6 Days Erzurum & Kars Tour – Palandoken, Ani Ruins & Cildir Lake (Private Tour)

After breakfast your guide collects you early from the hotel to begin the Erzurum city tour. The day starts at Palandoken Mountain Ski Resort, Erzurum's famous winter sports area, where you can also see the ski jumping towers built for the 2011 Universiade. You then visit the tomb of Abdurrahman Gazi and experience the so-called Mysterious Road, a stretch of hillside known for its curious optical effect. The tour continues to the Aziziye Bastion and the Mecidiye Bastion, two 19th-century fortifications that defended the city, and then into the centre for the Congress Building, where the Erzurum Congress gathered during the War of Independence. Nearby you explore the Double Minaret Madrasa with its graceful twin minarets, the Ulu Mosque, the Yakutiye Madrasa and the Rustem Pasha Caravanserai, a historic Ottoman trading inn in the heart of the old bazaar. At the end of the tour you are transferred back to your hotel. Overnight in Erzurum.

After breakfast you head to a local restaurant for a hands-on cooking class with the restaurant's chef, while your guide explains the ingredients and traditions behind each recipe. The menu focuses on dishes from the Diyarbakir kitchen, a regional cuisine that has influenced Turkish cooking more widely, and also includes fresh salads and traditional desserts. Working alongside the chef, you prepare the meal step by step and then sit down together to enjoy what you have cooked as your lunch. It is a relaxed, sociable way to learn about local food culture and pick up a few recipes to take home. After lunch you return to the hotel, and the rest of the afternoon is free for your own exploration of the city. Overnight in Erzurum.

After breakfast you are picked up from your hotel and taken to a traditional hamam. The Turkish bath tradition has its roots in the bathhouses of the Roman era, and like them it is divided into three sections: a cold room, a warm room and a hot room. Your guide explains the ritual before you begin. Experienced attendants, known as tellak for men and natir for women, carry out the traditional scrub and foam wash that leaves the skin refreshed. This is a day to slow down, warm up and unwind after the sightseeing of the previous days. After the bath you are transferred back to your hotel, with the remainder of the day at leisure. Overnight in Erzurum.

After breakfast you set off towards Kars. The first visit is the Ruins of Ani, the 'city of 1001 churches', a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the banks of the Arpacay river, which forms the border with Armenia. A thousand years ago this former Armenian capital had a population of more than 100,000. Among its volcanic-stone churches you see the Keseli Church, the Church of St Gregory with its painted interior, the Great Cathedral (Fethiye Mosque), the city walls and the Lion Gate, the Emir Manucehr Mosque, considered the first mosque built by the Turks in Anatolia, and the Seljuk Palace from outside. The tour continues to Cildir Lake, which freezes over in winter and is known for horse-drawn sleigh rides; there is a lunch break here at your own expense, and you may see the lake's local carp. In Kars city centre you visit the Fethiye Mosque, built as a church in cut stone during the Russian period, the Church of the Holy Apostles (Kumbet Mosque) with its twelve apostle reliefs, Kars Castle with tea and views over the city, and a historic Kars house. Return to your hotel. Overnight in Erzurum.

Enjoy a final breakfast at the hotel before checking out. Depending on your flight time, you may have a little free time for a last stroll through the centre of Erzurum and its old bazaar streets. At the agreed time you are transferred to Erzurum Airport for your onward or homeward flight. This marks the end of our services; we hope you enjoyed your journey through Erzurum and Kars and look forward to welcoming you on another tour in Turkey.