Enticing Egypt & Turkey II
Full Itinerary
Day 1
Arrive in Istanbul, where you will be met and transferred to your hotel. Balance of day at leisure. Overnight in Istanbul at the Divan Hotel.
Day 2
Transfer to Istanbul airport for your flight to Ankara. Arrive in Ankara where you will be met and transferred to check-in at your hotel, the Merit Altinel Hotel, visit the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the father of modern Turkey. This beautiful landmark is perched atop a hill with a panoramic view of the city. We will also visit the magnificent Museum of Anatolian civilizations. This particular museum contains relics from Catal Hoyuk, one of the earliest known human communities up through the Roman Classical period, covering 10,000 years.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 3
Breakfast, then depart Ankara and turn our sights toward the Cappadocia region. During the 4-hour drive, we will stop frequently for breaks. While in Cappadocia, we will enjoy the unique landscapes of the wind and rain eroded volcanic formations. Carved directly into the stone, Cappadocia's amazing subterranean cities include ancient underground churches hand-hewn from solid rock by Christians. We will visit handicraft shops as well as enjoy a folklore dance and belly-dancing performance while we wine and dine in an underground cabaret. Overnight at the town of Urgup.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4
Breakfast, then visit a Caravanserai, an ancient Caravan motel. We will take wonderful strolls and go off the "tourist track" discovering the unknown Cappadocia. While in Cappadocia we will enjoy an excellent lecture and a demonstration on Turkish carpets and Kilims.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 5
Depart Cappadocia and head back towards the coast for today's destination, Pamukkale. Along the way, we will stop briefly in Konya. While in Konya we will visit the Whirling Dervish Museum, a very holy place for Turkish Muslims. There are exhibits of Dervish costumes, instruments, illuminated manuscripts, and various ethnological artifacts. We will arrive in Pamukkale in the late afternoon. Check into your hotel, the Ergur Hotel, which has a hot mineral pool for your enjoyment. In the morning we will visit the snow-like travertines of calcium at Pamukkale. This is an area with strikingly beautiful mineral springs clinging to the hillsides that will amaze you. Hieropolis is the ancient name for the Greco-Roman city above the travertines.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6
Drive for about one hour to Aphrodisias. Aphrodisias was constructed in honor of the Roman Goddess Aphrodite. It was also an ancient center of Roman art. Visit a well-preserved stadium that used to seat 35,000 people. In the height of the Roman Period, gladiators performed in this stadium. Continue your tour through Philadelphia to Sardis, where money was first minted. Visit one of the world's oldest Synagogues in Sardis, as well as see the excavations, the gymnasium, and the Artemis Temple. Overnight at the Fantasia Hotel.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 7
Breakfast, then visit Ephesus and its colossal Greco-Roman Theater. This theater is still being used. Also, visit the Ephesus Archeological Museum. We will also visit the house where St. Mary lived her final days. Later in the evening, we will take a flight back to Istanbul. Upon arrival in Istanbul, you will be met and transferred to your hotel, the Eresin Topkapi hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 8
Start your tour of Istanbul. Once called Byzantium in the 7th century BC, this ancient city was renamed Constantinople in 326 AD by Constantine the Great when he moved the capital of the Roman Empire to what is now Istanbul. The city received its current name from Mehmet II in 1453 and is the only city in the world that spans two continents. We will also visit several of Turkey's most famous museums and mosques, such as Topkapi Palace which was first built by Mehmet the Conqueror in 1453 and was the home of the Sultans until the 19th century. St. Sophia was built by Emperor Justinian of the Roman Empire and it was completed in 537 AD and ruled as the greatest Christian Church in the world for more than 1000 years. The Blue Mosque was commissioned by Sultan Ahmet in 1603 and was constructed to rival St. Sophia. If time permits, visit the Military Museum and enjoy a concert performed in traditional costume by the world's first established military marching ensemble. Transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 9
A day at leisure for last-minute shopping, sampling the different delicious cuisines of Turkey, or simply relaxing at your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10
You will be met and transferred to Istanbul Airport, for your flight to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met by your Egypt Tours and Travel tour manager, who will assist you. Later, transfer to your hotel. The historical and luxurious Marriott Mena House Hotel. Pyramid view room. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 11
