2020 - Silk Road Discovery Tour

Location: Kuşadası

Accommodation: Ilayda Avantgarde Hotel (Boutique)

Meals: Dinner

Welcome to Kusadasi! Check into your hotel at your leisure and the rest of the day you are free to explore this harbour side resort town. Tonight you meet your tour guide and fellow travelling companions.

Location: Kuşadası

Accommodation: Ilayda Avantgarde Hotel (Boutique)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Absorb yourself in history today with a guided tour of Ephesus and a visit to the site of the Temple of Artemis. Feel the mystical atmosphere of the ancient city and theatre before continuing to the former Greek village of Sirince, famous for its fruit wines. Carpet weaving has long traditions in Turkey and at the carpet village we learn how the carpets are made by hand and what determines their value.

Location: Pamukkale

Accommodation: Adem Pira Hotel (4 star)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

This morning we will enjoy a display of locally handcrafted leather goods before heading to the magnificent white calcium terraces, known as Travertines, in Pamukkale where we also tour the ancient city of Hierapolis. Take a dip, amongst ancient columns, in the hot springs that were used in Roman times for their therapeutic powers.

Location: Cappadocia

Accommodation: MDC Hotel (Boutique Cave)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today we travel the ancient Silk Road visiting Sultanhani Caravansary and the Mevlana museum in Konya along the way. Tonight, don't miss the optional traditional Turkish folklore evening!

Location: Cappadocia

Accommodation: MDC Hotel (Boutique Cave)

Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Marvel at the lunar landscape of Cappadocia today as we visit the Goreme Valley Open Air Museum and the fairy chimneys, and explore the many levels of an underground city.

Location: Adiyaman

Accommodation: Euphrat Hotel Nemrut (3 star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Departure in the morning from Cappadocia, we we cross the Tekir plateau towards Adiyaman and Mt Nemrut. Along the way our first stop will be the Seljuk Karatay Caravansaray. The next stop will be Pinarbasi for a short tea break than onto Kahramanmaras which produces Turkey's best ice cream! From here we pass through Adiyaman and visit Arsemia, once the capital of the Commagene Kingdom, before continuing to the ancient Severus (Cendere) Bridge and the Karakus Tumulus where members of the royal family were buried. This evening we will go to Mt Nemrut, ascend the mountain, watch the magical sunrise over the plateau, and visit the massive ancient rock statues. After the sunset we return to Adiyaman.

Location: Sanliurfa (Urfa)

Accommodation: Hotel Harran (4 star)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we drive to Sanliurfa, visiting Ataturk Dam, Turkey's largest, along. After short break we drive to Gobekli Tepe, predating Stonehenge by some 6,000 years, some believe it is the site of the world's oldest temple. Lunch will be in Sanliurfa and after lunch we visit the Harran, a village of Mud-Brick "beehive" houses mentioned in the book of Genesis where Abraham spend last years of his life. we will visit the ruins of Harran including city walls, oldest Islamic university and the castle dated to eighteen century. We then drive back to Sanliurfa where we will stay and you will have chance to see Mevlid-i Halil Mosque, where you can see the Prophet Abraham Cave and the Pools of the Holy Carp surrounding it, then wander around oriental covered bazaar.

Location: Istanbul

Accommodation: Sirkeci Mansion Hotel (Boutique)

Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

Departure from Sanliurfa for Gaziantep where you can see the famous Mosaic Museum, the largest in the world and home to the famous 'Gypsy Girl' mosaic. This museum exhibits superb mosaics discovered at the roman site of Belkis - Zeugma before Birecik Dam flooded most of the site. After lunch, we catch a flight to Istanbul from Gaziantep airport.

Accommodation: ()

Meals: Breakfast

After breakfast our tour concludes and we say goodbye to our new friends.