Spain & Andalusia Tour (Departure via Seville - Return via Malaga)

We depart Istanbul Airport at 06:55 on flight TK1297 and land at Seville's San Pablo Airport at 10:40 local time. After being met by our guide, our tour of Seville, the capital of Andalusia, begins with Maria Luisa Park, home to the Plaza de España, and Plaza America. We then visit Seville Cathedral, the world's third-largest, which holds the tomb of Christopher Columbus, along with the neighboring Giralda Minaret, the last surviving part of the mosque that once stood there. Our guided walking tour continues past the Alcazar Palace, blending Andalusian and Christian architecture, and the Archive of the Indies, leading to the narrow old streets of the Santa Cruz quarter. The tour concludes with the former tobacco factory, now a university campus, and the Torre del Oro (Golden Tower), today a naval museum, after which we have some free time before dinner and an overnight stay at our hotel in Seville.

After breakfast we drive about two hours to Córdoba, once the regional capital under Roman rule. We cross the historic Roman bridge over the Guadalquivir River and enter the city through the Roman Gate. We visit the city's most magnificent building, the Great Mosque of Córdoba, one of the world's largest, resting on 850 columns. We then walk through the old streets, known for their flower-lined lanes, historic inns, and courtyard houses reflecting Andalusian architecture. After some free time in the historic center, we continue about two hours by road to our hotel in Granada.

In Granada, the jewel of Andalusia, our first stop is the Alhambra Palace, famous for its stunning gardens and ornamentation; after a lengthy tour of the palace we take in a panoramic view of the city from the San Nicolás viewpoint. We then walk the steep streets of Albaicín, the old Arab quarter, passing the Morabitos Mosque before reaching Gran Vía, the city's main avenue, and Isabel la Católica Square. After a short coffee or mint tea break we visit Granada Cathedral and its markets, where guests can shop or enjoy the city's famous tapas in one of the café-lined squares. After the city tour we return to our hotel to rest and have dinner.

After breakfast we travel from Granada to the town of Ronda. Split by a gorge roughly 100 meters deep carved by the Tajo River, Ronda is known for its narrow streets, whitewashed houses, and dramatic views, and was one of the last Muslim strongholds on the Iberian Peninsula, carrying Roman, Islamic, and medieval heritage. After our visit to Ronda we stop in the well-known town of Marbella before reaching the Strait of Gibraltar, where two seas meet and where Tariq ibn Ziyad once landed to launch the conquest of Iberia. Here we see the Rock of Gibraltar and the old Islamic fortress town of Tarifa at the tip of the strait. After some free time in Tarifa we continue to our hotel in Algeciras for the night.

After breakfast we leave our hotel and travel to the port city of Malaga. A panoramic city tour takes in the Botanical Gardens and the Malaga seafront, along with the unfinished Malaga Cathedral. After free time for shopping and strolling through modern Malaga's stylish streets, we visit the Alcazaba fortress from the Andalusian era, the Roman Theatre with its interactive museum at its foot, and the Plaza de Toros, the oldest bullring in Andalusia. Along the way we also pass through Frigiliana and Nerja, two attractive towns in Malaga's Axarquia region. We then head to Malaga Airport to complete check-in, departing at 17:55 on flight TK1306 and landing in Istanbul at 23:15, bringing our Andalusia tour to a close.