Itinerary

- Day 1 - Arrival in Istanbul
.** As we say in Turkey, HOS GELDINIZ! Welcome to Turkey. We will meet you at the airport and transfer you to your hotel. After a short briefing about your tour you will have the afternoon free to rest and explore Istanbul on your own.:overnight in ISTANBUL.

- Day 2 - Istanbul to Ankara - B)
Early in the morning we will meet you at your hotel, and provide a transfer to Haydar Pasa train station on the Asian side, then we will board the train and go on a 6 hour comfortable, scenic train ride to Ankara.
Upon arrival you will be met by our transfermen and transfered to your hotel, after check in you will have a free day to relax and explore Ankara at your own pace. Overnight stay in Ankara.

- Day 3 - Ankara to Cappadocia - (B/L)
Today we will have an early start and visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Mauseleum of Ataturk, after lunch we will depart from Ankara to Cappadocia and will visit Hattusa on the way
Anatolian Civilization Museum : is in two Ottoman buildings located near Ankara Castle, in the historical Atpazarı district of Ankara. One of the buildings is Mahmut Paşa Bedesteni and the other is Kurşunlu Han (inn, caravanserai). The exhibits of gold, silver, glass, marble and bronze works date back as far as the second half of the first millennium BC. The coin collections, with examples ranging from the first minted money to modern times, represent the museum's rare cultural treasures.
Mauseleum of Ataturk : Anıtkabir is the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the leader of the Turkish War of Independence and the founder and first president of the Republic of Turkey.
Hattusa was the capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age. The region is set in the great loop of the Kızıl River (Marashantiya in Hittite sources and Halys in Classical Antiquity) in central Anatolia. Hattusa was added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 1986. Before 2000 BC, a settlement of the apparently indigenous Hatti people was established on sites that had been occupied even earlier.[1] The earliest traces of settlement on the site are from the sixth millennium BC. In the 19th and 18th centuries BC, merchants from Assur in Assyria established a trading post here, setting up in their own separate quarter of the city.
After visiting Hattusas, we will depart for Cappadocia, Evening arrival in Cappadocia, check in the hotel, Overnight stay.

- Day 4 - Cappadocia - (L)
This day will be spent exploring the amazing sites of Cappadocia. (For those who have bought optional hot air ballooning tour of Cappadocia ) Very, very early in the morning we will wake up to take a hot air balloon ride over the area. After this we will come back to the hotel for breakfast and a rest before setting out in late morning to see the rest of the sites.
This day will be spent exploring the amazing sites of Cappadocia.
Sites you’ll see today
*The World Heritage Site of Goreme Open-Air Museum--This is a cluster of rock cut Byzantine churches, chapels and monasteries which include some wonderful 11th and 12th century frescoes on the cave walls. This place was used by the Christians as a place of refuge from those opposed to Christianity and also was a major monastery. Rooms, churches, houses, and gathering halls have all been cut into the rock or formed from natural caves. Within the caves you can explore and see the preserved mosaics and frescoes.
*Zelve Open Air Museum -- Three natural valleys surrounded by steep rocks form a dramatic site as you can wander around looking at the thousands of rock houses, churches and tunnels carved into the cliffs here. Mosaics in the churches typify the type associated with the pre-Iconoclastic Period, meaning that you will see symbols such as the cross, deer, fish, grapes, etc.
*Fairy Chimneys -- these geological phenomenon have been shaped over millions of years. They were formed during volcanic eruptions in the region. Reaching at times 40 meters in height, they are conical in shape and have a "hat" top to them.
*Devrent Valley -- This valley is known as "the pink valley" because of the color of it‘s soil. This is a lovely place to wander around and look at the magical rock formations indicative to Cappadocia, including the Fairy Chimneys.
Uchisar Castle -- Also called a fortress, this is actually a formation of two gigantic rocks surrounded by smaller rocks that together form a natural fortress with towers. These formations were inhabited during both the Byzantine and Ottoman times. You can climb and explore the different caves and rooms throughout the fortress, experiencing first-hand what it must have been like to hide in these fortified rocks, waiting for the ancient enemy to pass by or give up. We will also get the chance to visit local craftspeople and learn how they make dolls and create traditional pottery. Overnight stay in Cappadocia.

