9-Day Best of Eastern Turkey Tour – Nemrut to Sumela Monastery

In the morning you are picked up from your hotel in Istanbul and taken to the airport for your flight to Adiyaman, where the tour begins as soon as you land. On the way to Mount Nemrut you stop at the Karakus Tumulus, a royal burial mound guarded by columns topped with an eagle, then cross the Roman bridge at Cendere, built in honour of Emperor Septimius Severus. You continue to the ancient site of Arsameia, known locally as the old castle, and the newer castle at Kahta, before driving up to the summit of Mount Nemrut. Before sunset you explore this UNESCO World Heritage site, where the tomb mound of King Antiochus is surrounded by dozens of huge stone statues and reliefs showing some of the oldest known depictions of people shaking hands. After watching the sun go down from the summit, you descend in the dark to Kahta and check into your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Kahta.

After breakfast you drive to Sanliurfa. The first visit is Gobekli Tepe, an ongoing excavation that has revealed the oldest known temple in the world, built some 6,000 years before Stonehenge, with massive T-shaped pillars carved with animals. After a guided tour and time for photos, you continue into the city to the Pool of Abraham, a sacred site for both Muslims and Christians. Tradition says that when Abraham was thrown into a fire, God turned the flames into water and the burning logs into fish, which still swim in the pool today. You then visit the nearby cave believed to be the birthplace of Abraham. In the evening you check into your hotel. Dinner and overnight in Sanliurfa.

After breakfast you travel to Mardin, a beautiful city built of honey-coloured stone on a hillside overlooking the Mesopotamian plain. You begin with a cup of coffee while taking in the endless view over the plain, then walk through stone-paved alleys that give the city its mystical atmosphere. Along the way you see historic madrasahs, churches and mosques that reflect the many faiths and cultures that have shaped Mardin over the centuries. Later you check into a hotel built of finely cut local stone, where the character of the old city continues inside. In the evening you can browse the local shops and try the city's famous kebabs. Dinner and overnight in Mardin.

After breakfast you drive to Midyat, a town of grand stone mansions whose modest doorways open onto huge courtyards surrounded by intricately carved walls, windows and niches. You then follow the ancient Tigris River through the Batman region, stopping at Hasankeyf on the way, and continue to the historic Malabadi Bridge, a remarkable Artuqid stone arch spanning the river. Before sunset you reach Ahlat, home to the largest Seljuk cemetery in the region, where giant carved gravestones and tombs stand on the shore of Lake Van, a sight not to be missed. In the evening you arrive in Tatvan, a small town on the western shore of Lake Van. Dinner and overnight in Tatvan.

Van has a history reaching back to around 5,000 BC and has been shaped by Urartian, Armenian, Byzantine, Seljuk and Ottoman rule, whose traces can be seen in places such as the Urartian Van Fortress. After breakfast you drive for about two hours along the lake, the largest in Turkey, and take a boat across to Akdamar Island to visit the 10th-century Armenian Church of the Holy Cross. Its interior preserves faded frescoes, while the exterior walls are carved with vivid biblical scenes. Back in Van you have free time to wander the town, see the curious Lake Monster statue and perhaps spot one of the famous Van cats with their odd-coloured eyes. Dinner and overnight in Van.

After breakfast you continue north to Dogubayazit, where the Ishak Pasha Palace sits on a hillside at the foot of the mountains. Built in the 17th century for a powerful Ottoman governor, it blends Ottoman, Persian and Seljuk styles into one of the most striking palaces in Turkey. Your guide shows you the harem with its tilework, decorated fireplaces and private quarters, the mosque with its ornate minaret and peaceful courtyard, the divan hall used for official meetings, and the treasury, which now displays artefacts from the Ottoman era. After the visit you drive on across the high plateau to Kars, a city of Russian-era stone buildings. Dinner and overnight in Kars.

The day starts at Ani, the ruined capital of the medieval Bagratid Kingdom of Armenia. King Ashot III moved his capital here from Kars in the 10th century to be closer to the main trade routes. Standing on a headland above the Arpa Cayi River gorge on the border with Armenia and surrounded by rolling steppe, this atmospheric ghost city of crumbling churches, walls and palaces is one of the most romantic sights in Turkey. Among its monuments is the Church of the Redeemer, cut perfectly in half by time. Afterwards you travel to Karagol, a hidden lake set in forested mountains, where you stop for a late lunch at your own expense. In the afternoon you continue to Artvin. Dinner and overnight in Artvin.

Turkey drinks more tea than any other country, and today you visit its tea capital. After breakfast you travel along the Black Sea coast past lush tea plantations to Rize, where you learn about Turkish tea and taste the local brew. You then turn inland towards the Kackar Mountains and the Ayder plateau, a landscape of rolling green pastures framed by rugged, snow-tipped peaks. In the late afternoon you take a walk through the alpine meadows, passing a medieval castle and picturesque old stone bridges, before settling in for the night in the village of Camlihemsin. Dinner and overnight in Camlihemsin.

After breakfast you drive through the Altindere Valley to Black Mountain, where Sumela Monastery clings to the cliff face. After a photo stop with the monastery in view, you walk for about 15 minutes up to the monastery to explore it. You then head to Zigana for an hour's break in the pine forest, where you can have lunch at one of the restaurants at your own expense and enjoy the fresh mountain air. Next comes Karaca Cave, where the temperature drops and the formations are stunning, followed by a showroom where you can buy pestil, the region's famous dried fruit leather, straight from the factory. At the Torul Glass Terrace you step out over the valley for an adrenaline-filled view, and the last stop is the village of Hamsikoy, known for the best rice pudding in Turkey. At the end of the tour you are transferred to Trabzon Airport for your flight back to Istanbul.