Elegant Balkan Tour from Ankara to Kosovo

We meet at Esenboğa Airport in the international departures terminal three hours before the flight. After baggage, ticket, and boarding procedures, we take our scheduled Ajet Airlines flight to Tirana. Upon arrival, we travel by private vehicle via Elbasan to Ohrid, the pearl of the Balkans. After our arrival, during the tour we will take together in the city of Ohrid, which takes its name from Lake Ohrid, one of the largest lakes in the Balkans, the Halveti Lodge, which has existed since the 17th century, Ohrid’s symbol, the Plane Tree, the Turkish Bazaar, the Ali Pasha Mosque, which has been reopened for worship after a long restoration work, Ohrid Harbor, the Quarantine Church, Turkish and Khorasan houses that will make you feel as if you are on a movie set, Abbaras, the Ancient Egnatia Road, Keraklea Lynketis, the Clock Tower, St. Dimitri Church, the Hagia Sophia Church, St. Clement Monastery, St. Kaneo Church, St. Pantelejmon Church, and Samoil Fortress are among the places to be seen panoramically. After our tour, free time for shopping in the Ohrid bazaar. After our tour, we check in to our hotel. Dinner and accommodation at our Lake Ohrid hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for Sveti Naum. We visit the source where Lake Ohrid begins. The magnificent scenery here is truly breathtaking. Then we head to Resne. In Resne, we see the palace of Niyazi from Resne, one of the most famous three figures of the Committee of Union and Progress, who gained fame due to his contributions in the Turkish-Greek War, and continue on to Bitola. During our city tour of Manastır (Bitola), we visit the Turkish Bazaar, the Bedesten, the Ishak Mosque, the New Mosque, the Haydar Kadi Mosque, and the Military High School where Atatürk graduated, as well as the Atatürk Museum, where you will experience the most emotional moments of the trip. After our visit, we continue our journey and begin our city tour in the capital Skopje. In our panoramic tour introducing Skopje, the city where Yahya Kemal Beyatlı was born, places to be visited with exterior explanations include the Old Railway Station, the monument and house of Skopje-born philanthropist Mother Teresa, the Stone Bridge, the Castle Walls, the Old City from the Ottoman period, the Bazaar, and the Mustafa Pasha, Sultan Murad, and Gazi Isa Bey Mosques, Davud Pasha Bath, Kapan, Sulu, and Kurşunlu Inns, which are among the finest architectural legacies of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. After our tour, dinner and accommodation at our hotel.

After having breakfast at the hotel, we depart for Matka Canyon. Following our tour, we head to Kosovo. We depart from our hotel for a city tour of Pristina, the capital of Kosovo, one of the world’s youngest states, where the vast majority of the population consists of Muslim Albanians. We will spend an emotionally charged day in the former Ottoman lands where a human tragedy took place very recently. Among the places we will see are the Bazaar, the Bazaar Mosque built by Sultan Bayezid in the 15th century, the clock tower built in the 19th century to remind the public of prayer times, the Sultan Murad Mosque built by Sultan Mehmed II the Conqueror in 1461, the bathhouse dating from the 19th century, the Yaşar Pasha Mosque, whose construction began in the 16th century and could only be completed in the 19th century, the Ottoman mansion from the 19th century used as the Kosovo Academy of Sciences and Arts, and the Murad Hüdavendigar Tomb. After our tour in Pristina, we will travel to Prizren by a 100 km bus journey. Before starting our tour in Prizren, one of the perhaps most charming cities in the Balkans, there will be free time for lunch. During our tour in Prizren, the Turkish Bath from the 17th century, the Sinan Pasha Mosque built in 1615, Prizren Castle, the Orthodox Church, and the Church of Christ the Savior are among the places to be seen. At the end of the tour, we arrive in Skopje. Transfer to a local restaurant for our Dinner and the famous Balkan Entertainment. After this wonderful night activity where we have fun accompanied by music, we return to our hotel. Accommodation at our Skopje hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for Belgrade. Upon our arrival in Belgrade, we begin our panoramic city tour. Kalemegdan Park and Fortress, the most important defensive point in Belgrade throughout history, is located in a strategic position at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and is one of the best places to view the Danube River. The Nikola Tesla Museum, which we will see panoramically from the outside during our tour, is a science center dedicated to the life and inventions of the famous inventor Nikola Tesla. The museum exhibits Tesla’s revolutionary inventions in the fields of electricity and magnetism. By giving a brief introduction from the outside, we will observe the global impact of this important scientist and Serbia’s respect for him. Also, Knez Mihailova, the most famous and popular street in Belgrade, and St. Sava Cathedral, one of the largest Orthodox churches in Europe, are among the places we will see during our tour. After our tour, dinner and accommodation at our Belgrade hotel.