- Day 5 - Cappadocia - (B/L)
Today will be spent walking through an underground city where ancient people once fled for their lives escaping the Arab invaders, wandering through"> Ilhara Gorge and spending time in an Anatolian village.
Sites you’ll see today
*Underground City of Derinkuyu -- You will gradually stroll your way down into the depths of the earth in this ancient underground city that has 18-20 floors as deep as 40 meters below the ground. Don’t worry, you will only go down to the 8th floor. Cappadocia has around 36 underground cities. Archeologists date these back to the time of the Hittites which lived 4000 years ago. Others believe they were inhabited around the 7th century BC.....Regardless of how old or young they are, undoubtedly they will leave you with a sense of awe of how the dwellers of these cities lived. As you wind down you will begin to feel as if you are in a huge block of Swiss cheese.
*Ilhara Gorge will seem like an oasis in the middle of the Anatolian plain. Delve into the gorge and see the beautiful greenery as you follow the river. Around you will see ancient monasteries complete with pigeon holes cut into the cliffs by the monks. They used these pigeons as messengers to communicate with their monk friends!
*Traditional Anatolian village -- The head-scarved women out at work in the fields from sun up until sun-down, and the mustached, vest-wearing men hard at work playing cards in the coffee shops. You will get time to stroll in such a village and see the average Turkish villager at work...or play. Overnight stay in Cappadocia

- Day - 6 - Cappadocia - Adiyaman - (B/L/D)
After breakfast we will depart from Cappadocia, drive all the way down to Adiyaman - kahta and will stop on the way to try the Turkey's famous Maras Ice Cream, After arrival we will check in the hotel and overnight stay in Adiyaman - Kahta.

- Day - 7 - Nemrut Tour then to Urfa - (B/L/D)
Around 03:00 am in the morning we will start our tour and drive up to Nemrut Mountian and then we will watch the sunrise on Mount Nemrut, the postcard setting for the amazing statues at the Commagene Temple. In this area we will visit the capital of the Commagene Kingdom; Arsaemia; a tumulus on Karakus Hill and Cendere Bridge, before heading to Sanliurfa. Stay overnight in Urfa.
After lunch we will explore more of Urfa the city thats Famous for kebabs, this city in fact has a great historical past. The Lake of Sacred Fish being the focal point and the adjacent Halilurrahman Mosque and Dersa Mosque. Near Urfa, bordering Syria we come across a famed city of Mesopotamia, Harran with earthen mud huts and remains of palace and mosque. Return to Urfa whe we will spend the night.

- Day 8 - Urfa to Diyarbakir via Mardin - (B/D)
After breakfast we will depart from Urfa and drive to Diyarbakir on the way we will stop and visit Mardin.

Mardin is known for its Arab-style architecture, and for its strategic location on a rocky mountain overlooking the plains of northern Syria. Mardin has a very mixed population, Kurds, Turks, Syriac Orthodox and Arabs all represent large groups. There is also a small Armenian community in the region.
The earliest settlers in Mardin were Assyrians/Syriacs, arriving in the 3rd century AD; the old Assyro-Babylonian religion existed in Mardin until the 18th century.Most Syriac Orthodox churches and monasteries in the city, which are still active today, date from the 5th century AD, such as the Deyrülzafarân Monastery.

After visiting Mardin, we will continue our drive to Diyarbakir, arrival in Diyarbakir, check in the hotel, Overnight stay.

- Day 9 - Diyarbakir to Van - (B/D)
After breakfast we will take you on a half day panoramic tour of Diyarbakir,
Diyarbakır is surrounded by an almost intact, dramatic set of high walls of black basalt forming a 5.5 km (3.4 mi) circle around the old city. There are four gates into the old city and 82 watch-towers on the walls, which were built in antiquity, restored and extended by the Roman emperor Constantius in 349. Diyarbakır boasts numerous medieval mosques and madrassahs.. In the afternoon we will depart from Diyarbakir and drive to Van, upon arrival you will check into your hotel, Overnight stay.

- Day 10 - Van - (B/D)
Today we will go on a full day tour exploring Hosap Village and Akdamar island in Lake Van

Hosap Castle : is a large medieval castle in the village of Hosap
According to a local tradition, the hands of the architect who built this formidable stronghold were cut off so that he could not build another.

