EASTERN TURKEY TOUR: A delicious journey to the cradle of civilizations
Eastern Turkey Tour
Highlights
- Civilization Museum in Ankara
- Hot Air Ballooning in Cappadocia
- Cooking Class in Iskenderun
- Zeugma Mosaic Museum in Gaziantep
- Oldest Temple, Gobeklitepe
- Mithra Temple in Zerzevan
- Ancient capital Ani
You can see the full itinerary day by day on the link below.
Please bear in mind; we can always redesign this tour according to your interest and time.
Ankara – Cappadocia
Our Eastern Turkey Tour starts from Ankara. On arrival day, your guide will meet you and give a short tour briefing at your hotel, and then you will have dinner together.
Then your adventure starts the next day. In Ankara, you will first visit the Anatolian Civilization Museum, which will be like a summary of Eastern Turkey. Then you will visit the Mausoleum of Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey. Then continue to Cappadocia.
Cappadocia is a unique place to visit on Earth. Why don’t you start your day with hot air ballooning? Hot air ballooning can be the best way to see how nature has sculpted this volcanic region.
Antioch – Gaziantep – Sanliurfa
Another highlight of this tour will be the cooking class in Iskenderun; even though this city was founded by Alexander Great not much left to see. But Iskenderun and Antioch are some of the gourmet stops of Turkey. In Antioch, you will visit St. Peter’s Church which is one of the first churches of Christianity.
Another Gourmet stop is Gaziantep. Here you will also visit the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, which is the largest one in the world.
After Gaziantep, you will drive to the thrones of gods, Mt Nemrut. And you will visit Gobeklitepe, where the gods were born. Gobeklitepe made a revolution in human history and became a significant destination for travelers.
“From Gobeklitepe to Urartians, Hittites to Commagene, travel East of Turkey to be at the cradle of civilizations.“
Mardin – Van – Kars
You will also visit Mardin, where they still talk Aramaic in monasteries and Diyarbakir, which is on the UNESCO list today. But in between these two cities, there is another essential place to visit. Zerzevan Castle. This Roman outpost is important because of a temple we discovered inside. This temple belongs to a mystical cult that was rival to Christianity. The cult is called Mithra, and their temples are called Mithraeum. Since people like Dan Brown and Morgan Freeman are willing to do a documentary about here, we can say that once the pandemic is finished, this will be another top destination of the world.
You will continue to Van to explore Urartian sites. Urartian, who is also mentioned in the Old Testament, were natives of Van Lake and around.
Through the end of this adventure, you will visit Ishakpasa Palace in Dogubeyazit and Ani. Ani was the capital of the old Armenian Kingdom, so it has some of the most exemplary Armenian Architecture from the 10th to 13th century.
From Ani, you will fly back to Ankara, but we can always change it to Istanbul, and you can stay a couple of more days here.
Prices
Please contact us to learn the best seasonal prices.
Included
- Meals as listed on the itinerary
- Accommodations
- Private Mercedes Van
- Private professional tour guide
- Domestic flights
- Entrance fees to the sites
- Hotel tips
Not Included
- Items of a personal nature
- Any items not specifically mentioned as included
- Gratuities to guide and driver
We’ll be delighted to design and deliver a fantastic tour for you. Any tour can be personalized to meet your requirements. Please fill out our enquiry form below. We’ll get back to you!