ITINERARY
DAY 1. ISTANBUL - VAN (Every day except Tuesdays and Saturdays)
Early in the morning, you will
be transferred from your hotel to the Istanbul airport for your flight
to Van. Upon arrival in Van airport, your guide will meet you and
transfer
you to your hotel for check in and freshening up. Then you can
start a tour of this city which was the capital of the Urartians, by a
visit to the imposing citadel, an Urartian fortress of the 9th century
BC. Within the fortress we shall see several Urartian tombs. Then we
shall visit the Ulu mosque, Hüsrev Pasa Mosque and the Ikiz Kümbet, before proceeding to the Archaeological Museum. As we go around town, we
shall have the occasion to admire the beautiful kilims woven by the
women of Van.
Overnight Van
DAY 2. VAN
This day we shall continue
touring around Van, and we start the days tour by visiting Gevas, where
you can visit a Seljuk cemetery with numerous decorated headstones, and
the lovely Halime Hatun Mausoleum. Afterwards, we sail for about half an
hour to Akdamar Island On the island stands the 10th century Church of
the Holy Cross, now a museum, whose stone walls are richly carved with
Old Testament scenes and figures. After sightseeing, you can enjoy
yourself. Then we turn back and going East and Southeast we arrive in
Cavustepe, some 35 km from Van on the Hakkari road, which is an
important Uranian citadel. Here you shall see temples, a palace, a
sacrificial altar and inscriptions. Then we continue on the pastoral,
winding road past the Zernek Dam Lake that offers itself as a resting
spot on the way to Hosap, 60 km from Van, where we shall admire a 17th-century
fairytale castle rising above a small hill. Then, we return to Van and
take a good rest at our hotel.
Overnight Van
DAY 3. VAN - DOGUBEYAZIT (Mt. Ararat)
Af
ter breakfast we take the
road towards Dogubeyazit (Mt. Ararat), passi,ng through splendid scenery.
Once we arrive, we check in, freshen up and start a tour of the region
by visiting the spectacular Ishak Pasa Palace, only 6 km from
Dogubeyazit, revealing a mixture of architectural styles. Nearby you can
see a bas-relief of an Urartian king, and a rock tomb from the ninth
century B.C. Then we continue to take a look at the famous meteoric
hole. It is the second largest hole of this type in the world with its
35 m width and 60 m depth. Then return to your hotel and admire the
majestic mountain from the window of your hotel room.
overnight
Dogubeyazit.
DAY 4. DOGUBEYAZIT (Mt. Ararat)
Today, we shall take a daily
tour of Turkey's most scenic natural monument, Mt. Agri (Mt. Ararat),
that rises to a height of 5,137 meters. To see the place where it is
believed that Noah's Ark came aground, we shall begin our trek at
Uzengili village, 25 km east of Dogubayazit. With luck, we will also try
the famous local dessert, asure (Noah's Pudding), believed to have been
made first by Noah's wife from the last bits of food in the ark.
Overnight
Dogubeyazit
DAY 5. DOGUBEYAZIT - TATVAN
This morning, we begin our
journey Southwest, going along the other shore of the Lake Van, passing
through incredibly beautiful scenery and a multitude of interesting
sights, such as Adilcevaz, and see the Ulu mosque after which we
continue to the Kef Castle and the nearby Urartian temple of Haldi, from
the 9th century BC, we continue to arrive in the other Mt. Nemrut of
Turkey.This is an inactive volcano offering a challenging and very
enjoyable climb. When we get there we shall see a deep, clear and cold
crater lake of surpassing beauty, as well as a bubbling hot volcanic
springs. Finally we reach the town of Tatvan, to spend the night. This
way, we shall have done an almost complete tour around Lake Van.
Overnight Tatvan
DAY 6. TATVAN - MT. NEMRUT
We set off towards Mt. Nemrut.
On the way we stop in Diyarbakir, known in ancient times as Amida, which
spreads across a basalt plateau close to the banks of the Tigris river.
The black basalt triple walls that encircle the old town represent a
superb example of medieval military architecture. After having lunch
here, we continue on our way, and arrive in Mt. Nemrut where we shall
spend the night in a hotel on the mountain.
