Light lunch will be served at the hotel.
Welcome briefing in the hotel. Meet your fellow travelers, local guides and your Biennial Tour Director.

Free time to prepare for the Welcome cocktail& Dinner cruise.
Welcome by a “Jazz Trio” on the private boat.

Welcome cocktail will be served on the upper deck, followed by an open buffet barbecue dinner

The Bosphorus is a great source of pride to Istanbul’s residents and one of the city’s most important sources of transportation. It also provides a scenic means of viewing both the European and Asian sides of this fascinating city.

Overnight at Ritz Hotel.

DAY2(B,L)
Golden Horn & Chora church tour. Guest speaker will be archaeologist Feridun Özgümüş
Golden Horn is one of the best natural harbors in the world. It was once the centre for the Byzantine and Ottoman navies and commercial shipping interests. Today, attractive parks and promenades line the shores, a picturesque scene especially as the sun goes down over the water. In Fener and Balat, neighborhood’s midway up the Golden Horn, there are entire streets filled with old wooden houses, churches, and synagogues dating from Byzantine and Ottoman times. The Ortodox Patriarchate resides at Fener and a little further up the Golden Horn at Eyup, is some wonderful examples of Ottoman architecture.

Visit to St. Stephens of the Bulgars steel church. Visit the Chora Church, housing the world’s finest intact frescos and mosaics from the Byzantine period.

Lunch at the Asitane Restaurant, featuring performances by traditional Ottoman musicians.

Visit the Hagia Sophia, the World’s oldest wonder church.
Return to the hotel. Remainder of evening and dinner on your own. A list of the recommended restaurants will be provided.

Overnight at Ritz Hotel.

DAY3(B,L,D)
Lecture on the History of the Ottoman Empire at the hotel conference room.

Visit the Topkapi Palace & Harem. This former residence of the Ottoman Sultans houses a fine exhibition of porcelain, jewellery, silverware, glassware, clocks and Ottoman weaponry, royal treasures and was once the home to the world’s largest harem.

Lunch will be served at the Konyali Restaurant on the grounds of the Topkapi Palace.

Curator guided visit of the Turkish Islamic Arts Museum featuring Ottoman miniatures, Iznik tiles, ceramic and Turkish tapestries.

Visit to the Grand Bazaar; most attractive and crowded shopping centre in the world, with it’s nearly 4.000 shops and stalls, selling mostly jewellery, artfacts, carpets and leather goods.

Private dinner at the Feriye Restaurant in Ortaköy.

Overnight at Ritz Hotel.

DAY4 (B,L)
Visit to biennial exhibits scattered throughout the city.

The Ataturk Cultural Centre (AKM), representing the dream of the republic and modern society, will be a venue for utopian projects with urban focus.

The MÇ Buildings, a unique and remarkably successful modernist achievement in ‹stanbul’s architectural history, will be a site for exploration of the economic and productive aspect of modernity as "world factory".

The Antrepo site that has been successfully incorporated by the previous Biennials will be conceived of as an "Entre-polis", and will be a site for projects focusing on trans-national migration, communication and borderlines. Articulating the notion of "polis", it also represents necessities of remapping the world beyond the logic of nation-states.

The Santralistanbul site which is going through an ambitious renovation process, will act as a laboratory, an educational area and as a workshop environment. It is also a space for exchanges amongst self-organizational art initiatives in different parts of the world, especially those from Turkey and neighboring region.

Referring to "Dazibao", a form of radically democratic street postings of public opinions during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, an "Electronic Image Dazibao", which consists of contributions of video works from professional and amateur artists via an open call and selected by a group of Turkish young curators, will be set up and travel across different sites during night time. On the other hand, a series of performing art events will be accordingly organized to provide an even more open and public dimension to the Biennial.

Remainder of evening and dinner on your own.

Overnight at Ritz Hotel

DAY5 (B,L,D)
Early morning check-out

Airport transfer for morning flight to Ankara. Visit to the Anatolian Civilization Museum, which houses a huge collection of finds including Paleolitfic, Neolithic, Chalcolithic, Early Bronze, Hittite, Phrygian, and Urartian pieces.

Lunch at Konyali Restaurant, located inside the Estergon Turkish Culture Center. One of the best meat/kebab restaurants in Ankara.

