs, especially on special days or weekends. Early reservation is highly recommended to secure these prices.
* Ask for special prices for big groups.

Summer Rates: 
580 Euro per person in single room (1 pax)
495 Euro per person in double room (2 pax)
465 Euro per person in triple room (3 pax)

Click here to see bus version of this package

Winter Rates:
From November 01-March 31, except Christmas period (December 23-January 03)
510 Euro per person in single room (1 pax)
435 Euro per person in double room (2 pax)
420 Euro per person in triple room (3 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)
Transportations as mentioned.
All connecting transfers in between the tour period.



Customize this tour package:

Click here to see bus version of this package

Replace / Add Tours:
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. These tours can be added to current itinerary if you stay extra night in Kusadasi.
Click here for all Kusadasi departure tours

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

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.
 

Click here to see bus version of this package

Click Here for Other Turkey Tour Packages
 

PAYMENT AND RESERVATION

Payment and reservation: Depending on season/number of participants etc, we will request 20-30 % of the total tour price in advance. We will send you necessary details by e-mail. Advance payments can be made by Pay Pal, Visa and Master and American express credit cards by mail order method or money transfer. You can pay the balance in Istanbul with credit cards or in cash, as you wish.


 

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