Coastal Turkey - 14-20 March 2021

 The following is the itinerary for Coastal Turkey Ottoman Tour (subject to change): 

Day 1: Arrive to Antalya airport

Our exciting journey starts at the largest city in the South, and the gateway to coastal Turkey, Antalya.

You will be picked up from the airport all day whenever you arrive and taken to youe hotel. You are free to relax at the hotel to regain energy, or explore the beautiful historic old town "kaleci" lined up with shops, restaurants, and overlooking a stunning view of an old historical harbour where you can take a cruise boat of your choice to see the city and waterfalls from the sea.

At night, there will be an optional introductory meeting to get to know each other and talk about the tour plans and the ancient and ottoman history of the region. 

Day 2: Drive to Manavgat, Side, & Alanya

Start your day with a buffet breakfast full of Turkish savoury delights. 

Next, we will drive along the scenic coast of Turkey with Torquise waters, golden sand, and villages lined up on both sides of the bus.

Our first stop is the famous cascading waterfalls of Manavgat, where the sound of the soothing water surrounds you from all directions. We will visit the nearby town of Side to witness the Roman Coliseum and Greek temple to Nymphaem, as we teach you the history of 2 major civilizations that ruled Turkey before the Ottomans.

We continue our coastal journey to the town of Alanya, founded by Alauddin Keykubad, the Seljuk Sultan who was Ertugrul's best friend and ally during his wars against the Byzantine empire. Alanya is one of the top retirement towns in Turkey full of European pensioners, and you will find out why they chose this place over the rest of the continent!

Our lunch will be fresh seafood from the sea cooked in ottoman style (or maybe Norwegian Halal steak if sea creatures are not your preference :) ).

We will then take a cable car from the beach front to the top of the mountain to pray in the famous Suleymaniye mosque, overlooking the entire city nestled between the green and rocky mountains, walking between mountain village homes. Upon descent, we will go underground inside a natural spikey cave known as the tears cave "damlataş."

We then walk to the famous red tower of Analya, where many scenes of the famous drama Ertugrul was filmed. You can then choose your own activity: swim in the same place the actor swam right under the fortress (in the warm waters of South Turkey) or walk through the fortress, or relax and regain energy on the sandy beach or park. The choice is yours!

Finally, we check in the hotel and have a night dinner, and give you enough resting time to regain energy for the next day.

Day 3: Drive to Konya

After breakfast, we will have a different scenery from yesterday as we will drive through the scenic mountains of South Turkey as we make our way to Konya

Konya is known as the most religious city in Turkey, and the city of the well-known mystic Jalal-uddin Al-Rumi, known in the West as the Poet Rumi. We start by visiting Binde Alem park, known for miniature buildings from all around Turkey and the world. We pray Duhr at the beautiful Haci Veyis historical mosque, followed by a visit to Konyanuma panorma, which feels like you have boarded a time-machine to witness large display of how life was in the past during Ottoman times using life-size human models, streets, markets, schools, and other aspects of Ottoman life.

After sampling Konya’s regional cuisine in lunch, we visit the most important and most visited sight in Konya, the Mevlana complex, displaying and understanding the life of a man who has shaped Turkish culture and thoughts for several centuries. We then proceed to pray Maghrib at the Selimiye mosque, built by the Ottoman Caliph Selim. We will speak about the story of Sultan Selim and how he united the entire Muslim world under his rule and was the first among all Ottoman Sultans to be called the Khalifah. Last but not least, the Mevlana street is lined up with many religious souvenir shops with the most honest sellers in Turkey, with handicrafts of the names of Allah engraved in mirrors, pots, frames, from every artisan you could imagine!

Day 4: Drive to Cappadocia (full day trip)

We take off today to see one of the most beautiful natural wonders of the world, the dramatic-shaped stones and caves of Cappadocia shaped by wind over tens of thousands of years! We enjoy the majestic views from the caves of Gerome national park, the rock formations in Devrent valley, the Ortahisar castle, the Uchisar fortress, and many other wonders. The visit includes a lunch inside a cave with eye-candy views of the valley viewed from a panoramic balcony. Awaken the Indiana Jones inside of you! We enjoy the sun setting over these beautiful rocks then pray at Haci Omer Aga Mosque before we return to Konya for a night rest.

Day 5: Isparta, Pamukkale, & Denizli

After a tasty traditional Turkish breakfast, we will drive to the archaeological site of Greek Isparta Sagalassos, followed by a visit to the masterpiece of Mimar Sinan, the greatest architect in the history of the Ottomans, known as the Firdevs Pasa Jami Mosque. We will admire the beautiful exterior and elaborate interior of the mosque, analyzing the synergetic elements, before we pray Duhr. Lunch break will be enjoyed at the food court of Iyaspark Mall, with a full range of Turkish and international cuisines. 

We continue our drive to the cascading hot springs of Pamukkale, considered one of the most beautiful natural wonders on the planet. Feel free to dip your feet in these natural warm baths while you enjoy the sunset view from the top of the hill as the orange colour of the sun reflects on the waters. Once dark, we make a short drive to Denizli town to do a little shopping and dinning at the Forum Camlik mall before we proceed to the hotel to rest well in preparation for our final day!

Day 6: Cleopatra Baths & Antalya

After a Hillview breakfast, you get the option to participate in swimming inside a fairy-tale thermal bath 3000 years old where roman artifacts are just under your feet (costs $6 for a 2 hour swim). The natural warm waters coming from the depths of the earth are known among the locals to heal many skin diseases. Alternatively, you can choose to sleep longer and we will pick you up from the hotel on our way to Antalya.

Our final stop on this long circle tour is Antalya, as we drive through some of the most dramatic mountain scenes, we go straight to Antalya’s top landmark, the historical Hadrian’s gate, where we take a guided tour in the well-preserved centuries old Ottoman town, admiring the surrounding historical buildings and the many handycrafts in the shops on both sides. We make our way to the clock tower marking the old city centre, then boarding a glass-windowed elevator/lift to see panoramic views of the Antalya harbour as you go down to sea level. 

The beautiful harbour walk includes listening to narration about the greatest maritime leader in the history of the Ottomans, Captain Hairuddin, otherwise known by the Europeans as red-haired Barbarossa. His leaderships of the Ottoman navy fleet has caused nightmares among European nations sharing a sea with Turkey such as Greece, Italy, and the Kingdom of Venice. After the harbour, we give you free time to do shopping in the town and in Mark Antalya, the largest mall in the South of Turkey. Finally, we meet at night for the farewell dinner where we say goodbye to our amazing adventures!

Day 7: Antalya

After breakfast, we drop you at the airport for your return flight home. Or feel free to extend your stay in Antalya or anywhere else in Turkey as you please.