Visit to the Mausoleum of Ataturk. The resting place of the father of the Republic of Turkey.

Check in to the Swissotel Ankara and time to relax.

Dinner in Trilye fish restaurant, preference of bureaucrats living in Ankara.

Overnight at Swissotel Ankara.

DAY6 (B,L,D)
Check out from hotel.

Departure to Cappadocia, driving along the Tuz Golu (Salt Lake) en route.

Lunch at Ala Turca Restaurant in the town of Goreme. Visit to the rock-carved churches in the Goreme Valley, known as the valley of churches with magnificent 11th and 12th century frescoes.

Stop at panoramic view point of the natural citadel of Uchisar.
Check in to Museum Hotel in Uchisar.

Dinner in the hotel.

Overnight at Museum Hotel.

DAY7 (B,L,D)
Optional early morning: Hot air balloon ride in Cappadocia.

Drive to Underground city of Kaymakli, where thousands of men sheltered themselves from enemy attacks in this land of “Fairy Chimneys”. These fascinating subterranean cities, still intact, were built in the 7th century as refuge for Christians fleeing persecution. Tens of thousands of people lived in this four-story maze of caves, tunnels, and rooms deep in the earth, hoping to escape early invaders.

Lunch in Old Greek House Restaurant. The house has been built in 1887, then in 1924; It was given to a family of Salonica as a result of the agreement of the commission for the settlement of the exchange of immigrants. It is in service as a hotel & restaurant at the moment.
Next visit to Zelve, a town riddled with tunnels, where chapels, monasteries and caves were hoolwed into rocks as settlement places during the Byzantine era.

Optional Whirling Dervishes ceremony in Saruhan Kervansaray dating back to the early 13th century. Dinner at Elai Restaurant.

Overnight at Museum Hotel.

DAY8 (B,L)
Transfer to the Kayseri Airport for our morning flight to Istanbul.
Arrive at Istanbul Ataturk airport and tour the Seraglio Point district unique mosques designed by the famed architect Sinan: Rustem Pasa Mosque and the Suleymans Mosque.

Lunch in the outdoor café of the Istanbul Modern Museum. We will tour the renovated 86,000 square foot former government customs warehouse with an impressive collection of abstract paintings, portraits, sculptures and photographs from private and state collections.
Check in to the Ritz Hotel.

Remainder of evening and dinner on your own. A list of recommended restaurants will be provided.

DAY9 (B,L,D)
Visit to Sabanci Museum, displaying Turkey’s finest private art and calligraphy collection. The beautiful gardens of the museum have Istanbul’s best view of the Bosphorus. We will enjoy a private tour with in depth explanations.

Lunch at Changa, on the grounds of the Sabanci Residence.
Afternoon visit to Archeological Museum, where some of the world’s finest examples of Helenistic sarcophagi and visit to the Spice Market, built in 1660 with the taxes collected from Cario for the trade of Egyptian commodities, especially herbs and spices. The L-shaped bazaar has 88 vaulted rooms where you can buy anything from saffron and spices mixtures sold as aphrodisiacs, to towels, bed linen and basket ware.

Return to the hotel for relaxing before dinner.
Dinner at Istanbul’s newest restaurant 360, a cutting edge space with 360 degree views of Istanbul.
Overnight in the Ritz Hotel.

DAY10 (B,L,D)
Visit the colorful Istiklal Street, Istanbul’s main promenade and the Cicek Passage with its famous fish market and small local restaurants.
Tour of the Pera neighborhood and private tour of the Pera Museum.
Lunch at the rooftop of the new Marmara Pera Hotel for a bird’s eye view of the city.

Visit of Galata neighborhood and Galata Tower.

Afternoon visit to the neighborhood of Çukurcuma with its mixture of antique and retro-chic stores.

In the early evening we will stroll the winding streets of the Ortakoy neighbourhood, hub of Istanbul nightlife.

We will travel by yacht across the Bosphorus to the Asian side of Istanbul where we will enjoy our

Farewell dinner at the waterfront gardens of Korfez Restaurant.

DAY11(B)
Following breakfast you will be transferred to the Ataturk Airport for your return flights.