Istanbul • Gaziantep • Urfa • Adiyaman • Mt. Nemrut • K.Maras • Cappadocia
(10 Nights / 11 Days)

Day 1: Arrival at Istanbul Ataturk airport
Private transfer to your hotel; orientation walking tour of the neighborhood with your private guide. Some good local restaurants can be pointed out for dinner this evening.

Ortakoy mosque and Bosphorus bridge - Istanbul

Wooden houses, mansions - Bosphorus strait - Istanbul

Town of Halfeti under Birecik dam

Bee-hive houses in Harran - Urfa

Statues at the peak of Mount Nemrut

Fairy chimneys - Cappadocia

Day 2: Istanbul
Private sightseeing includes the Roman Hippodrome, Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern, and the Grand Bazaar.
If you feel energetic enough, we are happy to expand the tour to include other interesting aspects hidden in the less touristy areas of the district. (B)

Day 3: Istanbul
Private sightseeing includes Topkapi Palace and The Harem, the Spice Market, a boat ride on the Bosphorus Strait for about an hour and a backroads walking tour. (B)

Day 4: Istanbul / Gaziantep – Flight to Gaziantep and city tour
We start with a visit to the ancient site of Zeugma which means "bridgehead" due to its geographic location and submerged in the waters of the Birecik dam. We then stroll through the streets of the old town with its houses and its picturesque castle and see the workshops of various handicrafts in the old bazaar. Here you can watch some craftsmen still working on their stands, keeping these centuries-old traditions alive. (B)

Day 5: Gaziantep / Halfetti / Urfa – Drive to Urfa
This morning, we drive to the town of Halfeti and embark on a boat tour of the Euphrates River, to see "the sunken city" which was a village from 19th century Ottoman period, with its mosque, school, bath and other buildings. In connection with the construction of the Birecik dam, the area was flooded in 1999. People of the region make their living from fishing in the Euphrates, farming on the riverbanks and especially growing the area's famous black roses. The old town of Halfeti is only partially submerged. During our tour, we also ride past the Rumkale castle built on a steep cliff. At the end of the tour we drive on to Urfa where we will spend our next two nights. (B, L, D)

Day 6: Urfa / Harran / Gobekli Tepe (Potbelly Hill) – Full day tour of Urfa and neighboring sites
As one of the oldest cities in Asia Minor, the first traces of settlement around Urfa date back to 11th century BC. The site of Urfa was under the rule of various civilizations from the Hurrians to the Romans throughout history and is also believed to be the place where Prophet Abraham and other prophets lived.
We begin our tour with a short drive to Harran, inhabited for 6,000 years and was later made into a center of learning by the Romans and the Arabs, now famous with its conical houses. These houses have cone shaped domes and the hole on top of the dome serves as a source of light and air and could be blocked in winter. There, we also visit the ruins of Moon Temple that was the site of a cult in the Assyrian period.
We then drive on to a mind blowing site due to its immense importance in human history. Discovered only in 1994, by German and Turkish archaeologists, the Göbekli Tepe stone circles, 7,000 years older than Stonehenge - we now go back to 12,000 B.C. and this find is thus regarded as an archaeological discovery of the greatest importance.
Until recently, we thought that only when humans discovered agriculture they were able to settle and live in larger communities. The sheer age of Göbekli Tepe tells us that this was not the case. Adding to the puzzle is the fact that Göbekli Tepe appears to have no places of residence.
We drive back to Urfa and visit the Halil-ul Rahman Mosque complex and the sacred lake of Abraham next to it. We then enjoy a stroll through the market place in the old part of town. (B, L, D)

Day 7: Urfa / Adiyaman / Kahta / Mt. Nemrut – Drive to Kahta to visit the sites on Mt. Nemrut
We arrive at Kahta. This is where we start driving up to the UNESCO site of Mt. Nemrut, a striking location at 2000 meters. It's a burial mound that is also a temple complex for the Commagene king Antiochus from 1st century BC, with decapitated statues of gods and their heads in monumental sizes lying around on terraces. Afterwards, we continue on to visit the site of Arsemea, the capital of the kingdom Commagene and Adiyaman Museum where axes, drillers and cutters of Palaeolithic Age, vessels of Chalcolithic Age and ornaments of Bronze Age are exhibited. (B, L, D)

Day 8: Adiyaman / Kahraman Maras / Cappadocia – Drive to Cappadocia
This is a long day as we drive to Cappadocia. We leave Adiyaman early in the morning and pass through Kahraman Maras with pit stops and a lunch break along the way. In Maras, we will also have the chance to taste its famous ice-cream. We arrive at our hotel late in the afternoon. (B, L, D)

Day 9: Cappadocia – Full day tour
Today, we begin discovering breathtaking Cappadocia. This area is renowned for its awe-inspiring natural rock formations that were used for housing and churches as well as entire underground cities. The valleys here are carved by erosion in tuff, a soft rock formed by volcanic ash accumulation over millions of years, and create a fertile pocket in an otherwise prairie-like Central Anatolian Plateau. Against this beautiful background, Cappadocia's traditional rural life still goes on providing unique opportunities to observe a life-style which is rapidly changing. Along with the specific sites mentioned in the following program, we visit a winery to taste the local wine, stop at many vantage points to enjoy the beautiful scenery around us, or better still, walk in the remote valleys to see more. Our flexibility lets you choose among many ways to see this fascinating region. Enjoy beautiful panoramas at the Ortahisar Valley and visit the Goreme Open Air Museum which consists of steep cliffs and many hidden churches dating from the second half of the 9th century and onwards. Several nice local restaurants for dinner can be suggested by your guide or the hotel staff. (B)

Day 10: Cappadocia – Full day tour
Optional early morning balloon ride is available. After breakfast, included visits to the remarkable Underground City of Kaymakli, Uchisar town and fortress, Pasabag and the small town of Avanos where the pottery and rugs are splendid representatives of the Turkish handicraft tradition. (B)

Day 11: : Cappadocia / Istanbul – Transfer to Nevsehir or Kayseri airports
Today we begin our journey home with a drive to Nevsehir or Kayseri airports for a flight back to Istanbul and connection to homebound flight. (B)

1. Accommodation:
   3 nights Istanbul: Hotel Ottoman Imperial (in the historic Sultanahmet neighborhood) or similar
   2 nights Gaziantep: Hotel Anatolian Houses or similar
   2 nights Urfa: Hotel Manici or similar
   1 night Adiyaman: Hotel Bozdogan or similar
   3 nights Cappadocia: Hotel Yunak or similar

2. Domestic flights in coach class within the program (Istanbul to Gaziantep and Nevsehir or Kayseri to Istanbul).

3. Meals as indicated by (B, L, D) - B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner
   18 Meals: 10 breakfasts, 4 lunches, and 4 dinners include bottled water.

4. Services of a private licensed, professional English-speaking guide throughout your trip.

5. All transfers and travel by private, modern, air-conditioned, chauffeur driven vehicles, appropriate to the size of your group.

6. All entrance fees to the sites and museums mentioned in the program.

7. Parking, ferry, and toll road fees. Not applicable if you are driving a rental car.

8. Gratuity at restaurants where a meal is included in the program.

9. Porterage fees at airports when our guide travels with you.

1. Airfare for international flights.

2. Beverages other than water during included meals.

3. Optional gratuities to the tour guide(s), driver(s) and the gulet crew.

4. Tipping for porters at hotels.

5. Travel insurance.

6. Visas, laundry, and personal items.