|
| NAME |
IN
THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE SAINTS |
| DESTINATIONS |
ISTANBUL
, ANKARA , CAPPADOCİA , ADANA , KONYA , ANTALYA ,
PAMUKKALE , IZMIR , BURSA , ISTANBUL |
| CODE |
K-025 |
| DURATION |
15
NIGHTS - 16 DAYS |
| TYPE |
ESCORTED |
| DEPARTURE |
İSTANBUL |
| ARRIVAL |
İSTANBUL |
| ACTIVITY |
CULTURE
, NATURE , HISTORY |
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Arrival
to İstanbul, meet and transfer to hotel, o/n İstanbul. |
|
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| Day
- 2 Istanbul
, Ankara , Cappadocia |
|
| Departure to airport
for early domestic flight to Ankara. On the arrival
you will be met by the guide and proceed to Museum of
Anatolian Civilizations which houses a marvelous
and unique collection including Paleolithic,
Neolithic, Hatti, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian, Roman
works and showpiece Lydian treasures. After lunch
service in a local restaurant, drive to Cappadocia.
Dinner and overnight. |
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| Breakfast in the hotel.
Then all day tour in the area visiting the underground
cities in Cappadocia those were
carved by Christians to escape from Roman and
Byzantine persecution, and their colorful frescoes
remain seemingly as vibrant as when they were first
painted. Highlights include Goreme open air museum and
Zelve valley. Lunch will be served enroute. Dinner and
overnight. |
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| Day
- 4 Cappadocia , Adana |
|
| Morning visit to the
underground city of Kaymaklı, followed by lunch and
departure to Adana. |
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| Day
- 5 Adana
– Antioch – Adana |
|
| St. Paul and St. Peter,
as well as Barnabas, preached in Antioch and the word
“Christians” was coined here. Highlights include
St.Peter’s Grotto, the cave church that was the
meeting place for early Christians. You will also
visit the Mosaic Museum and the sacred grove where,
according to legend, Daphne was assaulted by Apollo
and wounded by Eros. Dinner and overnight in Adana. |
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| Day
- 6 Adana
– Tarsus – Konya |
|
| Birth place of St.
Paul, Tarsus lies near the ancient Cilician Gates, on
an ancient route through the mountains trod by both
Alexander and the Crusaders. Konya was once Iconium,
an important Christian city as a result of St.
Paul’s sermonsthere which were accompanied by
numerous miracles. Konya was also the home of Islamic
mystic Mevlana who founded the order that became
famous as the Whirling Dervishes. You will visit
Mevlana Museum, convent and the Islamic School. Dinner
and overnight in Konya. |
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| Departure to Antalya
through the Taurus mountains, lunch en route. Dinner
and overnight in Antalya. |
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|
| Aspendos is famed for
its Roman theatre, widely considered the best
preserved in the world, where even the names of
spectators are still visible, carved into the backs of
seats. Side is a delightful combination of ancient and
modern with its vast sea-side theatre, Roman baths and
ruins. Then onto Perge (where St. Paul preached his
first sermon) home to ruins that testify to the
city’s importance during the Hellenistic era,
including both a large theatre and a stadium.
Dinner and overnight in Antalya. |
|
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| Day
- 9 Antalya
, Laodicea , Hierapolis , Pamukkale |
|
| Visits the ancient
cities of Laodicia (one of the Seven Churches of
Apocalypse) and Hierapolis (St. Philip’s Martyrium
– octagon), then on to Pamukkale, where can explore
the remarkable limestone “cotton castles” and
mineral springs at your leisure. Dinner and overnight
in Pamukkale. |
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| Day
- 10 Pamukkale
, Sardis , Philadelphia , Izmir |
|
| Visit to two of Seven
Churches of Apocalypse on Sardis and Phildelphia where
St. Paul preached. Dinner and overnight in Izmir. |
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| Day
- 11 Izmir
, Ephesus , Izmir |
|
| Today you will explore
one of the world’s great archaeological marvels,
ancient Ephesus, including the theatre where St. Paul
preached, the Basilicaof St. John and the home of the
Virgin Mary, as well as the Selcuk Archaeological
Museum. Dinner and overnight in İzmir. |
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| Day
- 12 Izmir
, Pergamum , Bursa |
|
| The highlights include
two other Churches of the Apocalypse in Thyatira and
Pergamum, the city once ruled by Alexander the Great.
Here you can visit the world’s health complex, the
remarkable Asclepion, as well as the ancient temples
crowning its Acropolis. Drive to Bursa, first capital
of Ottoman Empire, dinner and overnight. |
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| Day
- 13 Bursa
– Nicaea – Istanbul |
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| In the morning, you
will visit Green Mosque and the silk bazaar in Bursa.
Then proceed to İznik, once known as Nicea, an
important Byzantine town. Highlights include the ruins
of the Cathedral of St. Sophia, seat of the first
Ecumenical Council of 325 AD. As an Ottoman city in
the 16th and 17th centuries, İznik became the center
for the creation of the extraordinary ceramic tiles
that adorned the great mosques and palaces of the
Ottoman Empire. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul. |
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| Fullday city tour in
Istanbul including Blue Mosque, St. Sophia, Hippodrome
and Topkapı Palace. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul. |
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Morning cruise to
Bosphorus Strait, followed by lunch and visit to
famous Bazaar, with 4000 shops. Dinner and overnight
in Istanbul. |
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| Transfer to airport
for your flight home. End of services... |
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