Kirikkale rarely appears on international itineraries, yet this central Anatolian city east of Ankara has a clear identity of its own as the long-standing centre of Turkey's state arms industry. Over five days and four nights you get to know it through three very different experiences: a full day of guided sightseeing, a morning cooking the region's home-style dishes, and a visit to a traditional Turkish bath. You arrive and leave through Ankara Airport, stay in the same hotel in Kirikkale for the whole trip and are accompanied by an English-speaking guide on every excursion.
The sightseeing day opens at the Nur Mosque, a large mosque completed in 2007 along classical Ottoman lines, with room for about ten thousand worshippers and a fine tiled interior. A walk through downtown leads past the old Ottoman mansions, said to go back to the 16th century, to the city's Clock Tower. After lunch you visit the MKE Weapons Industry Museum, the highlight for many visitors, where arms gathered from many parts of Turkey trace the story of weaponry from the 14th century onward. The afternoon continues underground in the Watery Cave, an old quarry turned visitor site with galleries linked by a 285-metre footpath, and ends at the Ceritkale Rock Tombs, which archaeologists date to the Iron Age, roughly 1200 BC.
Day three moves into the kitchen of a local restaurant for a professional cooking lesson focused on Kirikkale flavours: Tarhana soup made from a sun-dried mix of tomato and flour, Tuvalak, a hearty soup-style dish of bulgur and meat, and Sizgit, the region's fried meat. You eat what you cook for lunch and then have free time for shopping in the city centre. On day four you visit a hammam at a time that suits you and the bath's opening hours, followed by more free time in town, and on day five you transfer back to Ankara Airport. Four breakfasts, two lunches, entrance fees for the sites in the programme and all transfers are included.
| Tour type | Private · multi-day tour |
|---|---|
| Duration | 5 Days 4 Nights |
| Price | From €954 per person |
| Departures | Every day |
| Guide | Licensed guide in your language |
| Stops | 8 |
| Entrance fees | Included |
| Booking | Instant request online, confirmation within 24 hours · TÜRSAB-licensed operator (A-5751) |
Your full program, day by day — click a day to see every stop.
After landing at Ankara Airport you are met and driven east to Kirikkale in an air-conditioned vehicle. At the hotel you receive your room key and settle in for the four nights ahead. There is nothing planned for the rest of the day, so you are free to recover from the journey or take an independent first walk around Kirikkale before the guided programme starts the following morning.
Your guide collects you after breakfast and begins at the Nur Mosque, built in 2007 in a classical Ottoman design, admired for its tilework and able to hold some ten thousand people. Walking through the centre you pass the traditional Ottoman mansions and reach the Clock Tower. Following lunch, the MKE Weapons Industry Museum presents arms from the 14th century to today, assembled from across Turkey and reflecting the city's industrial role. Later you explore the Watery Cave, a former quarry with galleries along a 285-metre path, and finish at the Iron Age Ceritkale Rock Tombs before returning to the hotel.
After breakfast you are picked up and taken to a local restaurant for a professional cooking lesson, a first taste of Turkish home cooking for many travellers. Under instruction you prepare and sample regional specialities such as Tarhana soup, based on a sun-dried mixture of tomato and flour, Tuvalak, a soupy dish of bulgur and meat, and Sizgit, a local fried meat. The dishes become your lunch. Afterwards you are dropped in the city centre for free time and shopping, then transferred back to your hotel for the night.
Following breakfast you are collected for a visit to a hammam, timed according to your preference and the bath's available hours. The Turkish bath is a well-loved part of everyday culture practised in towns throughout the country, and trying it is one of the simplest ways to share in local life. After the bath you head to the city centre for some free time and shopping, then return to the hotel, where the rest of the day is yours.
After breakfast the remaining time is free until your departure transfer. At the agreed hour you are driven back to Ankara Airport for your flight home, ending a five-day stay that combined Kirikkale's landmarks and museum with its local cooking and bathing traditions.
Ankara Airport – Kirikkale → Kirikkale city sights → Kirikkale cooking lesson → Kirikkale Turkish bath → Kirikkale – Ankara Airport
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Extra day tours you can add along your route — Ankara Airport – Kirikkale, Kirikkale city sights, Kirikkale cooking lesson, Kirikkale Turkish bath, Kirikkale – Ankara Airport.
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My husband and I chose Inca Tour for our honeymoon and we are so glad we did. The boutique hotel selection was beautiful and the Bosphorus dinner cruise was so romantic. Thank you for making our trip special!
It was important for us to have a guide who spoke Russian, and Ender was wonderful. He explained every detail at Dolmabahce Palace. The Princes Islands day trip was a beautiful break from the busy city.
Our guide Ender was incredibly knowledgeable about Turkish history. The hot-air balloon ride at sunrise in Cappadocia was the highlight of our trip. Everything was perfectly organized — from airport pick-up to the last d...
Ender was our Italian-speaking guide and we felt like family. He took us to local spots tourists never see. The hotel choice in Sultanahmet was perfect for walking everywhere.
10+ years later we still talk about our Cappadocia balloon ride and the Bosphorus sunset cruise. Some memories are timeless. Thank you Inca Tour!