PAMUKKALE - EPHESUS TOUR FROM ISTANBUL

2 Days & 1 Nights

Everyday departure Pamukkale, Hierapolis Ephesus tour from Istanbul

Day 1 : Morning flight from Istanbul & Ephesus Tour (L)

After approximately 1 hour early morning Istanbul-Izmir flight, you will be transferred to Ephesus, the best preserved ancient city of Roman period which used to contain one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, the Temple of Artemis.

We will pick you up from your hotel in Istanbul and transfer to airport in Istanbul.t
Flight from Istanbul to Izmir (approximately 1 hour)
Transfer from Airport to Ephesus tour.
Full day tour of Ephesus and House of Virgin Mary, including transfers, entrance fees, guide.
Ephesus:  Enter through the Magnesia Gate and begin a slow, downhill walk with your guide into the ruins of this Roman provincial capital. Your route takes you past the Odeum, the Celsus Library, the Temple of Hadrian, the Fountain of Trajan and the Great Theater. The Theater had seating for 25,000, was the site where St. Paul preached to the Ephesians, and is used today for a local spring festival.
House of the Virgin Mary: The Vatican has recognized this small house in the Solmissos Mountains as the final resting place of the Virgin Mary. A small shrine dedicated to St. Mary was found when the ruins of the house were first discovered.
What you see along the way: From Kusadasi, you travel north to St. John’s Basilica, passing the Byzantine fortress at Selcuk and the ruins of the Temple of Artemis. Continue to Ephesus Open Museum then up to the House of Virgin Mary located in Bulbul Mountain. After the visit head for the upper gate of Ephesus. By the end of touring Ephesus, return to Kusadasi. Lunch during the tour is included.
Special notes: Ephesus requires walking long distances over uneven surfaces
Accommodation in Kusadasi.

Day 2 : Pamukkale & Hierapolis Tour - Evening Flight to Istanbul (B & L)

Breakfast in your hotel included
Pamukkale & Hierapolis tour including transfers, entrance fees, guide. Visiting the amazing white colored travertines, hot spring pools and water terraces have been created by nature in millions of years on the mountain slopes of Pamukkale and the ancient city of Hierapolis which has the biggest ancient Necropolis of Turkey with 1200 gravestones.
Lunch during the tour is included.
Transfer to Izmir or Denizli airport after the tour
Evening flight to Istanbul.
End of the package upon your arrival to Istanbul (IST) or Sabiha Gokcen (SAW) airports.
Transfer to your hotel in Istanbul.

PS: The order of tours can be interchanged

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TOUR PRICES:

Attention: The price of this tour package changes, mainly depending on departure date, time of booking and flight costs. Higher prices may apply based on flight costs on different dates / seasons. Early reservation is highly recommended to secure better prices. Tour itinerary can also be changed because of discordant flight schedules on the requested dates. We will do our best to offer best possible prices.

Low Season  (November to March)
455 Euro per person in single rooms.
390 Euro per person in double rooms
370 Euro per person in triple rooms

Mid Season (April, May, October)
495 Euro per person in single rooms.
420 Euro per person in double rooms
395 Euro per person in triple rooms

High Season (June, July, August, September)
520 Euro per person in single rooms.
445 Euro per person in double rooms
425 Euro per person in triple rooms


Tour prices include:
All taxes.
Accommodation in standard category hotels
Mentioned tours with professional guidance in English.
Entrance fees for museums during the tours.
Meals mentioned in the itinerary. Drinks are excluded. (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
Domestic flights and airport transfers as mentioned.
All connecting transfers in between the tour period.
Compulsory local (TURSAB) travel agency insurance.

Tour prices do not Include:
Anything not mentioned in the itinerary.
Drinks during any meals
Tours and accommodation in Istanbul.
Your international flights to / from Turkey.
Personal expenses, tips etc.
Excess baggage fee for flights.
Accommodation tax, payable on the spot by the clients directly - around 1,5 to 2 Euros per room per night, which changes for each hotel

Payment and reservation:
We will request some 30 % of the total tour price in advance to complete your tour reservation. You can make the advance payment from our secure online payment link or by mail order. Final payments can also be made online or at our Istanbul office, before tour departure dates.

