ITINERARY:
Day 1: DEPARATURE
You'll leave this evening on an overnight Flight to Turkey.
Day 2: ISTANBUL - ANTALYA
Welcome to Istanbul. Upon arrival, we will be met by our tour guide. Transfer to a domestic flight to Antalya. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.
Day 3: ANTALYA - KEMER - MYRA (ST. NICHOLAS)
After breakfast we will travel to Myra where Saint Nicholas (Santa Claus) was a bishop. Visit his actual Cathedral Church where he worked and buried. Celebrate a Mass at his original tomb. Dinner and overnight in Antalya.
Day 4: ANTALYA - PAMUKKALE
After breakfast, drive to Antalya Museum to see the relics of Santa Claus. Many miracles were attributed to his relics.
Continue to to the spa city of Pamukkale; see the cascading water from the cliffs forming crystallized, dazzling white “frozen waterfalls “. Dinner and overnight in Pamukkale.
Day 5: PAMUKKALE - HIERAPOLIS - LAODICIA - KUSADASI
After breakfast, visit the vast ruins of the Roman health spa of Hierapolis, and see the magnificently preserved Necropolis, the Main Street and Gates. Continue to Laodicea, one of the Seven Churches. Christians were chastised here by John for being lukewarm. Continue to resort town of Kusadasi for dinner and overnight.
Day 6: EPHESUS-VIRGIN MARY’S HOUSE
After breakfast we will drive to Virgin Mary’s House to celebrate Mass. St. John the Apostle brought Virgin Mary to the house to care. Many Popes (Pope Paul VI, Pope John Paul II, and Pope Benedict XVI) visited Virgin Mary’s house and declared a Holy place for pilgrims. Afternoon, we will visit the most complete magnificent ancient city of Ephesus, with its theatre, library, Temple of Artemis, declared as one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Dinner and overnight in Kusadasi.
Day 7: KUSADASI - PERGAMUM - TROAS - CANAKKALE
After breakfast, we will celebrate Mass at the Tomb of St. John the Apostle and visit the basilica dedicated to his name. Continue to Pergamum where the first Christians were executed by Rome. This was the most favored of the Seven Churches, and Christianity came here very early. You will see the Temple of Zeus, and the Temple of Athena, the fabled Acropolis and the Royal Gate. Here parchment was developed replacing papyrus. Drive nearby Troas, where Paul had a vision in which he was called to Macedonia (Greece). Proceed to Canakkale for dinner and overnight.
Day 8: TROAS – TROY - ISTANBUL
After breakfast, visit Troas, where Paul had a vision in which he was called to Macedonia (Greece). Proceed to Troy to see the city made famous in Homer's poems, as the center of the Trojan War, including the legendary Trojan Horse. In the afternoon cross the Dardanelles, where you see Gallipoli, the famous site of the bloody World War I battle, then drive along the Sea of Marmara to Istanbul. Overnight Istanbul. Evening you can participate optional “Turkish Night Show” with belly dancing and Turkish Folk Music.
Day 9: ISTANBUL
After breakfast, full day city tour of magnificent Istanbul, the city that links two continents Asia and Europe to each other. Visit Topkapi the palace of the Sultans, Hagia Sophia, the magnificent former Christian Basilica, the Chora Church with its Byzantine artworks and the Grand Bazaar, with over 4000 little shops. Overnight Istanbul.
Day 10: RETURN TO THE U.S.A.
Transfer to the airport for your flight back home.
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