Pilgrimages Extensions
four Days in Turkey
Fly over to Istanbul‘s Atatürk International Airport (IST); you will be met by your guide and driver and transferred to the hotel. Have lunch in a nearby restaurant, and then take a walking tour of Sultan Ahmet, the heart of historic Byzantium/ Constantinople/ Istanbul: the Hippodrome, Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia), the Blue Mosque, and Yerebatan Saray (Sunken Palace Cistern). Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 1: Blue Mosque | Hagia Sophia | Hippodrome
Get to Topkapı Palace before its doors open and go straight to the Harem to ensure your place. After seeing the Harem, explore the rest of the palace/museum, perhaps having an early lunch in a nearby restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus and Sea of Marmara. In the afternoon, visit the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar and the Grand Bazaar for shopping, or take a taxi to the Chora Church (Kariye Müzesi, Church of the Holy Savior in Chora) to see its splendid Byzantine mosaics and the City Walls. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 2: Topkapı Palace | Grand Bazaar | Egyptian Bazaar
Hop aboard a ferry for a cruise up the Bosphorus toSarıyer near the Black Sea. After lunch, ride south by land stopping at the Sadberk Hanım Museum, Rumeli Hisar Castle, and/or Yıldız Palace and Park. Stop in trendy Ortaköy for seaside tea and snacks, then taxi to Taksim Square for some strolling and window-shopping in NiÅŸantaşı or along Istiklal Caddesi. Stroll along Istiklal Caddesi (La Grande Rue de Péra) in BeyoÄŸlu in the evening. Dinner and overnight at the hotel.
Day 3: Bosphorus Cruise | Ä°stiklal
Early morning departure to the Airport for our return home - the end of a most enjoyable journey.
Day 4: Return Home