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What is a package tour ?
A package tour is a combination of various daily tours and mini tour packages operated in different cities.These tour packages we offer are designed so as to visit the places they include in the shortest time and the most economical way. Unlike standard group tours you will be independent from other people in hotels and during the transportation. You will join other people only during the guided tours and excursions in day time, but there will not be any guides accompanying you during flights, intercity bus rides and transfers. Everything related to the tour program will be organized by us; such as bus and plane tickets, hotel reservations, guided tours, all connecting transfers and you will be under our protection along the way if ever something goes wrong.

You can customize these tours
Tour prices are advertised for standard 2 / 3 star hotel accommodation. Each of these tours can be upgraded or customized for your personal requirement. Hotels can be upgraded and additional days can be added to each tour packages at any destinations you prefer. Istanbul departure and arrivals can easily be replaced by other cities of Turkey in some cases..

Important Notice
Istanbul is not included in any of the Turkey package tours we offer. To be able to join them comfortably, you need to stay in Istanbul at least for 1 night before and after the tour period. We’d recommend you not to book your international flights or bus tickets right before or after this tour package, considering unexpected delays. To be able to benefit from our airport transfer services in Istanbul, the hotel you stay in should be centrally located on the European side, roughly within 2-3 km distance with respect to the downtown Sultanahmet district, aka old city. Let us know in advance if you intend to stay at airport hotels or at hotels out of the city center, especially if it will be on the Asian side; before and after this tour. You can also book your Istanbul hotel on our website

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ISTANBUL HOTELS

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INFORMATION

Ephesus
During both the Hellenistic and Roman periods Ephesus was the most important port and cultural center of the eastern world. The remains of the city are still spellbinding today. Of all the ancient cities of Turkey, Ephesus is the best preserved and most visited in all ages and is as popular as it was in ancient times. This is due to the miraculous discovery of the House of the Virgin Mary. The city had splendid buildings and was dedicated to the Goddess Artemis, whose temple was considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The main monuments that we will see during the visit of this fascinating city are: the street of Arcadiane, the majestic theatre, marble road, library of Celsus, market place street of the Curettes, baths of Scholastic state agora, prytaneion, odeon. The town of Seljuk, is dominated by a Byzantine citadel close to the basilica of St. John built in the 5th century, on the site of tomb of the Apostle. Seljuk has also an exceptionally fine archaeological museum.

The Artemis Temple was destroyed in 356BC, and when Alexander the Great passed through in 334 BC he offered to pay for the cost of a new construction, provided it was dedicated to him. The Ephesus people declined, and rebuilt it with great success.

When the Romans made Ephesus their provincial capital, it became a busy town with great commercial, trading and political importance, and a population that grew to around 250,000. A significant Christian community grew, and the city was visited by St John the Evangelist in the 1st century, then by St Paul, who was there between 51-53 AD and wrote some of his epistles. It was also the venue of two Ecumenical Councils.

But the success of Roman Ephesus began to dwindle, mainly because of problems connected to the harbour, which was the main source of trade. The Cayster River was pushing silt up the harbour and despite attempts to dredge it and rebuild the harbour, the sea was pushed back to Pamucak, 4km away, and therefore Ephesus lost its source of wealth. By the 6th century, the city was unliveable and was shifted near to St John’s Basilica, and by 1090 it was taken over by the Turks.

Pamukkale & Hierapolis
Pamukkale is one of the most enchanting and remarkable sights in the whole of Turkey with the great dazzling white plateau, almost 400 feet high, rising in a curtain of stalagmites and shallow pools, giving one into another on hundreds of different levels, and ancient city of Hierapolis located on this plateau. The great baths were constructed in the second century and are so well-preserved that they now serve as a museum. The impressive and recently restored theatre, the Martyrium of St. Philip the Apostle of the 5th century – a colonnaded street erected by Domitian, a monumental gate of the same period, another bath stretching on for over a Mile, the necropolis with a fascinating variety of tombs and sarcophagus are the famous monuments of this antique city.

Pamukkale is recognized as a World Heritage Site together with Hierapolis. Hierapolis-Pamukkale was made a World Heritage Site in 1988. The underground volcanic activity which causes the hot springs also forced carbon dioxide into a cave, which was called the Plutonium, which here means "place of the god Pluto". This cave was used for religious purposes by priests of Cybele, who found ways to appear immune to the suffocating gas. Pamukkale's pool terraces are made of travertine, a sedimentary rock deposited by water from the hot springs. In this area, there are 17 hot water springs in which the temperature ranges from 35 °C (95 °F) to 100 °C (212 °F)