This is an 8-day tour popular Eastern Turkey Tour Vacation Package and visits Trabzon, Diyarbakir, Lake Van, and Erzurum.
What to see during the 8-day popular Private Group Eastern Turkey Tour.
What to expect during the 8-day popular Private Group Eastern Turkey Tour?
Day 1: Trabzon – Arrival Day
Welcome to Trabzon. Upon our arrival at Trabzon Airport, our professional tour guide will meet with you, greeting you with a board with your name on it. We will provide transportation, and take you to your hotel. The rest of the day is yours to relax and discover the area.
Day 2: Trabzon City Tour
After breakfast, we depart for St. Sophia (Ayasofya), a 13th-century church, and study its extraordinary collection of Byzantine frescoes, depart for Gulbahar Hatun Mosque, Castle, and Ataturk’s Mansion (a picturesque hillside retreat), visit Ortahisar Mosque. Lunch at a seaside restaurant in Akcaabat. Afternoon, we explore the cobbled stone streets of Trabzon. Drive to Boztepe; enjoy our tea from samovar with the panoramic view of the city. After the tour drop back at your hotel.
Day 3: Sumela Monastery – Zigana – Karaca Cave – Erzurum
Depart for Sumela Monastery upon breakfast, visit the 4th century Sumela Monastery which clings to a sheer cliff face in a deep forest, relax beside a fast-flowing stream at Altindere Valley National Park, lunch, travel along the Silk Road through the Zigana Mountains (Pontic Alps) will take us to Karaca Cave, considered to be the most beautiful in Turkey for its colors and formations. Drive to Erzurum via Bayburt.
Day 4: Erzurum – Kars
An early morning departure after breakfast in Erzurum will take us on a beautiful drive to Kars passing on the way to Sarikamis, the coldest spot in Turkey. We will arrive in Kars and visit Ani at the Turkish-Armenian border. We will take a 45-minute drive to the medieval Armenian City of Ani, which lies mostly in ruins. Impressive fortified walls still encircle the ruins of numerous churches, mosques, and caravansaries. Enjoy a walk around the ruins and see the beautiful view of the Armenian border imagining it as a city with one million people rivaling Bagdad in its time! This city has experienced the cultures of Urartians, Armenians, Georgians, Mongols, Russians, and finally the Turks.
Day 5: Dogubeyazit
This morning, after breakfast, we will drive for 3 1/2 hours along the “Silk Road” to Dogubeyazit. At the Iranian border, we will see a site known as the Crater Hole. This is a beautiful, yet rugged area. We will have the opportunity to see Mount Ararat from all sides. It is believed by some to be the resting place of Noah’s Ark but to date, no one has found anything that has been verified as the Ark – yet the search is still on. In the afternoon, we will stop and see Ishak Pasa Palace. This complex is a combination of a mosque, a fortress, and a palace that originally had a room for every day of the year! Below, you can also see the remains of Eski Bayazit and Urartian City which flourished in 1000 B.
Day 6: Dogubeyazit – Lake Van
After visiting the Iranian border, we will depart for Van in the early morning, a drive of approximately three hours. This city has been established 13th century BC when the Hurrites arrived. Then the Hittites, Urartians, Persian, Armenians, Macedonians, Romans, and finally in the 11th century, the Turks came here. From here, we will visit the finest Armenian architectural wonder the Church of the Holy Cross on Akdamar Island. We’ll also visit the wonderful Kurdish castle of Hosap very close to the Iranian border as well as the Urartian citadel.
Day 7: Van – Ahlat – Batis – Diyarbakir
After breakfast and after visiting the eerie 12th-century Selcuk cemetery in Ahlat in the morning, we will head to Bitlis for lunch and a good walk around, Batis otherwise known as Alexander’s town. It’s a unique medieval town!
Day 8: Diyarbakir – End of Tour
After breakfast picks up from your hotel and transfer to Diyarbakir Airport for your domestic flight to Istanbul Airport and then back home.
Extra Tour Details
- Everyday departure (All year round)
- Duration: 8 days
- Groups / Private
What is included during the Excursion?
Included:
- Accommodation BB
- All sightseeing & fees mentioned in the itinerary
- Lunch at a local restaurant
- Flight tickets
- Transfer service from Hotels & Airport
- English Guide
Excluded:
- Beverage during the tour
- Tips to the guide&driver(optional)
- Personal expenses