Overnight Mt. Nemrut
DAY
7. MT NEMRUT - CAPPADOCIA
In the very early morning, we
leave our hotel for the spectacular sunrise over the stone heads and god
statues of the pre-Roman king Antiochus. After this incredible spectacle
we return to the hotel for breakfast before starting the long drive
towards Cappadocia. On the way, we shall stop in Kahramanmaras briefly.
In the 12th century B.C. Kahramanmaras was the capital of the Hittite
state of Gurgum. A massive citadel built in the 2nd century B.C. now
houses the city museum with a good collection of Hittite sculptures. The
city is famous throughout Turkey for its superbly unique ice-cream
thickened with gum arabic and beaten with a wooden paddle. Then we shall
continue our journey, and arrive in Cappadocia sometime in the evening.
Overnight Cappadocia
DAY 8. CAPPADOCIA
Today, we take a tour, which
is specially designed to discover the hidden treasures of many out of
the way, spectacular, interesting and realistic sights of Cappadocia.
Our first stop is at the fascinating village of Ortahisar, featuring the
naturally sculptured rock fortress. Then we continue to the Pancarlik
valley to admire the famous church (Pancarlik Church). We proceed to the
Gomeda Valley, which is a cave dwelling centre where the first
Cappadocians lived in ancient times. We go on, passing through typical
Anatolian villages such as Ayvali and Mazi and we finally arrive in the
Soganli Valley, with its many Byzantine period rock tombs, enjoying a
leisurely hike and exploring the Armenian architectural style rock
carved churches and monastery ruins. This valley is also known as the
Valley of Dolls. After having lunch in the village, we continue on our
way, passing through the vill
age of Sahinefendi, and visiting Sobessos,
the rather recently discovered late Roman site, featuring incredible
mosaic work. We proceed and pass by Taskinpasa Caravanserai, which now
serves as the village library and which features a wonderfully carved
stone gate. The next stop will be the Byzantine Keslik Monastery. We
continue to arrive in Mustafa pasha (Sinasos), renowned for its
excellent Ottoman and Greek architecture. We shall also visit the very
first church that was constructed by the Ottomans for the Christian
community. After an easygoing stroll, exploring this village, we return
to our hotel.
Overnight Cappadocia
DAY 9. CAPPADOCIA
Wake up very early in the
morning for a Hot Air Balloon ride, an unusually extraordinary
experience. After the flight return to hotel for a proper breakfast
before taking another full daily tour of Cappadocia. We start by
visiting the Göreme open-air museum, a UNESCO world heritage, to view
some of the fascinating frescoed and rock carved churches. We proceed to
visit the historic village of Cavusin, followed by a stroll among the
majestic fairy chimneys of Pasabag. We continue to see Sarihan, a 13th
century Seljuk caravanserai, very authentically and beautifully restored.
We continue to the town of Avanos, renowned mainly for its pottery work.
After a stop for lunch, we visit the famous pottery artisans in their
traditional rock carved workshops. Then we continue with our tour and
stop to admire the multitude of bizarre rock shapes, almost like
sculptures fashioned by nature in the Devrent valley. We proceed to
Ürgüp to explore this famous town of the region and then continue to
Ibrahimpasa, and take a walk in this very typical Anatolian village,
before returning to your hotel.
Overnight Cappadocia
DAY 10. CAPPADOCIA
This tour journey starts by a
visit to the Uchisar castle, followed by a panoramic view of the Pigeon
Valley. Then we continue across the fertile plains of Cappadocia,
passing through several villages and come to one of the two largest
fascinating multilevel underground cities, namely Kaymakli or Derinkuyu,
a unique feature of this region. The we proceed to Güzelyurt, (Gelveri),
hometown of St. Gregory Nazianzen. We take a little tour of this very
authentic Turkish village. After having lunch, we finally go down into
the sheer-sided canyon of Ihlara. This deep canyon is quite lush and a
stream runs through it all the way. , in which there runs a stream, and
on.both sides of which there are rock hewn churches. We enjoy a very
pleasant and easy 4 Km hike through the Ihlara canyon and we arrive in
the Belisirma village., a very authentic and unspoilt village. Then we
leave for Selime to visit this surreal ancient monastic site and
several rock hewn churches. Then we take the road back and return to
your hotel.
Overnight Cappadocia
DAY 11. CAPPADOCIA - ISTANBUL
Morning transfer to the Kayseri airport for your flight to Istanbul.