Turkey & Egypt Tour 10 Days: Istanbul, Cappadocia, Cairo, Luxor

When you land, we drive you to your hotel. The day has no fixed plans, so you are free to spend it as you like. Ask your agent if you would like ideas for restaurants or things to do in the afternoon.

Please send your flight details when you book the tour, so that we can arrange your airport transfer.

At 09:30 am your guide collects you for a full day on foot in the old heart of the Ottoman and Byzantine city. The highlights:

• Topkapi Palace (optional): The richly decorated palace where the Ottoman sultans once lived, with detailed architecture, fine treasures and wide views of the Istanbul skyline.
• Blue Mosque: Step inside to see its famous blue tiles and feel the quiet of this great building.
• Hippodrome: Once the centre of Byzantine public life and chariot racing, it still has ancient obelisks and monuments that recall the city’s past.
• Hagia Sophia (optional): A UNESCO World Heritage Site with huge domes, beautiful mosaics and a rare mix of Byzantine and Islamic features.
• Grand Bazaar: One of the oldest and largest covered markets in the world, a maze of colourful stalls full of Turkish goods.

A driver picks you up from your Istanbul hotel at around 04:00 AM for the flight at 06:55 AM. On arrival you are taken to Goreme to meet your guide.

The tour usually begins around 09:00 and finishes by 16:00 at the latest. The highlights:

• Goreme Esentepe – Panoramic View: The day opens at the Esentepe lookout between Uçhisar and Göreme, with wide views over the fairy chimneys, the wider Cappadocian landscape and the small town of Esentepe.
• Zelve Open-Air Museum: Zelve was once home to monks and a centre of Christian learning. Its old monasteries, churches and chapels still hold well-kept frescoes that show how people here lived and worshipped.
• Pasabag (Monks Valley): Paşabağ, also known as ‘Pasha’s Vineyard’, is famous for its three-headed fairy chimneys and has some of the most striking rock shapes in the region.
• Devrent Valley: A short drive brings you to a valley that looks like the surface of the moon. Its small, pointed chimneys invite you to spot animals and mythical creatures in the stone.
• Avanos Pottery Workshop: Potters in Avanos have shaped clay from the Red River since 3000 BC. In a traditional workshop you watch local craftsmen at work.
• Love Valley: The last stop. Millions of years of erosion have carved cones, pinnacles and fairy chimneys here, some as tall as 40 meters, making this one of the strangest and most photogenic corners of Cappadocia.

The tour finishes around 16:00, and you are then dropped at your cave hotel in Cappadocia for a comfortable night.

If you wish, start the day before dawn with a hot air balloon flight (optional) and watch the sun rise over Cappadocia. The sky changes colour as you drift above the fairy chimneys and rock formations. After landing there is a champagne toast, and then you are taken back to your hotel.

The tour usually begins around 09:00 and finishes by 16:00 at the latest.

• Meskendir Valley (4.4 km Trek): A 4.4 km walk through this valley near Ortahisar leads to Meskendir Church, decorated with bold red geometric patterns and a large cross carved into the chapel ceiling. You can go inside and enjoy the scenery around it.
• Rose Valley: Tucked away behind Ürgüp, this quiet valley is known for its rock formations and churches cut into the stone out of sight. Paths run through vineyards and gardens between small villages and towns, and locals sometimes offer walkers fresh grapes, apples or apricots.
• Red Valley: Much like its neighbour, Red Valley has striking rocks and old cave churches. Its trails cross each other like a spider’s web, joining remote villages and farmland, and they show both the nature and the history of the region.
• Cavusin Valley: Çavuşin is one of the oldest settlements in Cappadocia, a maze of homes cut into the rock. It also has the Church of John the Baptist, the largest cave church in the region, which dates from the 5th century.
• Underground City: Early Christians dug 36 underground cities in Cappadocia to escape persecution. You visit the largest and best known of them, spread over eight levels, and walk through parts of it, including old wineries, kitchens and living rooms.
• Pigeon Valley: On the edge of Göreme, this valley takes its name from the dovecotes carved into its cliffs over the centuries. Farmers once used the droppings to fertilise their fields. Today it is a fine spot for wide views and photos.
• Uchisar Castle Panorama: The final stop is Uçhisar, the highest point in Cappadocia. Its rock castle once served as a fortress, and from the top you look out over the whole region, with Mount Erciyes on the horizon.

After a day of hiking and sightseeing, you are back at your hotel around 16:00 for the night.

After breakfast, you transfer to the airport and fly to Cairo on a connecting flight through Istanbul.

In Cairo, our representative welcomes you on arrival and drives you to the hotel. Check in and spend the night in Cairo.

After breakfast, your first day of touring in Egypt takes you to the country’s most lasting monuments:

• The Giza Pyramids Complex
• The Great Pyramid
• The Great Sphinx
• The Valley Temple
• The Grand Egyptian Museum
• Saqqara Step Pyramid
• Memphis City

At the end of the day we drive you back to your hotel for the night in Cairo.

After breakfast, your guide leads you into the city known as ‘The City of Minarets’ to see its main sights:

• The Egyptian Museum
• Salah El Din Citadel
• Mohamed Ali Mosque
• The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization
• Al Muizz Street
• Khan El Khalili Bazaar

In the evening we take you to Cairo airport for the flight to Luxor. Our representative meets you there and helps you to your hotel for the night in Luxor.

Have an early breakfast at the hotel, check out and meet your guide for what many travellers call the high point of the trip. Today’s visits:

• Valley of the Kings
• Hatshepsut Temple
• Colossi of Memnon
• Karnak Temple

At the end of the day we transfer you to Luxor Airport for your flight back to Cairo, and then on to your hotel for the night.

A dinner cruise in Cairo is one of the best-loved outings in Egypt. If a longer Nile Cruise is not part of your plans, this is a good way to spend a couple of hours on the river.

On board, oriental and belly dancing shows entertain guests while the chef serves a set menu of tasty Egyptian oriental dishes, a fine taste of the local cuisine.

After the cruise you spend the night in Cairo.

After breakfast at the hotel, our representative drives you to the airport, and the programme ends.

Optional extras

• Cappadocia hot air balloon flight (GOREME): $310
• One extra night at an Istanbul hotel, before or after the tour: $65
• Two extra nights at an Istanbul hotel, before or after the tour: $125