EASTERN TURKEY 2010 TOUR
Tour Name: Eastern Turkey 2010 Tour
Duration: 12 Days, 11 Nights
Transportation: Private van and domestic flight
Visited Places: Cappadocia, Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, Zeugma, Urfa, Harran, Kahta, Mt. Nemrut, Mardin, Tatvan, Van, Doguneyazit, Kars, Ani, Erzurum, Trabzon
| Departure Dates: | 11 April 2010 |
22 April 2010 |
9 May 2010 |
22 May 2010 |
2 June 2010 |
17 June 2010 |
28 June 2010 |
9 July 2010 |
|
20 July 2010 |
4 August 2010 |
14 August 2010 |
25 August 2010 |
|
6 September 2010 |
17 September 2010 |
1 October 2010 |
12 October 2010 |
Starting the tour from Istanbul: Eastern Turkey tour will have guaranteed departures on above dates from Cappadocia. This tour was asked by many of our clients who visited Western Turkey with us in previous years. If it is your first time to Turkey, we can add a 2-3 days Istanbul package which will cover your daily tours, accommodation and airport transfers in Istanbul as well as flight or bus to Cappadocia for beginning of the tour. Please don't hesitate to ask for further information regarding pre and post tour packages.
ITINERARY
Day 1 (Cappadocia, Goreme Open Air Museum)
Guaranteed departured Eastern Turkey tours in 2008 will start from Cappadocia. If you are directly arriving to Istanbul, please mention that in your email. We can arrange your transportation to Cappadocia for the beginning of the tour.
Our first day in Cappadocia starts with Devrent valley which is also known is Imagination valley. We will find animal shaped fairy-chimneys in this lunar landscape. Our second stop will be Zelve open air museum to see the houses carved in rock, Seljukian mosque & remains nearly from all the ancient civilizations. After that we will go to Pasabaglari (monks valley) where we will see mushroom shaped fairy-chimneys and St. Simon's monk cell. After seeing the kick-wheel pottery demonstration in Avanos which was started by the Hittities in 2000 BC, we will have our lunch in a cave restaurant and stop on a vista point on top of Goreme village. Our day will finish with highlight of Cappadocia, Goreme Open Air Museum. We will see the best examples of Byzantine wall paintings in the cave churches and monasteries. Overnight at Kelebek Cave Hotel in Goreme.
Day 2 (Full Day Cappadocia Tour with Kaymakli Underground City)
Today we will visit Mustafapasa, a former Greek town used to be known as Sinasos and see an old Greek house here. We will continue our trip with Keslik monastery and Taskinpasa medresesi. Medrese (Medrasah) means seminary and it was one of the biggest islamic, theological schools of Cappadocia until 20th century. Before having our lunch in Soganli Valley, we will have a 2 miles hike in this gorge and see many cave churches dated to hundreds of years ago. After our lunch we will visit another greek village Cemil and head on to Kaymakli underground city which will be highlight of our day. Overnight at Kelebek Cave Hotel in Goreme.
Day 3 (Karatay, Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep)
On our third day, we will depart from hotel at 08:30 am and drive to Karatay caravanserai. After visiting this 13th century castle like hotel, built for merchants of silk road we will keep driving until Kahramanmaras for lunch and a taste of its famous ice cream. We will continue our day with the visit of world famous Gaziantep Mosaic Museum where the the discoveries from Zeugma ancient city are exhibited. We will also visit the old city castle, copper bazzar and the famous Baklava shop. Antep is the city where baklava is first made. Overnight at Anadolu Evleri Hotel in Gaziantep.
Day 4 (Zeugma, Urfa)
Today we will drive to Sanli Urfa which is known as city of prophets. On the way we stop at Nizip (soap and olive oil district) and see the remains of the old city of Zeugma (Belkis) by the river Euphrates. Importance of this settlement which demonstrates an uninterrupted inhabiting since prehistoric ages, is that it is one of the two points allowing the easiest passage across the River Euphrates with a bridge first built by Alexander the Great. The city was an important trade center of Hellenistic Era. The site of Zeugma was lately discovered and still being excavated. Archaeologists discovered many of Roman Villas with beautiful and well preserved floor mosaics. These remains are dating back to the Hellenistic Roman and Byzantine times.
After Zeugma, we will have our lunch in Urfa and have a walk through the local covered bazaar. We will spend the afternoon relaxing at the hotel by the pool or walking through the town to discover the many hidden treasures. Overnight in Urfa Evi hotel in Sanliurfa.
Day 5 (Urfa, Harran, Ataturk Dam)
Urfa is the birthplace of the prophet Abraham and has been occupied since the Babylonians followed by the Hurrites, Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks. We will visit nearby Harran and see the incredible beehive houses. Harran according to the Bible was the site where prophet Abraham spent a few years with his family before moving on to Israel, the promised land. We will also visit the holy sites at the Ainzelha, a lake with millions of domesticated fish. While in Urfa we will visit the cave where the prophet Abraham was born and visit a bustling sheep market as well. There are exceptional photo opportunities in this area. In the afternoon we will drive to Kahta city. Before Kahta we will see Ataturk dam, the third largest dam in the world.
We will sleep early tonight in Kahta for the following day's sunrise. Overnight at Zeus Hotel in Kahta.
