Ephesus & Pamukkale Tour from Istanbul: 2 Days with Return Flights

Included today: flight, lunch, entrance fees, transfers and accommodation

A morning flight from Istanbul is followed by Ephesus Ancient City, the House of Virgin Mary and the Temple of Artemis.

• 04:00 Pick-up in Istanbul. Your driver meets you in the hotel lobby for the airport transfer. The pick-up time and airport may change.
• 07:00 Flight to Izmir. A domestic flight takes you to Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport on the Aegean coast. The flight time may change.
• 08:30 Arrival in Izmir. Your local guide meets you in the arrivals hall and the group drives toward Ephesus. The arrival airport and time depend on availability.
• 13:00 Lunch break. A seated lunch at a local restaurant is included along the sightseeing route.

Ephesus route: Ephesus Ancient City, Marble Streets, The Odeon, The Agora, The Temple of Hadrian, The Monumental Fountains, The Library of Celsus, The Great Amphitheatre, The Roman Baths, House of Virgin Mary and Temple of Artemis.

• Ephesus Ancient City: Entering Ephesus feels less like visiting a ruin and more like walking down a Roman street that is still alive.
• Marble Streets: Thousands of years of sandals and cart wheels have worn the marble paving to a mirror-like gloss.
• The Odeon: With room for fewer than 1,500 people, the Odeon was a small venue for music and government debate.
• The Agora: Every day, traders, money-changers and politicians met in this huge open-air square.
• The Temple of Hadrian: A carved Medusa head, still in very good condition, decorates the inner arch of Emperor Hadrian's temple.
• The Monumental Fountains: Ephesus celebrated its supply of clean running water with grand two-storey fountain monuments known as nymphaea.
• The Library of Celsus: Completed in 117 AD, the library has the most famous and most photographed facade in Ephesus.
• The Great Amphitheatre: Cut into the slope of Mount Pion, the Great Theatre held 25,000 spectators for gladiator games and plays.
• The Roman Baths: Bathing was a public ritual in Ephesus, and the bathhouses doubled as social clubs, news hubs and places to unwind.
• House of Virgin Mary: On a hilltop near Ephesus, this small stone chapel marks the spot where Mary is believed to have lived her last years.
• Temple of Artemis: Once one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, the temple is now reduced to a single lonely column.

16:30 Transfer to your Kusadasi/Selcuk hotel. Your driver takes the group from the final stop to the hotel on the Aegean coast.

Included today: breakfast, lunch, flight, entrance fees and transfers

Walk the white mineral terraces, explore the ruins of Hierapolis, then fly back to Istanbul in the evening.

• 07:30 Breakfast. Breakfast at your Kusadasi/Selcuk hotel is included before you check out and leave.
• 08:00 Check-out and pick-up. Your driver waits at the hotel entrance for the drive to Pamukkale. The pick-up time may vary slightly with your hotel's location.
• 13:00 Lunch break. A seated lunch at a local restaurant on the route is included.

Pamukkale route: Pamukkale, White Calcium Terraces, Hierapolis Ancient City, The Necropolis, Bath and Basilica, Frontinius Gate, Frontinius Street, Latrina, Northern Byzantine Gate, Fountain of the Tritons, The Temple of Apollon and Cleopatra Antique Thermal Pool.

• Pamukkale: Like a frozen waterfall of mineral-rich limestone, the snow-white terraces rise above the Aegean plain.
• White Calcium Terraces: As the thermal water cools on its way down the slope, the calcium carbonate it carries crystallises and slowly adds to each bright white ridge.
• Hierapolis Ancient City: The Attalid kings of Pergamon founded Hierapolis around 190 BC, which makes it one of the older Greco-Roman towns in western Anatolia.
• The Necropolis: Along the city's northern edge, the Necropolis holds more than 1,200 tombs covering about a thousand years of burial customs.
• Bath and Basilica: Built as a Roman bath complex in the second century AD, the building became a Christian basilica after Rome adopted Christianity.
• Frontinius Gate: This was the official southern entrance to Hierapolis, greeting travellers on the road from Laodicea and further afield.
• Frontinius Street: The street crossed the whole city from the southern gate to the northern one and formed the backbone of the town plan.
• Latrina: The public latrine seated dozens of people at once, an ordinary part of Roman life that today's visitors find amusingly frank.
• Northern Byzantine Gate: Built in the Byzantine period on the base of an older Roman structure, this gate closed off the far end of the main colonnaded street.
• Fountain of the Tritons: The fountain takes its name from the Tritons of Greek myth carved on its basin, sea creatures shown blowing conch-shell horns across the stone front.
• The Temple of Apollon: As patron god of Hierapolis, Apollo had his temple at the city's spiritual centre, and it drew pilgrims from all over Asia Minor in Roman times.
• Cleopatra Antique Thermal Pool: In this warm mineral spring, ancient column drums and building fragments rest under the water; swimming is paid on-site and is not part of the tour price.

16:00 Transfer to Denizli Airport. Your driver takes the group from Pamukkale to Denizli Cardak Airport for the evening flight.

19:30 Flight from Denizli to Istanbul. The flight time may change.

20:20 Arrival in Istanbul. Your driver meets you at the airport and takes you to your hotel. The arrival airport and time depend on availability.