What To Expect

Day 1: Istanbul to Cappadocia
• Cappadocia

  Fly to Cappadocia from Istanbul at desired hour. You will meet your driver at airport ( Kayseri or Nevsehir) and tranfer to your hotel.

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 2: Cappadocia
• Goreme

  Optional Hot air balloon flight at sunrise. Please do not forget to ask for reservation. You will return to the hotel around 08:00am

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Goreme Panorama

  Our professional guide and the driver will pick you up at your hotel at 10:00. The first stop is Esentepe, the impressive panoramic viewpoint overlooking Goreme. Here your guide will give you information on the history of Cappadocia and the unique rock formations.

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Red Valley

  We visit the beginning of Rose Valley for an easy one-hour hike through fairy chimneys, orchards and vineyards.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Goreme Open-Air Museum

  Our next stop is the Goreme Open Air Museum, a UNESCO World Heritage site. Your guide will explain the meanings of the frescoes in the cave churches, decorated with scenes of the Old and New Testaments dating back to the 10th century. The site has been used as a monastery since the first years of Christianity.

  Duration: 1 minute

  Admission Included: YES

• Monk’s Valley with the famous mushroom-shaped fairy chimneys as well as St. Simeon’s monk cell carved into the rock.

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

• Devrent Valley

  Devrent’s animal-shaped rock formations are really interensting Cappadocia phenomenon.

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Avanos

  Day one concludes in Avanos, a picturesque town on a river that supplies clay for the 4000 year-old Avanos tradition of pottery. A kick-wheel demonstration by a local potter and your chance at trying this ancient custom brings our day to an end. You will arrive back at your hotel around 5pm.

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 3: Cappadocia
• Kaymakli Underground City

  Our professional guide and the driver will pick you up from your hotel at 9:30. Our first stop is the amazing Kaymakli Underground City. It is the first and most popular underground city in Cappadocia. This complex carved underground is used for hundreds of years by locals to hide from Romans, Persians and Arabs.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Ihlara Valley

  After departing Kaymakli, we will drive further south to the magnificent verdant Ihlara Valley. We walk alongside the Melendiz River for about 1 hour which winds its way through the Ihlara gorge, stopping for lunch in a restaurant on the river in the village of Belisirma.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Selime Monastery

  After lunch, we continue to the Selime Monastery, the largest rock-cut monastery in Cappadocia with a large cave cathedral and breathtaking views over the area.

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

• Pigeon Valley

  On our way back to Goreme we stop at the spectacular vista point overlooking Pigeon Valley. Our final stop will be at a local onyx factory to see a demonstration on carving and shaping onyx. We will then drive back to your hotel arriving around 6pm.

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

Day 4: Cappadocia to Gaziantep
• Zeugma Mosaic Museum

  After breakfast, departure from your hotel at 08:00. We will stop along the way for lunch. Arriving to Gaziantep around 14:00 and continuing on to visit the world famous Gaziantep Mosaic Museum. This museum exhibits superb mosaics discovered at the Roman site of Belkis-Zeugma before the Birecik Dam flooded most of the site.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Gaziantep Castle

  We will visit the old city castle which is located in the center of the city and copper bazaar. This bazaar is one of the most special and oldest bazaars in Turkey. You can find a variety of copper handcrafts. We will also have the chance to taste famous baklava; a sweet pastry made of layers of filo filled with chopped nuts and sweetened and held together with syrup or honey (Baklava is originally from Gaziantep). After visiting the city, drive to the hotel and check-in. Your guide will recommend/escort you (if you wish) to dinner to taste some of the world famous cuisine of Gaziantep!

  Duration: 2 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

Day 5: Gaziantep to Sanlıurfa
• Zeugma Belkis Antik Kent

  After breakfast, check-out from our hotel and today we will explore the ancient settlements that lived along the Euphrates river. The main three settlements that used to be along this beautiful river are the; twin settlements that made Zeugma, Halfeti the partially submerged town, and Rumkale the statically important river fortress.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

• Sanliurfa

  After lunch on the river, we continue to Sanliurfa which has been occupied since the Babylonians followed by the Hurrites, Hittites, Assyrians, Greeks.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Sanliurfa Archeology and Mosaic Museum

  We will visit the Urfa Archaeological Museum. This museum exhibits a huge collection, founded from Harran and Gobeklitepe Area.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Ayn Zeliha Golu

  We will also visit the holy sites at the Ainzelha, a lake with millions of domesticated fish.

