Departure from Montreal airport (P.E. Trudeau) on a flight to Istanbul.

Note: Arrival at the airport at least 3 hours before departure.

❖ Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transport: air-conditioned vehicle.

• Arrival at Istanbul airport. Welcome and transfer to hotel for check-in.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 4* hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for Bursa, former capital of the Ottoman Empire with a flamboyant past:

• Tour of the Great Mosque of Bursa, a masterpiece of Seljuk architecture renowned for its magnificent wall calligraphy, its twenty domes, and its two minarets.
• Take a stroll through the city’s historic district and explore the Silk Market. It is a caravanserai that has been converted into a shopping arcade, where you’ll find a wide selection of silk items. It’s worth noting that caravanserais were once places where merchants could stop with their caravans of goods to rest and eat along the trade routes of the Middle East.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 5* Hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for a day of discovery:

• Tour of Sirince, a picturesque village founded by the Greek community, famous for its charming traditional wooden houses and fine local wines. Wine tasting.
• Continuation to Kusadasi. Arrival and check-in at hotel.

❖ Meals included:Breakfast and dinner / Accommodations: 5-star hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

A day dedicated to visitingEphesus, an important city of Ancient Greece whose ruins are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site:

• Tour of the Grand Théâtre, a venue for entertainment events that, in ancient times, could seat up to 24,000 spectators. Even today, some concerts are held there. Elton John, Sting, and Diana Ross, among others, have performed there.
• Discovery of the ruins of the Library of Celsus,^{the third-largest} library in the Roman Empire, after those of Alexandria and Pergamon.
• Tour of the Temple of Artemis, which , at the time of its construction in the 6th century B.C., was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World due to its impressive size and exceptional beauty. The temple served both cultural and religious purposes, functioning as both a marketplace and a place of worship for the goddess Artemis, goddess of fertility, the earth, the moon, and animals.
• A visit to the House of the Virgin Mary, a place of pilgrimage for both Christians and Muslims. An Assyrian-Jacobite tradition holds that Mary was brought to this place by John the Evangelist after Christ’s crucifixion, as she fled persecution in Jerusalem.
• Return to hotel in Kusadasi.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast, lunch and dinner / Accommodation: 5* hotel / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

A day of relaxation on the shores of the Aegean Sea.

• A cruise in the Aegean Sea departing from Kusadasi to explore the sunny coastline, beaches, and nearby small islands. Dinner is served on board.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 5* Hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Visit Pamukkale, a place unlike any other in the world, featuring cascades formed by pools of pristine white natural limestone—a magnificent geological area of natural hot springs. Pamukkale is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Explore the ancient city of Hierapolis and its exceptionally well-preserved Roman theater, which in its heyday could seat up to 10,000 spectators.
• Arrival and check-in at hotel.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Accommodation: 4* hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Departure for Konya, cradle of Sufism:

• Guided tour of Konya, a city with a rich religious heritage that served as the first Seljuk capital in the 13th century.
• Tour of the Mausoleum and Museum dedicated to the memory of the mystical poet Mevlânâ Celaleddin-i Rumi, the founder of Sufism. The site was originally a lodge for whirling dervishes.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 5* Hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Day of discovery of the country :

• Driveto Cappadocia, a region famous for its lunar landscapes and rock formations known as “fairy chimneys.”

