Retreat Itinerary

A full schedule with yoga & meditation sessions will be given when you arrive in Turkey; please stay open to the flow

14th of December Friday:
Arrive in Istanbul!! Preferred arrival time by 10AM, so that we can tour the city. You will be transported from IST airport to Blue House Istanbul Deluxe Hotel and for check in. The group will take a tour of the beautiful city of Istanbul. Once called Constantinople, Istanbul is an ancient city. It is unique among the great cities of the world because of her strategic location in both Europe and Asia. The city is filled with the remnants of two great civilizations, the Byzantines and the Ottomans, and is strewn with historical ruins and relics of a very long past. Istanbul, straddling the Bosphorus Straits, has had a pivotal strategic position in history--an importance that continues today. Our entire day will be spent exploring the old city. We will visit the: Hippodrome, the site of ancient chariot races, the Blue Mosque, a masterpiece of Islamic architecture, and the Topkapi Palace, and end our day with a tour of the church of St. Sophia with its magnificent dome built by the emperor Justinian. St. Sophia, also called Haghia Sophia, is one of the great landmarks of Istanbul. We will finish our day with a dinner along the Bosphorus.

15th of December Saturday:
Group flight to Konya at 7:05 am (included in retreat package)
Accommodation at Rumi Hotel in Konya

Konya is one of the oldest inhabited regions in Turkey as early as Neolithic Period. Known as Iconium in Roman Times, Konya became the capital of the Seljuk Turks from the 12th to 13th century. During that time Mevlana Celaleddin Rumi founded the order of Sufi Islam. Sufis are better known in the West as “Whirling Dervishes.” It is through a spinning trancelike dance that the Sufis communicate with God. The Sufis consider their dance a form of intense worship of God. The dancers, who are dressed in colorful costumes, whirl until they believe they reach a unity with God. We’ll have our lunch in Konya Kosk Restaurant, one of the best restaurants for local tastes of Konya. We visit the museum and check in to our hotel to rest for the rest of the day. Following dinner, we head on to Mevlana center to watch the ceremony of dervishes.

16th of December Sunday in Konya:
Accommodation at Rumi Hotel in Konya

Visit the important sites in Konya, including the mosque on the hill of Aladdin. We will spend some time at an ethnographic museum in Konya and we will possibly meet a real dervish at our hotel right after lunch at a tandur restaurant. Dinner and overnight in Konya.

17th of December Monday travel to Cappadocia:
We now traverse the plains of Konya where our next stop is the Sultanhani Caravanserai. Caravanserais were built for trade and also put to military uses in time of war. The ruler of any particular caravanserai was responsible for the security in his complex. These large structures had everything to encourage caravans to come in including beds, kitchens, coffeehouses, mosques, doctors, veterinarians and even libraries. We will have a talk here about the caravan trade and the enlightened economic policies of the Seljuk Sultans. Leaving the caravanserai we’ll drive across plains full of fields of grain and large flocks of sheep and goats. At the end of our day we‘ll arrive in the town of Urgup at the foot of a large rock riddled with old dwelling places in Cappadocia. Here we find Yunak Cave Houses old cave houses that were converted into a luxurious hotel. This will be our home for the next three nights. We’ll arrive in time for dinner. If we are not too tired after our huge dinner in our hotel we can walk around the interesting vicinity of our hotel.
 

****ACCOMMODATION in Cappadocia, Turkey
The mystical HOTEL YUNAK CAVE HOUSES
(Yunak Cave Houses is a combination of six cave houses with a total of 27 private cave rooms dating back to the 5th and 6th centuries and crowned with a 19th century Greek Mansion. These exceptional cave houses are renovated and decorated with care and in their own distinct style with strictly respecting the local character. The decor is elegant and personalized with beautiful hand-crafted furnishings and antiques. Yunak Cave Houses has created a peaceful balance between modern comfort and tradition. At Yunak Cave Houses one tends not to enquire about technical comforts, although they are naturally available. Telephone, internet and fax service are all classed as average, although air-conditioning is certainly not necessary in these naturally cool caves. With its convenient location in the center of Urgup, the hotel is a perfect base for daily excursions within Cappadocia.
 
 
18th of December Tuesday in Cappadocia:
(Waking up in Cappadocia will explicate the fact that the landscape of Turkey is as varied as the ancient peoples who populated the land and contemporary Turkish people. In this region three million years ago the earth thundered at the dual eruptions of the volcanoes Mt. Erciyes and Mt. Hasan.)

Today we will start our day with a lecture about the formation of the region from Red Valley, a vista point overlooking the whole region. We continue to visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, one of the most visited sites in central Turkey. Here we’ll see a monastic complex of rock churches and chapels, many with frescoes still intact. Owing to its unrivaled geological and cultural features, the Goreme Valley was designated a “World Cultural Site” by the UNESCO. In the modern adjacent town of Goreme we’ll see cafes and restaurants carved into the rocks. Goreme is a good place to buy rugs and kilims (coarsely woven carpets) and you’ll find them plentiful in the center of town. Departing Goreme we’ll enter a valley of unbelievable beauty and wonder. Fantastic formations rise up at every turn. All along the way, from the villages of Cavusin to Zelve, fairy chimneys line the road. We’ll have our lunch in the best restaurant of Goreme. Our next stop is the village of Uchisar, a place of magnificent rock formations and rock dwellings. Those who wish to climb may ascend the steps to the Uchisar Fortress and get a panoramic view of the whole region. Like Goreme, Uchisar has shops with kilims, carpets and other popular souvenirs lining its narrow streets. Avanos is known for its vernacular architecture and its handicrafts. Pottery is the most popular handicraft here. We may have the opportunity of visiting some potters’ workshops where we may try our hands on the potter’s wheel.
 
19th of December Wednesday in Kaymakli and Cappadocia:
Today we set out for the underground city of Kaymakli. Here and more than thirty other underground cities, Christians took refuge from the second to the seventh century. These were safe, well-hidden metropolises. They provided a self-sufficient environment including grain storage rooms, stables, sleeping chambers, kitchens, underground streams, and airshafts. Some of these cities contain 6 to 8 underground stories and probably housed up to 20,000 people. It is thought that before their use by fleeing Christians, these cities were used in times of war as early as by the Hittites. Kaymakli is sometimes described as a rabbit warren of rooms and stores and a church cut from rock. Our next stop is the Soganli Valley, a most attractive valley. Estimates say that more than 100 churches were once operating here. Many of the principal places of worship have survived and can be visited. We will visit the valley by using the local taxis and their drivers, donkeys and villagers helping you on the way. Lunch will be in the charming village of Ayvali in a village house. We’ll enjoy the homemade delicacies of Cappadocia served with the Turkish hospitality. After the lunch, we’ll explore a carpet factory and be shown a carpet weaving demonstration. With whetted appetites from shopping we’ll have dinner in a local restaurant.

20th of December Thursday in Cappadocia:
Before the breakfast, early birds might start their day with an optional hot-air balloon trip over the breathtaking sunrise of Cappadocia. Since it is very early in the morning, we can start to our day at 13:00 today. We have the lunch at a local restaurant and following the lunch we hike in one of the most fascinating valley of Cappadocia; Red Valley. With its mediative atmosphere, it is the best place for meditation. We have a free afternoon for wandering on the streets of Urgup.
 
21st of December Friday travel to Istanbul
Transfer to Kayseri airport and take the morning flight back to Istanbul at 10:55 am (included in retreat package). Transfer to International flights after 12:00 pm to be sure to make your connection.