Day 1 till Day 11

Day 1: Trabzon

Arrival at Trabzon. Our German- speaking tour guide will meet you at the airport in Trabzon. Transfer to the hotel.

Overnight in Trabzon.

Day 2: Trabzon - Hagia Sophia - Sumela Monastery

Today you will visit the basilica of St.Sofia that is from the architectural point of view is one of the best known and most important basilicas. Nowadays the Hagia Sophia is a museum. Surrounded by gardens it rises up to a hill in front of a bay of the Black Sea. Then we will visit the beautiful Greek Orthodox Monastery Sumela dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The monastery is fascinating and spooky. If you look from bottom to top, you will have the feeling that it floats in the void, as it was built on the side of the dark, almost black mountains.

Overnight in Trabzon.

Day 3: Erzurum - Kars

Riding ( 300 km) to Erzurum. You will visit the most important Monuments of the Seljuk era. Since 1179 bare, massive facade of the old Friday mosque (Ulu Cami) rises up fortress-like in an unfriendly way. Not far from there stands the Cifte Minareli Medrese, a former Islamic school that was named after its two minarets. Then you will see the Hatuniye Tübe, a medieval tomb.

Overnight in Kars.

Day 4: Kars - Ani - Dogubeyazit

Ani nowadays is located at the border with Armenia, once was the capital of the Armenian empire. On the plateau you will see the remains of the churches from the 9th - 12th cc that are the chronicle of a once flourishing Christian city. What remained after Ani is the most important Armenian inheritance in Turkey and one of the most impressive ruin sites of the country. After a walk through the sprawling complex you will drive along the Turkish-Armenian border to Dogubeyazit, located at the foot of mountain Ararat.

Overnight in Dogubeyazit.

Day 5: Ishak Pasa Palace - Van

From the beautiful Ishak Pasa palace of the 18th century you are looking over a wide plateau and with a little luck you will see mountain Ararat (5,137 meters) on which Noah's ark was supposedly situated. The palace offers a blend of different styles. In addition to Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk influences, the architect also used Armenian and Georgian elements as well as elements of European Baroque. On the edge of the world, iin a magnificent landscape a Kurdish prince created here a palace, that is unique in its kind. Passng the waterfalls of Muradiye you will reach deep blue Lake Van, the largest inland water of Turkey and one of the elevated lakes in the world (1,650 m).

Overnight in Van.

Day 6: Akdamar Island - Tatvan

A short boat trip to convent church Ardamar on the island with the same name as Lake Van. The finely worked relief on the facade of this most important Armenian sacred building tells the episodes from the biblical history. After extensive contemplation you will visit a vast ancient cemetery by Achlat, with thousands of decorated tombs and beautiful Türbe (tombs) from the time when the medieval Islamic principality had its capital there.

Overnight in Tatvan.

Day 7: Hasankeyf - Midyat - Mardin

On the former Silk Road we pass old caravanserais. In the medieval town of Hasankeyf deserve rock and cave dwellings, a beautiful mosque and a robber baron's fortress by the river Tigris attract our attention. The reservoir dam that will engulf Hasankeyf is still a topic for discussion. Leaving Midyat in theTur-Abdin Mountains, the "mountain of the servants of the God", we arrive at Mardin. Bright, flat roof, stone houses of the upper-Mesopotamian Mardin are spread  on a steep mountain slope.

In Jacobites monastery Deir az-Zafaran in the east of the city a monk will show us a well maintained property with stone ovens, arcades, monk cells, imposing reception rooms and a church. Also he willingly provides information about the convent life .

Overnight in Mardin.

Day 8: Harran - Sanli Urfa

Early we will have time for a round through the picturesque alleys of Mardin, before we travel to Sanli Urfa (Urfa). At noon we reach the city of the prophets, Snail Urfa. Driving to Harran, a border town with Syria. Here Abraham has lived for some years. Because of their beehive resembling architecture, the Trulli houses themselves are temperature-controlled. Back to Sanli Urfa and visiting the Halilul-Rahman Mosque, with the birth grotto and the carp pond of Ayn Zaliha. If time permits there will be a walk through the interesting bazaar with many patios as Han, where you can sip Turkish coffee. (280 km)

Overnight in Sanli Urfa.

Day 9: Euphrates Dam - Nemrud Mountain - Arsameia -Karakus -Tumulus

Visiting Euphrates Dam, the biggest construction project in Turkey. It is as high as the Cheops pyramid. By mini-buses we drive to the Nemrud Dag and hike (ascent about 30 min) to the west and east terrace of the tomb of Antiochus I. Continuation to Arsameia where we will see enormous relief panels and a mysterious rock tunnel of the Commagene residence to the Karakus-barrow with the Eagle pillar. The journey continues over the Cendere Bridge to Katha from the Roman period .

Overnight in Adiyaman.

Day 10: Kayseri

On the road to Kayseri we will stop at the ancient Hittite city of Kanesch. Sightseeing in Kayseri.

Overnight in Kayseri.

Day 11: Return flight

Services

TRAVEL SERVICES INCLUDE:

• Professional qualified trained German-speaking tour guide
• Round trip in modern air-conditioned coaches
• Welcome cocktail
• Entrance fees according the programme
• Porter and tips at the hotels
• 2 nights in 4-star hotel in Usta Trabzon or similar hotel
• 1 night in 4-star hotel Simer in Kars or similar hotel
• 1 night in 3-star hotel Simer in Dogubeyazit or similar hotel
• 1 night in 3-star hotel Tusba in Van or similar hotel
• 1 night in 3-star hotel Kardelen in Tatvan or similar hotel
• 1 night in 3- star hotel Bilen in Mardin or similar hotel
• 1 night in 4- star hotel Manici Urfa or similar hotel
• 1 night in 4-star hotel Zeus in Kahta or similar hotel
• 1 night in 4-star hotel Altin Saray in Kayseri or similar hotel
• Half board (breakfast and dinner)

TRAVEL SERVICES DO NOT INCLUDE:

• Personal expenses
• Lunch
• Air fare

Things to know

• For detailed explanations to the degrees of difficulty please follow this link: Explanation to the degrees of difficulty
• Information about visa and entry regulations, health information and tips for equipment, see this link: Things to know-1
• Please note our information about possible exchange rate fluctuations: Exchange rate fluctuation