Learn How to Cook;
Eggplant Salad, Cucumber With Yogurt(Cacik), Sultan’s
Delight(Hünkar Begendi), Squash Mucver, Ladies Thigh
Croquettes (Kadin Budu Köfte), Semolina Helva and more...
In Istanbul you will savor famous and exotic flavors from
the Turkish Cuisine, including vegetables, seafood and meat.
In Izmir, each afternoon, you will have private courses from
the chefs of your hotel. You will assist the chef and learn
how to cook a different Turkish Meal each day, and at the
end you will enjoy these meals as your dinner.
“6 Days Culture and Cullinary”
Day 01
Izmir
Arrival at Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport. Meet and transfer
to 4 star Anemon Hotel www.anemonhotels.com . This afternoon
you have a Cooking Course. You will assist the Chef and
learn how to cook a different Turkish Meal today. At the
end, you will have this meal as your dinner. (D)
Day 02
Izmir - Ephesus - Izmir
Leave the hotel and drive to the sacred city of Ephesus,
famous for its Temple of Artemis (one of the Seven Wonders
of the ancient world). Visit the House of the Virgin Mary,
the Archaeological Museum and the ruins of Ephesus. Return
to the hotel for your Cooking Course. (B,L,D)
Day 03
Izmir - Pergamon - Istanbul
After breakfast drive to Pergamon, the ancient city of
learning, arts and medicine. Visit the Acropolis where the
steepest theater of the ancient world lies. Then proceed to
the Asclepion, the world’s first medical center. Return to
Izmir Adnan Menderes Airport to take a short flight to
Istanbul. Transfer to Galata Anemon Hotel
www.anemonhotels.com for dinner and overnight. Galata
Anemon’s terrace(where you will have your breakfast and
dinner) is listed, in a local newspaper, Hurriyet, as one of
the best terraces of Istanbul. (B,L,D)
Day 04
Istanbul
Discover the Byzantine and Ottoman treasures of Istanbul.
Visit the Topkapi Palace, once the Imperial residence of
Ottoman Sultans, which displays priceless world class
collections of artifacts, jewellery and rare porcelains.
Nearby is the Blue Mosque known for the colour of its
interior decoration. Continue across the Hippodrome Square
to the Hagia Sophia Church, the 6th century Basilica which
was the largest building of the world for many of the
thousand years of its existence. Stop to visit the world
famous Grand Covered Bazaar. Overnight at your hotel. (B,L,D)
Day 05
Istanbul
Depart from hotel for a full day Bosphorus and Asia tour.
First visit the Spice Market, and then embark on a Bosphorus
Boat Tour viewing the beauty of the European and Asian
shorelines on either side. After lunch, cross to the Asian
side to visit the Camlica Hill and tour the Beylerbeyi
Palace. This was the summer residence of the Ottoman Sultans
with its magnificent gardens. (B,L,D)
Day 06
Istanbul - End
After breakfast transfer from your hotel to the airport.Fly
to NY JFK. End of our services. (B)
“11 Nights – 12 Days”
FOR PRIVATE GROUPS of
MINIMUM 10 People
Guaranteed Departures
Everyday Year-Round,
Learn How to Cook;
Eggplant Salad, Cucumber With Yogurt(Cacik), Sultan’s
Delight(Hünkar Begendi), Squash Mucver, Ladies Thigh
Croquettes (Kadin Budu Köfte), Semolina Helva and more...
Day 1
Arrive Istanbul
Arrival to Istanbul. Welcome Dinner at one of the simplest
restaurants of Istanbul. An old, but famous Kebab restaurant
for a taste of classic Istanbul. Stay at a Boutique hotel.
(D)
Day 2
Tour of Istanbul (B,L,D)
In the morning we visit the hippodrome square including the
Egyptian Obelisk and serpentine column, we will continue to
the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia. For the lunch break we are
driving to Pandeli restaurant, which is built into 16th c
Egyptian Spice Market. We will also have a chance to look
into the kitchen and learn some recipes of the 18th c
imperial kitchen. In the afternoon we will visit the
Imperial Topkapi Palace. Late afternoon we drive back to our
hotel. Dinner at Cistern Restaurant, which is built into an
ancient cistern from the 16th c.
