Turkey in 5 days with Istanbul Ephesus Pamukkale

Day 1

Hotel :4 Star hotel (D)

• On arrival to Istanbul, you will be picked by our local representative and transported to hotel

• Dinner at hotel

• You can also opt for dinner at night cruise at an additional cost. (Contact Navigers for arranging it)

• Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 2

Hotel :4 Star hotel (B/L/D)

• Start your Istanbul exploration from Sultanahmet area.

• Visiting Hippodrome, which was not only used for chariot races, court ceremonies, coronations and parades during the Byzantine Empire. It was the sporting and social center of Byzantine life for over 1000 years.

• Visiting the famous icon of Istanbul - The Blue Mosque, which was constructed between 1609 and 1616 with 6 minarets. The magnificent hand-painted blue tiles adorn the mosques interior walls, and at night the mosque is bathed in blue as lights frame the mosque from all directions.

• Break for lunch

• Then visit St Sophia Museum (Hagia Sophia), which was constructed in 537 AD and was the biggest worshipping center of the world between 6th century and 13th centuries.

• Visit Topkapi Palace which was biggest Palace and one of the major residences of the Ottoman sultans. It is now a museum and contains important relics. This palace is listed in UNESCO World Heritage Site.

• Visiting Grand Bazaar which constructed at 1455, is one of the largest and oldest covered markets in the world, with 61 covered streets and over 4,000 shops. It is often regarded as one of the first shopping malls of the world.

• After dinner, depart from the hotel to airport to catch your flight to Izmir. Flight from Istanbul Ataturk Airport to Izmir Adnan Menderes airport.

• In classical antiquity Izmir city was known as Smyrna. This city across the Mediterranean Sea, has almost 4,000 years of recorded urban history.

• One hour drive from Izmir airport to Kusadasi hotel

• Check in to hotel in Kusadasi and overnight stay at hotel

Day 3

Hotel :4 Star hotel (B/L/D)

• After breakfast, start your action packed sight seeing by visiting the ancient city of Ephesus, which once the Roman Capital of Asia Minor and is rich is history and culture.

• Go through the Harbour Street, to witness the Great Theatre of Ephesus. The theatre was constructed in the Hellenistic period but remodelled many times in the Roman period. It is the largest theatre in the Asia Minor with accommodation for 25000 people. It served not only for dramatic performances, but also for demonstrations of a social, political, economic, religious nature and for the famous gladiator games.

• The visit the Marble Street which was constructed in the 1st century AD and was adorned with marble sculptures along its 4 km length. It is considered to be one of the oldest advertisements place of the world.

• Later visit the famous Library of Celsus. This library is one of the most beautiful structures in Ephesus. It was built in 117 A.D and was the third richest library in ancient times with more than 12,000 scrolls. The building is constructed using an optical trick that the columns at the sides of the facade are shorter than those at the center, giving the illusion of the building being greater in size.

• Later visit the gate of Mihridates and Mazues

• Visit Commercial Agora, which was built in the third century B.C. It was the center of the commercial world in Ephesus. In addition to the marketing of goods there was also a slave market of beautiful girls brought from different places by sea. It was the second largest slave market of the Ancient World.

• Later see the Latrina, the public toilets built in the first century A.D. There was an entrance fee to use them at that ancient age.

• Visit the Scolastica Baths, built in the first Century. It was used not only to bathe but also to socialize and discuss the topics of the day. The original structure was thought to have been three-storied. When you enter this area, you see first the dressing room (apodyterium) with ten cabins, then cold room (frigidarium) with its pool,and then the warm room (tepidarium) to relax, and finally the hot room (caldarium) with its developed heating system. The second floor was used for massage and scrub as a therapy.

• Visit Trajan Fountain, built in around 104 C.E, it is one of the finest monuments in Ephesus. It was constructed for the honor of Emperor Trajan, and the statue of Trajan stood in the central niche on the facade overlooking the pool.

• Later pass through the Curetes Street. The street has its appearance from the 4th century. There were fountains, monuments, statues and shops on the sides of the street. Many structures of the Curetes Street were damaged due to many earthquakes that Ephesus had.

• Visit Temple of Hadrian, one of the best preserved and most beautiful structures on Curetes Street. It was built before 138 A.D. The facade of the temple has four Corinthian columns supporting a curved arch, in the middle of which contains a relief of Tyche, goddess of victory.

• See the Fountain of Pollio, was built in 97 A.D. The water was brought to the fountains of Ephesus through baked clay pipes.

• Also visit the Memmius monument, the Temple of Domitian, the Prytaneion, Odeon and the State Agora.

• Break for lunch.

• Later visit the house of Virgin Marry, which is located on the top of the

• End your day by visiting the famous Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

• Dinner and overnight stay at hotel

Day 4

Hotel :4 Star hotel (B/L/D)

• After breakfast, departure to Pamukkale.

• After lunch, visit the white cascades, formed by sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs.

• Nowhere else in the world can visitors enjoy exploring both picturesque travertine formations, built up over the millennia from limestone deposited by the abundant hot springs, and the colonnaded streets, temples, bath houses, necropolis and theatre of the remains of an idyllically located Greek-Roman spa city, Hierapolis. You can even bathe, as the Romans once did, in a picturesque pool filled with warm (around 36C), mineral rich waters and swim amongst submerged columns of great antiquity.

• Later visit the ruins of ancient city of Hierapolis.

• Hierapolis, means

• After dinner, depart from the hotel to airport to catch your flight to Istanbul. Flight from Denizli Cardak airport near Pamukkale to Istanbul Ataturk airport.

• Check in to hotel in Istanbul and overnight stay at hotel

Day 5