Eastern Anatolia Borderland

Short Tour: Van to Ararat (2 nights/3 days) $580 USD p.p.

Long Tour: Van to Kars (4 nights) $800 USD p.p.

These tours are bed and breakfast staying in Boutique hotels.

• 1
  Day 1 -

  

  Afternoon arrival Van.  From the airport we will take you directly to the spectacular Citadel of Van to soak up the atmosphere and to enjoy the stunning sunset over this beautiful lake. Van Citadel first constructed by the Urartian King Sarduri I in about 870 B.C. has seen constant use by many of the civilisations and cultures that have occupied this region from the Urartian’s themselves through Assyrians, Persians, Armenians, Arabs, Seljuk and Ottoman Turks and last seen use in the early 1920’s in the aftermath of World War I.

  

  Overnight Van (Van Life Hotel)

• 2
  Day 2 -

  After breakfast we will make a short journey along the southern shore of Lake Van to pick up a ferry to take us to Akdamar Island to visit the 10th Century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross, famous for its unique carved exterior depicting Biblical scenes and its beautiful array of interior frescoes. 

  

  In the afternoon we will return to the city of Van to visit Van Archaeological and Ethnographic Museum which houses artefacts covering this regions history from ancient times to the present but featuring particularly the enigmatic Hakkari Stele and an outstanding collection of Urartian works of art and weapons.

  

   

  From the museum we will visit a breeding centre of the famous Van cats with their startling eyes.

  

  Overnight Van

• 3
  Day 3 -

  After breakfast, we leave for Doğubeyazit via Muradiye and the pretty Bendimaahi Falls. On the way we skirt the site of the Great Battle of  Çaldiran August 23rd 1514.  There is nothing there that marks the site but it was an event that established the borders in this part of the world to this very day.

  

  From Muradiye we continue North across the astonishingly other worldly landscape of the Tendurek Shield Volcano before getting our first glimpse of the Majestic Biblical Mountain of Noah, Ararat.

  

  In Doğubeyazit, we visit the spectacular Ishak Pasha Palace 1685 – 1784 with a unique fusion of architecture from Seljuk, Ottoman, Georgian, and Armenian and Persian styles. Ishak Pasha Palace represents the true fusion of art, culture, architecture and history of this unique part of Eastern Turkey.

  

  The short tour concludes here as we drop off our new friends at Iğdir Airport for their journey back to Istanbul.

  The rest of the group continues onto Kars. Once the regional military headquarters of the Tsarist Russian occupation of North Eastern Turkey between 1878 and 1917.

  Overnight Kars (Beylerbeyi Palace)

   

• 4
  Day 4 -

  We visit the ruins of the ancient medieval Armenian City of Ani famous for its impressive defensive walls, its many churches, mosques and castle. Located in a wind swept open landscape, right up against the gorge of the Arpaçay River, Ani is in every sense a true frontier town.

  

  We will return to Kars and visit the city and the Church of The Twelve Apostles and Kars Castle.

   

  Overnight Kars (Beylerbeyi Palace)

• 5
  Day 5 -

  Your exciting journey of Anatolia’s Borderland concludes. We know that you will have spent a special time with us and we hope it made you happy.

  Return to Istanbul.