Mesopotamia Tours
13 days
per person
Meeting point
Istanbul Airport
Included
Meals as written in the programme: hotel breakfast, lunch on the tour days, and the Şanlıurfa sıra gecesi on day 6
A 13-day, 12-night tour through Istanbul, Hatay, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Mardin, Nemrut, Cappadocia, Ephesus and Pamukkale. Göbeklitepe and Hierapolis are on the route.
The tour starts at Istanbul Airport. The first two nights are in Istanbul. Day 2 is the Old City on foot. The morning of day 3 is a Bosphorus cruise. In the afternoon you fly to Hatay. Antakya, Gaziantep and Şanlıurfa each have a day. The Şanlıurfa day includes a boat at Halfeti and the sıra gecesi in the evening. Day 7 is Göbeklitepe and Mardin. On day 8, after Mount Nemrut, the night is in Malatya. Day 9 is an underground city in Cappadocia. Day 10 is the fairy chimneys, Göreme, Avanos and Uçhisar, then a flight to Izmir and a night in Kuşadası. Day 11 is Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St John and Miletus, with the night in Izmir. Day 12 is Pamukkale and Hierapolis, then a flight from Denizli back to Istanbul. The tour ends at Istanbul Airport for the international flight.
1
A Solandra representative meets you at Istanbul Airport and takes you to the hotel. The rest of the day is free. There is no sightseeing and no meal. The night is in Istanbul.
2
Visited sights: Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Topkapi Palace, the Hippodrome, the Obelisk of Theodosius, and the Grand Bazaar. After breakfast the guide picks you up from the hotel for a full day in the Old City on foot. You see the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, Topkapi Palace, once home to the Ottoman sultans, the Hippodrome, and the Obelisk of Theodosius. The Hippodrome is where the crowds of old Constantinople gathered; the obelisks are still standing. The last stop is the Grand Bazaar, the large covered market at the heart of the old city. There is time to walk it. At the end of the tour you are taken back to your hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
3
After breakfast you visit the Spice Bazaar, which dates from the 17th century. Shopping is a personal expense. You then take a cruise on the Bosphorus. The text also names the Golden Horn as a stop on this tour. The boat passes the bridge that links Europe and Asia, and Rumeli Fortress. Mehmed II built the fortress to control the strait before the siege of Istanbul. After the tour you return to the hotel and are free until the pick-up for the Hatay flight. Lunch is not included on this day. The flight is in the package. On arrival you are taken to the hotel. The night is in Hatay.
4
After breakfast you visit the Hatay Archaeology Museum, known for a large mosaic collection. Next is the Church of St Peter, a cave church counted among the earliest Christian churches. The Habib-i Neccar Mosque is also on the route. Harbiye is ancient Daphne. It was the summer resort of Antioch’s wealthy families, and water is carried from the cascades to the city by channels. Lunch is meze from the Harbiye and Antioch kitchen. The Long Bazaar is shops and narrow streets. Shopping is a personal expense. Before the tour ends you taste Antakya’s geographically marked künefe. You are taken back to the hotel. The night is again in Hatay.
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1–16 people
5
You leave Hatay for Gaziantep early. At the Zeugma Mosaic Museum you see the Zeugma mosaics and archaeological finds. In Bakırcılar Bazaar you can watch copper being worked. The shops hold metalworkers, shoemakers, spice sellers and carpenters. Handicrafts are sold under the vaults of the restored Zincirli Bedesten. Baklava, pistachios and spices are there. Shopping is a personal expense. Almacı Bazaar is about 250 years old. The yemeni is a traditional shoe. Shoes of this kind were used in the film Troy. At the end of the tour you are taken to your hotel in Gaziantep. The night is in Gaziantep.
