3 nights 4 days
Hatay
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Pre-information
Tour itinerary
Places to visit
Antakya Arkeoloji Müzesi, Habib-i Neccar Camisi, Titus Kaya Tüneli, Eski Antakya, Vakıflı Köyü, Uzun Çarşı, St Pierre Kilisesi
Transportation
All airports in Istanbul
Hatay Airports
All airports in Istanbul
Included in the price
Round-trip airfare
3 nights bed and breakfast accommodation at Sam Franss hotel
Airport-hotel-airport transfers
Transportation throughout the tour by a licensed tourism vehicle
Lunch at Teofarm farm
Haytalı dessert with Affan coffee
Dinner at Ayan Meyan (the museum hotel restaurant)
Lunch at Ali Mürdün or Antikya Restaurant
Künefe dessert at Yusuf usta
Dinner at Konak Restaurant
Lunch at Dervişhan Restaurant
Tasting of Antakya döner
Late lunch at Tugay Kasabı
Guided tour service
Not included in the price
Services not included in the tour:
Entrance fees to museums and archaeological sites
(We recommend everyone to purchase a museum card online.)
Any kind of drinks consumed during meals.
Tour fee
Single Room Price
Price per Person in Double Room
Day 1
We will transfer our guests from their designated locations in the morning to Sabiha Gökçen airport for our flight, and depart for Hatay airport with Pegasus Airlines flight at 09:05. (Flight times may vary.)
Our plane lands at Hatay airport at 10:45, and we meet our vehicle waiting for us to head to TEOFARM. We start our tour with a welcome reception including tandoori bread with pepper, tea, Antakya coffee, poppy liquor, and citrus, walnut, and pumpkin dessert.
What will we see at TEOFARM? Organic and good farming is practiced on the farm. TEOFARM is located in the fertile crescent region, known as the birthplace of wheat, and is the largest producer of the heirloom wheat variety “karakılçık” in Turkey. A zero-waste system is established on the farm, where all processes from soil to plate are traceable and sustainable.
TEOFARM, the new generation entrepreneurial brand of the Teoman Family, who have been involved in agriculture for hundreds of years on the same lands, serves as a role model for sustainable family farming in the region.
We will have lunch with a harvest table, including Antakya cheeses and 4 kinds of meze, pumpkin borani, artichoke bulgur pilaf, pea mortadella, “whatever is in the garden” salad, Antioch wine, Damascus dessert, or cheese and semolina halva, Antakya coffee and tea.
After our TEOFARM tour, our first stop is the Antakya Mosaic Museum, where we will feel the mythology of the mosaics come to life with the stories our guide will tell us. Our museum tour will take about 2 hours.
After the museum tour, we start to visit St. Pierre Church, which is considered the first church in the world. After seeing the Holy Baptism Well, Altar, Escape Tunnel, 5th-century mosaics, St. Pierre Statue, and pulpit inside the church, we end our tour here.
After St. Pierre Church, we take a panoramic tour of old Antakya city on Herod Street, which is the world’s first illuminated street, and arrive at the Historic Affan Coffee House. We taste the local dessert “haytalı” and head to our hotel.
After settling in our hotel and a short rest, we head to Antakya Museum for our dinner and meet with local flavors at Ayan Meyan restaurant.
We will spend the night in our hotel.
Day 2
After breakfast, we will meet at 8:30 and go to the Tokaçlı Olive Museum in Altınözü district. In a 300-year-old historic mansion, we will take a historical journey of the olive tree in Anatolia with visuals and learn about the history of olive and olive oil production. After our museum visit, we will go to the Cam Teras to see a panoramic view of Altınözü and take a photo break. We will then finish our tour here and visit Harbiye, also known as Daphne, where Apollo shed tears for Daphne and where the Harbiye Waterfalls are located, before heading to Antakya.
We will have our lunch at Ali Mürdün Restaurant, where we will eat only homemade dishes served in their unique style.
After lunch, we will visit Turkey’s first medicinal and aromatic plant museum, where 280 varieties of medicinal and aromatic plants are presented to the public.
As it is known, the first glass was discovered in and around Antakya. At the Glass Museum, which is an old Antakya house, after watching the museum owner make glass jars with fire, we will go to Uzun Çarşı and have free time to explore the market where Antakya-specific products are sold. After tasting künefe at Çınaraltı Künefeci Yusuf Usta, we will return to our hotel.
After resting for a while at our hotel, we will go to the Konak Restaurant to try more dishes from the Aleppo cuisine for dinner, and then return to our hotel.
Day 3
After having breakfast at our hotel, we start our trip towards Samandağ, which is a coastal town in Hatay and used to be known as Süveydiye. On the way to Samandağ, we will pass through a route where we can see all the natural vegetation of the Mediterranean. Our first stop is at Batıayaz Canyon for a photo break.
After the photo break at the canyon, we will take a tea break under the shade of a 1.5-acre old plane tree, which is believed to be the walking stick of Moses that turned into a tree. We will taste pepper bread and katıklı bread made by the villagers.
After resting for a while, our tour will continue with a visit to Vakıflı Armenian Village, which is the only Armenian village in Turkey settled as a group in a village style. We will taste organic jams made by village women.
After Vakıflı Armenian Village, we will stop for a photo break at Dor Temple where we can see Kel Dağ and Samandağ beach, which is the second-longest beach in Turkey. Then, we will go to Dervişhan Restaurant for lunch to taste fresh fish caught from the Mediterranean Sea.
After lunch, we will visit the Hızır Tomb, where it is believed that Moses and Hızır met, which is mentioned in verses 60-82 of the Kehf Surah in the Quran. Then, we will have a pleasant walk at the Vespasianus Titus Tunnel, which is one of the eight wonders of the world. During the walk, which takes about an hour round trip, we will see the most massive of the rock-carved tomb rooms, the Beşikli Cave.
Finally, we will visit the St. Simon Monastery, founded by the Stylites who dedicated themselves to God, purifying themselves from worldly pleasures. This monastery is built on a hill 479 meters above sea level. We will watch the magnificent sunset with wine tasting on the observation terrace of the monastery, and after a short rest, we will go to Müzeyyen to have dinner.
We will spend the night at our hotel.
Day 4
After having breakfast at our hotel, we visit the Habibi Neccar Mosque, the first mosque in Anatolia, by passing through Herod Street, the world’s first illuminated street. We also visit the Sarimiye Mosque, where the sounds of the call to prayer, church bells, and Jewish Hazan can be heard, as well as the Catholic Church and the synagogue (havra) across from the mosque, and take a short walk through the old houses and streets of Antakya.
We taste the famous Antakya döner for lunch and then visit the Antakya Orthodox Church, an important church of the Antakya Patriarchate, one of the four Orthodox patriarchates.
After a short walk on the closed Saray Street, we visit the Ulu Mosque, a 1271 Mamluk-era structure, and then the newly opened Ethnography Museum.
Before departing, we head to Tugay Kasabı to try the famous Antakya tray kebab. After the meal, we transfer to the airport and say goodbye to our valuable guests at the meeting points after our Hatay-Istanbul flight on Pegasus 19.10, with the hope to see you again in another tour.
In Hatay, the Mediterranean climate dominates and summers are hot and dry, while winters are mild and rainy. Hatay is one of the most enjoyable travel cities in our country for sightseeing and especially for indulging in delicious food in all seasons. In our travel program in Hatay-Antakya-Samandağ, you will see special places such as the Asi River, Titus Tunnel, and the Mosaic Museum, and we would be happy to host you in our boutique, small-group programs where you will indulge in all the local flavors.
