11-Day Prophets & Mesopotamia Tour – Istanbul, Cappadocia, Gobeklitepe

Welcome to Turkey. Your tour manager meets you at Istanbul International Airport, helps you with arrival formalities and accompanies you to your hotel in an air-conditioned deluxe vehicle. A welcome drink is served while check-in is completed, and your tour manager goes through the itinerary with you, confirming pick-up times for each day of the trip and answering your questions. The rest of the day is free to rest after your journey or take a first walk around the neighbourhood. In the evening you gather for a welcome dinner, a chance to meet your fellow travellers before the journey begins in earnest. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast you are collected from your hotel between 08:00 and 09:15 for a full day in the historic peninsula. We begin at Hagia Sophia, the Church of Divine Wisdom, a masterpiece of scale and proportion that was treasured by both the Christian West and the Islamic East. Across the square stands the Blue Mosque (Sultanahmet Mosque), whose six minarets and blue Iznik tiles leave a lasting impression. Between them lies the Hippodrome, the former chariot-racing ground known as At Meydanı, with its ancient obelisks. Following a shopping opportunity, we visit Topkapı Palace, the residence of the sultans and seat of Ottoman government, a self-contained city of courtyards, audience halls and pavilions. After lunch we cross to Eyüp Sultan Mosque, one of the most sacred sites in Istanbul, and stroll through the surrounding historic quarter. The day closes with time for souvenir shopping, and the tour ends at about 17:30 with a transfer back to your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast we drive to Söğüt, where the Ottoman state was founded in 1299 and where Ertuğrul Gazi, father of Osman Bey, is buried. We visit the Tomb of Ertuğrul Gazi and then continue to the Bilecik Museum, originally built as a courthouse and opened as a museum in 2006 after restoration. The next stop is the Sheikh Edebali Tomb, perched on a cliff with panoramic views; Sheikh Edebali is widely regarded as the spiritual mentor and philosophical architect of the young empire. We then see the 14th-century Orhan Gazi Mosque, built on the edge of a steep cliff, whose main minaret unusually stands on a rock some 30 metres from the prayer hall. In the centre of Bilecik we visit the four-faced Clock Tower erected by Sultan Abdulhamid II on a hill overlooking the town. The last visit is Pelitözü Pond, a large pine-fringed reservoir about 7 km from the city, popular for walks and pedal boats. We then travel on to Bursa for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast we explore Bursa, the first capital of the Ottoman Empire. We begin with the historic Covered Bazaar and the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), a landmark of early Ottoman architecture with its many domes. Next we ride the cable car up Uludağ, the mountain known in antiquity as Mount Olympus, from where legend says the Greek gods watched the Trojan War. After a lunch break we visit the Green Mosque and the Green Mausoleum, celebrated for their turquoise tiles. In the afternoon we drive back to Istanbul, arriving around 17:00–18:00, and continue to the airport for the domestic flight to Kayseri. On arrival you are transferred to your hotel in Cappadocia, where the rest of the evening is free to settle in among the fairy chimneys. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast you are picked up from your hotel between 08:00 and 09:30 to discover Cappadocia, a volcanic landscape shaped over some ten million years, which the Persians called Katpatuka, the land of beautiful horses. The tour begins at Uçhisar Castle, the highest point in the region, then continues to the Göreme Open Air Museum, the heart of Cappadocia, where rock-cut churches preserve frescoes from around the 10th century depicting the life of Christ and the monks who lived here. Next is Çavuşin, an abandoned village with old Greek cave houses. Lunch is served in Avanos, followed by a visit to a pottery workshop to see how local ceramics are made. In Devrent Valley, also called Imagination Valley, rock formations resemble animals, and in Ürgüp you stop at a wine shop for a tasting. The final stop is the Three Beauties, the three capped fairy chimneys that have become the emblem of Cappadocia. The tour ends at about 18:00. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After breakfast we leave Cappadocia and drive south. On the way we stop at the Gümüşler Monastery, a 10th-century complex carved entirely out of the rock and entered through a vaulted doorway; its church, built on a closed cross plan with a central dome, four columns and three apses, lies on the north side of a courtyard lined with rock-cut rooms. We continue to Tarsus, the birthplace of the Apostle Paul, a city already ancient in his day and possibly the capital of the Hittite kingdom of Kizzuwatna. Here we see the Roman gate known as St. Paul's or Cleopatra's Gate. Heading on towards Adana, we pause at the Viranşehir ruins, then have time in Adana before continuing east to Gaziantep. Dinner and overnight in Gaziantep.