Pandeli restaurant is fabled with its food cooked using
Ottoman recipes. Two meals are a must for the first timers,
in this restaurant. Eggplant pastry is cooked in the oven
and served hot. It combines a very special saffron sauce
with grilled eggplant. The restaurant is also famous for the
sea-bass. They cook the fresh fish of the day in a paper pan
on the grill. To bring out the flavors of the fish it is
simply cooked with a slice of lemon, slice of tomato in
between the layers of the fish and olive oil mixed with
butter made from goat milk. The final serving ingredient is
fresh black pepper.
Cistern restaurant will offer the best cuts of meat from
Istanbul. Not only the beef but they are experts in cooking
lamb which is first steamed and then grilled with almond
sauce. Along with the food you can also enjoy the ambience
and remember that the meal you are having is served in an
ancient cistern, almost 2000 years old.
Day 3
Istanbul and Bosphorus cruise
In the morning we visit the Dolmabahce palace which was the
residence of the royal family in the 19th c. The palace is
perfectly preserved with all the decoration ornaments and
offers a perfect ambiance of the 19th c. palace life. Before
lunch we continue with Bosphorus Cruise with our private
boat. In the afternoon we drive to Grand Bazaar area to stop
at Cemberlitas Turkish Bath. We will also have some time at
the grand bazaar to look through and have an idea about the
items available. We will also have a full day free on the
last day of the tour. Dinner is on your own.
Istanbul has many districts to have your meal. Not only can
you eat, but you can visit almost any Kitchen of any
restaurant in their off hours. Most fresh food restaurants
serve at least 20 different dishes of almost every seasonal
vegetable.
Day 4
Flight to Izmir - Bergama (B,L,D)
Morning flight to Izmir on TK 316 Departs at 8.20am and
arrives to Izmir at 9.20am. Upon arrival we will drive to
ancient Pergamon or modern Bergama. Before we visit the
ancient city and its surroundings, we stop at Saglam
restaurant to learn some local dishes. After lunch we
continue to the Acropolis of Pergamon and we will also visit
the ancient healing center nearby.
In Bergama, we continue to Demircidere village. Today we
will learn the basics of bread making, yoghurt making,
straining milk for cheese and cooking their local dishes
with mostly pine nuts. This village known to have the best
pine nuts of the world and they offer a wide selection of
dishes to be tasted in their homes. The food and the
villagers are authentic and they will welcome our tour
members in their homes.
Then we drive to the Izmir Crowne Plaza Hotel, which is
surrounded by seafood restaurants. Dinner at Guzelbahce
where we will have a chance to walk through the fish market
and we will also learn about the Turkish seafood hors
d’oeuvre making.
Day 5
Izmir – Tire – Izmir (B)
Today we depart from Izmir very early in the morning before
breakfast to have our breakfast in Tire, where they serve
“leg of a lamb” cooked in a kiln for more than 10 hours. We
will have lamb breakfast with locals and have free time to
stroll the streets to see textile makers, felt makers,
blanket makers, tin plate stores and etc. After we have our
lunch in a special Tire restaurant and learn some of their
recipes we will continue to Izmir. The balance of the day
will be free on your own.
Turkey is very famous for its many kebaps and it covers
almost every kind made in the oriental world. However, the
village of Tire has the most interesting. They cook their
kebaps, mostly lamb meat, in butter. In a way that the meat
floats in it. They serve it with yoghurt. It is very
interesting and tasty at the same time.
Day 6
Izmir – Sardis – Izmir (B,L,D)
Morning departure to visit Sardis, which is one of the most
important trade centers of the ancient world very famous of
being the place where the first coin was minted in history.
After sightseeing we will try their “tripe soup” and a kind
of special “pilaf” of the region. We will continue to
Philadelphia to try their very unique “meatballs” only
available in this small town. The meatballs are cooked
almost like ravioli. The balls are wrapped in filo dough and
double fried before serving with their garlic sauce. The
meats balls are kept in a special kind of low fire oven
until they are all served.
