14 Days Black Sea to Mesopotamia Tour: Trabzon, Ani, Van, Mardin, Nemrut & Cappadocia Private Tour

After your flight to Trabzon via Istanbul, your professional guide welcomes you at the airport and the touring starts straight away. You drive into Altindere National Park to visit Sumela Monastery, built into a steep rock face high above a forested valley and one of the most recognisable landmarks of the Black Sea region. Lunch is included during the day. Back in Trabzon, a short drive around the city centre is arranged if time permits, and you spend the night in Trabzon.

After breakfast you discover Trabzon and its surroundings. The tour includes the Hagia Sophia of Trabzon, a fine 13th-century Byzantine church famous for its frescoes, and the white Ataturk Pavilion set in gardens on a hill above the city. From Boztepe you enjoy wide views across the city centre and the Black Sea. The afternoon is left for exploring the local bazaars and the lively streets of this historic port city. Overnight in Trabzon.

After breakfast you leave the coast behind and cross the mountains towards Erzurum, one of the great historic cities of Eastern Anatolia. On arrival a guided walk takes you to the twin-minaret facade of the Cifte Minareli Medrese, the Yakutiye Medrese with its tiled minaret and the Grand Mosque (Ulu Cami), monuments that show the Seljuk and Ottoman past of the region. Overnight in Erzurum.

After breakfast you drive on towards Kars. The highlight of the day is Ani, a UNESCO World Heritage Site right on the Armenian border. Once a thriving medieval capital, it is now a vast open site of churches, ramparts and ruined buildings standing on a plateau above a deep river gorge. After walking among the ruins you continue to the city of Kars for the night.

In the morning you leave Kars for Dogubayazit, with Mount Ararat rising beside the road for much of the way. Here you visit Ishak Pasha Palace, a hillside complex whose architecture blends Ottoman, Persian and Armenian elements. Afterwards the drive continues south to Van, on the shore of Lake Van, the largest lake in Turkey, where you stay for two nights.

After breakfast you explore Van and its surroundings, starting at Van Castle, the rock citadel of the Urartians, with sweeping views over the lake. At the Van Museum you learn about the ancient Urartian civilisation that ruled this region nearly three thousand years ago. The afternoon is free to relax by the lake or wander the city centre on your own. Overnight in Van.

After breakfast you go to the pier and take a boat across Lake Van to Akdamar Island, where the 10th-century Church of the Holy Cross is famous for the carved biblical scenes on its outer walls. Back on the mainland you continue south to Hasankeyf, a settlement on the banks of the Tigris with a history stretching back thousands of years. In the evening you reach Midyat, known for its stone mansions and Syriac Christian heritage, for a short first look around and an overnight stay.

After breakfast you take time to explore Midyat before driving to Mardin. A city tour leads you through its narrow lanes and stone architecture, with terraces looking out over the Mesopotamian plain. Afterwards you continue west to Sanliurfa, where you stay for two nights.

Today is dedicated to Sanliurfa and its surroundings. You visit Harran, a village of beehive-shaped mud-brick houses on the plain near the Syrian border, and Gobeklitepe, the oldest known temple complex in the world, whose carved stone pillars were raised more than eleven thousand years ago. Both sites give a rare insight into the early history of human civilisation. Overnight in Sanliurfa.

An early departure takes you from Sanliurfa to Mount Nemrut, one of the most iconic archaeological sites in Turkey. On the summit terraces built for King Antiochus I of Commagene giant carved heads of deities and royal figures stand against the mountain scenery. After the visit you continue to Kahta for the night.

After breakfast you set off on the long but scenic drive across Anatolia from Kahta to Cappadocia. On arrival in the Urgup area you check in to your hotel and have free time to rest after the journey. Dinner is included, and you spend the first of three nights in Cappadocia.

Your first full day in Cappadocia starts in the Goreme valley, where you learn how the fairy chimneys were formed, followed by Uchisar with its cave dwellings among conical rocks. After a tea and coffee break you visit the Goreme Open Air Museum, whose rock-cut churches and monasteries hold the best-preserved frescoes in the region. A buffet lunch is included, then you see the fairy chimneys of Urgup and the cave-riddled Wishing Hill (Temenni). A short walk in Devrent Valley reveals rocks shaped like animals, and in Monks Valley (Pasabag) you see the unique dwellings carved into the chimneys. After Avanos, the pottery town of Cappadocia, you take a short walk in Rose Valley to watch the sunset. Dinner and overnight in Cappadocia.

After a morning pick-up from your hotel you travel by comfortable bus to Pigeon Valley (Guvercinlik), where hundreds of dovecotes are carved into the volcanic tuff, and learn how pigeons were used by local farmers. Next you descend into Derinkuyu, the largest excavated underground city in Turkey, and see the so-called missionary school on its second level alongside stables, cellars, a dining hall, a church and a winery. In Ihlara Valley, a canyon with around 50 rock-cut churches and buildings, you walk about one kilometre before lunch in Belisirma village. The last stop is Nar Golu, a crater lake with thermal mineral-rich water, before you return to your hotel for dinner and overnight.

After breakfast you are transferred to Kayseri Airport for your flight to Istanbul and your onward connection, bringing this journey from the Black Sea to Mesopotamia and Cappadocia to a close.