• Welcome by our representative and assistance with arrival formalities.
• Transfer to your hotel and check in. Airport transfer included.
• Da'at Encounter: Welcome dinner and meeting with a local journalist.
• Dinner will be served at the Terrace of Hamdi Restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus and Istanbul's Golden Horn natural harbor.

Overnight:  Istanbul

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Begin your day with a visit to the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, the National Mosque of Turkey built in the 18th century, and also known as the Blue Mosque. A classical example of Ottoman architecture, the impressive structure incorporates traditional Islamic architecture with popular Byzantine elements.
• Visit the Hagia-Sophia, once the largest cathedral in the world. A massive, sixth century Byzantine basilica, it was converted into a mosque in the 15th century and by 1935 became a museum.
• Descend to the underground Basilica Cisterns, a vast cathedral-sized water collection space with 336 decorated columns.
• Lunch on your own.
• Take the ferry and cruise along the Bosphorus. Experience the mix of local architecture; imperial palaces mingle with wooden seaside mansions, decorative ferry landings, the impressive twin fortresses of Rumeli Hisar and Anadolu Hisar, and Istanbul's two suspension bridges, the Bosphorus and the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge.
• Return to the hotel.
• Dinner on your own at an area restaurant.

Overnight:  Istanbul
                     

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Visit the site of the Jewish Quarter of Istanbul - enjoy a guided tour of the Galata tower and nearby neighborhood, once the center of Jewish life in Istanbul and home to many Jews of Italian descent who fled Spanish-controlled Italy during the 16th century.
• Visit the Neve Shalom and Ashkenazi Synagogues in the Byoglu district of Galata.
• Da'at Encounter: Visit an old age home, Barinyurt in Galata, a project of the Joint Distribution Committee and a UJC/Federation-supported agency.
• Lunch on your own.  
• Visit the Jewish Museum, site of the one-time Zulfairs Synagogue. Established in 1671, the building was rebuilt and used for another purpose. In the early 19th century, a new building was erected over the original foundations, serving the local community until 1983 as a synagogue. The museum was opened in 2001, and your visit will include a dialogue with a museum specialist.
• Walk in one of the first Jewish neighborhoods in Istanbul, the Balat, and visit the Ahrida Synagogue, founded by Jews from modern-day Macedonia who were escaping Ottoman Empire oppression. False messiah Sabbatai Tzvi, founder of the 17th century Jewish Sabbatean movement, prayed there.
• Dinner on your own.

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Drive along the Sea of Marmara - following in the footsteps of Odysseus and other adventurers who sailed this storied waterway on their way to new adventures. Briefing on the bus.
• Lunch in the little town of Gelibolu.
• Head to the Gallipoli Peninsula - site of a protracted and ultimately costly battle of World War I. The battle was ultimately a success for the Turks, who prevented the Allies from gaining control of the Dardanelles (Hellespont) Strait, but it resulted in more than 130,000 casualties and countless wounded.
• Arrive in Eceabat - embark on a ferry ride across the Dardanelles to Canakkale, a busy port town and once a center of Jewish life in the area.
• Visit the 150-year-old main synagogue of the town, open only once a year by a dedicated group of former Canakkale residents who return to clean and maintain the building and pray together in the synagogue of their youth. Few Jews actually remain in Canakkale.
• Check into your hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel - open buffet meal.

Overnight: Canakkale

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Drive to Pergamum, an ancient Greek city from the time of the Attalid Dynasty, 281-133 BCE.  The Acropolis of Pergamo is modeled on the famed Athenian Acropolis.
• View the white marble Sanctuary of Trajan, the Hellenistic Theatre, seating capacity 10,000, and the remains of the impressive Library or Athenaeum, believed to have contained, at one time, 200,000 volumes.
• Head to Izmir, whose ancient provenance suggests that it was an inhabited area in prehistoric times. Currently, Izmir ranks as Turkey's third largest city and second largest port after Istanbul. Izmir is also the area where the poet Homer, author of the Iliad and The Odyssey, is said to have been born in the 9th century BCE.
• Check into your hotel.
• Dinner on your own.

Overnight: Izmir

• Breakfast at your hotel.
• Tour the ancient city of Ephesus - home to the largest collection of Roman ruins in the Eastern Mediterranean. One of the most important ancient sites in Turkey, it was also an important city in ancient Greece. See the Agora, the Odeon and the Temple of Hadrian, followed by a visit to the carefully reconstructed façade of the Library of Celsus.
• Walk down the marble road to the Great Theater of the City - in its heyday, an estimated 44,000 theatergoers could be seated there.
• Lunch on your own.
• Return to Izmir.
• Da'at Encounter: Festive Shabbat hotel dinner with representatives and leaders of the local community.

Overnight: Izmir

• Breakfast at your hotel.
• Da'at Encounter: Meet and visit with members of Bikur Holim and Beth Israel Synagogues.
• Following lunch en route, drive to Sardis, the capital of Ancient Lydia and the well-heeled King Croesus (560-546 BCE).
• See the famous Temple of Artemis, sometimes called the Temple of Diana. In its day, it was double the size of the Parthenon. Walk the length and breadth of the third century ancient synagogue, thought to be the largest synagogue outside of ancient Palestine.
• Lunch at the famous Ramiz Restaurant in Akhisar.
• Continue to Bursa, the ancient capital of the Ottoman Empire and a key spot on the Silk Road during medieval times.
• Check into your hotel.
• Dinner at the hotel - open buffet meal.

Overnight: Bursa

• Breakfast at your hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Visit the 500-year-old Gerush Synagogue. Constructed by Sephardic Jews from Spain who joined Bursa's historic, Jewish community, it is still in use today.
• Walk the streets of the Koza Han or Silk Bazaar and then visit Yesil Mosque or the Green Mosque, richly decorated and tiled, and the Yesil Tomb, the symbol of Bursa and one of the most beautiful examples of Ottoman tomb architecture.
• Drive back to Istanbul and check into your hotel.
• Festive farewell dinner served at the Bab-I Hayat Restaurant in the Spice Market.

Overnight: Istanbul

• Breakfast at the hotel.
• Check out of the hotel.
• Transfer to the airport for flight home. (Airport transfers included. Please allow a minimum of three hours for check-in.)
• Flight back to the U.S.