CAPPADOCIA, NEMRUD, URFA, HARRAN, GOBEKLITEPE, GAZİANTEP TOUR

5 Days & 4 Nights

Eastern Turkey tour package departing from Istanbul including flights.

Departure Days: THIS TOUR PACKAGE IS NOT OPERATED IN 2023
Please click here for our other tour packages we offer

Day 1 : Morning flight from Istanbul & Northern Cappadocia Tour (L)

Pick up from your hotel and transfer to airport (SAW / IST)
Morning flight to Cappadocia (apprx 1 hour)
Pick up from airport for the tour and transfer to the tour area.
Full day Northern Cappadocia tour including transfers, guide and entrance fee. This tour will cover the most famous parts of the region such as Goreme Open Air Museum, Avanos, Urgup, Dervent Valley and other sites.
Overnight in your Cappadocia hotel.
 

Day 2 : Southern Cappadocia Tour & (B, L)

Optional Inclusion: Hot air balloon tour at sunrise. (Not included in tour price. We will offer discounted rate if booked as a part of this package)
After breakfast, full day Southern Cappadocia Tour including transfers, entrance fees and lunch. This tour will cover Pigeon (Guvercinlik) Valley, Uchisar Castle, Kaymakli Valley and other minor sites. Lunch in a typical Turkish restaurant during the day tour is included.
Overnight in your Cappadocia hotel.
.

Day 3 : Drive to Adiyaman & Nemrut Tour (B, D)

Departure in the morning from Cappadocia, we we cross the Tekir plateau towards Adiyaman and Mt Nemrut. Along the way our first stop will be the Seljuk Karatay Caravansaray. The next stop will be Pinarbasi for a short tea break. From here we continue onto the ancient Severus (Cendere) Bridge and the Karakus Tumulus where members of the royal family were buried. This evening we will go to Mt Nemrut, ascend the mountain, watch the magical sunset over the plateau, and visit the massive ancient rock statues. After the sunset we return to Adiyaman.
Hotel in Adyaman, breakfast included. Euphrat Hotel or similar

Day 4 :  Gobeklitepe & Harran - Urfa  (B, D)

Today we drive to Sanliurfa, visiting Ataturk Dam, Turkey's largest, along. After short break we drive on to Gobekli Tepe, predating Stonehenge by some 6,000 years, some believe it is the site of the world's oldest temple. We then visit the Harran, a village of Mud-Brick "beehive" houses mentioned in the book of Genesis where Abraham spent the last years of his life. We will visit the ruins of Harran including city walls, oldest Islamic university and the castle dated to eighteen century. We then drive back to Sanliurfa where we will stay and you will have chance to see Mevlid-i Halil Mosque, where you can see the Prophet Abraham Cave and the Pools of the Holy Carp surrounding it, then wander around in the traditional covered bazaar..
Hotel in Sanliurfa - Hotel Harran, Narlı Ev Butik or similar hotels

Day 5 :  Gaziantep Mosaic Museum - Flight to Istanbul (B)

Departure from Sanliurfa for Gaziantep where you can see the famous Mosaic Museum, the largest in the world and home to the famous 'Gypsy Girl' mosaic. This museum exhibits superb mosaics discovered at the roman site of Belkis - Zeugma before Birecik Dam flooded most of the site. In the afternoon we will drive to Gaziantep airport. Evening flight to Istanbul. Transfer to your hotel in Istanbul.
 

Attention >>>
- The order of some tours can be interchanged.
- The longest driving distance in the package is around 8-9 hours (with several intervals) between Cappadocia and Adiyaman (Nemrut Mountain) on day 3. There will be several 2-3 hour drives on other days.
- This package requires considerable walking during some tours. You need to obey the flow of the group, since it is not a private tour. Where possible, you can skip some parts that need too much walking, by consulting your guide in advance. The hardest walking would be walking up to the Sculptures on top of the Nemrut mountain. After driving for some 2 hours up to a certain point on the mountain, you need to walk up a steep footpath for some 20-30 minutes. It will be really tough for elderly people, especially if there is a strong wind. It is just luck if there will be a fierce wind or not when you get there. You may skip this walk or cut it shorter if you feel you can not make it.

