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Day 1-
Devrent imagination
valley(a lunar landscape), Zelve open air
museum(houses carved in rock, Seljukian
mosque & remains nearly from all the ancient
civilizations), Pasabaglari(Fairy chimneys),
Avanos(pottery demonstration with the
Hittite tecnique), Lunch in the Pigeon
valley(in a cave restaurant - open buffet),
Uchisar rock-castle, Esentepe(panoramic view
of Goreme valley) and Goreme open air museum(rock
cut churches, frescos, monastery).
Hotels in Cappadocia:
Gamirasu, Kelebek Hotel or Razziya Evi.
Day 2- Mustafapasa(old Greek
village Sinasos), Keslik monastery,
Taskinpasa medresesi(an Ottoman theological
school), Soganli valley (3 km walking in the
traditional village, churches and Lunch),
Cemil(Greek-orthodox church) and Kaymakli
underground city.
Hotels in Cappadocia:
Gamirasu, Kelebek Hotel or Razziya Evi.
Day 3- Departure from your
hotel at 08:30. Drive to Karatay kervansaray
and visit the kervansaray. Stop at
Kahramanmaras for lunch and a taste of its
famous ice cream. Continue ontp visit the
world famous Gaziantep Mosaic Museum. This
museum becomes after the discoveries from
Zeugma.. We will also visit the old city
castle, copper bazzar and the famous Baklava
shop (Baklava is originally from Gaziantep).
Hotels in Gaziantep:
Anadolu Evleri
Day 4- Today we drive to
Sanli Urfa. On the way we stop at Nizip (soap
and olive oil district) and see the remains
of the old city of Belkis or (Zeugma) 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
been excavated. Archaeologists discovered
many of Roman Villas with beautiful and well
preserved floor mosaics. These remains
dating back to the Hellenistic Roman and
Byzantine times. Lunch in Urfa and after a
walk through the local covered bazaar. Spend
the afternoon relaxing at the hotel by the
pool or walking through the town to discover
the many hidden treasures.
Hotels in Urfa:
Urfa Evi
Day
5-
Urfa, the birthplace of the prophet
Abraham. Urfa 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 drive to Kahta city on the
way see the Ataturk dam, third largest in
the world.
Hotels in Kahta:
Nemrut Tassaray or Zeus Hotel
Day 6- In the morning 03:30
am departure. Hike to the summit of the
mount Nemrut (one of the most popular UNESCO
world cultural heritage sites), watching the
sunrise , be amazed by the colossal heads
and statues of ancient deities, as you step
into mythology. There we will hire small
mini-buses to drive up the mountain. 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 approximately 2000 years ago as a
monument to his divine ancestry. Also
definitely take time to visit the old castle,
Arsemeia, cross over the still functioning
Cendere Bridge (Septimius Severus bridge)
dating all the way back to the 3rd century
and Tümülüs Tomb of Karakus. Then drive back
to the hotel for breakfast. We then depart
to Mardin with a lovely ferry ride across
the dam and lunch in Siverek. We will reach
Mardin around 16:00 check into hotel. We
will take the time to visit, walk in its
busy streets and bazaars, and admire the
stonework all around the town
Hotels in Mardin:
Artuklu Kervansaray, Erdoba Evleri
Day 7- In the morning visit
Mardin. Mardin is very unique with 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-az-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 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. Here is one of the main crude oil
production centers of Turkey, and the
refinery at Batman was the first founded in
the country. Continue to Bitlis and stop in
this picturesque town located in a narrow
and deep valley for some great photo;s. Onto
Tatvan, a small village on the edge of Lake
Van. Overnight in Tatvan and watch the sun
set over the lake.
Day 8- Today we visit the
crater lake of Mount Nemrut. The Nemrut Lake
is located inside the crater area of Nemrut
Mountain and is the first greatest crater
lake of our country and is the second
greatest crater lake of the world, Van city
was established 13th century BC, when the
Hurrites arrived. Then the Hittites,
Urartians, Persian, Armenians, Macedonians,
Romans and finally in the 11th century the
Turks came here. From here, we will take a
ferry across the lake to visit the finest
Armenian architectural wonder of the Church
of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island. Step
over to the huge Van Castle from the days of
Urartu and see the hieroglyphs as you sense
the spirit of the once Urartu capital Tushpa,
feel the salty waters of the great Lake Van
called as 'the Sea' by the locals. 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. Over night stay in Van.
Hotels in Van:
Tusbag Hotel.
Day 9-
In the morning drive to
Dogubeyazit (Mt. Ararat). "Silk Road" to
Dogubeyazit. At the Iranian border 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. It 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 Beyazit, and Urartian City which
flourished in 1000 BC. Over night stay in
Kars.
Hotels in Kars:
Simer Hotel.
Day 10- KARS (Ani): An early
morning departure from the hotel and get
permission to visit Ani at the Turkish-Armenian
border. We will take a 45-minute drive to
the medieval Armenian City of Ani, which
lies mostly in ruins. Impressive fortified
walls still encircle the ruins of numerous
churches, mosques and caravansaries. 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. Drive back Erzurum. Over
night stay in Erzurum.
Hotels in Erzurum:
Dilaver or Esadas Hotel.
Day 11- Erzurum rests at a
base altitude of 6600 ft. Here, the Hittites
had already occupied the site for a
millennium when the Armenians arrived around
the 6th century. It became a Byzantine city
starting with the Emperor Thedosius. Mongols
in 14th century and the Ottomans took it in
1515. Therefore in Erzurum we'll be able to
taste all of these civilizations at Erzurum
citadel, Double Minaret Medrese (university),
many tombs, 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. Over night stay in
Trabzon.
Hotels in Trabzon:
Cobadere Serander Hotel or Zigana Holiday
Village.
Day 12- Trabzon (Sumela).
Today we will drive on the beautiful wooded
coast of the Black Sea. This was the often
forbidding coastline seen by Jason and the
Argonauts and the scene of many of their
legendary adventures. The following day we
will visit the Sumela Monastery 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. Fly
back to Istanbul.
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