CAPPADOCIA, in other words katpatuka, Land of Beautiful Horses. Cappadocia is one of the flowers of the world with history, one of the most amazing geography, [...]
11 Days Eastern Turkey Tour - 11/10
11 Days Eastern Turkey Tour
Day 1 Cappadocia- Kayseri - Adiyaman
After breakfast at your hotel ,we depart from Cappadocia, drive to Turkey's hinterland, along the ancient Silk Road via Kayseri and stopping at the great Karatay Han caravanserai before proceeding to Adiyaman .Late afternoon arrive in and overnight in Adiyaman.
Day 2 Nemrut - Urfa
Today we visit the magnificent funerary monument at the peak of Mt Nemrut . lts is a magnificient place to enjoy sunset over Tigris river and titanic statues of a pre-Roman king, Antiochus I Theos of Commagene,From Nemrut we continue to the massive Ataturk Dam straddling the mighty river Euphrates, and on to Urfa, the ancient city of prophets.
Day 3 Gobekli Tepe – Diyarbakir
After breakfast at hotel drive from Urfa and proceed to the on-going archaeological dig at Gobekli Tepe. Although not widely known amongst the general public Gobekli Tepe is probably one of the most important archaeological sites in the world and its the oldest and unique in the world. We continue to Diyarbakir and another ancient settlement; at 5000 years old is one of the oldest cities in the world. lts popular with ancient city walls; constructed by the Romans, the current walls, built of massive black basalt blocks is, after the great wall of China, the longest continuous defensive wall in the world.
Day 4 Mardin - Hasankeyf - Tatvan
We travel to the city of Mardin, which is formed of houses, mosques and medressas ,elaborately carved from the stone of the hilltop of city.Visit the Saffron Monastery,centre of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarchy and still an active monastery. The site of the Saffron monastery has been a sacred place for thousands of years. After lunch we will drive to Hasankeyf, situated by the Tigris River; it is beautiful and historicla place, soon to be submerged under the flood waters of a new dam on the Tigris. From Hasankeyf we continue to Tatvan on the western shore of Lake Van.
Day 5 Akdamar - Van
After breakfast drive to Van via Akdamar Island where we visit the beautifully restored 10th C Armenian Church of the Holy Cross, or Sourp Khach, before continuing to the eastern city of Van.
Day 6 Van - Hosap
From Van we travel south along a branch of the Silk Road (Ipek Yol) to visit Hosap Castle. The main castle structure of Hosap, built straddling the Silk Road it served as both a means of protecting the road and as a point of charging tolls on travellers. From Hosap we return to Van for lunch, before ending the day with a visit to the 3000 year old Citadel of Van to watch the sun set over Lake Van.
Day 7 Dogubeyazit - Ararat - Kars
We leave Van for Dogubeyazit via Muradiye and the pretty Bendimaahi Falls. In Dogubeyazit, we visit the spectacular Ishak Pasha Palace before continuing our journey north skirting around the western edge of Mt Ararat. Mt. Ararat is one of the great natural spectacles of the world, known in Turkish as 'the Mountain of Pain' and in Kurdish as the 'Mountain of Fire'. Armenians know it at as Masis. The name Ararat derives from the Bible (Jeremiah 51:27) and is a transliteration of 'Urartu' the name foreigners gave to this region and its inhabitants in Biblical times. We will spend the night in Kars.
Day 8 Kars - Ani
Using Kars as our base we will continue to Ani to spend the morning at the former capital of the great medieval Armenian Kingdom. The remains of the ruined city include several churches as well as the shell of the Cathedral of Ani, the citadel and a mosque along with an extensive and well preserved defensive wall.
Day 9 Kars - Erzurum
We now follow the Aras river west through the First World War battlefield site of Sarikamis, and along the gorge of the river Aras via magical scenery of fields of gorse and fern, pristine river beds and deep ravines by the beautiful six-arched Cobandede bridge and into Erzurum.
Day 10 Erzurum - Sumela - Trabzon
From Erzurum to Trabzon. We drive north through the Pontic Alps, in the steps of Xenophon's Ten Thousand with spectacular views, along the Karasu, the northern most branch of the Euphrates, to Askale, with its ruined Byzantine fortress. We continue over the 2390m Kopdagi Pass, the Black Sea watershed, into the Coruh valley, passing the huge fortress of Bayburt. We continue down to the spectacular cliff hanging monastery of Sumela; dedicated to the Virgin Mary, this has been a monastic site since the 4th century AD. Perched high in a gorge of the Altindere Vadisi National Park, the present buildings date from 12th century on.
Day 11 Trabzon
After breakfast transfer to Trabzon airport
INCLUSIONS
All airport transfers,
Professional English speaking tour guide,
All museum tickets,
Meal as mentioned in program
Hotels 4 star category
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