Duration
12 days / 11 nights

Model Program
Arrival in the Bulgarian capital city Sofia. Sightseeing tour of Sofia, where more than 250 cultural and historical monuments from different ages blend harmoniously with city’s modern appearance.Visits of The Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with its rich collection of icons, the oldest in the city St.George Rotunda dating to the 4th century A.C.
Tour proceeds to Veliko Tarnovo - the former capital of the Second Bulgarian Kingdom. Sightseeing of Veliko Turnovo, including Tsarevets Hill-a natural inaccessible fortress with walls and battle towers. After comes the well-preserved Revival Shopping Street. Drive to the museum town of Arbanassi, just 4 km away from Veliko Turnovoto to visit The Nativity Church with its genuine art gallery of biblical scenes.
Leave for Gabrovo, to enjoy the open-air ethnographic museum of old crafts Etara. Passing through the historical Shipka Pass to reach the capital of The Valley of Roses - Kasanluk. Visit of The Museum of the Rose in Kasanluk and The Thracian Tomb, included in UNESCO’s List of World Cultural Heritage.
Departure for Plovdiv, the country’s secondly most important industrial, cultural and administrative centre with 3,000 years long history.Walking tour in The Old Town of Plovdiv with its galleries, churches and houses.
Continue to the Bulgarian-Turkish border and Turkey’s metropolitan city - Istanbul. City tour of Istanbul- the pearl of the Orient including -St. Sophia church; Topkapi Palace of the Ottoman Sultans, housing a unique museum collection and treasury; The Blue Mosque, unique in the Islamic world with its six minarets; The Hippodrome where races used to take place in the one-time Constantinople.
Departure for the Turkish-Greek border. Arrival in Kavala with tour of the city. Group proceeds to Thessaloniki called after the sister of Alexander the Great, one of the centers of the Greek culture.Sightseeing Tour of Thessaloniki. Departure for Kalambaka and Meteora with its holy rocks and mysterious monasteries.
Back to Bulgaria. Arrival and sightseeing of the smallest town and architectural reserve Melnik. Group proceeds to Sandanski. Follows visit of the largest and the most impressive in Bulgaria Rila Monastery included in the UNESCO’s List of World Cultural Heritage.Tour of the monastery complex, church and museum.Route proceeds to Sofia via Borovets - an international mountain resort and Bulgaria's largest world known ski centre. Arrival in Sofia.
Departure flight.

Description
The journey through Bulgaria, Turkey and Greece gets you back in time in a way to return to the cultural roots of the Balkans. On exploring the ancient cultural and historical heritage of the three nations, you involuntarily start comparing it with the character of your own cultural tradition. That makes you to discover that cultural mechanisms obey common laws everywhere and always and feel that you belong to something bigger and more universal. Ability to experience more from the Balkan Mosaic – great diversity and texture of colours, architecture, hospitality, cuisine and landscape.