After the breakfast we will have at the hotel, we depart for Sarajevo. After the break we will take on the way, we arrive in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and begin our city tour. We stroll through Baščaršija, the most distinguished bazaar in Europe. We visit the Gazi Husrev-beg Medresa, which has been in operation since the Ottoman period. Then we visit the Gazi Husrev-beg Mosque, a relative of Suleiman the Magnificent. On the continuation of our tour, the Clock Tower, the Catholic Cathedral in Sarajevo, Orthodox Churches and the Jewish Synagogue are among the sights to be seen. Then, after visiting the Latin Bridge, where World War I broke out, we pass through the gate where Fatih Sultan Mehmed entered the city and drink water from the Ottoman Fountain. Finally, we visit the Fatih Mosque, attributed to Fatih Sultan Mehmed Khan. Then we depart for our Vrelo Bosne tour. On this tour, we set out to discover Vrelo Bosne, one of Sarajevo's most special natural beauties. In this unique natural wonder located at the source of the Bosna River, we take a peaceful walk accompanied by lush green trees and clear waters. We spend time immersed in nature along paths surrounded by historic plane trees, and we take unforgettable photos accompanied by ponds where swans glide and small waterfalls. After the free time given by our guide, transfer to our hotel. Dinner and accommodation at our Sarajevo hotel

After the breakfast we will have at the hotel, we depart for Mostar. Upon our arrival in Mostar, on our city tour that we will do on foot, we first see the Mostar Bridge. (The bridge, built by Mimar Hayreddin in 1557, is a masterpiece of Ottoman architecture.) The bridge was destroyed by Croatian artillery in the war that took place in 1992, but it was reopened in 2004 with major contributions from the Republic of Turkey. Then we see the Koski Mehmet Pasha Mosque. After our Mostar tour and the free time our guide will provide, we visit Blagaj and head to Počitelj Village, which bears traces of the Ottoman era. This stone village will welcome you with its timeless structures and unique atmosphere. Structures such as the Hacı Aliya Mosque and the Clock Tower in the village are among the places that can be seen. Then we depart for Trebinje. After our tour, Dinner and Accommodation at our hotel.

After breakfast at the hotel, we depart for Montenegro. Upon arrival, we head to Kotor, an important historical site, natural paradise, and tourist attraction. Here, on the walking tour in Stari Grad (Old Town-Fortress), we will see points of interest such as the clock tower from the 17th century, the Church Square, the History Museum, and the longest rampart in the Balkans. After our Kotor tour, we make a stop where we can enjoy a panoramic view from above of the magnificent St. Stefan and Budva, which are now being brought into tourism through restoration work after the expropriation of an island that once served as a settlement area for fishermen and its subsequent sale to a Singaporean multimillionaire. We then continue to the Albanian city of Shkodra. After our tour, dinner and accommodation at our hotel.

After the breakfast we will have at the hotel, we will check out of the rooms and depart for Tirana. We will take a panoramic tour introducing this beautiful city, a mountainous country in the Balkans that was caught between wars throughout the 20th century and lived under Enver Hoxha's dictatorship for 40 years, developed by Süleyman Pasha in 1614 and became the capital of Albania in 1920. During our tour, the places we will see include Ethem Bey Mosque, the historic Clock Tower, the National Museum, the Opera and Ballet Building, the Parliament and Prime Ministry Buildings, the Presidential Palace, Mother Teresa Statue, and Skanderbeg Square. After our tour, we transfer to the airport at the time specified by our guide. After baggage, ticket, and boarding procedures, flight to Ankara on Ajet Airlines scheduled service. With our arrival at Esenboğa Airport, the end of our tour and services.