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Ready for a mind-boggling itinerary full of history, culture, delicious food, unique landscapes, and many more experiences? This eight days Golden Triangle of Turkey tour is absolutely a fantastic match for you then!
Istanbul
09:00
Small Boutique
Istanbul, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale
Discover the highlights of Turkey, starting with Istanbul to immerse yourself in the history of masterpieces. The gates of the most spectacular landmarks are wide open with this Golden Triangle tour covering the Roman Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, Blue Mosque, The Basilica (Underground) Cistern, Grand Bazaar, Bosphorus, Chora Church, and Spice Market.
The next destination is Cappadocia, where you will be witnessing the miracles of Mother Earth. The highlights will cover Goreme Open Air Museum, Fairy Chimneys, Avanos, Uchisar, Red Valley and Hot-air Ballooning.
Finally, arrive at the Aegean to discover the treasures of the west; Ephesus, Ruins of the Temple of Artemis (Artemision), Pamukkale (Hierapolis), ending the trip with a quick dip into the beauty secret of Cleopatra.
Welcome at the airport and private transfer to your hotel. Depending on your arrival time, our guide might meet you at the hotel to say welcome and brief you about the tour.
Overnight in Istanbul | Meals excluded
After your very first Turkish breakfast, meet your guide at the hotel lobby and enjoy the enthralling tour through the old city of Istanbul to cover all the astonishing masterpieces of both the Byzantine & Ottoman Empires.
First visit to Hippodrome, which was the hub of Constantinople’s sport & political life while the Ottoman Empire used the area for over 500 years for games and riots. The area was the largest in its history, and the design was inspired by Circus Maximus in Rome.
Proceed to Hagia Sophia, the architectural masterpiece of all, built during the reign of Emperor Justinian in 537. Also named as the church of the Divine Wisdom, you will not be able to take your eyes off the outstanding mosaics.
From here, a short walk will take you to the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Camii), which was built in 1616 in honor of Sultan Ahmet I. The name “blue” is derived from its exquisite Iznik Tiles covering the walls, and thanks to its 260 colorful windows, the mosque’s interior is remarkably bright.
Enjoying a nice local lunch, we continue our tour by visiting the majestic Topkapi Palace, the Ottoman sultans’ main residence in the 15th century and accommodated around 4000 people.
The final visit to the sea of columns, the Basilica Cistern was built in 532 by Justinian to supply water for the Great Palace with a capacity of 80,000m3. End the day after this visit or with Grand Bazaar, enjoying a great stroll around the beautiful streets of the bazaar hosting around 4000 shops.
Overnight in Istanbul | Meals: B, L
Meet your guide at your hotel and drive to Kabatas to embark on your private motor-yacht. A pleasant ride along Bosphorus will give you a great view of beautiful palaces, Ottoman villas (yali: waterside mansions), fortresses and more. Upon disembarking your cruise, you will head to St. Savior in Chora church with elegant mosaics dated back to the 11th century.
Having some lunch in Karakoy or anything else available en route, visit Suleymaniye Mosque, a great masterpiece of Mimar (Architect) Sinan dedicated to Suleiman the Magnificent.
The final visit to Spice Market, aka Egyptian Bazaar (built in the 1660s), will present the fragrance of all the herbs, spices, dried goods, and Turkish delights.
Overnight in Istanbul | Meals: B, L
After breakfast, get picked and transfer to Istanbul Airport. A direct flight of 1 h. 30 min. will take you to Nevsehir or Kayseri Airport.
Upon arrival, meet your guide & driver and enjoy an introduction tour of Cappadocia to cover one of the underground cities; a nice local lunch of Anatolian dishes, and some photo stops such as Uchisar Castle and Pigeon Valley.
Overnight in Cappadocia | Meals: B, L
Up, up and away. Get an early wake-up call and get transferred to the balloon office, where you will be served a light breakfast before getting to the take-off area.
Upon arrival to your balloon, you will be helped to get in the basket and take-off for your balloon adventure after brief info by your pilot. Upon landing, enjoy a quick celebration and get transferred to your hotel.
Meet your guide at the desired time and cover the remaining highlights of Cappadocia, including the Goreme Open Air Museum, housing the best-preserved churches, and Pasabaglari (Hermits’ Valley) to see the conical rock formations of millions of years old.
