Tours of Turkey - Culinary Delights - 8 day tour

Group Turkey Tours

This tour aims to combine the culinary delights of Turkey with its wine, culture and music. We will be looking at Turkish Cuisine, wine making and tasting which will include a course in Turkish wines and typical Turkish music - both classical and folklore. This tour is not only to do with the culinary delights but we also offer visits to historic and cultural places of interest.

Itinerary - Day 1

Arrival in Istanbul and transfer to your hotel

Day 2 - Cookery Course and Byzantine Istanbul

We start our day looking at some of the Byzantine monuments of Istanbul. The Church of Pantocrator (Zeyrek Camii), the Aqueducts of Valens, Saint Sofia and The Underground Cistern are but a few of the sights we will visit today. Lunch at the Zeyrekhane restaurant located in the heart of the historic district of Istanbul. The menu is based on Byzantine recipes like Tarhana soup, lamb cooked with spices and Tavuk Gogsu (chicken breast pudding). In the afternoon we will visit one of the typical markets such as Beyoglu or Besiktas so that we can purchase the ingredients required for the afternoon cookery class. Those not wishing to cook can attend a wine tasting session led by a local wine specialist. The cookery class menu will be based on traditional Byzantine and Ottoman recipes. Dinner will consist of the dishes prepared during the class. The wines on offer during the tasting session will be produced with traditional Byzantine grape varieties still cultivated today, such as moskhatos and papazkarasi.

Day 3 - Ottoman Treasures and Cuisine

Today we embark on a full day tour of the Ottoman monuments in Istanbul. We will discover buildings of the classical period, including mosques and bazaars. Starting with the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace where the Ottoman sultans resided for over 350 years. Following a visit to the Mosque of Suleymaniye we will lunch in its historic Daruzziyafe Restaurant. After lunch we'll take a walk around the Eminonu area, where we will visit the Rustempasa Mosque. We'll taste Turkish Coffee in a typical coffee shop located in the same spot as the first ever coffee shop established in Istanbul. We will taste Pastirma at Namli and we will visit the Egyptian Bazaar and stroll around the streets of Tahtakale, the centre of the business district in ancient and modern times. Dinner will be served in a restaurant renowned for its traditional dishes. Dinner will be accompanied by Turkish classical music, which, firmly rooted in Byzantine times became the court music of the Ottoman Empire. Overnight in Istanbul.

Day 4 - Istanbul - Ankara - Corum

Early morning flight to Ankara. On arrival we will visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilisations in Ankara where we will be introduced to the history of wine in Turkey. We continue on to Akyurt to taste wines from the Kavakildere Company, which are produced from the local Kalecik karasi grape. Wines worth tasting are the Chateau Kalecik and Kavakildere. We then travel on to Corum, following the bed of the Kizilirmak river. Upon arrival we pay a visit to Hattusas, the capital of the Hittite Kingdom, which ruled Anatolia between 1650 and 1200 BC. Here we will visit the fortification walls, city gates and temples. We then continue on to Yazilikaya, the oldest open air temple in the world where we can see Hittite god reliefs. Overnight and dinner in a small hotel near the ruins.

Day 5 - Hattusas - Cappadocia

We depart for Cappadocia in the morning travelling via Yozgat and Bogazilyan. We visit the beautiful monastery at Goreme with its beautiful churches carved into the rock. Lunch is at a local restaurant or in a vineyard serving the local table wines of Kocabag. We continue on to Cappadocia with two short stops on the way to visit the Church of St. John and the Aciksaray Monastic Complex. We also visit the vineyards of Kocabag- Kavakildere companies where we learn about the production process. At the end of the day we will taste the local white wines whilst delighting in the breathtaking views of Cappadocia. Dinner and overnight in our boutique hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 6 - Cappadocian Cookery Course

Our day will start with a pleasant walk through the fairy chimneys in a Cappadocian valley, continuing on to visit the churches of El Nazar and Cavusin. We then commence with our cookery course. Together with the locals we will prepare the bread which will go into the communal oven in the village. We will also prepare tomatoes for our tomato paste (sacla). An alternative to bread baking and paste making will be the preparation of pastry, which is a traditional dish with fillings such as cheese, meat or vegetables. After lunch we will visit the Underground City of Derinkuyu and the Cavusin village with its old stone houses and dovecotes. In Uchisar we visit a real cave and taste the local wines whilst delighting in the beautiful views. We will attend a wine tasting session and have a seminar on the historic development of wine in Turkey. Dinner is accompanied by traditional Cappadocian folk music. Dinner and overnight in a boutique cave hotel in Cappadocia.

Day 7 - Cappadocian Cookery Course

After a short walk in the Red Valley and a visit to The Church with Grapes we go to the market to buy the ingredients for today's cookery lesson. The menu will be composed of local dishes such as lentil or chickpea soup, local pastry and the famous Testi Kebap (meat and vegetables, slowly cooked in a clay pot). Desserts will be made using grape molasses (pekmez). Delicious tea is served throughout. Lunch is taken in the vineyard weather permitting. In the afternoon we visit the Zelve Valley which has outstanding rock formations and an old monastic complex. To end the day we visit a cellar in Cappadocia where we will taste wines made with various local grapes. Dinner in our hotel eating the food we prepared earlier.

Day 8

Transfer to Kayseri Airport, Cappadocia.

Tour includes

• Airport transfers from Istanbul and to Kayseri airport in Cappadocia
• Accommodation based on 4* hotels throughout the tour
• All meals and entrance fees to sites mentioned in the itinerary
• All transfers detailed in the itinerary
• Wine tasting and cooking classes
• Professional English-speaking guides

Tour does not include

• Flights

This tour will go ahead with a minimum group of 10 persons.

This tour is a 'Guaranteed Departure' tour. This means that it will depart regardless of how many people are booked on to it. Have you considered your visa requirements? Tour Dates Departure Dates This is available every day of the year or dates below Tour Prices Tour Prices and Single Supplements for dates starting From To Price SS All Travellers All Dates  £1145.00  – Make a Reservation Please use our online booking reservation service where available - if you need any further assistance or to book please feel free to call or email us with your booking. Until you have received a receipted invoice (by post fax or email) your reservation has been recorded but not been confirmed. This is similar to an airline wait-listing. This may only affect you if we have had major changes to the tour. Make a Reservation Tour Date 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031 - 123456789101112 - 200820092010   Number of People   Payment Type [SELECT] Credit Card Online Bank Transmission Facsimile Credit Card DetailsDebit Card   When you click continue, you will be redirected to our secure sever at https://sslrelay.com/iah-holidays.co.uk/