In the heart of the Aegean Sea

Enhance your cruise and extend your trip with a carefully designed programme.

Enjoy a couple of days discovering Cappadocia, a unique landscape located in central Turkey, within a volcanic landscape sculpted by erosion to form a series of mountain successions, valleys and rock formations known as” fairy chimneys”. Travel among the ‘Fairy Chimneys’, troglodyte ‘cave’dwellings and underground cities in the heart of colourful and extraordinary landscapes, interwoven with the perfume and the magic of the Orient.

Day 1 – Kayseri/Cappadocia

Check-in at the hotel Argos in Cappadocia. Official check-in time is 3pm.

A light dinner will be served at your arrival.

Day 2 - Cappadocia

In the early morning, weather permitting, you will enjoy a hot-air balloon experience.

This unique experience is best done in the early morning because of the calmer and cooler air providing gentle and stable flights, soft landings and ideal photo opportunities with splendid colours and contrasts during sunrise.

The spectacular surrealistic landscapes combined with excellent flying conditions allow the balloons to gently drift over and between fairy chimneys, pigeon houses hewn into the unique rock formations, orchards and vineyards – through impressive valleys.

The duration of your flight is around 45 minutes.

After your flight, you will return to your hotel to freshen up and breakfast.

You will then depart for a full day of exploration through a unique scenery made of jagged rocks, curvy hills and forests of chimney formations, painted yellow, pink burnt sienna.

On the way to Goreme National Park which is often described as an “open air museum”, you will drive through the Pigeon Valley, where for centuries the locals used to keep pigeons in niches carved in the rock for their valuable fertilizing manure.

Goreme open air museum is the most visited site of the monastic communities in Cappadocia and is one of the most famous sites in central Turkey.

It is a complex comprising more than 30 rock-carved churches and chapels containing some superb frescoes, dating from the 9th to the 11th Centuries. Unremarkable from the outside, the interiors are in a typically Byzantine style with a central dome and a floor plan in the shape of a cross or a rectangle. The largest and best preserved of the churches in Goreme is the Tokali Church. Its interior walls are covered in some of the richest frescoes in the region depicting scenes from the New Testament.

Your next visit will be Pasabag, well known for the most striking fairy chimneys in Cappadocia with twin and even triple rock caps - formations that are unique even for Cappadocia ! Locals refer to them as the mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys.

Lunch will be served at a local restaurant.

After lunch, you will visit Zelve open air museum which consists of three valleys and was inhabited until 1950s. It is south of Avanos and well-worth a visit to explore the three valleys with myriad cave home ruins, painted churches carved into the rocks, wine making rooms and wheat grinding mills. At the far back of the third valley are the deepest and most intact cave dwellings, with many details indicating what life must have been like here a thousand years ago. It is also the best place where you can see the ancient rock-carved monasteries since Cappadocia was one of the most important monastic centres in Turkey.

You will continue your afternoon, visiting the potters of Avanos and witness their time-honoured craft.

Later this afternoon, visit local vineyards outlet to learn about Turkish winemaking and sample regional varietals. Wines have played an important role in Turkey since times immemorial and Cappadocia was one of first wine-producers areas.

Dinner will be served in a local restaurant with Turkish musical entertainment.

Day 3 – Cappadocia

After check out, depart your hotel for a short drive to visit Kaymakli Underground city which is one of the most famous and best preserved underground cities in Cappadocia and has eight floors below ground. This miraculously well-protected and maintained structure is part of UNESCO world heritage site.

You will continue your route to Mustafapasa (Sinasos). Located on 5 km south of Urgup, it is one of the most charming villages of Cappadocia, famous for its Greek architecture. Greeks and Karamanlides (Turkish speaking Christians) constituted the majority of the population, and Muslim Turks represented the rest. Wooden doors and stonework on the facades of the old houses are worth seeing.

Lunch will be served in a local restaurant.

Your afternoon discovery will bring you to Keslik Monastery, 10 km south of Mustafapasa. The monastery was built in Volcanic tuff stone and used in Byzantine Era until end of Ottoman Empire.

The monastery consists of a small church, cells and a frater, the dining room for the monks and a garden outside. Due to many robbers and military conflicts in the region, the monks had a safe room and when they were in need, they could close the door by a big and heavy millstone and escape in a tunnel under the monastery and garden.

