From Russia-St. Petersburg to Red Square, St. Petersburg-Moscow

We will meet at the Istanbul Sabiha Gokçen Airport International Departures Terminal at 19:35 and complete our procedures to depart for St. Petersburg at 00:45 on Ajet Airlines flight VF 293. After document checks, baggage drop-off and check-in procedures, we will proceed to our aircraft.

After our flight from Sabiha Gokcen Airport to St. Petersburg at 00:45, we will transfer to our hotel with our private bus waiting for us to rest and stay. (EARLY CHECK-IN - BREAKFAST) After breakfast, we will leave the hotel for our panoramic tour. On the panoramic tour of St. Petersburg, founded in 1703 by Russian Tsar Peter I and one of the art, science and industry centers of the Russian geography, we will see that every hour of the day offers a separate visual feast. We will witness history along the 4.5 km Nevsky Avenue stretching flat before our eyes. Named after Alexander Nevsky, the most famous hero of Russian history, and considered almost the key point of the city, the sights we will encounter on Nevsky Avenue include the Admiralty Building; the Kazan Cathedral, a small replica of the famous St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace; the Stroganov Palace; Gostiny Dvor, which was founded as a bazaar 250 years ago and is not as large and established as the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, but is now used as a shopping center; the Russian National Library, one of the largest libraries in the world; the Singer Building, which attracted considerable criticism in its time due to its founding story; the Eliseyev Building with its magnificent stained glass and bronze interior; the Aurora Cinema, also known as the Piccadilly Cinema, frequently mentioned by the writer Nabokov in his memoirs; and the famous Anichkov Bridge, which holds a special place in Russian literature and bears the traces of the Siege of Leningrad, along with many other structures, as we make a rapid journey through time from Tsarist Russia to the Soviet Union and up to the present day. Afterwards, free time. However, guests who wish may take part in the extra organized Ekaterina Palace Pushkin Tsar Town Tour (including the Amber Room) (80 Euro). The town, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and home to the school of Pushkin, the great poet and writer of Russian literature, will draw our attention with its palaces, parks and various structures. Built in the eighteenth century for the family of the Tsar, this area will invite its guests into what feels like a Russian fairy tale. Our main focus in the town, which covers an area of 600 hectares, will be the Catherine (Yekaterina) Palace, an exceptional example of the Rococo style. The famous Amber Room of the palace, bearing the name of Empress Catherine I and also known as the "Summer Palace," will fascinate everyone. Although it suffered from German looting during World War II, the surviving version of this original room, adorned with five tons of pure amber, will still leave us all in awe. The palace's landscape, carefully designed by Dutch and English gardeners, will offer us peace with its tranquility. The Chesma Column, erected in commemoration of Russia's victory in the Russo-Turkish naval war, and the Kagul Obelisk, a symbol of another victory, will be among the historical structures we see in this garden. On the shore of the large pond in the garden, we will see the bathhouse designed inspired by Turkish mosques. We will all see that the greatest feature of the garden is that it houses traces of many cultures, from Chinese bridges to Turkish baths and ancient Greek statues, as records of Russian history. When we see the Alexander Palace in the same area, where all members of the Romanov dynasty were together at the time of their arrest, we will once again understand that it is the stage of a different perspective on Russian history. After our tour, we will transfer to the hotel to rest. Afterwards, free time. However, guests who wish may take part in the extra organized Russian Cuisine Night in Peter's City (60 Eur).

• St. Petersburg city introduction tour - Free
• Ekaterina Palace Pushkin Tsar Town Tour (including the Amber Room) 80 Eur
• Russian Cuisine Night in Peter's City 60 Eur (Beef Stroganoff Menu - 4 courses)

