16 Days / 15 Nights
Plan
DAY 01: ARRIVAL IN ISTANBUL
Arrival at Istanbul airport. Reception and assistance from our correspondent. transfer to your hotel. Accommodation.
DAY 02: ISTANBUL
Breakfast. In the morning, visit this city located between two continents: Europe and Asia. We will visit the Hagia Sophia Palace, which contains one of the richest museums in the world; the Blue Mosque, lined internally with Iznik tiles and the only one with six minarets, the Roman hippodrome, etc. We will continue along the coast to appreciate the ancient walls of Constantinople. In the afternoon we will take a Bosphorus Cruise with lunch. We will start from Pierre Loti, where we will contemplate the wonderful visit of the Golden Horn, we will continue the visit of the new mosque, one of the most important in the city, next to the Spice Bazaar, where spices brought from Egypt were sold during the Ottoman era, we will board the Cruise in which we will stroll through the Bosphorus, that separates the European and Asian continents and from where we can admire the beautiful villas, palaces, and fortresses built by the Ottomans. Accommodation.
DAY 03: ISTANBUL-ANKARA-CAPADOCIA
Breakfast. Departing the city by bus towards the Bolu mountains, we will arrive at our destination Ankara, capital of the Turkish Republic. Arrival and visit of the city: the Museum of Ancient Anatolian Civilizations, the Mausoleum of Ataturk (founder of the Republic). Lunch. We will continue to Cappadocia; fascinating region of lunar landscapes, formed over centuries on the thick and soft layer of lava sculpted by the two nearby volcanoes. Dinner and accommodation.
DAY 04: CAPADOCOA
Breakfast. In the morning optional balloon ride. We will dedicate the full day to the Cappadocia region. We will visit the Göreme Valley, an incredible Byzantine monastic complex made up of churches excavated in the rock with beautiful frescoes, the troglodyte villages of Uçhisar (a natural fortress) Zelve, Ortahisar, the Fairy Chimneys of Ürgüp and Avanos potters' village. Lunch and then we will visit the underground city of Serati, built by Christian communities to protect themselves from Arab attacks. Visit a carpet workshop to see how Turkish carpets are woven by hand. Dinner and accommodation.
DAY 05: CAPPADOCIA - PAMUKKALE
Breakfast. We will leave this incredible area and head to Konya, to visit the monastery of the Dancing Dervishes founded by Mevlana. After lunch we will continue to Pamukkale, which together with Hierapolis, the cotton castle, a natural wonder formed by gigantic white waterfalls, stalactites and pools formed over the centuries, by the passage of waters with calcareous salts. Dinner and accommodation.
DAY 06: PAMUKKALE-EFESO-KUSADASI
Breakfast. We will leave for Ephesus and after lunch, we will visit the best preserved ancient city in Asia Minor during the 1st and 2nd centuries, it had a population of 250,000 inhabitants, it monopolized the wealth of the Middle East. We will visit the House of the Virgin Mary, supposedly the last resting place of the Mother of Jesus. We will continue to Kusadasi. Dinner and Accommodation
DAY 07: KUSADASI-ISTANBUL-EGYPT
Breakfast. We will continue to Bursa, where we will make a panoramic tour of the city that was the Capital of the Ottoman Empire before Edirne. We will be able to admire the mosques of Beyazit Emir Sultan and Orhan and we will have the opportunity to stroll through the silk market, where you can buy antiques, silk, perfumes, pashminas, etc. After lunch we will continue to Istanbul. Transfer to the airport to take a flight to Egypt
DAY 08: CAIRO
Arrival at Cairo airport (Cairo International Airport Located 15 kilometers from the center of Cairo. Reception and assistance by a representative of our agency who will accompany you and transfer you to the Hotel. Accommodation.
DAY 09: CAIRO-ASWAN-KOM OMBBO-EDFO
Buffet breakfast, in the morning we will take our flight to the city of Aswan (Aswan Daraw Airport). Arrival in Aswan and transfer to the cruise ship, full board on board. Optional excursion to Abul Simbel (It is the eighth wonder of Egypt) is a site of archaeological interest that is made up of Egyptian temples located in Nubia in the south of Egypt located on the western bank of Lake Nasser about 23 kilometers from the city of Aswan, The temples are part of the open-air museum of Nubia and Aswan complex which was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO. 1979 with the name of the Nubian Monument. Then we will visit the most famous temples of Ramses II, the Pharaoh in Egypt, and the temple of his wife Nefertari. In the afternoon we will take a ride on a felucca (Typical Egyptian wooden sailboat) around Elephantine Island, we will visit the great Aswan Dam, located on Lake Nasser and the granite quarry with the unfinished obelisk weighing almost 200 tons, then We sail towards KOOMBO. Arrival and visit to the temple dedicated to the gods Sobek and Haroevis. We will also see a Nilometer used by the ancient Egyptians to measure the water level of this river, then we will sail to EDFU and spend the night on board.
DAY 10: EDFU-ESNA-LUXOR
Buffet breakfast and full board, today we visit the Temple of the Falcon-headed God (Horus) built by Ptolemy. It is the second largest temple and the best preserved in Egypt, we will sail towards ESNA to take the lock pass and we continue towards LUXOR. We spent the night on board.
DAY 11: LUXOR
Buffet breakfast. In the morning we will cross the Nile to the western bank to visit the necropolis of Thebes, where we will find the Valley of the Kings, where the pharaohs of the 20th to the 23rd dynasties, their wives and princes of royal blood are buried, in tombs carved into the rocks of the mountains. We will also visit the temple of Queen Hatchepsut in Dair Al Baharí and the colossi of Memnon. We will then spend the night on board.
DAY 12: LUXOR-CAIRO
Buffet breakfast, disembark and departure to visit the greatest monumental complex of antiquity, the temples of KORNAK AND LUXOR built by dozens of pharaohs over almost 2000 years of history. Then we will transfer to the airport to take the flight to Cairo. Arrival in Cairo. Flight duration 37 minutes (680 kilometers distance). Arrival in Cairo and transfer to the hotel. Accommodation.
DAY 13: CAIRO
Buffet breakfast, in the morning we visit one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world, where we will find a funerary complex formed by the pyramids of Giza, Cheops, Kefren, Mikerinos, the Sphinx and the Valley Temple. Back to the hotel. Accommodation. (optional, consult your guide to enter the pyramids and he will indicate the cost).
INCLUDES
- guide speaks spanish
- all transportation
- all the visits that are mentioned in the program.
- all lunches that are mentioned in the program.
- Accommodation in a 4-star hotel with breakfast and dinner.
- And 5 stars on the cruise with full board.
NOT INCLUDED
- personal expenses
- drinks
- tip 5 dollars for the day.