8 Days. 5N ISTANBUL 4* (BB) | 2N BURSA 4* (BO)

About the destination: Istanbul owes its historical significance and its incredible cultural and architectural heritage to its perfect strategic location, straddling the Bosphorus straits which separate Europe and Asia Minor. Throughout most of its 2,500-year-long history, the city (first known as Byzantium, then as Constantinople and since 1930 as Istanbul) was a cultural melting pot. Today, its population of over 13 million is almost exclusively Turkish, and many of its people are recent migrants from provincial Turkey, drawn by the promise of jobs and careers in this vibrant, rapidly growing city. Istanbul is no longer the nation's capital, but is Turkey's economic and cultural powerhouse - a status emphasised by its role as a European City of Culture in 2010 and the award of UNESCO World Heritage listing to many of its most important landmarks, which range from stunning Ottoman mosques and Byzantine churches and catacombs to the columns of Hellenistic temples and the remains of massive medieval city walls. But there's more to Istanbul than Byzantine and Ottoman heritage. A rapidly growing economy has contributed to a thriving arts and music scene, with a wealth of new bars, clubs, private art galleries, restaurants and designer fashion outlets.

About the destination: Bursa is a large city in Turkey, located in northwestern Anatolia, within the Marmara Region. It is the fourth most populous city in Turkey and one of the most industrialised metropolitan centres in the country. The city is also the administrative centre of Bursa Province. MAIN TOURIST ATTRACTIONS • Ulucami. The "great mosque" of Bursa. Built in the early Ottoman period, in 1399, it resembles more of the earlier Seljuq buildings of inland Anatolia than the typical Ottoman mosques such as the Blue Mosque of Istanbul built later. • Orhan Camii ve Külliyesi. • Yeşil Camii. This mosque is in the Yesil or 'green' district of Bursa just left over the bridge. It contains a wonderful Turbe or tomb completely covered by tiles inside and out. • Emir Sultan Camii. • Muradiye Camii. • Hüdavendigar Camii. • Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art. • Darüzziyafe. • Sarı Konak In Tophane. • Balıbey Han.