After breakfast we visit the Zeugma Mosaic Museum, one of the largest mosaic museums in the world, which displays floor and wall mosaics, statues and artefacts from the Roman city of Zeugma on the banks of the Euphrates, including the original Gypsy Girl mosaic. We also see Gaziantep Castle, the historic Zincirli Bedesten and the old Coppersmiths' Bazaar, and enjoy lunch in a local restaurant with typical Antep dishes and pistachio baklava. We then drive to Halfeti, a town founded in the 9th century BC and ruled by Hittites, Assyrians, Persians and many others, now partly submerged by a dam lake and famous as the only place where black roses grow. On a boat trip we pass Rumkale, the fortress where tradition says the Apostle John copied the Bible, with views of its cisterns, St Nerses Church and Barşavma Monastery. In the evening we reach Şanlıurfa for dinner with a traditional Sıra Night of live music. Overnight in Şanlıurfa.

After breakfast we explore Şanlıurfa, the city of prophets, where the story of the Prophet Abraham is remembered at the sacred fish pools of Balıklıgöl, the Halil-ur Rahman Mosque and the Rızvaniye Mosque; we also visit the Şanlıurfa Museum. We then drive into the Taş Tepeler region to Göbeklitepe, the oldest known temple in the world, built some 12,000 years ago in the Neolithic Age. Its carved T-shaped pillars have rewritten the history of archaeology, and your guide explains why the site changed our understanding of early humanity. In the afternoon we continue to Harran, inhabited since the 6th millennium BC and once a capital of the Assyrians and the Umayyads. Here you see the conical beehive houses, the Harran Mound and the remains of the Grand Mosque built by the Umayyad caliph Marwan, also called the Paradise Mosque. We return to our hotel and enjoy another evening of Urfa's famous Sıra Night. Dinner and overnight in Şanlıurfa.

After an early breakfast we drive about 250 km east towards Mardin. Our first visit is Dara, also called Anastasiopolis, a 3,500–4,000-year-old Mesopotamian city that was a key trading post on the Silk Road; its rock-cut water channels, cisterns, tombs and arasta are remarkably preserved. Next is the Deyrulzafaran Monastery, seat of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate for over a thousand years, where you see the ancient sun temple chamber, the church and the baptistery. We then arrive in Mardin, whose honey-coloured stone houses rise in terraces above the Mesopotamian plain. In Old Mardin we visit the Kasımiye Madrasa, the Grand Mosque with its minaret, the Şehidiye Madrasa and the historic PTT building, enjoying a city where Muslim, Syriac, Turkish and Arab cultures meet. Free time follows for shopping for local products such as natural soaps, almond sweets, dried fruit and handicrafts. Dinner and overnight in Mardin.

After breakfast we drive to Midyat, founded in the 9th century BC and long the centre of the Tur Abdin region, home to Muslim, Syriac Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant communities. Walking through its stone streets, you see fine examples of the silver filigree jewellery crafted by Syriac masters. We continue towards Diyarbakır and stop at the 3,000-year-old Zerzevan Castle, a Roman military settlement on the UNESCO tentative list, where an underground Mithras Temple recalls the secret rites of the sun god. After lunch in Diyarbakır we walk along the UNESCO-listed city walls and visit the Four-Legged Minaret, the Great Mosque of Diyarbakır, considered one of the five holy sanctuaries of Islam, with the sundial attributed to Al-Jazari, and enjoy a tea break at the Hasan Pasha Inn of 1575. We also see Sülüklü Han, the Ten-Eyed Bridge over the Tigris and Kaleiçi Bazaar. After dinner we fly from Diyarbakır Airport to Istanbul and transfer to the hotel. Overnight in Istanbul.

After breakfast at your hotel, the remaining time is free until your transfer. Depending on your flight schedule, you may enjoy a final walk, some last-minute shopping or a coffee overlooking the city before our driver collects you at the time confirmed by your tour manager the previous evening and takes you to Istanbul Airport for your international flight home. Your journey through Istanbul, Anatolia and the ancient lands of Mesopotamia ends here; we thank you for sharing this journey with us and hope to welcome you again on another tour in Turkey.