ON THE FOOTSTEPS OF THE HITTITES
( 5 days - Train and A/C Minibus )

Day 1
You will start your tour by a first class overnight sleeping train from Ýstanbul(Haydarpasa)to Ankara at 22:30pm.You will individually reach  to the  Haydarpasa train station.The explanation about accessing to train station by tram and ferry lines will be given to you along with itenerary briefing before you depart from Ýstanbul.


Day 2

Around 7:00 a.m.you will be in Ankara train station.Upon your arrival you will be met by our staff and after a panoramic tour of Ankara we will drive to the historical site of Bogazkoy (Hattusas) which  is located  208 km.from Ankara.When we arrive in Hattusas are we first take you a hittite styled hotel to drop your luggages and have a brunch.After that we commence our tour in historical sites  where  you  will feel the depthness of the history by the explanations of your tour leader.Hattusas was the capital of the Hittite empire in the 2nd millenium BCE. The city  stretches to the south, rising about 1000 feet over a distance of 1-1/4 miles. In some places the eastern valley narrows to a deep gorge. It seems surprising that such a remote city could have been the capital of an empire, but besides tradition there were the factors of plentiful water and good natural defenses that kept the Hittite kings there. The first settlement at the site dates from the Early Bronze Age, but no documents exist that could identify the people who built them. They lived on the top and northwest foot of the high hill which dominates the east side of the city, called Great Fortress. This hill later became the Hittite Acropolis.When we finish the tour we take you to hotel.Stay overnight.

Day 3
Early morning we depart from our hotel and head to Cappadocia to reach the regular small group tour. We commence our
North Cappadocia tour with: Devrent Imagination Valley and will take a walk through this lunar landscape,where different rock formations can be seen. Zelve Open Air Museum:Houses carved in rock,Seljukian mosque and remains nearly from all the ancient civilizations of this part of Anatolia. Fairy Chimneys:which have been formed as the result of the erosion of this tufa layer sculpted by wind and flood water running down the slopes of the valleys. Avanos(Vanessa) Pottery Center where you can attend a pottery-making demonstrations  with Hittite tecniques Lunch at  Pigeon valley in Cave restaurant with open-buffet. We continue our tour with Citadel of Uchisar;highest point of the area(Climbing not permitted)You can also have a camel ride for 5 min with an additional fee of 2-3$ Esentepe: where we can watch the fantastic panoramic view of the Goreme valley Goreme open-air Museum:unique ensemble of rock-carved churches,chapels and monasteries,decorated with invaluable frescoes painted during the 10th and 11th centuries. When we finish our tour around around 5p.m. we can stop by request for shopping in particular places or head to our cave hotel.Free time and overnight in the Cave Hotel.
Day 4  
Pick up from your hotel at about 09:30 depending on your hotel location.We commence our South Cappadocia tour with Mustafa pasha to visit an authentic rural Cappadocian village and admire the Greek and Ottoman architecture of the mansions of this old village once called Sinassos that was inhabited by Greek Orhodox families until the begining of the 20th century On the way to Soganli valley we will pay a visit to Keslik Monastery to see churches and monasteries built between 8th and 12th centuries with their refectory,dormitories and other complexes used by the monks. Then we arrive to Soganli valley for our Lunch.After we finish rest during our meal we will have a hiking through this quiet valley for 3 kms and visit its rock-carved tombs,churches,monasteries with frescoes. Kaymakli Underground City:We will see how people lived in this multi-level underground complex,with kitchens,dormitories,storages,wine cellars and stables. Tour finishes at around 17:00 and you will be transfered to Bus station to catch the intercity coach.Journey will last all night long  in reclining seats.On the way the coach will stop twice for personal needs.

Day 5
Arrival in Konya early in the morning our staff will pick you up and take you to Catalhoyuk. An ancient settlement amidst a mystifying land and ruins that narrate a tale of its own, a visit to Catalhoyukis like stepping in and seeing the unfolding of the very evolution of man. History of Catalhoyuk  is one of the largest and most evolved Neolithic and Chalcolithic sites ever unearthed dating back to 7500B.C. Two settlement mounds on the east and the west speak of an advanced lifestyle The Catalhoyuk settlements had an average population of 5000 to 8000 and were basically large villages. It was mainly a residential area without any signs of any particular public place or buildings. The houses were made of mud and brick and were very simple in nature but ventilation and hygiene were not well maintained and had small openings in the ceiling, which acted as both the entryway and as the only source of aeration. The interiors of the houses were kept clean and waste was dumped right outside the house There were no city walls, and it's presumed the walls of the outermost houses served as city walls. A fair bit of excavation has been done, some of the artifacts from Catalhoyuk has been taken to  the Anatolian Civilisations Museum in Ankara

When we finish the you will have free time in Konya and night sleeping train to Ýstanbul.There will be no transportation from train station to hotel.Free time in Ýstanbul.End of our services.


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