10-Day Silk Road Eastern Turkey Tour

Highlights of the 10-Day Silk Road Eastern Turkey Tour

Follow the ancient trade routes across the wild and spectacular east of Turkey on a ten-day Silk Road journey arranged in-house by Inca Tour, a TURSAB-licensed Turkish operator and guided throughout in English. From the shores of Lake Van you travel to Dogubeyazit beneath Mount Ararat, the Seljuk tombs of Ahlat, the sunken town of Hasankeyf, the silver-working streets of Midyat, the golden-stone city of Mardin, the walls of Diyarbakir, the colossal statues of Mount Nemrut, the world's oldest temple at Gobeklitepe, the sacred pools of Sanliurfa, the beehive houses of Harran and the mosaics of Gaziantep.

• Van & Dogubeyazit — Van Castle, the Armenian church of Akdamar Island on Lake Van, and the fairy-tale Ishak Pasha Palace below Mount Ararat.
• Ahlat, Hasankeyf & Midyat — the great Seljuk cemetery of Ahlat, the ancient Tigris town of Hasankeyf and the Syriac silversmiths of Midyat.
• Mardin & Diyarbakir — the honey-coloured old city of Mardin and the Deyrulzafaran Monastery, the Roman ruins of Dara and the basalt walls of Diyarbakir.
• Mount Nemrut — the colossal stone heads and royal tomb-sanctuary of the Commagene kings, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Gobeklitepe, Sanliurfa & Harran — the 12,000-year-old temple of Gobeklitepe, the Pool of Abraham in Sanliurfa, the beehive houses of Harran and the Zeugma mosaics of Gaziantep.

The journey begins at Van, beside Turkey's largest lake, where you visit the Urartian Van Castle (Tuspa) and sail to Akdamar Island to see its exquisite 10th-century Armenian church. You continue to Dogubeyazit, beneath the snow-capped cone of Mount Ararat, to admire the romantic Ishak Pasha Palace, then travel to Ahlat, the world's largest Turkish-Islamic cemetery, and on to Tatvan and Bitlis. Across the Tigris you reach the ancient town of Hasankeyf and the Syriac silver-working town of Midyat, before arriving in Mardin, a terraced city of golden stone overlooking the Mesopotamian plain, with its Kasimiye Madrasa, the Deyrulzafaran Monastery and the Roman cisterns of Dara.

From the Roman military site of Zerzevan Castle you continue to Diyarbakir, famed for its great basalt city walls and Grand Mosque, then ascend Mount Nemrut to witness the colossal statues and royal tomb of King Antiochus of Commagene at sunrise or sunset, passing the Arsameia ruins, the Cendere Roman bridge and the Karakus tumulus. The final days bring you to Gobeklitepe, the oldest known temple on earth, and to Sanliurfa, the City of Prophets, with its sacred Pool of Abraham and great bazaar, the beehive houses of ancient Harran, and finally Gaziantep, home to the spectacular Zeugma Mosaic Museum and a world-renowned culinary tradition. All prices are per person.