Day 1 (Thu): Arrival in Istanbul | Bosphorus Cruise

Meals: No meals

Arrive in Istanbul and transfer to your hotel (early check-in subject to availability). In the afternoon, enjoy cruising on River Bosphorus, the winding water strait separating Europe and Asia. The Bosphorus coastline is a delightful mixture of the past and the present where one can enjoy the splendour and quaint beauty of ancient wooden mansions, palaces of marble, fortresses, and small fishing villages. Later, visit the Spice Market. Enjoy a comfortable overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 2 (Fri): Istanbul | Sightseeing tour

Meals: Breakfast

After enjoying a buffet breakfast, visit St. Sophia(Closed on Monday), Byzantine Hippodrome, in which stand the Obelisk brought from Egypt by Theodosius and the Serpent Column taken from Delphi brought by Constantine. Next, visit the Blue Mosque, which has six minarets and a middle dome of 109 feet. Also visit the Grand Covered Bazaar (closed on Sundays) dating back to 15th century. It covers over 4,000 shops under one roof. Spend the afternoon at leisure and have a comfortable overnight stay at your hotel.

Day 3 (Sat): Istanbul | Day at leisure

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, enjoy the day at leisure and explore Istanbul on your own by taking any of our optional tours. Have a comfortable overnight stay at your Hotel.

Day 4 (Sun): Istanbul /Ankara/Cappadocia | Sightseeing tour

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, transfer to the airport and board the morning flight to Ankara. Upon arrival in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey and one of the fastest growing cities in the world with a history that can be dated back 3000 years. Upon arrival, visit the Anatolian Civilisation's Museum, which also exhibits the remains of Catalhoyuk, the Neolithic village dating back to 6500 BC. Then visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. After lunch at a local restaurant in Ankara, visit the mysterious Cappadocia. Visit Agzikarahan Caravanserai en route. Enjoy a delicious dinner and a comfortable overnight stay at your hotel.

Day 5 (Mon): Cappadocia | Sightseeing tour

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

Enjoy a sightseeing tour in this unique corner of the world. Visit the Pigeon Valley and the natural citadel of Uchisar followed by Goreme Open-Air Museum, which is full of pink, rose and white tapering columns. These tall, free standing cones of stone curve and twist as if pulled from earth like taffy. Others are tall like fairy chimneys. The caves were settled in the 4th century as monasteries. Visit some caves on the cliffs to see Byzantine Frescoes decorating early Christian Churches. Later, enjoy lunch at a typical restaurant of the region and visit Kaymakli Underground City; carved out of rock and completely self-contained. More than 200 people lived on each of seven floors with the last one 250 feet underground. It is connected to Derinkuyu Underground City by six miles of tunnel. Drive to Pasabagi in Zelve Region and then to Avanos Village. Enjoy some time for shopping. Later, spend the night at your hotel.

Day 6 (Tue): Cappadocia-Kayseri-Istanbul - Izmir | Day at leisure

Meals: Breakfast and dinner

After breakfast, transfer to Kayseri airport for your flight to Izmir via Istanbul. Upon arrival, transfer to your hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure. Later, enjoy a delicious dinner and spend a comfortable overnight stay at your hotel.

Day 7 (Wed): Izmir - Ephesus - Izmir | Sightseeing tour

Meals: Breakfast, lunch and dinner

After breakfast, drive to Selcuk to visit the House of Virgin Mary. Continue to Ephesus, the Roman Capital of Asia Minor. Visit the ruins of Odeon, the Hercules Gate, the temple of Hadrian, the magnificent library, Agora and fantastic Greco-Roman theatre. After lunch, visit the Basilica of St. John. Later, return to Izmir for a delicious dinner and a comfortable overnight stay at the hotel.

Day 8 (Thu): Departure

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast, spend the day at leisure and later transfer to the airport to board a flight back home.

• Destination:
• Istanbul
• Cappadocia
• Izmir

Istanbul

Istanbul is legendary.

Famous the world over for its vibrant amalgamation of cultures, former Constantinople is the pride of Byzantium, that's located on both sides of the Bosphorus, the narrow strait between the Black Sea and the Marmara Sea.

The centre of the old world, Istanbul is an important metropolis famous for its historic monuments and charming natural beauty. The only city in the world that spreads across two continents - Europe and Asia, demarcated by the famous Bosporus! With almost 2500 years to its credit, this beautiful Byzantine city has a rich eventful history. Capital of the Romans, Byzantine and Turkish Ottoman empires, this dome studded city is full with charm of old bygone monuments, ancient squares and streets, excellent eating joints and a length of modern buildings.

Must See
There are endless numbers of monuments to be seen here, and every stone on very streets has an epic tale to tell of battles fought and glories lost. The famous Hagia Sofia towers over the city, with its enormous dome and incredibly tall minarets. Other famous sites include Topkapi Palace, Sultanahmet Mosque, Galata Tower, and the Galata Whirling Dervish Hall. In fact, the entire Bosphorus is lined with numerous waterside palaces, which are all worth visiting. A boat tour will be most rewarding. Also visit a hamam, a Turkish bath, at least once on your vacation there. Other must visits include the Egyptian Spice Bazaar, Rumeli Fortress, Beylerbeyi Palace, Hippodrome, Camlica Hill - the highest point of Istanbul that provides a panoramic view, and the Dolmabahce Palace.

