Eastern Turkey 12-Day Sightseeing Tour from Trabzon

Take the morning flight from Istanbul to Trabzon (or you can arrive a day before) .The guide will be at the airport to collect the party. We will start the tour with a visit the Hagia Sophia Museum, a significant 14th century Byzantine church, overlooking the Black Sea, which boasts some frescos of considerable importance.

From Trabzon we travel a short way up the Zigana Valley, to Macka in the Altindere National Park to visit the Monastery of the Black Virgin at Sumela. In this truly spectacular setting, the seven story Sumela Monastery hangs from the side of a 1200 ft cliff overlooking a steep river valley. This has been a monastic site as early as the 4th century AD and was a renowned monastic community partly because of its remarkable location and the ascetic principles characterised by the early years of Christian monasticism. Drive to Artvin via Rize and hopa along the coast of Black Sea.

Trabzon city tour and Altindere national park

After breakfast, drive to Ishan Church via Artvin. We will stop to see the Bocka Dam and then drive through the Coruh Valley characterised by beautiful wild landscapes all along the raging river, and Georgian valleys including castles and churches. Visit the mountain village of Ishan. In this village, which was once an Armenian then a Georgian bishopric, stands the ruins of an 8-9th century cathedral and a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1006.

Via Goergian valley we will stop at Tortum Lake to see the waterfall. The Tortum Waterfall is the tallest waterfall in Turkey. We will walk down to the bottom of the waterfall. This place is good for picnic too.

After arriving Erzurum, we will have a look Yakutiye Medrese and the little museum inside. Yakutiye Medrese is a historical 14th century Madrasa and today it is used a musuem too. It is right in the city center. We will take a walk around Yakutiye and see the local life.

After breakfast see the Great Mosque, Double minaret, Medreses and other central sites including the bazaar, three tombs and Ulu cami. We will walk in the city center through the historical sites. When we walk we will have a chance to see the local life of Erzurum.

Arrive in Kars and continue for Ani, the former capital of the great medieval Armenian kingdom. In the mid-10th century, nothing in Europe could rival this capital of Ani in terms of either size or magnificence. The remains of the ruined city include several churches as well as the shell of the Cathedral of Ani, the citadel and a mosque along with an extensive and well preserved defensive wall. There are also some exciting remains of frescoes in the Church of St Gregory (Tigran Honentz) despite exposure to the elements for centuries.

According to various historical sources and inscriptions, it is known that building work started in the year 989 under King Smbat II (977-89) and was completed, after a halt in construction, by the year 1001 (or 1010 depending on the reading of the inscription) by order of Queen Katranideh (Catherine), the wife of King Gagik Bagratuni, Smbat's successor.

We continue our journey south skirting around the western edge of Mt Ararat.Mount Ararat is 5137m (16854 ft).

In Dogubeayzit, we visit the spectacular Ishak Pasha Palace 1685 - 1784 with unique fusion of architecture from Seljuk, Ottoman, Georgian, and Armenian/Persian styles. Even in its ruined state the opulence and originality of art and impeccable taste coupled with the ambition of its owner instantly grasp the imagination. Out on the remotest reaches of the empire, far from central authority in Istanbul its creators produced provincial palace that could rival any in the empire. Built as the seat of the government in the province of Mount Ararat in Eastern Anatolia

Stop for refreshments at the charming Muradiye waterfall.

We will go to the island of Akdamar where we visit the beautifully restored 10th century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross, or Sourp Khach; built as a part of a palace and religious complex between 915 and 921 by the Armenian King Gagik Ardzruni.Although, it is one of the best known examples of Armenian architecture. It is also unique in that there is no comparable example in terms of the reliefs and decorative features that adorn the exterior of the building. The grace and simplicity of the original structure is superb although it has been somewhat marred by later additions. A chapel was added in 1293 at the south eastern side of the church and dedicated to St. Stepanos and a further chapel was added at the north eastern side by the Catholicos Zakarias I (1296- 1336) while the section in front of this chapel serves as an entrance. Catholicos Tovmas (Thomas) built an addition at the front of the church producing a lower “split level” floor plan.

After breakfast we will leave for Hosap to see Hosap Castle. The main castle structure of Hosap was built straddling the Silk Road and served as both a means of protecting the road and as a point of charging tolls on travellers. Constructed in 1643 by a local Kurdish chieftain called Mahmudi Sari Suleyman (or Blond Suleyman) The castle is built on a rocky outcrop on the north bank of the Hosap River. The structure that we see today dates mostly from 1643 when Hosap's governor Sari Suleyman Bey rebuilt the castle and added a new entrance tower. A castle was probably built at this location as early as the Urartu Kingdom (9th c.- 6th c. B.C.); it is certain, however, that the structure was built early on and modified numerous times until the seventeenth century.

The Fortress of Van is a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and is the largest example of its kind. It overlooks the ruins of Tushpa the ancient Urartian capital during the 9th century which was centered upon the steep-sided bluff where the fortress now sits.

Cavustepe is an Urartian Royal palace and fortress.

