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Home
 Turkey
ToursWest & East Turkey
Tour
West &
East Turkey Tour |
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 Day
1-
ISTANBUL:
Welcome to Turkey. Transfer from
airport to hotel.
Day 2-
ISTANBUL:
In the morning at 09:00 pick up from
the hotel. You will be visiting the
Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia(St.
Sophia), Sultan Ahmet Camii(Blue
Mosque) and Hippodrome(Roman and
Byzantine era). Back to hotel
Day 3-
ISTANBUL:
In the morning at 09:00 pick up from
the hotel. The Spice Market,
Beylerbeyi palace, camlica hill and
Bosphorus on the boat as well. Back
to hotel.
 Day
4-
BURSA:
08:00 am pick up from the hotel in
Istanbul and drive to Bursa. In
Bursa visit the Grand bazar, Ulu
(Grand) mosque, Green Mosque and
Kozak han. Over night stay in Bursa.
Day 5-
CANAKKALE:
I08:30 am pick up from the hotel and
drive to Troy. Visit legendary Troy
(famous for the Trojan Horse). Over
night stay in Assos.
Day 6-
PERGAMON:
In the morning at the 08:30 pick up
from the hotel. Visit the Pergamon
tours.Tour in Pergamon. Greco Roman
city built on four rising terraces,
Acropolis ,The Asclepion and The Red
Basilica. Drive to Ephesus. Over
night stay in Kusadasi or Sirince.
Day
7-
EPHESUS:
In the morning at 09:00 pick up and
drive to Ephesus.Take a tour in the
UNESCO world cultural heritage site,
pacing through the antique city
after St. Paul, visit the Library,
Temple and Ampitheater, St John
Church and the Virgin Mary's House.
Over night stay in Kusadasi.
 Day 8-
PAMUKKALE:
Pick up from the hotel in the
morning at 08:30. Drive to Pamukkale
and on the way visit the Afrodisias.
Pamukkale walk along the Hierapolis
ancient city ruins, see the huge
Necropolis, and feel the warmth of
the natural spring as you go
barefoot on the Travertens. Over
night stay in Pamukkale.
Day 9-
KALKAN:
In the morning at 08:30 drive to
Kalkan and to visit the best
examples of Lycian tombs at Myra.
Over night stay in Kalkan.
Day 10-
ANTALYA:
In the morning at 08:30 daily boat
tour in Mediterranean. Drive to
church of St. Nicholas the saint to
whom is referred as Santa Claus and
Antalya. Over night stay in Antalya.
 Day
11-
ANTALYA:
In the morning at 09:00. We will
depart in the morning to visit Perge,
which was originally settled by the
Hittites around 1500 BC. We will
visit the impressive colonnaded
street, baths, nymphaeum, and agora
and see the fountain of the River
God, where waters once poured down
the center of the city. We continue
to Aspendos to see one of the
best-preserved amphitheaters in the
world, and the Manavgat Waterfalls.
Finally a visit to the sea side town
of Side. L. Back to hotel in Antalya.
Day 12-
KONYA & CAPPADOCIA:
In the morning at 08:30 drive to
Cappadocia but on the way visit
Konya. Feel the mysticism of the
whirling dervishes as you visit the
Mevlana Museum (the poet and
philosopher Sufi founder of the
Whirling Dervishes Sect) and Sultan
hani(13th century Seljukian
caravansaray on the silk road). Over
night stay in Cappadocia.
 Day
13-
CAPPADOCIA:
In the morning at 09:00. 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). Over night stay in
Cappadocia.
 Day
14-
CAPPADOCIA:
In the morning at 09:00. 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. Over night stay in Cappadocia.
Day 15-
GAZIANTEP:
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 16-
SANLIURFA:
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
17-
SANLIURFA:
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
18-
NEMRUT:
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 19-
MARDIN:
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
20-
VAN:
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 21-
KARS:
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
22-
ERZURUM:
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 23-
TRABZON:
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
24-
TRABZON:
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 or
another city in Turkey. |
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