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Ankara, Cappadocia, Adiyaman, Nemrut Mountain, Urfa,
Harran, Mardin, Diyarbakir, Van, Dogubeyazit, Ani,
Trabzon |
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14
Days
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13 Nights Covering |
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Day One
Arrive at Istanbul airport and take an evening
flight to Ankara where you meet your guide.
Transfer to hotel and stay overnight in Ankara ,
The Capital City. |
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Day Two
After breakfast at the hotel, Morning visit to the
fascinating Hittite Museum, Where the remains of
the 16 different civilizations, which have
inhabited Anatolia, are displayed. Continue to
Ataturk's Maousoleum, the resting place of the
founder of modern Turkey, who was responsible for
revolutionising the country, and is stil revered
as a great national hero. Then we leave Ankara for
Cappadocia, After lunch enroute, We will stop by
the second biggest lake of Turkey, Tuz Gölü (Salt
Lake), And We visit The 13th Century Seljukian
Caravanserai on the way to Cappadocia. Upon
arrival, Check in to the hotel. |
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Day Three
Depart from your hotel to visit Devrent Valley to
see the unique fairy-chimneys. Then visit Zelve
Open Air Museum, where three canyons meet in the
valley. Drive to Pa?aba?y (Monk's Valley) to see
the most interesting mushroom-shaped pinnacles.
Drive to the city of Avanos for lunch. In the
afternoon visit another beautiful open-air museum
at Göreme where the remains of rock-cut churches
and frescoes and Christian settlements date back
hundreds of years. Lastly, before returning to
your hotel, visit the natural rock castles at
Uçhisar. Stay overnight in Ürgüp. |
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Day Four
Depart from your hotel to visit Red valley,
explore the famous rock-cut churches and hike 5 km
through the Güllüdere valley. Then visit Çavusin
village. This village is famous for the houses and
churches of the Christian clergymen. Drive to the
pigeon valley for lunch. In the afternoon, visit
Kaymakly underground city where Early Christians
lived in fear and faith. On the way back visit the
natural rock castles at Ortahisar and the Greek
village of Mustafapasa. Stay overnight in Ürgüp.
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Day Five
Departure from Cappadocia for Adiyaman. After 1.5
hours driving we visit the Seljuk Karatayhan
Caravanserai on the famous Silk Road. Then we
drive through the Taurus Mountain Chain, giving
you the opportunity to observe the countryside and
daily life of rural Turkey, which is completely
different to that in coastal resorts. After having
lunch enroute , we head towards Kahramanmaras,
which is most famous for its ice cream. We stroll
through the Local Bazaar for a while and after
that head towards Kahta to spend the night.
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Day Six
After brekafast at the hotel, we will leave for Mt
Nemrut see the Colossal God statues on 3 different
terraces overlooking the whole plateau and the
Atatürk Dam. Then We visit Mithridates I
Hierothesion in Arsemia, which was once the
capital of the Kommagene Kingdom. We then visit
the Old Roman Cendere Bridge over the Cendere
Stream.We visit the Karaku? tumulus where the
royal family members were buried. Then we head on
to Sanliurfa, on the way we visit Atatürk Dam,
which is in one of the biggest projects of Turkey
(GAP). we arrive at Urfa at noon where we have
lunch. We visit the birthplace of the Prophet
Abraham with its mosques, Abraham's birth-cave,
and beautiful gardens. Then we visit another
archeological site, Harran, a mystical and ancient
'bee-hive' house village built of mud-brick, which
is mentioned in Genesis as also being a place
where Abraham lived. At the same site we will
visit the first Islamic University of the world.
We then check in to the hotel and have dinner.
Please note: The hike to Mt. Nemrut consists of 20
to 40 minutes of a 30% uphill climb, mostly with
stairs. |
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Day Seven
We leave Urfa for Mardin, which is seen from the
south at a distance. It looks spectacular, tiered
layers of houses, mansions, mosques and churches
rising out of the endless, level plain and
clinging to a huge citadel-topped rock. In Mardin,
we visit Deyrülzafran monastery (Saffron Monastery),
which is still used by the Syrian Orthodox
communities. In this monastery we first visit an
underground vault, which is said to have been used
as a temple by sun-worshippers as long ago as 2000
BC. |
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The tour moves on from here to the chapel, with
fine relief-decorated arches and a carved stone
altar, and the Patriarch's or Metropolitan's
throne, on which are carved the names of all the
patriarchs since 792 AD. After visiting the
monastery, we drive to Diyarbakyr. We visit the
city walls of Diyarbakyr, which was built by the
Romans. Then we visit the Ulu Cami, the first of
Anatolia's great Seljuk Mosques. Stay overnight in
Diyarbakir. |
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Day Eight
After breakfast at the hotel, We leave Diyarbakir
for Van. We drive to Bitlis to visit a 13th
century Theological School. Lunch Enroute. We
catch the ferryboat to Akdamar Island, situated in
the biggest lake in Turkey, to view an exquisite
example of an Armenian Church. Stay overnight in
Van. |
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Day Nine
First we visit Hosap Castle, which was constructed
at the behest of Sary Süleyman Mahmudi, a local
Kurdish strong man, in the 1640s. According to
legend, he was so pleased with the result when the
castle was completed that he had the architect's
hands chopped off, to ensure that he would never
build another to rival it. After Hosap Castle, we
continue to Çavu?tepe, the site of an Urartian
Royal Palace, built between 764 and 735 BC by King
Sardur II. Then we have lunch in Van. Yn the
afternoon we visit Van Castle, which is 100m high
and 300m wide at the base. It was just the sort of
place that the Urartians favoured for their
strongholds. It was the site of an Urartian temple,
of which only a couple of arched niches remain.
Cuneiform inscriptions on a statue based in one of
the niches document the life and works of Menua,
an important Urartian King. After visiting Van
castle we go back to the hotel and stay in Van.
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Day Ten
We leave Van after breakfast at the hotel. On the
way to Dogubeyazit we stop at the wonderful
Muradiye Waterfall. Then we head for Ishakpa?a
Palace, a 17th century palace set on a 200m high
plateau overlooking the town. The architect seems
to have taken elements from every architectural
style extant in Anatolia and incorporated them
into the palace's construction. We also visit the
Crater which is situated right by the Iranian
Frontier. Stay overnight in Do?ubeyazit.
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Day Eleven
We drive to Kars, which has a spectacular castle
and still has fine examples of Armenian
architecture, one of which is the breathtaking
site of the ancient city of Ani located on the
Armenian-Turkish border. Stay overnight in Kars.
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Day Twelve
We drive west along the Black Sea to Trabzon,
founded by the Kingdom of Miletus, the largest
city in the Black Sea region. The route will go
through a forested region, passing through small,
unspoiled villages untouched by tourism. On the
way to Trabzon we wyll have a break on the tea
plantation area.We shall arrive in Trabzon in the
late afternoon, giving some free time to enjoy the
city at your own pace. Stay overnight in Trabzon.
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Day Thirteen
After breakfast we visit the Hagia Sophia Museum
with its spectacular frescoes, We then head inland
to visit the mystical Sumela Monastery, dating
back to early Christianity, which was built high
into the side of the steep cliff face. Stay in
Trabzon for a second night. |
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Day Fourteen
Transfer to Trabzon airport for your morning
flight to Istanbul. |
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