Jewels of the Mediterranean, Cappadocia & Pamukkale

Flight to Antalya via Istanbul. Transfer to the hotel in Cappadocia. Overnight in Antalya.

After breakfast we begin with a tour of Perge, an important city of ancient Pamphylia, which Saint Paul visited on his first missionary journey. The photogenic Seljuk bridge crosses the Köprüçay River beside the road to Aspendos. The Theatre of Aspendos is the best-preserved ancient theatre, with a capacity of 15,000 spectators. Its galleries, stage decorations and acoustics, still in use today, bear witness to the architect’s success. Nearby are the remains of a basilica, an agora and one of the largest aqueducts in Asia Minor. We continue to Side, one of the best-known classical sites in Turkey, once an ancient port whose name meant pomegranate. Among the ancient ruins are the well-preserved remains of Roman baths, temples, churches, mausoleums, theatres and an agora.
Visit to the Manavgat River and waterfall. Drive to Alanya. Dinner and overnight in Alanya.

After breakfast we begin with a tour of Alanya, visit the Damlataş Cave and continue the drive towards Mersin.
Visit to the ancient city of Anemurium, a city belonging to the Roman province of Isauria. Today the beautiful ruins include a large theatre, a small odeon, public baths, churches and a large necropolis. Visit to the place the Turks call Cennet-Cehennem. These names translate as heaven and hell, and the sites are absolutely stunning, especially as the natural chasms also hold the remains of a 5th-century monastery. Arrival in Mersin. Dinner and overnight in Mersin.

After breakfast, departure to Tarsus, the home of the Apostle Paul. There we will visit the Roman baths and see the remains of an ancient bridge over the Cydnus River. Next we visit the Cardo Maximus street of Roman Tarsus, and then Donuktaş, one of the largest temples of the ancient world.
We continue the drive towards Cappadocia. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast, departure for a full-day tour of Cappadocia. Uçhisar, Göreme Open Air Museum, Zelve, Paşabağları, Ürgüp, Avanos. Dinner, overnight in Cappadocia.

Breakfast. On the way to Konya we visit the underground city of Derinkuyu and the Sultanhanı caravanserai.
On arrival in Konya we visit the Mevlana Museum and the Alaeddin Mosque. Dinner, overnight in Konya.

After breakfast, check-out in Konya and drive to Pamukkale ("Cotton Castle"), a wondrous plateau the colour of white cotton, created by deposits of calcium-rich water. This is followed by a visit to one of the best-known ancient sites in Turkey - Hierapolis, with the remains of a church and the tomb of the Apostle St. Philip, the amphitheatre and the necropolis with sarcophagi, and then a tour of Pamukkale itself, the "Red Waterfalls", where warm, healing water springs. Weather permitting, bathing in the thermal pools is also planned. Hotel check-in, dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.

After breakfast, transfer to Denizli airport. Flight from Denizli.