Day 6 (Mount Nemrut, Mardin)
03:30 am in the morning (or late at night) we will start driving to mount Nemrut. After driving until end of the road, we will hike to the summit of the mountain for 20 minutes. We will watch sunrise on Mt. Nemrut, another UNESCO world heritage site and see the colossal heads and statues of ancient deities. This extraordinary landmark rests at an elevation of 8000 ft. The mountain top complex is composed of two flattened areas strewn with statues and separated by a false peak of crushed rock. Antiouchus built the entire complex more than 2000 years ago as a monument to his divine ancestry. After seeing these statues we will visit the old castle of Arsemeia, cross over the still functioning Cendere Bridge (Septimius Severus bridge) dating all the way back to the 3rd century and Tumulus Tomb of Karakus. Then we will drive back to the hotel for breakfast. We will then depart to Mardin with a lovely ferry ride across the dam and have our lunch in Siverek. We will reach Mardin around 16:00 check into hotel. We will take the time to visit, walk in Mardin's busy streets and bazaars and admire the masonary all around the town. Overnight at Erdoba Evleri hotel in Mardin.
Day 7 (Mardin, Batman, Tatvan)
In the morning we will visit Mardin. Mardin is a very unique city with her lovely, old-Arabic style houses. It is a city that played an important role in the early development of Christianity. We will also visit the Monastery of Deyr-ul-Zaferan just outside of town, founded in 762 A.D. It was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch for almost 800 years. This monastery is built on top of a 4000-year-old temple used by sun worshippers. We will visit the monks in this extraordinary place. In the afternoon we will drive to Batman, a little province which takes its name from the river flowing on its west. The Batman river, spanned by the old Malabadi Bridge, draws the province's border with Diyarbakir, and then joins Tigris (Dicle) River passing through the land. Batman is one of the main crude oil production centers of Turkey and the refinery here was the first founded in Turkey. We will then continue to Bitlis and stop in this picturesque town located in a narrow, deep valley for some great photos. We will than come to Tatva, a small village on the edge of Lake Van. We will finish the day by watching the sunset over Van lake. Overnight at Kardelen Hotel in Tatvan.
Day 8 (Nemrut Lake, Van)
We will start our day by visiting the crater lake of Mount Nemrut. The Nemrut Lake is located inside the crater area of Nemrut Mountain. It is the largest crater lake of Turkey and the second largest of the world. After Nemrut lake will depart for Van. City of Van was established in 13th century BC, when the Hurrites first arrived. Then the Hittites, Urartians, Persian, Armenians, Macedonians, Romans and finally in the 11th century Seljuk Turks came here. From here, we will take a ferry across the lake to visit the finest Armenian architectural wonder, the church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island. After thar, we will visit the huge Van Castle from the days of Urartu and see the hieroglyphs as you sense the spirit of the once Urartu capital Tushpa. We will also visit the very impressive Hosap castle built to celebrate the first millenium, near the city of Van and learn about how and where and when Turkic existence in Anatolia commenced. Overnight at Tusbag Hotel in Van.
Day 9 (Dogubeyazit, Kars)
Right after our breakfast, we will start driving to Dogubeyazit. On the border of Iran, we will see a site known as the Crater Hole. This is a beautiful, yet rugged area. We will have the opportunity to see Mt. Ararat from all sides. Mount Ararat, the highest mountain of Turkey, is believed by some to be the resting-place of Noah's Ark; but to date no one has found anything that has been verified as the Ark - yet the search is still on. We will stop and see the Ishak Pasa Palace. This complex is a combination of a mosque, a fortress and a palace which originally had a room for every day of the year. Below you can also see the remains of Eski (old) Beyazit and Urartian City which flourished in 1000 BC. Overnight at Simer Hotel in Kars.
Day 10 (Ani, Erzurum)
We will take a 45-minute drive after breakfast for visiting ancient city of Ani, located on Turkish-Armenian border. Impressive fortified walls still encircle the ruins of numerous churches, mosques and caravansaries in this medieval city. We will enjoy a walk around the ruins and see the beautiful view to the Armenian border imagining it as a city with one million people rivaling Bagdad in its time. This city has experienced the cultures of Urartians, Armenians, Georgians, Mongols, Russians and finally the Turks. After finishing Ani, we will drive back to Erzurum. Overnight at Dilaver Hotel in Erzurum.
Day 11 (Erzurum, Trabzon)
Erzurum is located at the bottom of Palandoken Mountains and rests at a base altitude of 6600 ft. It has a very deep history starting by the Hittites, which had already occupied the site for more than thousand years, when the Armenians arrived around the 6th century. Then it became a Byzantine city by Emperor Thedosius. Mongols took in 14th century and finally the Ottomans took it in 1515. Therefore, we'll be able to taste all of these civilizations at Erzurum citadel, Double Minaret Medrese (university), many tombs and Ulu Cami (The Great Mosque). From Erzurum we will drive five hours to Trabzon, with many stops. This is a very beautiful drive following various rivers and passes throughout. Overnight in Serander hotel in Trabzon.
Day 12 (Trabzon, Istanbul)
Today we will drive on the beautiful wooded coast of Black Sea to Sumela Monastery. This was the often forbidding coastline seen by Jason and the Argonauts and the scene of many of their legendary adventures. We will visit Sumela Monastery before lunch and enjoy a lovely picnic nearby. This monastery is from the Byzantine Era of Turkey's history. One of the remarkable features of this site is that it is carved into a cliff face. With lush, green vegetation throughout the region, this area is a very unique part of Turkey. Trabzon is an ancient Black Sea port with its recorded history dating back to 746 B.C. and it was one of the Silk Road ports. After finishing our visits, we will drive to airport and fly to Istanbul.
The rate of Eastern Turkey tour is 2300 Euro per person including;
Private transportation with Mercedes AC Vehicle, Trabzon - Istanbul flight 11 Nights accommodation at mentioned hotels All breakfasts and lunches, Professional guiding and all entrance fees in the tours,Accommodation costs are based on per person on double room. Single Supplement cost is 40%.
Please send us an email (info@goreme.com) for booking and further information