Please click here to see possible hotels and upgrade options. Hotel upgrade is possble only for Cappadocia hotels in this tour package.
Please click here for our other tour packages by plane
 

Departure Days: THIS TOUR PACKAGE IS NOT OPERATED IN 2023
Please click here for our other tour packages we offer
 

TOUR PRICES:

Attention: The price of this tour package changes, mainly depending on departure date, time of booking and flight costs. Higher prices may apply based on flight costs on different dates / seasons. Early reservation is highly recommended to secure better prices. Tour itinerary can also be changed because of discordant flight schedules on the requested dates. We will do our best to offer best possible prices.

Mid Season (May, October)
1135 Euro per person in single rooms.
1040 Euro per person in double rooms
995 Euro per person in triple rooms

High Season (June, July, August, September)
1185 Euro per person in single rooms.
1080 Euro per person in double rooms
1035 Euro per person in triple rooms.

This tour package is not operated in winter season.

Tour prices include:
All taxes.
Accommodation in standard category hotels
Mentioned tours with professional guidance in English.
Entrance fees for museums during the tours.
Meals mentioned in the itinerary. Drinks are excluded. (B= Breakfast, L= Lunch, D= Dinner)
Domestic flights and airport transfers as mentioned.
All connecting transfers in between the tour period.
Compulsory local (TURSAB) travel agency insurance.

Tour prices do not Include:
Anything not mentioned in the itinerary.
Drinks during any meals
Tours and accommodation in Istanbul.
Your international flights to / from Turkey.
Personal expenses, tips etc.
Excess baggage fee for flights.
Accommodation tax, payable on the spot by the clients directly - around 1,5 to 2 Euros per room per night, which changes for each hotel

Payment and reservation:
We will request some 30 % of the total tour price in advance to complete your tour reservation. You can make the advance payment from our secure online payment link or by mail order. Final payments can also be made online or at our Istanbul office, before tour departure dates.

Please click here to see possible hotels and upgrade options. Hotel upgrade is possble only for Cappadocia hotels in this tour package.
Please click here for our other tour packages by plane

Departure Days: THIS TOUR PACKAGE IS NOT OPERATED IN 2023
Please click here for our other tour packages we offer

 

What is a package tour ?
A package tour is a combination of various daily tours and mini tour packages operated in different cities.These tour packages we offer are designed so as to visit the places they include in the shortest time and the most economical way. Unlike standard group tours you will be independent from other people in hotels and during the transportation. You will join other people only during the guided tours and excursions in day time, but there will not be any guides accompanying you during flights, intercity bus rides and transfers. Everything related to the tour program will be organized by us; such as bus and plane tickets, hotel reservations, guided tours, all connecting transfers and you will be under our protection along the way if ever something goes wrong.

Important Notice
Istanbul is not included in any of the Turkey package tours we offer. To be able to join them comfortably, you need to stay in Istanbul at least for 1 night before and after the tour period. We’d recommend you not to book your international flights or bus tickets right before or after this tour package, considering unexpected delays. To be able to benefit from our airport transfer services in Istanbul, the hotel you stay in should be centrally located on the European side, roughly within 2-3 km distance with respect to the downtown Sultanahmet district, aka old city. Let us know in advance if you intend to stay at airport hotels or at hotels out of the city center, especially if it will be on the Asian side; before and after this tour. You can also book your Istanbul hotel on our website

Please click here to see possible hotels and upgrade options.
Please click here for our other tour packages by plane

 

ISTANBUL HOTELS

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INFORMATION

Cappadocia
Cappadocia is Turkey’s most visited area on account of its history because of its singularity and the strangeness of its lunar landscape. It is considered to be one of the wonders of the world and for centuries it has sheltered churches, frescoes, mosaics and paintings of Byzantine art. The history of Cappadocia begins with the eruption of two volcanoes Lava covered the entire region changing the landscape. In the course of millennia rain and wind eroded the tufa creating unusual valleys, fissures, canyons and bizarrely shaped cones. Dwellings were excavated inside the rocks and after the first Christians arrived churches and monasteries were also built. Numerous hermits and ascetics lived in the forgotten valleys. Under the rule of the Byzantines, Cappadocia became a bulwark against attacks by the Arabs, and entire underground cities were built.
Click here for for information about Cappadocia