Shopping
Shopping is Istanbul is an experience in itself. Gazing at the stark contrast of the modern with the traditional, explore the Nuruosmaniye Gate of Grand Bazaar (Capali Carsi) browsing through jewellery, pottery, spice, leather and carpets. The bazaar is one of the largest covered markets in the world with more than 58 streets and 4,000 shops, and has between 250,000 and 400,000 visitors daily! Built between 1455 and 1461by Sultan Mehmed, the bazaar contains two sections - domed masonry structures built for storage and safe keeping.

The Spice Bazaar/ Egyption Bazaar (Misir Carsisi) is the second largest covered shopping areas in Turkey an attributes its name to Egypt from where the spices were initially imported. In the Byzantine period, the Spice Bazaar was also the centre of corn trade.

Eating
Turkish cuisine is considered one of the richest and oldest cooking traditions in the world! The authentic Istanbul cuisine is an outcome of the cuisine of Jews, Greeks and Armenians who were an integral part of Ottoman society. Beginning with soups, a traditional Turkish cuisine is a heady cocktail of soups, appetizers, wholesome meals, desserts and distinct drinks.

Kebab, Baklava, Lokum and Raki are the most commonly associated Turkish delicacies. Others include olive oil dishes, rice pilafs, stuffed vegetables, pickles, fruit preserves, compote, sherbet, boza (a thick beverage made of barley) coffee, pastries, puddings and syrupy desserts.

The exclusive Turkish food is a fine combination of wraps with fillings – the classical wrap is meat or rice wrapped in vine, cabbage or collard leaves although lettuce, nut, chestnut, cherry and sometimes violet leaves. There are as many as 15 variants of wraps as of today! There is an a rich variety of meat dishes in the form of grills, fried meats, kebabs, stews cooked in a crock or a pan.

Fast Facts
Main Languages: Turkish, Kurdish, Arabic, Armenian and Greek. English is spoken in the touristy places.
When to Go: September, when the city experiences Spring.
Local Transport: Istanbul is blessed with a good network of transport system. Besides bus, you can travel in a tram, ferry, cabs etc. Try buying an Akbil pass, a pre-buying ticket and avoid those smelly long queues waiting for public transport.
Phone Code: Istanbul (Asian side) +90216 and Istanbul (European side) +90212
Currency: New Turkish Lira (YTL is approximately 48 INR).
Voltage: 230 V/ 50 Hz
Time Zone: UTC/GMT + 2 hours with + 1 hour as daylight saving.

Istanbul Bosphorus Strait

Istanbul Church of Hagia Sophia

Istanbul Grand Bazaar

Istanbul Suleymaniye Mosque

Istanbul Topkapi Palace

Cappadocia

Cappadocia is a strange and wonderful region in Central Anatolia in Turkey that dates back to the 2000 BC. It is famous for its out-of-the world desert landscape, rock formations, and caves, which were formed by thousands of years of erosion. There are so many things to explore here, and the caves offer endless opportunities to see remains of the cultures, now long gone, that had inhabited the surrounding regions. The foremost are the underground cities of Kaymakla, Derinkuyu, Ozkonak and Mazakoy. You should also check out the pottery town of Avanos

Cappadocia Goreme Open Air Museum

Cappadocia Ihlara Canyon

Cappadocia Kaymakli Cave

Cappadocia Soganli Valley

Cappadocia Uchisar Hill

Izmir

• Sector ticket on Day 6 - Kayseri - Izmir - not included in the package cost.

• Tour price is calculated at the rate of exchange of 1 EURO = INR 73 & rounded off to nearest Rupee. In the event of increase in the ROE taken into account, the prices defined may be amended.

• The 3rd person sharing the room is provided with an additional mattress or a rollaway bed in all places

• Transportation as per itinerary only (not available at disposal)

• Package rates are subject to change without prior notice 

• The taxes and visa charges mentioned are as on date and in the event of any changes may be amended

• Any further increase in the airfare due to an increase in the fuel price, change in Government regulations, taxes, etc., charged by the airline will be borne by the passengers.

  MakeMyTrip will not be responsible for the same

• Any increase in the RoE leading to increase in surface transportation and land arrangements which may come into effect prior to departure

• The package does not include any expenses of personal nature such as laundry, wines, mineral water, food and drinks and other things not mentioned in our itinerary

• The departure hubs are only Delhi and Mumbai only. The surface transport/train etc. for passengers joining to these departure hubs from any other city is not included

• Peak season surcharges are extra

• All items of personal use like drinks, laundry, telephone calls, gratuities, personal travel insurances etc.

• Other items not mentioned in the "Inclusions" column