6
Şanlıurfa is believed to be the birthplace of the prophet Abraham. The first stop is Halfeti. Part of the old town lies under the Birecik Dam, so the town is seen by boat. The boat is on the programme. The orchards on the Euphrates slope and the courtyard stone houses are why it was also called the Hidden Paradise. You then visit the Archaeology and Mosaic Museum, where there are life-size replicas of the Göbeklitepe pillars. Balıklıgöl, the Pool of Abraham, and the Halilürrahman Mosque are held sacred by Christians and Muslims. The tradition says Abraham was thrown into a fire, and that the fire became water and the burning logs became fish. There is a short stop at Gümrük Han for Turkish coffee. The evening is the Şanlıurfa sıra gecesi. Local food and live music are on the programme. You are taken to the hotel. The night is in Şanlıurfa.
7
You leave Şanlıurfa early. The first stop is Göbeklitepe, a UNESCO site from the Pre-Pottery Neolithic and one of the oldest known temple places. The pillars carry animal and human figures. You then go to Mardin. The Kasimiye Madrasah was a place of study for centuries. It is said that astronomy was taught from the reflection of the stars in its pool. Deyrulzafaran is a Syriac monastery. It keeps a historical Syriac Bible and a stone held sacred. It is said that the first medical school was founded here. Mosaics from the time of its foundation are still standing. The stone houses of old Mardin are set so that one does not block another’s view. You visit the Kayseriye Bedesten. The city is known for Syriac wine and for telkari, jewellery worked from fine gold and silver wire. Shopping is a personal expense. You walk the narrow streets of the old city. The night is in Mardin.
8
In the morning you go from Mardin to Adıyaman. The Karakuş Tumulus is a memorial tomb for the women of the Commagene royal family, in the Kahta district. An eagle stands on the column to its south, and the local name comes from that bird. The Cendere Bridge is the Roman Severan Bridge. It is about 120 metres long and was built without mortar. Mount Nemrut is the hierothesion that Antiochos I of Commagene built for himself, both a tomb and a temple, and it is a UNESCO site. The visit to the summit is for the sunset. On the way and at the top you see the relief of Antiochos clasping hands with a god. On both terraces the order is the same: lion, eagle, Antiochos, the Tyche of Commagene, Zeus-Oromasdes, Apollo-Mithras, Heracles-Artagnes, eagle, lion. At the end of the day you go on to Malatya. The night is in Malatya. There is no dinner on this day.
9
After breakfast you are picked up and go by road from Malatya to Cappadocia. The stop is an underground city carved into the rock. The text says the first three floors were probably carved by the Hittites around 2000 BC, and that early Christians sheltered in underground cities while escaping Roman persecution. The programme does not name which city is visited. At the end of the tour you are taken to your hotel in Cappadocia. The night is in Cappadocia.
10
After breakfast you visit the valley of the fairy chimneys, the Göreme Open-Air Museum, the pottery workshops in Avanos, and Uçhisar. At the end of the day you fly from Cappadocia Airport to Izmir. The flight is in the package. In Izmir you are met at the first exit door and taken to the hotel in Kuşadası. The night is in Kuşadası.
11
Visited sights: the ancient city of Ephesus, the House of the Virgin Mary, the Basilica of St John, and Miletus. You are picked up from the hotel in Kuşadası and go to Ephesus. The programme says Paul stayed in the city for a time. You visit the ancient city, then the House of the Virgin Mary, held to be where she spent her last days, and the Basilica of St John. The day continues to Miletus. The Acts of the Apostles places Paul’s farewell address to the elders of Ephesus there. At the end of the tour you are taken to the hotel in Izmir. The night is in Izmir.
12
You are picked up from the hotel in Izmir and go to Pamukkale. You see the white travertine terraces left by the hot springs. They are called Pamukkale, the cotton castle, for that look. After lunch you visit Hierapolis, a UNESCO World Heritage site. In antiquity people came here to be healed. At the end of the day you fly from Denizli Airport to Istanbul. The flight is in the package. In Istanbul you are met at the first exit door and taken to the hotel. The night is in Istanbul.
13
You are taken to Istanbul Airport 4 hours before your international flight, according to the flight time. Check-in is yours. That is the end of the service.
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Before, during, and after the trip, support is available in Turkish and English.
