The Aegean Touch : Travel to Pamukkale, Priene, Ephesus, Kusadasi

Day 1 · Departure from Your Hotel to Pamukkale / Semi-Private Tour to Pamukkale, Hierapolis / Overnight at Kusadasi

1. 1

   Istanbul

   Passing by

   Departures from Istanbul (Available for all booking options except the Bronze Package) : The services of this travel package will begin with a transfer from your hotel (or at your Airbnb address if parking is available) to the airport. Your driver will meet you at your pick up place and then transfer to the airport for your flight from Istanbul to Denizli. Upon arrival Denizli Cardak airport, your tour guide and another driver will meet you at the exit gate of the arrival terminal, and then you will start today’s semi-private guided tour.

2. 2

   Pamukkale

   Passing by

   Departures from Antalya, Fethiye, Marmaris, Bodrum (Available for all booking options except the Bronze Package) : The services of this travel package will begin with a private transfer from your hotel (or at your Airbnb address if parking is available) to the Pamukkale Natural Park. Upon arrival, your tour guide and another driver will meet you and then you will start today’s semi-private guided tour.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   Passing by

   Departures from Denizli Cardak Airport (Available for Bronze Package option): Your tour guide and another driver will meet you at the exit gate of the arrival terminal in Denizli Cardak airport, and then you will start today’s semi-private guided tour.

4. 4

   Stop 4

   Passing by

   Pamukkale Natural Park, a must-visit destination for Nature and History lovers. For centuries, people have been coming here and going home restful. This natural park provide you experiences at the white travertenies of Pamukkale, Cleopatra Pools and ancient city of Hierapolis which are located in Pamukkale Natural Park.

5. 5

   Hierapolis & Pamukkale

   one hour Admission not included

   The highlights of the Hierapolis Ancient City are Roman Baths, Domitian Gate, Latrina, Oil Factory, Frontinus Street, Agora, Byzantium Gate, Triton Fountain, Cathedral, Apollon Temple, Plutonium, Theater and Antique Pool. During visits to these ancient ruins, you can take some photos from the nicest corners of the Pamukkale.

6. 6

   Pamukkale Thermal Pools

   one hour

   After visited the Hierapolis Ancient City, you will have free time for about 60-75 minutes to explore the natural beauties of the Pamukkale, and swim at white travertines - thermal pools (or antique pool - Cleopatra’s pool with extra fee). Then meet again with your guide, continue to the restaurant for lunch.

7. 7

   Cleopatra Pools

   30 min Admission not included

   Situated above the Pamukkale white travertine pools is one particularly spectacular location fed by the same hot springs. Here you can bath in the same waters in which Cleopatra once swam! A professionally run modern spa facility allows you to enjoy these historical healing waters. Unlike the white water of the lower pools the Antique Pool favored by Cleopatra, Queen of Egypt, is pure clear warm water. Once it was surmounted by a Roman Temple to Apollo with ornate roof held up with Doric columns. Imagine how Cleopatra must have experienced this when you imagine it in it's glory day.

8. 8

   Stop 8

   one hour

   You will stop at a local restaurant for your lunch. Today’s lunch is included during guided tour. After the lunch, you will have experience traditional handcraft workshop for get lecture about the special stones/metals of Pamukkale.

9. 9

   Stop 9

   20 min Admission not included

   Pamukkale Paragliding Adventure (Optional Attraction – You can add this attraction to your experiences with extra cost.) : See Pamukkale’s glistening white travertine and ancient Hierapolis, including the enormous theater, from the air on this short-but-sweet paragliding experience with a seasoned pilot. You will race off the edge of a slope about 1,300 feet (400 meters) up, then glide on the breezes over the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

10. 10

    Kusadasi

    2 h 30 min

    After today’s semi-private guided tour in Pamukkale district, you will be transferred to your hotel in Kusadasi.

11. 11

    Kusadasi Castle

    Passing by

    This small castle is picturesque Byzantine fortress stands on the causeway-connected Guvercin Adasi (Pigeon Island) and has recently been renovated. *** There is no any visit to this place on tour. You can visit there by your own after we dropped you to your hotel in Kusadasi.

12. 12

    Okuz Mehmet Pasa KervansarayI

    Passing by

    This caravanserai was built by the Grand Vizier Okuz Mehmed Pasha to support maritime trade in the region. This historical building is opposite to Kusadasi cruise port. *** There is no any visit to this place on tour. You can visit there by your own after we dropped you to your hotel in Kusadasi.

You will take your lunch at a local restaurant during tour.

INCLUDED - There are different hotel variations on this tour package. You can choose your hotel category while booking.

Day 2 · Semi-Private Tour to Temple of Apollo, Miletus, Doganbey Village, Karina, Priene Ancient City / Overnight at Kusadasi

1. 1

   Stop 1

   10 min

   After enjoying breakfast at your hotel, the tour guide will pick you up around 10:00am for a full-day tour to Priene and its surroundings.