Day 7
Izmir – Ephesus – Kusadasi (B,L,D)
Morning departure to visit legendary Ephesus which was one
of the largest cities of ancient Aegean during 2nd c AD. For
lunch, we will continue to Sirince village to try their
local cooking in one of the village houses. We will also
have the chance to try the local wine. After Sirince village
we will drive to a local rug manufacturer to learn about
rugs and see finished examples. We will continue to Kusadasi
where we stay for one night. Dinner will be served at one of
the local seafood restaurants.
In Kusadasi, we are looking forward to see the local
restaurant serving, vegetables of the season. Their best
dish, both in winter and summer, is the “lentil soup”. Iif
you are lucky enough to visit the place in ocra season, you
will be satisfied not only bye taste but also visually. The
most interesting part of the tour is visiting “farmers’
markets” in Selcuk, near Ephesus. We will have time to
explore more of the fresh ingredients.
Day 8
Izmir – Kayseri (B,L,D)
We leave Izmir by TK 307 at 6.00am for Istanbul. Arrive
Istanbul at 07:00 am and take the connection to Kayseri
arriving at 8.55am. Upon arrival to Kayseri, we will visit
the Pastrami makers and enjoy their local cuisine. We will
take some time to visit the old castle and town of Kayseri.
Before we depart for Cappadocia, we will stop at Kayseri
Hilton to learn about a few local dishes. In the late
afternoon we continue to the Lodge Hotel in Cappadocia.
Kayseri is fabled mostly with food cooked with meat. The
Keskek and Pastirma are traditional dishes. Keskek is a sort
of wheat meal with lamb and Pastirma or mostly known as
“pastrami”, and is produced in great quantities in Kayseri.
The seasoning for raw meat to make pastrami has 41 different
spices to flavor. We will visit stores making and selling
different kinds of pastrami before we go for the second
lunch and try other local dishes.
Day 9
Cappadocia (B,L,D)
Cappadocia offers one of the most interesting landscapes in
the earth. Words fail to explain the panoramic view of
Cappadocia, changing at any hour of the day as the lights’
angle changes. Cappadocia is the place where the ancient
Hittites invented the kick-wheel pottery lathe. We will
visit the open-air museum of Göreme, where 9th century AD.
Christians lived their secluded monastic life. In the
afternoon we will visit the Kaymakli underground city.
Cappadocia has good food, however their wine is much more
notable. The wine is special for many reasons which are
unique for the place. They do not grow the grapes on the
post. Because of the cold winters they have to keep them
close to the ground to be able to cover them with debris
mounds in winter. Since the plant is close to the ground,
there is an excessive amount of dehydration of grapes in the
summer. Due to dehydration, grapes have a very strong taste.
The secondary part that makes the taste different, is the
fertilizer they use. The pigeon droppings are collected in
the whole valley as fertilizers due to high use of the
natural fertilizers there is a unique mineral lime taste to
the wines. The wines always are full body and have a long
lasting taste. Thirdly, the taste is related to concrete
aging tanks. As we visit Cappadocia, we will be able to see
every detail of wine production on site.
Day 10
Cappadocia (B,L,D)
The day begins with Turasan winery, which is one of the most
interesting tasting wines of Cappadocia. After that we will
continue Sarikaya restaurant to learn how to stuff a lamb.
We will have lamb lunch at the restaurant and continue to
Ihlara valley to visit one of the most beautiful canyons of
Cappadocia. Dinner with show at a rock carved restaurant.
Day 11
Kayseri – Fly to Istanbul (B,L,D)
After breakfast we depart to take the TK 261 flight
departing at 10:55 am from Kayseri. Arrive Istanbul at
12:15pm. Transfer to the Hotel in city center. Rest of the
day is free.
Participants who wish to visit The Grand Bazaar will be
taken there by bus. Our coach will also provide shuttle
service back to the hotel at a certain hour.
Farewell dinner at the Tugra Restaurant of the Ciragan
Palace the Kempinski Hotel which is one of the most
exquisite restaurants of Istanbul along the Bosphorus.
Day 12
Departure from Istanbul (B)
Transfer to the airport for departure. End of our services.
(B)