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Start your day with a drive to Memphis on the edge of the Western Desert, the capital of the Ancient Kingdom, and one of the most important cities throughout the history of ancient Egypt. From here, drive to Sakkara, the vast Necropolis of Ancient Memphis. In the afternoon, drive to the Pyramids of Giza. Cheop's Pyramid, the largest of the three, was built in the 4th Dynasty about 2690 BC and is one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Enjoy a camel ride by the Pyramids area if you wish. In front of the Pyramid of Chephren (Kafre), we find the Sphinx carved from a single piece of stone. It is a lion with a Pharaoh's head through to be a portrait of the Pharaoh Chephren (Khafre). Continue our tour to the Solar Boat Museum where a dismantled river barge of King Cheops (Khufu) was found and has been beautifully re-assembled. Return to your hotel. In the evening you will be met and transferred by your Egypt Tours tour manager to the Giza Plateau to attend the magnificent Sound and Light show. Later transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 12
You will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to Cairo Airport for your early flight to Aswan. Upon arrival at Aswan Airport, you will be met and transferred to embark your cruise ship. The M/S Royal Lilli. Visit by "Felucca" the Elephantine Island, the Mausoleum of Agha Khan, the Botanical Gardens, and the Philae Temple. Overnight on board ship.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 13
Visit the Unfinished Obelisk at the Ancient Granite Quarries and the High Dam. Cruise to Kom-Ombo. Visit the Ptolemaic temple of Kom-Ombo, was dedicated to two Gods: The Crocodile God Sobek and the Falcon-headed God Haroeris. Sail to Edfu. Overnight on board.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 14
Breakfast, then visit the temple of Horus (237 BC), the best-preserved Egyptian temple in Egypt. Sail to Luxor via Esna. Overnight on board ship.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 15
Cross to the West Bank of the Nile, visit the Necropolis of ancient Thebes. Explore the Valleys of the Kings and Queens where tombs of 64 Pharaohs and 57 Queens have been discovered, and enter some of the most important burials. Visit the temple of Queen Hatshepsut and the Colossi of Memnon. In the afternoon, visit the temple of Karnak, which took over 1500 years to build and is considered the world's largest religious complex. Then visit the temple of Luxor, which was started by Amenhotep III, and completed by Ramses II. Overnight on board ship.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Day 16
Disembark your cruise ship, where you will be met and transferred to Luxor airport for your flight back to Cairo. Upon arrival at Cairo Airport, you will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to your hotel, the Ramses Hilton Hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 17
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Start your tour by visiting the Egyptian Museum, famous for its antiquities from Egypt's Pharaonic period, which dates back some 50 centuries and includes the fabulous treasures of King Tut-Ankh-Amon. Afternoon excursion to Old Cairo, visiting the very Old Coptic Churches and the oldest Jewish Synagogue of Beni Ezra. Continue your tour to the Alabaster mosque of Mohammed Ali, the Citadel of Salah-El-Din, and the Medieval Bazaars of Khan-El-Khalili, where you can bargain for your jewelry and hand-tooled leather items. Return to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 18
Meet with your Egypt Tours tour guide. Start your tour by visiting the Gayer Anderson Museum (Bayt Al-Kiridlyyah): two houses, one from the 16th century, the other from the 17th, each comfortable by the standards at the time, have been delightfully joined together, filled with antique furniture from all over the Middle East. Continue your tour to visit the Manial Palace, which was built-in 1826 and conceals the Ottoman-Baroque fantasy: an immense marble basin with a marble island in its center. The Palace was built by Prince Mohammed Ali, the cousin of King Faruq, and includes a museum exhibiting King Faruq's trophies and the prince's residence with its furnishings and a large collection of the family memorabilia. Continue your tour with a visit to the Ibn Tulun Mosque, one of the architectural glories of the Muslim world completed in the year 879. Ibn Tulun Mosque covers 8.5 acres of land and is designed in the classical courtyard style. It is well-known for its pointed arches, beautifully carved stucco, and Koranic inscriptions in sycamore wood. Later transfer back to your hotel. Overnight.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Image Source: Motazhesham2
Day 19
You will be met by your Egypt Tours tour manager and transferred to Cairo airport, where you will be helped with your check-in for your departure flight.
Meals: Breakfast
Also Included: Domestic flights in Egypt & Turkey. All taxes, service charges, port charges, and entrance fees to sights mentioned included as well. All transfers, meeting and assistance and baggage handling are also included.
Extensions & Optional Tours: Extra days and optional tours to sites are available upon request.
Pricing
$5799
Enticing Egypt & Turkey II
$769
Single Supplement
**Please keep in mind that if you are traveling alone, you are single occupancy.
