ISTANBUL – ANKARA - CAPPADOCIA 1 Week

After breakfast at the hotel, check out and depart from Ankara heading towards Cappadocia. Salt Lake (Tuz Gölü) Stop: Enjoy a scenic drive via the Salt Lake road. Stop at one of the largest hypersaline lakes in the world to take breath-taking photographs on the white salt flats. Arrive in the mythical region of Cappadocia in the afternoon. Check into your cave or boutique hotel. Visit the panoramic viewpoint of Uchisar to get a stunning overview of the unique landscape before sunset. Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Cappadocia.

Optional Early Morning: Hot Air Balloon flight over the fairy chimneys (highly recommended for the group, subject to weather conditions). After breakfast, plunge into the heart of early Christian history by visiting the Göreme Open Air Museum. Explore magnificently painted rock-cut churches and monasteries dating back to the 10th-12th centuries. Visit the old village of Çavuşin to see its rock pinnacle houses. Proceed to Avanos, a historic town famous for its handmade red clay pottery dating back to the Hittite era. The group will enjoy a live demonstration of pottery making and can try the potter's wheel. Conclude the afternoon exploring the unique mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys in Pasabag (Monks Valley) and the animal-shaped rock formations in Devrent Valley. Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Cappadocia.

After breakfast, explore the ingenious network of tunnels, ventilation shafts, and giant stone rolling doors at the Özkonak Underground City, where early inhabitants fled for safety in times of unrest. Hike through the Zelve Open Air Museum, a dramatic valley that was a troglodyte town settled until the 1950s and is now a spectacular ghost town. Take in the beautiful vistas of Soğanlı Valley and take a relaxing walk through Pigeon Valley, capturing photos of the countless ancient pigeon houses carved into the cliffs. Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Cappadocia.

Early morning check-out from the hotel and departure towards Konya. Following the ancient Silk Road route once used by merchants, stop to visit Sultanhanı. Built in the 13th century, it is one of the largest and best-preserved monumental Seljuk caravanserais in Turkey, which once offered protection and lodging to traveling traders. Arrive in Konya, the historical capital of the Seljuk Sultanate and the home of the famous mystical poet Rumi (Mevlana). Visit the Mevlana Museum, which houses his tomb, and learn about the mystical order of the Whirling Dervishes he established. Dinner & Overnight: Hotel in Konya.

Enjoy breakfast at the hotel and check out. Transfer from the hotel to the Konya High-Speed Train Station. Board the modern High-Speed Train (YHT) from Konya to Istanbul. Enjoy a comfortable, scenic, and relaxing journey across the Anatolian landscape back to the metropolis. Upon arrival at the Istanbul train station (Söğütlüçeşme or Pendik depending on the schedule), the group will be met by a private vehicle and transferred to their Istanbul hotel. Overnight: Hotel in Istanbul.

Breakfast at the hotel. Depending on international flight times, private transfer from the hotel to Istanbul Airport (IST) or Sabiha Gökçen Airport (SAW) for your flight back home. End of Services.