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

• Mevlid-i Halilulrahman MagarasI

  While in Urfa we will visit the cave where the prophet Abraham was born. Then, walk through the local covered bazaar of Sanliurfa. Walk through the town to discover the many hidden treasures.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

Day 6: Sanlıurfa to Adıyaman
• Harran

  After breakfast at the hotel we will visit nearby Harran and see the incredible beehive houses. Harran- according to the Bible- was the site where prophet Abraham spent a few years with his family before moving on to Israel, the Promised Land. There are exceptional photo opportunities in this area.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Gobeklitepe

  In the afternoon drive to Kahta city. On the way, you will see Gobeklitepe, a hilltop sanctuary erected on the highest point of an elongated mountain ridge some 15 km northeast of the town of Urfa. What makes Gobeklitepe unique in its class is the date it was built, which is roughly twelve thousand years ago, circa 10,000 BC.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Arsemia Antik Kenti

  Arsameia on the Nymphaios is an ancient city located in Old Kâhta in Kâhta district, Adıyaman Province, Turkey. The site is near Kâhtaçay, known in ancient times as Nymphaios. Arsameia was a royal seat of the kingdom of Commagene. It is best known for the Hierothesion of King Mithridates I Kallinikos, built for him by his son and heir Antiochos I.

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

• Cendere Bridge

  We will cross over the still functioning Cendere Bridge (Septimius Severus bridge) dating all the way back to the 3rd century

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Karakus Tumulusu

  We will see the Karakuş Tumulus (also Karakush) is a funerary monument—a hierothesion—for Queen Isias and Princesses Antiochis and Aka I of Commagene, built by Mithridates II of Commagene in 30–20 BCE, near the modern village of Çukurtaş in Kâhta District, Adıyaman Province, Turkey.

  Duration: 30 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

• Mount Nemrut

  We will hike to the summit of mount Nemrut (one of the most popular UNESCO world cultural heritage sites), watching the sunset, be amazed by the colossal heads and statues of ancient deities, as you step into mythology. This extraordinary landmark rests at an elevation of 8000 ft. The mountain top complex is composed of two flattened areas strewn with statues and separated by a false peak of crushed rock. Antiochus built the entire complex approximately 2000 years ago as a monument to his divine ancestry. After visiting Nemrut, drive to the hotel.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 7: Adıyaman to Mardin
• Mardin

  After breakfast, departure to Mardin. We will reach Mardin around 11:00 and visit this old, historical city. Mardin is very unique with lovely old-Arabic style houses. The houses are often decorated with intricate carvings. This is a very lively trading center with people coming from surrounding villages to buy and sell. We will have a fantastic view of the Plain of Mesopotamia. It is a city that played an important role in the early development of Christianity.

  Duration: 2 hours

  Admission Included: NOT_APPLICABLE

• Kirklar Kilisesi

  We will visit Forty Martyrs Church (Kirklar Kilisesi). This church dates back to the 4th century, and was renamed in the 15th century to commemorate Cappadocian martyrs, now remembered in the fine carvings above the entrance.

  Duration: 45 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

• Zinciriye Medresesi

  Then, we will visit Zinciriye Madrasah (Zinciriye Medresesi). This theological school was built by Melik Necmeddin Isa in 1385. Spend the afternoon walking in its busy streets and bazaars, and admire the stonework all around the town.

  Duration: 2 minutes

  Admission Included: YES

Day 8: Mardin
• Deyrulzafaran Monastery

  After breakfast we will visit the Monastery of Deyr-az-Zaferan just outside of town, founded in 762 A.D. It was the seat of the Syrian Orthodox Patriarch for almost 800 years.

  Duration: 1 hour

  Admission Included: YES

• Dara Mesopotamia Ruins

  Continue onto the ancient city of Dara. This historical ancient city, known as the Ephesus of Mesopotamia, is an important settlement on the Silk Road. The remains of the ancient city of Dara are spread over a large area of 9 km and mostly carved into rocks. Around the village, visitors can see the cave houses carved into the rock. Additionally, a church, a palace, a bazaar and related storage facilities, a dungeon, a cannon foundry, and the aqueduct are still extant. Back to Mardin early afternoon for the last shopping and soaking in ancient Mesopotamia.

  Duration: 3 hours

  Admission Included: YES

Day 9: Mardin to Istanbul