Portal to Eastern Anatolia

Taking in amazing sights such as the astonishing Palace of Ishak Pasha, Nemrut Mountain of the Gods, awesome Mount Ararat, the beautiful old city of Sanliurfa the location of Gobekli Tepe, before finishing up in Gaziantep. This really is Eastern Turkey travel at its best, beginning your 12-day adventure in Trabzon (the ancient city of Trebizond).

Minimum number of participants 2 people, maximum 12 people.

• 1
  Day 1 -

  Arrive Trabzon. Visit to the 14th century Byzantine church of Hagia Sofia overlooking the Black Sea before proceeding to the cliff side monastery of the Virgin Mary at Sumela in the Altindere national park. From Sumela we drive along the coast of the Black Sea to Hopa on the Georgian border where we will spend the night. The tour is based on 4/5 star accommodation.

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  Overnight Trabzon or Hopa.

   
• 2
  Day 2 -

  

  We depart Hopa for Erzurum via Artvin, Ishan and the spectacular Georgian Valleys.

  B.D.

  Overnight in Erzurum. 

   

   

• 3
  Day 3 -

  Sightseeing in Erzurum before departing for Kars via the Aras River valley and the First World War battlefield site of Sarakimis. After arriving at Kars we will continue to visit the ancient Armenian city of Ani on the Arpacay River.

  B.D.

  Overnight in Kars.

   
• 4
  Day 4 -

  On to Doğubayazıt and passed the Biblical mountain of Ararat to visit the Ishak Pasha Saray and then on to the city of Van where we will spend the night.

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  Overnight Van.

   
• 5
  Day 5 -

  Sightseeing in the Van region including a visit to the 17th century fortress of Hoşap, sitting astride the ancient Silk Road into Persia and the Orient. In the afternoon we will visit the island of Akdamar in Lake Van to visit the 10th century Church of the Holy Cross.

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  Overnight in Van.
• 6
  Day 6 -

  Depart Van along the southern shore of Lake Van for Tatvan and then to visit the great Volcano Crater of Nemrut and the Seljuk monuments of Ahlat.

  B.D.

  Overnight in Tatvan.

   
• 7
  Day 7 -

  Via Bitlis we continue down the Bitlis Gorge, via the city of Batman, to the town Hasankeyf for lunch. In Hasankeyf (soon to be submerged under the lake of a new dam on the Tigris) we will visit some of the many caves and the ruins of the medieval Byzantine city. On our way west to Mardin we will stop in Midyat to see the Silver bazaar. Arrive to Mardin visit Kasimiye Medrese.

  B.D.

  Overnight in Mardin.

   
• 8
  Day 8 -

  After breakfast visit Deir-Al-Zafaran (Saffron Monastery).  The Saffron Monastery was once the ancient centre of the Syriac Christian Patriarchy. This site has been the centre of religious worship for many centuries, the monastery itself is built over an ancient temple, built in 1000 BC and dedicated to the worship of the sun and which now provides the foundations to the main part of the monastery buildings – it is a fascinating structure as the roof of the temple to the sun is, essentially, a flat arch! From Mardin we will travel northwest to Diyarbakir to see the 10 Arches Bridge on the Tigris River.

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  Overnight Diyarbakir.

   
• 9
  Day 9 -

  Sightseeing in Diyarbakir: the Ulu Cami (Mar Thoma)(Mosque and Church), then visit the Great wall. Leave for Nemrut via the ferry over the Euiphratesry arriving in Narlice Village in Nemrut National Park. We will travel to the top of Mount Nemrut Tombs of Commagene Kingdom and the Colossal Statues of Gods. Climbing up to Tumulus of Antiochos, the capital of Kommagene we will watch the sun set from the summit of Nemrut. This ancient funerary monument at the peak of Mt Nemrut was forgotten and lost to memory for nearly 2000 years.

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  Overnight near Nemrut.
• 10
  Day 10 -

  After breakfast we will head to Sanliurfa and then onto Göbekli Tepe, the most important archaeological dig currently being undertaken anywhere in the world – this site represents a major shift in our understanding of man’s early history. Here lie the remains of the earliest religious structures built by man yet to be discovered. At about 11000-13000 years old and pre-dating pottery, writing, Stonehenge and the Pyramids! and its sister site Karahan Tepe.  In the afternoon we will return to Urfa where we will visit the Holy Pools of Abraham and the cave where, tradition tells us, the Prophet Abraham was born. 

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  Overnight Sanliurfa.
• 11
  Day 11 -

  After breakfast we will visit Urfa’s Ottoman Bazaar and the Archaeology Museum and then travel to Gaziantep where we will visit the incredible Zeugma Mosaic Museum.

  B.D.

  Overnight in Gaziantep.
• 12
  Day 12 -

  Depart.