Historical Eastern Turkey

After breakfast, we pick you up from your hotel and begin our day with a sightseeing tour of Istanbul.

• Visit Topkapi Palace which was residence of the Sultans and Ottoman Dynasty for more than 400 years, and now a museum that houses priceless artifacts, jewelry, murals, and other royal antiquities.
• Walk around the Hippodrome area where chariot races were held during the Roman period.
• Enjoy lunch at a Turkish restaurant.
• Visit the Aya (Hagia) Sophia museum, a Christian basilica converted to a mosque during Ottoman rule and now considered the jewel of Byzantine architecture.
• Tour the historical site of the Blue Mosque decorated with over 20,000 tiles.
• Visit The Grand Bazaar, one of the oldest and largest markets in the world with over 3,000 shops.

We will then transfer you back to your hotel for an overnight stay.

After breakfast, we begin our Turkey tour package with a scenic drive to the Eminonu neighborhood to the Egyptian (Spice) Bazaar.

• Visit the Spice Bazaar, the second largest covered shopping market in Turkey, built-in 1664 and the center of the spice trade since then.
• Take a private ferry ride on the Bosphorus, the body of water that separates the European and Asia side of Istanbul. During the ride, take in the picturesque coastline filled with unique properties including multi-million dollar mansions, castles, houses, and mosques.
• Break for lunch onshore.
• Visit Dolmabache Palace, the imperial residence of the last 6 Sultans, with more than 280 rooms, 46 halls, 6 baths, and 68 toilets.

Finally, we transfer you back to your hotel for an overnight stay in Istanbul.

After checking out from our hotel, we’ll head to Istanbul’s airport for a 2-hour flight to Van. Upon arrival, we’ll transfer to our hotel and enjoy half a day of leisure. Van is famous for its natural-dyed kilims and unique Van cats with different-colored eyes and thick white fur. Our tour starts with a visit to the Archaeological Museum, which houses Urartian remains. Next, we’ll explore the Van Citadel, a massive stone fortification built by the ancient kingdom of Urartu during the 9th to 7th centuries BC, and the largest of its kind. We’ll end the day with an overnight stay in Van.

We’ll start the day with a drive to Cavustepe, an Urartian fortress on a mountaintop, around 25 kilometers (15 miles) away from Van. Next, we’ll visit Hosap Castle, a large medieval castle built by a local Kurdish lord in 1643 in the village of Hosap. On our return to Van, we’ll stop to see local artisans creating traditional rugs and learn about Turkish, Armenian, Kurdish, and Azerbaijani rugs and kilims, which this area is famous for. Upon returning to Van, we’ll travel by ferryboat across Lake Van, stopping on Akdamar Island, the second-largest island in Lake Van, and home to the 10th-century Armenian Cathedral church, known as the Cathedral Church of the Holy Cross. We’ll end the day with an overnight stay in Van.

After checking out from our hotel, we’ll continue our tour to Mardin city. Along the way, we’ll stop in Tatvan for refreshments and have a picnic lunch at Nemrut Crater Lake, the largest Crater Lake in Europe. Afterwards, we’ll visit Ahlat, a historical town near Lake Van, where we’ll explore the Seljuk Cemetery, the largest Turkish-Islamic graveyard in the world and the tombs of Seljuk Kings. Our tour continues to Hasankeyf, an ancient town along the Tigris River, known for its many ancient ruins, including multi-storied caves, churches, and mosques carved into the cliffs, and numerous ancient cemeteries. Lastly, we’ll stop in Midyat town for dinner and to see the Mor Gabrial Monastery, the oldest surviving Syriac Orthodox monastery in the world. Finally, we’ll transfer to our hotel in Mardin for an overnight stay.

After checking out from our hotel, we’ll explore the city of Mardin, situated on top of a hill and known for its fascinating architecture consisting of heavily decorated stonework. While here, we’ll visit Deyr ul-Zafaran Monastery, an important Syriac Orthodox monastery better known as the ‘Saffron Monastery’ because of the warm color of its stones. The monastery has 365 rooms, one for each day of the year. We’ll leave Mardin and head to Diyarbakir, one of the largest cities in southeastern Turkey, famous for having the 2nd largest city walls in the world after the Great Wall of China. Finally, our tour ends with a drive to Urfa for an overnight stay.

After hotel check-out, we visit the ancient city of Harran, famous for its traditional ‘beehive’ adobe houses, constructed entirely without wood. At this historical site, we explore the ruins of the city walls and fortifications, including one city gate standing and other structures. We end the day with a drive to Sanliurfa, better known as Urfa, located about 50 kilometers/31 miles away from Harran, where we stay overnight.

After hotel check-out, we continue with a memorable drive to Kahta. Along the way, we cross the huge Ataturk Dam, named after Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. We also see the Karakus, a monumental tomb built by Commagene’s King Mithradates II in honor of his mother. Then, we head to Mount Nemrut, the highest mountain in Northern Mesopotamia, located about 40 kilometers/20 miles away from Kahta. This mountain is famous for its summit where a number of large statues are erected around what is assumed to be a royal tomb from the 1st century BC. Some of these remaining ruins and tombs include lions, eagles, and various Greek, Armenian, and Iranian gods. We stay overnight in Kahta.

After hotel check-out, we are transferred to Adiyaman Airport, located 15 kilometers/9 miles from Kahta, for the flight to Istanbul. Upon arrival in Istanbul, we are transferred to the hotel for a free day of leisure. We stay overnight in Istanbul.

After hotel check-out, a transfer is available to Istanbul’s airport for the return flight.