Enjoying a nice local lunch; visit the town of Avanos, where you will get a lecture about the art of pottery making and maybe enjoy making your own on the ancient kick-wheel technique of Hittites.
Overnight in Cappadocia | Meals: B, L
Leaving Cappadocia with great memories, enjoy your direct domestic flight to Izmir. Upon arrival, meet your guide and driver and drive straight to Selcuk, where you will take a break for an introduction to the day tour.
The first visit to Ephesus, a fascinating UNESCO World Heritage Site considered one of the gems of Western Turkey. Its Odeon Theater, Hadrian Gate, Terrace Houses and Library of Celsus will amaze you! Drive to Artemision (Temple of Artemis) listed as one of the ancient wonders of the world.
After a nice local lunch, continue with Selcuk Museum, which was recently renovated, and it is now even more stunning. The final visit to the Virgin Mary’s House where Mary is said to spend the last days of her life.
Overnight in Sirince | Meals: B, L
Enjoy driving to Pamukkale (Hierapolis), known for its thermal pools rich with calcium. Touristically known as “Cotton Castle” as well; the ancient health center will amaze you with its theater, Necropolis, Cleopatra’s Pool and many more… Splash your final day of your Golden Triangle of Turkey tour and depending on your flight time or domestic flight availability; we will either drive back to your hotel in Sirince or stay overnight at a thermal hotel here.
Overnight in Sirince | Meals: B, L
Private transfer to the airport for your flight back home with great memories of your trip.
Meals: B
Yes, you can book the Golden Triangle of Turkey tour as a solo traveler as well. Please go ahead and complete the inquiry form, and then we will update the total cost with a special discount we offer for solo travelers.
All our itineraries are created to serve the most requested routes, and they are all flexible. You can definitely request pre/post tours, accommodation, and other travel services to make the planning even better.
Great experience. We asked for a private tour and they accommodate all our requests. All the staff from the pickup in Istanbul, guided tours in Istanbul, Troy, Izmir and Pamukkale was great and very friendly.
Excellent private tour (for 10) all the personnel were very professional and kind. A 5 star tour and very good hotels accommodations. Ismail is a very good tour counselor. Recommended 100%
Ismail was helpful and responsive in organising our private tour of Cappadocia, Ephesus, Aphrodisias and Pamukkale. He made great suggestions that we would not have considered and verything went completely according to plan. Our guides and drivers were great, and always on time. The hotels were lovely and the local lunches were a highlight. We would thoroughly recommend Made In Turkey Tours.
I had a cruise booked that ended in Istanbul, and 11 days before my flights back to the US. I’m usually an intrepid traveler booking my out arrangements, but decided that with this trip, I needed some help. I searched the internet for days eventually finding Made in Turkey tours. I could not have found a better tour agent/advisor/planner than Ismail!!!
He came up with a custom made tour for my husband and I visiting Konya, Cappadocia, and Istanbul. Ismail took care of every detail, from private Mercedes touring vans and drivers, to wonderful boutique hotels The Hich Hotel in Konya, Taskalar in Cappadocia and Empress Zoe in Istanbul., the BEST tour guides, Nihat in Konya Cappadocia and Deniz in Istanbul. We were still on our cruise when Turkish air cancelled our flights in Turkey the day before our arrival,We had limited WiFi, and Ismail took care of the problem rearranging our flights and even arranging our boarding passes.
Nihat was Exceptional. He went above and beyond as a guide making sure that we had great experiences, sometimes off the beaten path – touring underground cities and cave churches without any other tourists in sight. He took us to his favorite restaurants where he suggested we try certain regional foods. I would definitely travel with him again.
We also had an amazing cooking class at Cappadocia Home Cooking. ,a small family run cooking school at a village somewhere in Cappadocia.
These are memories that we will forever cherish.
Ismail is so professional, knowledgeable and caring, He even had a bottle of special Turkish wine for us to celebrate our 37th anniversary during our Private Bosphorus cruise
I also want/ need to point out that his prices were comparable to. some US tour group companies. And Ismail provided such a better product. I could not have wanted more.
It was truly an amazing tour
Ismail (our agent) is the most professional agent we’ve experienced since we started taking private tours from 2014. The tour was planned flawlessly and Ismail took care of everything (including a dispute with a merchant. Where we got a refund 2 weeks after our tour ended).
Strongly recommend Ismail as a trustworthy and responsible agent to work with on your private tour in Turkey.