Nemrud Mountain
At the junction of the East and West civilizations, Nemrut Dagi (Mount Nemrud) is one of the most astounding sites in Turkey: A collection of colossal statues on a remote mountain 2150m high on top of the mountain, adorning the temple and tomb of King Antiochus. The western terrace contains a large slab with a lion, showing the arrangement of stars and the planets Jupiter, Mercury and Mars on July 7 62 BC, the possible time when construction began on this monument. Nemrud is a significant attraction, with thousands coming at sunrise and sunset to see the stones in the best possible light. In addition to the statues, the entire site includes art from the Commagene (Komagene) civilization, the Eskikale (Old Castle), Yenikale (New Castle), Karakus Hill and Cendere Bridge. Most people use the nearby towns of Malatya, Kahta or Adiyaman as a base, and the road to the summit is only open from mid-April to mid-October because of heavy snow the rest of the year.

Urfa
The history of Şanlıurfa is recorded from the 4th century BC, but may date back at least to 9000 BC, when there is ample evidence for the surrounding sites at Duru, Harran and Nevali Cori.[4] Within the further area of the city are three neolithic sites known: Göbekli Tepe, Gürcütepe and the city itself, where the life-sized limestone "Urfa statue" was found during an excavation in Balıklıgöl. The city was one of several in the upper Euphrates-Tigris basin, the fertile crescent where agriculture began. According to Jewish and Muslim tradition, Urfa is Ur Kasdim, the hometown of Abraham. This identification was disputed by Leonard Woolley, the excavator of the Sumerian city of Ur in 1927 and scholars remain divided on the issue. Urfa is also one of several cities that have traditions associated with Job. For the Armenians, Urfa is considered a holy place since it is believed that the Armenian alphabet was invented there. Urfa was conquered repeatedly throughout history, and has been dominated by many civilizations,

Harran
Harran  was a major ancient city in Upper Mesopotamia located 44 kilometers southeast of Şanlıurfa. A few kilometers from the village of Altınbasak are the archaeological remains of ancient Harran, a major commercial, cultural, and religious center first inhabited in the Early Bronze Age III (3rd millennium BCE) period. Harran is famous for its traditional "beehive" adobe houses, constructed entirely without wood. The design of these makes them cool inside, suiting the climatic needs of the region, and is thought to have been unchanged for at least 3,000 years. Some were still in use as dwellings until the 1980s. At the historical site, the ruins of the city walls and fortifications are still in place, with one city gate standing, along with some other structures. The demographics of the village today are made up mostly of ethnic Arabs. It is believed that the ancestors of the villagers were settled here during the 18th century by the Ottoman Empire. The women of the village often have tattoos and are dressed in traditional Bedouin clothes. There are also some Assyrian villages in the general area.

Gobeklitepe
Gobekli Tepe is an incredible archaeological site at the top of a mountain ridge in the Southeastern Anatolia Region of Turkey, approximately 12 km (7 mi) northeast of the city of Şanlıurfa. It is the oldest known structure buillt for the purpose of religious rituals. The tell has a height of 15 m (49 ft) and is about 300 m (984 ft) in diameter. The tell includes two phases of ritual use dating back to the 10th – 8th millennium BCE. During the first phase, pre-pottery Neolithic times, circles of massive T-shaped stone pillars were erected. More than 200 pillars in about 20 circles are currently known through geophysical surveys. Each pillar has a height of up to 6 m (20 ft) and a weight of up to 20 tons. They are fitted into sockets that were hewn out of the bedrock. In the second phase, the erected pillars are smaller and stood in rectangular rooms with floors of polished lime. The purpose of the structures are believed to be early neolithic sanctuaries.
Click here for for information about Gobeklitepe