In September 2019, two ART-TOUR groups went to Istanbul. In the ART-TOUR Junior team there was a newlywed couple, which gave a special note for the travel. Friends from Izhevsk, London, Moscow and Sochi joined the St. Petersburg participants.

Our exploration of ancient Constantinople greatly benefited from the parallel acquaintance with the Istanbul Biennale of Contemporary Art. We founded churches and mosques, museums and galleries, wandered along narrow streets, traveled along the Bosphorus and marveled at the contrast between the Asian and European Istanbul. After an intense week in a bustling and lively metropolis, we went to the quiet Princes’ Islands and swam in the Sea of ​​Marmara between the colored piers.

From Istanbul, ART-TOUR flew to the legendary Cappadocia – a land where every sunrise is colored by hundreds of balloons flying over the mountains against the backdrop of amazing karst mountains, silhouettes of which have become the hallmark of the region. In Cappadocia, everyone is destined to meet the dawns, to watch the flight of balloons, and then to sing songs on the roof of the hotel, to walk along the Valley of Love and to find cave churches with preserved frescoes far in the mountains. From here, according to the legend, Saint Nino came to bring Christianity to Georgia. In the fall of 2019 the ART-TOUR Junior decided to follow Nino’s route.