ANCIENT WESTERN in 4 DAYS
DAY 1 ISTANBUL /IZMIR / PERGAMUM / IZMIR
Your English speaking representative
will meet you at the lobby of your hotel at 8 am and you will be transferred to the Istanbul Airport for your
Turkish Airlines flight (ETD 1000 / ETA 1105) to Izmir.
Upon arrival, you will drive to PERGAMUM (Capital city of the Hellenistic Kingdom) featuring visits to the majestic Acropol and Asclepion- the Sanctuary of Athena, the Library of Pergamum, that contained 200.000 volumes, given to Cleopatra by Mark Anthony, as a wedding present to be added to her collection in the Alexandria Library – continue to visit the Temple of Trojan (built by the worshipped Emperor Hadrian for Emperor Trojan before him), famous Theater (the steepest raked Hellenistic Theater in the World), the Zeus Altar.
At the end of the tour, you will be transferred to your hotel.
DAY 2 - IZMIR – EPHESUS – IZMIR
UTS’s
English Speaking guide will be meeting you at the lobby of your hotel at 9 am
for your private visit to the remarkable Greco-Roman archaeological site of Ancient
Ephesus.
Dating
back to the 11th century B.C., it has been painstakingly excavated and restored
and is one of the world’s most fascinating sites of antiquity. Ephesus
flourished as a prominent city and seaport between 600 B.C. and 500 A.D.
We will begin our private walking tour along Royal Road also known as the
Arcadian Way, a 4th century white marble chariot thoroughfare whose most
striking sight is the two-story Library of Celsus. Uniquely beautiful,
with its restored facade now the famed symbol of Ephesus, the Library once
housed 12,000 scrolls of papyrus manuscripts making it the 2nd largest in the
ancient world after the library in Alexandria, Egypt. Your walk along the Royal
Road will also take you past the remains of some of the ancient city’s major
civic buildings and temples as you move toward the Ephesus Theater. The
theater, seating 25,000 has exceptional acoustics and is still in use today for
concerts and theatrical performances.
Lunch will be served at one of UTS’s recommended local/select restaurants close to the sights, at your own cost.
The last visit will be to the Basilica of St. John, a great church in Ephesus constructed by Emperor Justinian in the 6th century. It stands over the believed burial site of St. John, who is identified as the apostle, evangelist (author of the Fourth Gospel) and prophet (author of Revelation).
At the end of the tour, you will be
transferred to your hotel.
DAY 3 - IZMIR – PAMUKKALE
Departure
from the hotel for Pamukkale (approx. 3,5 hour drive).
On
the way, you will visit the ruins of the Aphrodisias one of the world's
most complete and extraordinary excavations of an ancient site. This antique
city is one of the most recent discoveries in Turkey and was dedicated to the
Goddess of Love, Aphrodite.
Upon
arrival in Pamukkale, visit the Temple of Apollo, continuing with the
breathtaking Theatre, the fascinating Necropolis and the last
stop will be at the great baths of Hierapolis antique city.
Continue to see the travertines, form of limestone
deposited by Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.
DAY 4 - PAMUKKALE – PAMUKKALE - ISTANBUL
To book this tour, please contact UTS – Turkey Team