• Arrival in the Cappadocia region and a tour of an impressive underground citycarved into volcanic rock, followed by an exploration of ancient survival techniques.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 5* Hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Photo stop inthe Avcilar Valley, with a panoramic view of the village of Göreme.
• Explore the village of Ortahisar, one of the oldest cave settlements in Cappadocia.
• Tour of the village of Uçhisar, famous for its rock formation—visible from kilometers away—that towers over the entire Cappadocia region (1,300 meters). The village is home to 20 levels of underground galleries that once served as a refuge for early Christians persecuted by the Romans, and later for Byzantines threatened by the Turks. A few cave dwellings are still inhabited today.
• Stop in the Pigeonniers Valley, famous for its dovecotes carved directly into the rock. Take a short break to explore local crafts: jewelry made from semiprecious stones.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast and dinner / Lodging: 5* Hotel / Transportation: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Visit to the Valley of Lovers, home to the largest fairy chimneys with basalt caps.
• Take a hot-air balloon or paraglider flight (optional) to discover the Cappadocian landscape in a different way, by taking part in an exceptional activity seen from the sky.
• Tour of the village of Avanos, famous for its pottery and its red river.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast / Accommodation: 4* Hotel / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Transfer to Cappadocia airport for an internal flight to Istanbul.
• Arrive in Istanbul, transfer to hotel and free time to wander the city.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast / Accommodation: 4* Hotel / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

Discovering the metropolis :

• A tour of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque, a magnificent Muslim place of worship known for the predominantly blue ceramics that adorn its interior walls.
• Exploration of the Hagia Sophia Basilica , former seat of the Eastern Christian church during the Byzantine era ( ^4th to 15th ^centuries ). The basilica was converted into a mosque under the Ottoman Empire and today houses a museum.
• See the ruins of the Place de l’Hippodrome, an arena dating from^{the 2nd century} that was used primarily for chariot races and remained in use until the^12th century.
• Tour of Topkapi Palace, a sumptuous palace from the Ottoman era that served as the primary residence of the various sultans who ruled the empire for centuries. Built on the Golden Horn, it overlooks the Bosphorus and the Sea of Marmara. The palace is surrounded by 5 kilometers of ramparts and, in its heyday, could accommodate imperial retinues of up to 4,000 people.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast / Accommodation: 4* Hotel / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle.

• Tourof Dolmabahçe Palace, built in the^mid-19th century in the European style popular at the time, which served as the imperial residence and administrative center of the empire during the final decades before its fall. Set in an exceptional seaside location, this palace—the largest in Turkey—showcases the immense wealth that once belonged to this vast empire.
• A must-see is Istanbul’s famous spice market, which for centuries upon centuries served as a hub for the spice trade from the East. Even today, there are still many spice merchants there, but the range of products on offer has expanded to include other food items and handicrafts.
• Cruise on the Bosphorus (duration: one and a half hours). Passage under the suspension bridge which connects Europe and Asia and view of the city skyline with its typical wooden houses, its numerous mosques and the opulent palaces that line its banks.

❖ Meals included: Breakfast / Transport: Air-conditioned vehicle and international flight.

• Transfer to Istanbul airport and departure for Montreal.

• Istanbul: Hotel PIYA SPORT 4* (or equivalent)
• Bursa: ROYAL THERMAL Hotel 4* (or equivalent)
• Kusadasi : Hotel SIGNATURE BLUE RESORT 5* (or equivalent)
• Pamukkale: Hotel ADEMPIRA THERMAL & SPA 5* (or equivalent)
• Konya: Hotel BAYIR DIAMOND 5* (or equivalent)
• Cappadocia: Hotel MUSTAFA 5* (or equivalent)

• International return flights Istanbul – Montreal
• 1 internal flight (Cappadocia-Istanbul)
• Shuttles to and from the airports
• Transportation in an air-conditioned vehicle with a professional driver
• All accommodations (4- and 5-star)
• 2 meals a day (except in Istanbul, where breakfast is included)
• All activities and admissions to sites shown in red on the program and accompanied by a local guide
• Certified French-speaking local guide present with the group at all times
• Wine tasting at Sirince
• 1 Bosphorus cruise and 1 Aegean cruise
• All taxes
• 24/7 Support
• Organization from A to Z

• Some meals
• Beverages
• Tips
• Personal Expenses
• Optional activities

• Please note that the itinerary may change at any time for logistical reasons, but that the list of activities and visits on the program is always respected.