Day 02 : ANKARA / CAPPADOCIA
Today is dedicated to the visits to explore Ankara's ancient past in the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations. Though thoroughly modern in appearance Ankara's history and that of the surrounding area dates back to the Bronze Age and the Hatti civilization. Continue to Cappadocia. Lunch en route. Arrival, dinner and overnight.

Day 03 : CAPPADOCIA Besides its unequaled and striking scenery, Cappadocia is full of artistic products belonging to different civilizations. An active rural life, with its authentic color and folklore completes the atmosphere. The stone of the region was not just sculpted into fantastic shapes by the elements, but also by the inhabitants, as well. Explore the cave churches of Goreme and Zelve, which early Christians decorated with colorful frescoes depicting their beliefs from the 7th through the 13th centuries. At one time, there was said to be a church for every day of the year. Nature, history, art and life itself meet nowhere else in such harmony and unity as it does in Cappadocia. Lunch en route. Dinner and overnight.

Day 04 : CAPPADOCIA / MERSIN
This morning you'll visit the underground city of Kaymakli, which extends beneath the surface 14 stories. Kaymakli is where the early Christians, escaping persecution, fled to seek sanctuary underground. It is here that they built complete cities where they could live for months at a time undetected. They have certainly been a well-hidden secret. Only small portions of the approximately 40 discovered underground cities have been excavated, and an even smaller portion is available for public viewing. There are probably more cities that have not been found. Lunch en route. Arrival to Mersin. Dinner and overnight.

Day 05 : MERSIN
After breakfast, you will begin your day with a visit to the cave where St. Peter first celebrated the mass near Antioch. A center of Christian life, it was here in 46 AD that St. Paul gave his first sermon inside a synagogue and started to attract converts to the Christian faith. Here the name Christian was first used. The church dedicated to St. Paul, the first church built by man, stands on the west side of the city. Most of the walls have disappeared, but the superb mosaics and inscriptions, which entirely cover the floor, are worth seeing. Other buildings worth the trip include a theatre seating fifteen thousand, a Roman bath, monumental fountain, well built aqueducts, a horseshoe shaped stadium seating thirty thousand, and the Men sanctuary. Lunch en route. Dinner and overnight.

Day 06 : MERSIN / LYSTRA / KONYA
Drive to Lystra, declared a holy city for Christian pilgrims by the Vatican. In Paul's day it was the cosmopolitan capital of the Roman Province of Cilicia. Explore the city wall, bath and well. Lunch en route. Arrival to Konya, dinner and overnight.

Day 07 : KONYA / ANTALYA After breakfast, drive to Antalya, rising from the Turquoise depths of the Mediterranean. Set amid amazing scenery of sharp contrasts, Antalya, Turkey's principal holiday resort is an attractive city with shady, palm-lined boulevards and an award-winning marina. It was here that St. Paul preached and Hadrian ruled. Lunch en route. Arrival, dinner and overnight.

Day 08 : ANTALYA
A full day to visit the many nearby Greco-Roman cities of antiquity. Begin in Perge where a scrape of your shoe reveals the same mosaic walkway St. Paul must have strolled to reach the theater where he preached. Visit Side where an ancient bath has been transformed into a museum housing the many classical remains of the region. Sit in one of the best preserved theaters in the world. Lunch en route. Dinner and overnight.

Day 10 : PAMUKKALE / SARDIS / PHILADELPHIA / IZMIR
Today you'll be able to visualize a trinity of Biblical references from visiting the cities of Sardis and Philadelphia where St. Paul preached, to staying in the city of Smyrna (Izmir), which St. Paul praised for its peoples' faithfulness. Visit the church of Polycarp. Lunch en route. Dinner and overnight at the hotel in Izmir.

Day 11 : EPHESUS / IZMIR
"There are no gods made with hands" are the words said by St. Paul. Sit in the theater in Ephesus where St. Paul preached these very words. Stroll along the marble roads past the Library of Celsus and Hadrian's Temple. Lunch at a local restaurant. Visit the nearby Basilica of St. John and the last earthly home of the Virgin Mary. Dinner and overnight.

Day 12 : IZMIR / THYATIRA / PERGAMUM / BURSA Visit Thyatira (Akhisar) known for its guilds of artists in the time of St. Paul. Then, onto Pergamum, home to the famous physician Galen. Explore the remains of the Asclepion, the theater built into the steep hillside and the red court of Pergamum, (also known as the red church). Lunch en route. Dinner and overnight in Bursa.

Day 13 : BURSA / NICEA / ISTANBUL
Early in the morning visit Nicea, the Byzantine capital for 100 years upon the occupation of Constantinople in the 13th century. Continue onto legendary Constantinople (Istanbul) and seat of the Holy Roman Empire. Lunch en route. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 14 : ISTANBUL
Today is dedicated to the whole day visit of İstanbul. You have the possibility to see two masterpieces of Byzantine art - the Kariye and St. Sophia museums. Savor the beauty of the colorful biblical mosaics and frescoes that adorn the insides of both museums which now live side-by-side with Islamic calligraphy. St. Sophia was the first Christian cathedral built in the world. Lunch at a local restaurant. Then visit the more wordly pleasures of the Topkapi Palace and the stain glass, Iznik tiled interior of the Blue Mosque. Overnight.

Day 15 : ISTANBUL
After breakfast, you will have enough time for a Bosphorus Cruise. After lunch at a local seafood restaurant, you can browse through colorful labyrinth tunnels of the Grand Bazaar. Overnight at your hotel as your last night Turkey.

Day 16 : DEPARTURE
You will be transfered to the airport for your departure flight.

Price includes:
" Accommodation at 4 star hotels during the whole tour.
" Accommodations are all in HB basis except in İstanbul.
" A/C deluxe coach during the whole tour.
" Professional guidance services in your language during the whole tour.
" 13 lunches at the local restaurants
" All entrance fees as per itinerary
" Bosphorus Tour on a private boat (depending on the number of the participants)
" 01 free in dbl room (for the Tour Leader)
" Porterage at airports and hotels.

Price does NOT include
" Tips to the guide, driver, and headwaiters at the hotels
" Personal expenses
" International or domestic air fares
" Dinners during the Istanbul stay