Free time after the breakfast served at the hotel. However, guests who wish to may join the separately arranged Peterhof Palace and Park Tour (100 EUR). Once we step into the enchanting atmosphere of Peterhof, a complex of buildings inspired by the Palace of Versailles, which Tsar Peter I, the leader of the Russian Westernization movement, admired and was influenced by during his trip to France, we will feel that we have entered a completely different world. Famous for its gardens and especially its fountains, this complex, pioneering both in fountain architecture and in the engineering approach of its era, will offer us a magnificent view of the Baltic Sea thanks to its location on the Gulf of Finland. The fountains and jets, which feature an technically impressive mechanical system and where people of all ages enjoy themselves in the summer months, will be a visual feast for spectators. The main fountain in the palace garden, which is connected to the Baltic Sea by a canal, will leave us all in awe. Right at the exit of Peter's summer palace complex, which has gone down in history for his intelligence, innovative spirit and refinement, stands the Peter and Paul Cathedral, which will appear before us as a striking example of Orthodox church architecture in both its exterior and interior. After Peterhof, which was severely damaged during the Second World War but restored faithfully to its original architecture and which you will hardly want to leave, there is free time. However, guests who wish to may join the separately arranged Hermitage Museum Tour (50 Euro). From the "Golden Dress Man" to the world's oldest carpet, from the door of the Kaaba to unique manuscripts and important works of modern art, and even the "Peacock Clock", the Hermitage Museum is a true treasure for those who wish to closely see cultural heritage of every kind and from every geography imaginable, and will give us an unforgettable experience. Indeed, the collection, whose foundations were laid by the works Empress Catherine began keeping in her summer and winter palaces, now contains more than four million pieces. The story of how the works in the palace, converted into a museum after the Bolshevik Revolution, were saved from the Nazis' art plunder during the Second World War alone explains the importance of the Hermitage in protecting world cultural heritage. On the Hermitage Tour, where we will visit the former summer and winter palaces, our tour guide will happily tell us the story of how one of the largest and richest museums in the world helped form the cultural cornerstone of a country that has changed its regime three times. After our tour, free time. However, guests who wish to may join the separately arranged Neva River Boat Tour (50 EUR). During our boat tour, we will have the opportunity to panoramically see the buildings, museums and historical monuments in the open air that display the full splendor of Tsarist Russia. Guests who wish to complete our last evening in St. Petersburg with a special gala dinner may join the separately arranged Russian Night Entertainment Gala Dinner (100 Eur). After our night adorned with musical dance performances, we will return to the hotel to rest and stay overnight.

• Peterhof Palace and Park Tour 100 Eur
• Hermitage Museum Tour 50 Eur
• Neva River Boat Tour 50 Eur
• Russian Night Entertainment Gala Dinner with Show 100 Eur 

Wake-up call in the morning, after breakfast at our hotel, transfer to the train station by our private bus. Departure to Moscow by train. Guests who wish to may join the extra arranged Moscow Metro, Novodevichy Cemetery and Arbat Street Tour (Nazım Hikmet's Grave) (50 Euro). Riding the Moscow Metro, known as the oldest, largest and most beautifully decorated metro in the world, we will examine its magnificent stations, each decorated with its own theme, and then move on to Novodevichy Cemetery, known by name to many people because it houses the grave of Nazım Hikmet. We will visit the cemetery, a museum-status site founded in 1524, which was ordered demolished by Napoleon in 1812 but was saved from destruction when the nuns prevented this decision, along with the monastery within it. In the monastery, which was completely emptied in 1922, left to its fate, and reopened its doors after restoration in 1994, we will feel a sense of seclusion. In Novodevichy, which means "Young Maidens" in Turkish, we will witness that the memory of the young women of that era, whose lives in the monastery began and ended there, is still kept alive. We will see the graves of figures such as Chekhov, Gogol, Mayakovsky, Bulgakov, Eisenstein, Khrushchev, Shostakovich and Yeltsin, who rest in eternal sleep in this monastery and cemetery where the stars of many tsarina candidates have also faded over time. After our tour full of history, literature, cinema, music and, of course, melancholy, we will embrace life and move on to Arbat Street, the busiest street in Moscow. We will learn that this street, whose history dates back to 1493 and which is the most famous art center of both Moscow and Russia, takes its name from the word "Gorbat," meaning "hill" in Slavic languages, and according to one legend from the Arabic "Rabad," meaning "outskirts" or "near the city." On this journey through time from the fifteenth century to today, street painters whom we often encounter will accompany us. In addition, the traces of Pushkin and his wife Goncharova will welcome us at building number 53 on the street. Afterwards, free time. However, guests who wish to may join the extra arranged Kremlin Tour (65 Euro). In the Kremlin, a magnificent structure whose name means "fortress" and which is known as the center not only of Moscow but of Russia, we will witness a historical heritage deeply marked by political intrigues and social transformations. We will see that the old walls of the Kremlin, built in the fifteenth century and defining the eastern border of Red Square with its eastern walls, carry the enchanting texture of the past to the present day. Wandering through the Kremlin's gardens, the Grand Kremlin Palace Complex, the Concert Hall and the Presidential Building, we will breathe in the rich texture of history and culture. On our tour, we will also have the chance to see the "Space Tree" planted in the Kremlin complex after Yuri Gagarin's legendary space flight, and we will enjoy listening to the story of the bell tower built by Tsar Ivan and the cannon he had cast. Also, while touring the museum, we will get a close look at the crown of the famous Tsarina Catherine, made up of 5000 diamonds. After our tour, we will go to the hotel to rest and stay overnight.

• Moscow Metro, Novodevichy Cemetery and Arbat Street Tour (Nazım Hikmet's Grave) 50 Eur