Faith & Heritage Tour
9 days
per person
Meeting point
Istanbul Airport
Included
Meals as written in the programme: hotel breakfast and lunch on the tour days. Day 1 has no meal. Day 9 is breakfast only
A 9-day, 8-night tour through Istanbul, Bursa, Nicaea, Troy, Assos, Izmir, Pergamon, Ephesus and Pamukkale. Stops from the seven churches and the councils of Nicaea are on the route.
The tour starts at Istanbul Airport. Day 2 is the Old City on foot. Day 3 is Bursa and Nicaea, with the night in Bursa. Day 4 is Troy, Alexandria Troas and Assos. The night is in Assos. Day 5 is Izmir, Pergamon and Akhisar, with the night in Kuşadası. Day 6 is Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St John and Miletus, again in Kuşadası. Day 7 is Sardis, Alaşehir and Laodicea, with the night in Pamukkale. Day 8 is the travertines and Hierapolis, then a flight from Denizli back to Istanbul. The tour ends at Istanbul Airport for the international flight.
1
You are met at the first exit door of Istanbul Airport and taken to the hotel. The rest of the day is free. There is no sightseeing and no meal. The night is in Istanbul.
2
Visited sights: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Grand Bazaar. After breakfast the guide picks you up from the hotel for a full day in the Old City on foot. You see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, once home to the Ottoman sultans, the Hippodrome, and the Obelisk of Theodosius. The Hippodrome is where the crowds of old Constantinople gathered; the obelisks are still standing. The last stop is the Grand Bazaar, the large covered market at the heart of the old city. There is time to walk it. Shopping is a personal expense. At the end of the tour you are taken back to your hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
3
After breakfast you drive to Bursa. You visit the Green Mosque and the Green Tomb, both early Ottoman. The Grand Mosque is early Ottoman too: a large rectangular prayer hall carried on many columns. The source text calls it entirely Seljuk in style. The building is early Ottoman. There is then a stop at the Ottoman House Museum. You continue to İznik, ancient Nicaea. The text says the city was founded around 1000 BC. The First Council met here in 325 and condemned Arianism. The Seventh Council, in 787, met in Hagia Sophia, which is the first stop. The text says the church was built in the 4th century and that its mosaic floor dates from the 6th. The walls and gates are Byzantine. You are taken to the hotel in Bursa. The night is in Bursa.
4
After breakfast you drive to Troy, known as the setting of the war in Homer’s Iliad. The mound holds successive cities. The text calls it a 5,000-year-old city of nine civilisations. You see a reconstruction of the wooden horse, the Roman bouleuterion, the theatre and the site museum. Nearby Alexandria Troas was a busy port on the north-west coast of Asia Minor. Acts says that here Paul saw a man asking him to come over to Macedonia. The text also says he passed through Troas several times. He is said to have reached Assos on foot from Troas and boarded a ship at the small port for the journey toward Jerusalem. The night is in Assos.
Package departing from Istanbul.
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1–16 people
5
After breakfast you drive to Izmir, ancient Smyrna, and visit the church of St Polycarp. The day continues to Bergama, ancient Pergamon. You see the Asclepion, the ancient hospital, and the Acropolis. The Red Basilica stands on the site of the Serapeum and is linked with St John. The text names the church and the Red Court as separate stops. They are the same building. The last stop is Akhisar, ancient Thyatira, a commercial city once tied to Troy and Sardis. The night is in Kuşadası.
6
Visited sights: the ancient city of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St John, and Miletus. You are picked up from the hotel in Kuşadası and go to Ephesus. The programme says Paul stayed in the city for a time. You visit the ancient city, then the House of the Virgin Mary, held to be where she spent her last days, and the Basilica of St John. The day continues to Miletus. The Acts of the Apostles places Paul’s farewell address to the elders of Ephesus there. You are taken back to the hotel in Kuşadası. The night is again in Kuşadası.
7
After breakfast you drive to Sardis, capital of ancient Lydia and one of the seven churches of Revelation. You see the remains of a church and of a cathedral. The temple of Cybele and Artemis was later used as a church. The royal road is also on the route. The text names Sardis twice in the day. The stops are written here as one visit. Alaşehir is ancient Philadelphia. You see the remains of a church. The last stop is Laodicea, described as the smallest of the seven churches. It stood at a crossroads of the Ionian cities of its time. The text says that trade brought the city its wealth. You are taken to the hotel in Pamukkale. The night is in Pamukkale.
8
Visited sights: the travertines, Hierapolis, and the Cleopatra thermal pool. Swimming in the pool is optional. Walking the terraces is part of the tour. After breakfast you drive to Pamukkale. You see the white travertine terraces left by the hot springs. They are called Pamukkale, the cotton castle, for that look. After lunch you visit Hierapolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In antiquity people came here to be healed. At the end of the day you fly from Denizli Airport to Istanbul. The flight is in the package. In Istanbul you are met at the first exit door and taken to the hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
9
You are taken to Istanbul Airport 4 hours before your international flight, according to the flight time. Check-in is yours. That is the end of the service.
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Before, during, and after the trip, support is available in Turkish and English.
