Pergamum&Pamukkale(Hierapolis) Overnight

Scratch below the surface in modern Turkey and you’ll more likely than not find ancient Greece. This two-day tour will take you to Pergamon and Hierapolis, two sites dating from classical civilisation, and the breathtaking calcium terraces of Pamukkale. You can choose either an early morning flight to Izmir or a coach journey to Kusadasi the night before. We’ll then drive to the site of the ancient Greek city of Pergamon, which was the capital of the Kingdom of Pergamon until it was absorbed by the Roman Empire.

The adventure starts at the Aesculapium, the city’s medical centre named after Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine. Physicians were ahead of their time and tried healing methods such as blood transfusions, meditation and therapy based on the sounds of music and water. After lunch, we’ll visit the Acropolis, where the remains of temples devoted to Athena, Trajan, Zeus and Dionysus are visible. So, too, the Gymnasium of Youth, the Odeon, the Library, the Agora, the Great Theatre and the Roman baths.

Day two takes us first to Pamukkale and then to the nearby ruins of Hierapolis, which are a combined Unesco World Heritage Site. Pamukkale, which in English means ‘cotton castle’, is a series of cascading calcium terraces formed as a result of thermal springs. The waters were used by the ancients for therapeutic purposes.

At Hierapolis there is a well-preserved Roman theatre and ancient thermal baths, which have been restored and converted into an archaeological museum. Afterwards, return to ?zmir for an evening flight or to Kusadasi for the night bus to Istanbul.

Includes: Return plane or bus tickets, transfers to and from central hotels, English-speaking professional guide (other languages are available on request), half-board accommodation at a four-star hotel (breakfast and dinner) in Kusadasi, lunch during tours, museum entrance. Excludes drinks and transfer from the bus station to the hotel (in the bus package) in Istanbul at the end of the tour.

Meal

Assistance or guided tour

Admissions

Drinks

By Bus

Appropriate age for child ticket from 3 to 5 years