Tour features: Trabzon, Sumela Monastery, The Hopa & Georgian valley's, the city of Ani and Kars, the palace of Ishak Pasha, Van, Nemrut Crater lakes, Hasankeyf, the mountain top monuments of Mt Nemrut, Harran.
Prices from 1750 euros per person Based on 4/5 star accommodation
Beginning in Trabzon - the ancient city of Trebizond- taking in such sights as Ani, the palace of Ishak Pasha, Ararat, the soon to be sunken ruins of Hasankeyf, the astounding mountain top monument to man's folly on Nemrut and finishing up at the ancient home of the patriarch Abraham before returning to Istanbul, the capital of ancient empires past.
Sumela Monastery
Muradiye Waterfall
Ruins of the medieval city Ani
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.
Day 2
We depart Hopa for Erzurum via Artvin, Ishan and the spectacular Georgian Valleys.
Overnight in Erzurum.
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.
Overnight in Kars.
Day 4
On to Dogubeyazit 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.
Day 5
Sightseeing in the Van region including a visit to the 17th century fortress of Hosap, 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.
Overnight in Van.
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. Overnight in Tatvan.
Overnight in Tatvan.
Day 7
We continue to Bitlis, down the Bitlis Gorge and onto Hasankeyf on the River Tigris before proceeding to Mardin.
Overnight in Mardin.
Day 8
After breakfast we will visit the ancient Saffron Monastery, an important religious site for Syriac Christians. From Mardin we carry on to visit the ancient funerary monument at the summit of Mt Nemrut in Adiyaman with a brief stop in Diyarbakir on the way. We will visit the summit of Nemrut for sunset.
Overnight in Khata.
Day 9
From Nemrut we depart for the ancient city of Urfa, the birthplace of the Prophet Abraham. En route, we will stop at the Ataturk Dam, the keystone in the South East Anatolian Project (GAP).
Overnight in Urfa.
Day 10
Harran, Gobekli Tepe, Gaziantep. After breakfast we will visit the ancient town of Harran (mentioned in the Book of Genesis) with its famous “Beehive” houses and then the ongoing archaeological dig at Gobekli Tepe to visit what is considered to be the oldest religious construction yet discovered. From Urfa we carry on to Gaziantep.
Overnight in Gaziantep
Day 11
In Gaziantep we will visit the stunning mosaic museum which houses a priceless collection of mosaics from the now sunken city of Zeugma. We will visit the citadel and the Old Town of Gaziantep.