On the road, you will admire Red Valley’s volcanic formations and you will stop for a photo break to take the best shots of this unique region. You will proceed by a visit of a Turkish handicraft weaving center (with a lecture about the weaving and silk process).

Back to the hotel in the late afternoon.

You will enjoy a private Sema Ritual Show at Bezirhane. Sema is part of the inspiration of Mevlana Celaleddin-I Rumi as well as of Turkish custom, history, beliefs and culture. It is what we do as a form of remembrance of god.

The mystical order is based on the principles of universal love and the oneness of creation, which states, “to love man is to love God”. The Mevlevi ritual takes the form of the sema, a ritual “whirling” dance whose purpose is to create a sphere of divine reality. The Mevlevi believe that purity of heart, peace with self and the universe, and the search for perfection through ritual dance bring them closer to God.

Diner will be served at the hotel restaurant.

Day 4 – Kayseri/Istanbul

Breakfast and check-out.

Transfer from your hotel to Kayseri airport.

Domestic flight Kayseri/Istanbul

You will be greeted by our local representative at the airport of Istanbul.

Upon arrival you will proceed to a panoramic drive of this fascinating and mysterious capital. Created along the Bogazici (the Bosphorus), a 16.8 mile long strip of water which connects the Sea of Marmara to the Black Sea, Istanbul is a city with a European and an Asian side. Both have their own personalities, history and charm. Inhabited since the 7th century B.C., it is a city that has known many rulers and names including Byzantia, Constantinopolis and of course, Istanbul. Sultans and Emperors have called this city home – and it has been the capital of Roman, Ottoman and other empires.

You will enjoy lunch at a rooftop restaurant offering superb view over this symbolic city, meeting point of three continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.

After lunch, you will be transferred to the pier for embarkation.

Your hotel:

Situated in the heart of incredible landscapes, land of fairy tales, mysterious and enchanting, the Argos In Cappadocia Hotel comes to light as the meticulous renovation of a dwelling dating back to thousands of years and offer its guests an inimitable boutique hotel experience.

Once a monastery in the village of Uchisar, now a Boutique hotel, Argos in Cappadocia is where you go to escape from the modern world. The accommodations spread gracefully over the slope with delightful landscaping that connects the living areas to one another.

Each room is designed in different style, with either a private garden, terrace or balcony to admire the panoramic views of the Cappadocia plateau and the natural fortress of Bashisar and Ortahisar.

Visiting the region of Cappadocia is a memorable adventure in itself, enhanced by a unique experience in a unique property

Upgraded rooms are also available depending on availability and on a supplement basis. Contact your travel professional for further detail.

Your programme includes:

• 3-night accommodation in Deluxe room at the Hotel Argos in Cappadocia, 5* local standards (or similar), breakfast included.
• Meals as mentioned in the programme.
• Beverages package during lunches and dinners (mineral water + 1 soft drink or 1 local beer + 1 coffee or tea).
• Domestic flight from Kayseri to Istanbul in economy class – Luggage allowance is 20 Kg per person and 5kg for hand luggage.
• 45-minutes hot air balloon flight (weather permitting)
• Transfers and visits as mentioned in the programme.
• The services of a local English-speaking guide.
• Tips for the driver and local guide.

Your programme does not include:

• Transfer from the airport to your hotel.
• Personal expenses.
• Visa if necessary.
• Other services not mentioned in the programme.

Please note:

• A private transfer from the airport to the hotel can be organized at a supplement. It is imperative that your flight departure details are communicated at least 15 days prior to the beginning of your cruise, in order to secure the proper meet and greet service at the airport.
• Early check-in and/or late check-out are available depending on availability and at a supplement.
• An additional night is possible, upon request and depending on hotel availability.

Please, contact your travel agent for further detail.

• Turkey’s unit is the Turkish Lira.
• Kaymakli underground city : this place is not suitable for people suffering from claustrophobia, with a heart problem or walking difficulties. You will go through narrow tunnels that require you to hunch down but not crawl. Lighting is good. We recommend comfortable walking shoes.
• This programme is not suitable for people with reduced mobility.
• The Hot Air balloon ride is subject to weather conditions. Flight may be delayed until the following morning. The balloon ride will be refunded in case the flight is cancelled.

Contact of your hotel:

Argos Cappadocia

Uchisar-Nevsehir

TURKEY

Telephone number : (90) 384 219 31 30

Duration of the visits are given as a guide only. The order of the visits may be reversed.

*** The programme’s escort is subject to a minimum of 20 participants.