Akdamar Island is the second by size of four islands in Lake Van in the south of Eastern Anatolia Region, Turkey, situated about 3 km from the shoreline. At the western end of the island a hard, grey, limestone cliff rises 80 m above the lake's level. The island declines to the east to a level site where a spring provides ample water. It is home to a tenth century Armenian church, known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross (915-921), and was the seat of an Armenian Catholics from 1116 to 1895. After the tour we will return to our hotel, Overnight stay in Van.

- Day 11 - Van to Dogubeyazit - (B/D)
After breakfast we will depart from Van and drive north to Dogubeyazit, on the way we will see spectacul views of Mount Ararat and we will stop by picturesque stops and take pictures, after arrival we will visit;

The Ishak Pasha palace is an Ottoman-period palace whose construction was started in 1685 by Colak Abdi Pasha, the bey of Beyazit province. According to the inscription on its door, the Harem Section of the palace was completed by his grandson Ishak
The Palace is more of a complex than a palace; it is the second administrative campus after the Topkapı Palace in Istanbul and the most famous of the palaces built in recent decades.
The palace is built on a hill at the side of a mountain, It was the last large monumental structure in the Ottoman Empire from the "Lale Devri" period. It is one of the most distinguished and magnificent examples of the 18th century Ottoman architecture and is very valuable in terms of art history.
The İshak Pasha Palace is a rare example of the historical Turkish palaces.

- Day 12 - Dogubeyazit to Kars - (B/D)
After breakfast we will depart from Dogubeyazi & Drive to Kars, after arrival we will check into our hotel, then in the afternoon we will visit the Medival city of Ani

Ani Ani is a ruined and uninhabited medieval Armenian city-site situated in the Turkish province of Kars, beside the border with Armenia. It was once the capital of a medieval Armenian kingdom that covered much of present day Armenia and eastern Turkey.
A line of walls that encircled the entire city defended Ani. The most powerful defences were along the northern side of the city, the only part of the site not protected by rivers or ravines.
Overnight stay in Kars.

Day 13 - Kars to Trabzon - (B/D)
After breakfast we will depart from Kars and drive to Trabzon, we will first drive up to Hopa then turn our destination west and drive along the magnificent, picturesque, scenic Black sea route to Trabzon, on the way way we will visit Tea plantations, scenic sites, traiditional villages, upon arrival we will check into our hotel, Overnight stay in Trabzon.

Day 14 - Trabzon to Istanbul - (B)
After breakfast we will start the day visiting Hagia Sophia church in Trabzon, then we will drive west through through picturesque Pontic Mountains, and visit Sumela Monastery

Sumela Monastery sits high up on the cliffs of mouth Mela, southeast of Trabzon. It was founded in the 4 th century by 2 Greek monks, Barnabas and Sophronius, who were guided to the site by an icon of a "black" image of the Virgin, elegantly painted by St. Luke. After their deaths, sumela became a place of pilgrimage. It was decorated with frescoes, and its treasures included priceless manuscripts and silver plates. The monastery was built several times -the ruins seen by today's visitors date largely 19 th century. In the Ottoman era, sumela enjoyed the protection of the sultans, but it was abandoned and badly damage during the War of independence. In recent years, extensive restoration has been carried out.

After the tour we will transfer you to the Trabzon airport and put you on a 1 hour 45 minute flight back to istanbul, arrival in Istanbul will be the end of this program.

Total cost 2480.00 Euros per person in a double room & 3500 Euros for single supplement.

Price includes
* All of the hotels ( Each of them individually chosen )
* All of the land transfers with comfortable vehicles
* All of the meal mentioned in the itinerary (B-breakfast, L-lunch & D-dinner)
* Professional English speaking tour guides
* Admissions to the ancient sites
* Train tickets from Istanbul to Ankara
* Domestic flight tickets from Trabzon to Istanbul.
* All of the TAX and service charges

Excludes
* International flight tickets to Istanbul
* Drinks with meals
* Hot Air Balloon ride on Cappadocia - (15 percent discount if booked with this tour)

<<<< Back to Eastern Turkey tours main page,