2. 2

   Stop 2

   45 min Admission not included

   Didyma Apollo Temple, one of the most important prophecy centers of the ancient world. It was the sanctuary of the ancient city of Miletus, to which the Temple of Apollo, which was the prophecy center of important cities such as Ephesus and Priene, which constituted the city states of Ion, was originally connected. Didyma is not actually an ancient city, but a holy place. The first written source about Didyma is Herodot. As Herodotus said; Alexander the Great, who gave the temple management to the city of Miletos after Alexander the Great took Miletos, was declared as the son of Zeus by the local people because of this behavior.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   45 min Admission not included

   Miletus was an ancient Greek city located on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River, in the region known as Ionia. Prior to the rise of Persian dominance in the 6th century BC, Miletus was renowned as one of the most prosperous and influential cities in the Greek world.

4. 4

   Stop 4

   one hour Admission included

   You will stop at a local seafood restaurant for your lunch. Today’s lunch is included during guided tour.

5. 5

   Eski Doganbey Koyu

   one hour

   The old village of Doganbey, formerly known as Domatia, was inhabited by Greeks until the 1924 population exchange. Following this, the village was settled by Turks but was eventually abandoned after some time. Today, the village serves as an open-air museum, showcasing exquisite examples of both Turkish and Greek architecture and reflecting the legacy of past civilizations. It features several original buildings, including the Information and Visitor Center, as well as a chapel and a church.

6. 6

   Priene Antik Kenti

   one hour Admission not included

   Priene originally lay along the Maeander River’s mouth, but about 350 bc the citizens built a new city farther inland, on the present site. The new city’s main temple, of Athena Polias, was dedicated by Alexander the Great in 334. The little city grew slowly over the next two centuries and led a quiet existence; it prospered under the Romans and Byzantines but gradually declined.

7. 7

   Kusadasi

   30 min

   At the end of tour, you will be dropped back to your hotel in Kusadasi.

Breakfast is served in the hotel from 08:00am until 10:00am. · You will take your lunch at a local restaurant during tour.

INCLUDED - There are different hotel variations on this tour package. You can choose your hotel category while booking.

Day 3 · Semi-Private Tour to Ephesus Ancient City and Its Surroundings / Flight Back to Istanbul or Connection to Cappadocia

1. 1

   Stop 1

   10 min

   After enjoying breakfast at your hotel, the tour guide will pick you up around 09:00am for a full-day tour to Ephesus and its surroundings.

2. 2

   Ephesus Ancient City

   1 h 45 min Admission not included

   Ephesus was one of the most important harbor cities in antique world and also it is mentioned in the book of Revelations as one of the seven churches. Also Celsus Library and theater in Ephesus are the other highlights. You will see and visit the Celsus Library, Temple of Hadrian, the fountain of Trajan, Grand Theater, Hercules Gate, Odeon, Ancient Toilets and many important historical buildings in this UNESCO-listed ancient city.

3. 3

   Stop 3

   20 min Admission not included

   Ephesus Experience Museum, where you will travel back in time and immerse yourself in the mystical atmosphere of the ancient world. With innovative approach of this amazing museum, we offer an entirely mesmerizing experience where time breaks free from its static confines and dances in perpetual motion, bringing historical artifacts to life and presenting interactive visual spectacles that will leave an indelible imprint on your memory.

4. 4

   Ephesus Terrace Houses

   Passing by

   You will be walking from front of Terrace Houses during your tour, and your guide will provide information about the Terrace Houses of Ephesus Ancient City. (There will not be any visit to this place during guided tour.)

5. 5

   Selcuk

   one hour

   You will stop at a traditional Turkish restaurant for your lunch. Today’s lunch is included during guided tour. After the lunch, you will have experience in a traditional handcraft co-operative for get lecture about the special arts of Turkish villagers.

6. 6

   The House of the Virgin Mary

   45 min Admission not included

   Your next visit will be the last home of the Virgin Mary. Once you arrive there you will be thrilled by the natural beauty that surrounds the monument. The House of Virgin Mary is located on the Aladag Mountains 5 miles away from Ephesus. At the third Ecumenical Council on 431 AD in Ephesus, it was claimed that Mary came to Ephesus with St. John in 37 A.D. and lived there until her death in 48 A.D. After the discovery of the house, the Archbishop of Izmir declared there as a place of pilgrimage in 1892. On July 26, 1967, Pope Paul VI visited this place and prayed there.

7. 7

   Stop 7

   45 min Admission not included

   Another visit of tour will be to this ancient Basilica dedicated to the author of Revelation St. John. According to the legend St. John died in this church after having written the Fourth Gospel and the Basilica was built by the Emperor Justinian over St. Johns burial place.

8. 8

   Stop 8

   one hour

   At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to Izmir airport for your flight to Istanbul or Cappadocia.

9. 9

   Stop 9

   one hour

   Upon your arrival at the airport in Istanbul, your driver will be waiting to meet you and transfer you to your hotel. (If you preferred flight to Istanbul.)

10. 10

    Stop 10

    one hour

    Upon your arrival at the airport in Cappadocia, your driver will be waiting to meet you and transfer you to your hotel in Goreme or Urgup, Uchisar, Cavusin, Avanos, Ortahisar. (If you preferred flight to Cappadocia.)

Breakfast is served in the hotel from 08:00am until 10:00am. · You will take your lunch at a local restaurant during tour.