We will leave Van and drive along the southern shore of Lake Van to Tatvan. After stopping for refreshments in Tatvan, we will drive to Mount Nemrut crater and have a picnic lunch by the Crater Lakes. The highest peak of the mountain stands at 3050 meters and is one of the largest complete calderas in the world. The volcanic cone was believed to have originally been higher. It was at 4450 meter before its eruption. The last time it was active was in 1440 BC. There are five lakes within the crater, and the largest two, which we will visit, are very different. The Cold Lake (13 sq.kms) has an average depth of 100 meters, where its deepest point is at 155 m. The Hot Lake has a visible amount of steam rising from its thermal springs.

Ahlat and its surroundings are known for a large number of historic tombstones left by the Ahlatshah dynasty, also known as the Shah-Armen, Shah-i-Arman, or Ahlat-Shah dynasty.

Via Bitlis we continue down the Bitlis Gorge, via the city of Batman, to the town Hasankeyf for lunch. In Hasankeyf on the Tigris we will visit some of the many caves and the ruins of the medieval Byzantine city.

The city survived into the Assyrian Christian period as the name of Mt. Izala (Izla), on which in the early 4th century AD stood the monastery of Nisibis, housing seventy monks.In the Roman period, the city itself was known as Marida (Merida) from a Syriac/Assyrian Neo-Aramaic language name translating to "fortress.Mardin has often been considered an open-air museum due to its historical architecture. Most buildings use the beige colored limestone rock which has been mined for centuries in quarries around the area.

The Saffron Monastery was once the ancient centre of the Syriac Christian Patriarchy. This site has been the centre of religious worship for many centuries, the monastery itself is built over an ancient temple, built in 1000BC and dedicated to the worship of the sun and which now provides the foundations to the main part of the monastery buildings - it is a fascinating structure as the roof of the temple to the sun is, essentially, a flat arch!

Diyarbakır Fortress is a historical fortress in Sur. It consists of an inner fortress and an outer fortress. The main gates of the fortress are: Dağ (Mountain) Gate, Urfa Gate, Mardin Gate and Yeni (New) Gate.The walls come from the old Roman city of Amida and were constructed in their present form in the mid-fourth century AD by the emperor Constantius II. They are the widest and longest complete defensive walls in the world after only the Great Wall of China.

The Great Mosque of Diyarbakır was built by the Great Seljuk Sultan Malik-Shah I over an older mosque, and its shape was inspired by the Great Mosque of Damascus.The mosque is considered by Muslim scholars to be the fifth holiest site in Islam after the Great Mosque of Damascus. It can accommodate up to 5,000 worshippers and is famous for hosting four different Islamic traditions.

The city tour will include Meryem Ana Church, and we will travel northwest to Diyarbakir to see the 10 Arches Bridge on the Tigris River and the 16th century Ottoman Han, called Hasan Pasha Hani,

Leave for Nemrut via the ferry over the Euiphratesry arriving in Narlice Village in Nemrut National Park. We will travel to the top of Mount NemrutTombs of Commagene Kingdom and the Colossal Statues of Gods. Climbing up to Tumulus of Antiochos, the capital of Kommagene we will watch the sun set from the summit of Nemrut. This ancient funerary monument at the peak of Mt Nemrut was forgotten and lost to memory for nearly 2000 years. This iconic monument was only rediscovered accidentally by a working for the Ottoman government in the early 1880s. At the peak of the mountain, 2150 metres, there is a tumulus of crushed stones beneath which, it is believed, lie the remains of the monument's builder Antiochus Epiphanes.

We will visit the on-going archaeological dig at Gobekli Tepe. Although this site is not widely known it is one of the most important archaeological digs currently being undertaken anywhere - this site represents a major shift in our understanding of man's early history. Here lie the remains of the earliest religious structures built by man yet to be discovered.At about 11000-13000 years old and pre-dating pottery, writing, Stonehenge and the Pyramids!

In Urfa we will visit the Holy Pools of Abraham andthe cave where, tradition tells us, the Prophet Abraham was born. Visit the Bazaar and Gumruk Han.

Şanlıurfa Museum is an archaeological museum in Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It is located at 11 Nisan Fuar Caddesi, Şanlıurfa. In this Museum, findings from the surrounding area, i. e. from Göbekli Tepe or Harran, and from the Southeastern Anatolia Project are exhibited.

Depart for Gaziantep and renown Mosaic museum which houses the mosaics taken from the city of Zeugma which is now submerged under the flood waters of the Ataturk dam. The mosaics are a superb example of the skill and artistry of these ancient craftsmen, not to mention the wealth and taste of the citizens who commissioned them. From the museum we will leisure time visit the citadel district at the centre of the city and then to the old town to enjoy the sights and smells of old Gaziantep, one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world.

In spite of all the history and in a country renowned for the excellence of its cuisine, what makes Gaziantep special is its food. Alongside now familiar Turkish specialities, there is Gaziantep food, and the people in this part of Turkey like their food hot and spicy! Food in Gaziantep is different from the cuisine in other parts of Turkey because of the influence of Ogus Turks and Aleppo in neighbouring Syria. The difference is visible in its rice meals, soups, kebabs, meatballs, etc. Its kebab varieties include kiyma kebab or minced meat, kusbasi kebab, simit kebab, patlican (aubergine) kebab, ciger (liver) kebab and sogan (onion) kebab.and so on, some of them fearsomely hot Apart from all this, there is lahmacun (a pancake prepared with spicy meat and karisik dolama (a preparation made of different types of vegetables), yogurtlu patates or potato with yogurt and much, much more.

After breakfast we will transfer you to Gaziantep Airport