8 Days Black Sea Tour: Safranbolu, Amasra, Ankara, Amasya & Trabzon

You are picked up from your hotel at around 07:00 and set off towards the Black Sea, crossing the Bosphorus from Europe into Asia. Safranbolu, once a stop on the trade route between Europe and the Orient, is famous for its Çarşı district of hundreds of preserved red-roofed Ottoman houses along cobblestone streets. You visit the 17th-century Cinci Han caravanserai with its rooftop views, the restored Cinci Hamam, and — time permitting — the Yemeniciler bazaar, the Kaymakamlar historic house and the 1796 İzzet Paşa Mosque. Overnight in Safranbolu.

After breakfast you take a scenic hour's drive through small mountain villages to Amasra on the Black Sea coast. Known in antiquity as Sesamus, Amasra has a lovely little harbour with a Roman bridge and watchtower, the Byzantine-era Fatih Mosque and surviving stretches of Byzantine walls. You have free time to explore and, weather permitting, the option of a 40-minute boat trip around the old city and its castles (approx. €15). In the afternoon you return to Safranbolu for the night.

Today you drive to the capital, Ankara, to visit the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations — housed in a 15th-century bedesten and displaying Paleolithic, Neolithic, Hittite, Phrygian, Urartian and Lydian treasures — and Anıtkabir, the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic. Overnight in Ankara.

In the morning you complete your Ankara sightseeing, then drive to Hattuşa, capital of the Hittite Empire in the late Bronze Age and a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1986, set among rich agricultural fields and pastoral hills. Continuing east, you arrive in Amasya for the night.

A day to discover Amasya, where Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine, Seljuk, Ilkhanid and Ottoman influences meet along the Yeşilırmak river. You see the elegant Yalıboyu Ottoman houses, the rock-cut Pontic royal tombs on the cliffs above the town and enjoy its natural setting and thermal springs. Amasya is also famous for its apples, cherries and peaches. Overnight in Amasya.

After breakfast you leave Amasya for Trabzon, cutting through the dramatic Black Sea mountains. On arrival you check into your hotel. Trabzon, a Greek colony from antiquity and later the seat of the Pontic kingdom, grew wealthy on the trade route between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean and was a terminus of a northern branch of the Silk Road until it came under Ottoman rule in 1461. Overnight in Trabzon.

After breakfast you drive through the picturesque Pontic Mountains for a full day around the Sumela Monastery, Gümüşhane and Karaca Cave. Sumela sits high on the cliffs of Mela, founded in the 4th century by two Greek monks and later a great place of pilgrimage, decorated with frescoes and once holding priceless manuscripts. Much of what stands today dates to the 19th century, and recent restoration has revived the site. Overnight in Trabzon.

After breakfast you are transferred to the airport for a 1.5-hour flight back to Istanbul, where your arrival marks the end of the tour. We hope to welcome you again on a future trip.