et des vacances - Turquievip.com

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Akdamar Byzantine Monastery of Sumela, Trabzon © Izzet Keribar
For the traveler
who relishes
exploring off the
beaten track,
this tour offers
the charms of a
rustic region.
Day 1 - fRIDAy
Depart to Turkey
Departure from Canada to Istanbul.
Day 2 - SATURDAy
Arrival to Istanbul
Upon arrival, meeting with TurquieVIP representative
and transfer to your hotel. Attending a
briefing about your journey at 7 pm at your hotel.
You are free for the diner.
Day 3 - SUNDAy (B-L-D)
Istanbul-Trabzon (Domestic flight)
Transfer to airport for your flight to Trabzon, the
main city of the Black Sea Region. Upon arrival,
depart for the Byzantine Monastery of Sumela
located in a breathtaking site on the face of a
4,000 ft. high cliff. Return to Trabzon. After lunch,
visit Hagia Sophia, whose 13th c. frescoes are
Turkey’s most beautiful from this period. Tour the
first church to be converted into a mosque (Fatih
Camii) when the city fell to Mehmet the Conqueror,
Panaghia Chryzokephalos (The Golden Head
Virgin). Explore the walls and old quarters of the
upper town. Dinner and overnight.
Day 4 - MONDAy (B-L-D) 140miles
Trabzon-Rize-yusufeli
In the morning, drive toward Rize in the midst
of tea plantations. Continue through Hopa, near
the Georgian border, to Artvin. After lunch, drive
A E G E A N S E A
Eastern Turkey
B L A C K S E A
T U R K E Y
M E D I T E R R A N E A N S EA
through the scenic Coruh Valley. Visit picturesque
Ishan perched high in the mountains
with its ruins of an 8th c. cathedral, as well as a
church dedicated to the Virgin Mary in 1006. Dinner
and overnight.
Day 5 - TUESDAy (B-L-D) 130miles
yusufeli-Barhal-Ösk Vank-Dört
Kilise-Erzurum
After breakfast, take a minibus on a mountain
road to Barhal to take in a magnificent Georgian
church. Continue to the Georgian monastery Osk
Vank and the monastery complex Dort Kilise.
Enjoy lunch at Yusufeli. Drive to Erzurum (6,250
ft.) along beautiful Lake Tortum. Dinner and
overnight.
Day 6 - WEDNESDAy (B-L-D) 280miles
Erzurum-Ani-Dogubeyazit
In the big city of Erzurum, visit Seljuk monuments.
Tour Cifte Minare Medresesi (the old
theology school with two tile-covered minarets)
and the city’s oldest mosque Ulu Cami with its
beautiful wooden dome, as well as the turbe
(domed tombs). Appreciate the Russian architecture
and enjoy lunch in Kars. Drive to the ancient
capital of the Bagratid Armenians, Ani, near the
scenic gorges of the Arpa Cayi River bordering
Armenia. Return through Kars to Dogubayazit in
the foothills of Mount Ararat. Gaze in awe at Anatolia’s
highest mountain (16,945 ft.) where Noah’s
Ark allegedly landed after the Deluge. Dinner and
overnight.
Day 7 - THURSDAy (B-L-D) 106miles
Dogubeyazit-Van
Explore Ishak Pasha Palace where Persian,
Armenian, Georgian, Seljuk, and Ottoman styles
blend harmoniously. Enjoy lunch near Muradiye
Waterfalls. Drive along the Iranian border
through a barren landscape of volcanic stones.
Continue to Van, known as Tushpa when it
was the capital of the ancient Urartu Kingdom.
From the citadel, admire the panoramic view
of Turkey’s largest lake, Lake Van. Dinner and
overnight.
Day 8 - fRIDAy (B-L-D) 100miles
Van-Hosap-Akdamar-Van
Drive to Çavustepe to visit the Urartian citadel
(8th c. BC). Continue to Hosap, where a castle
impressively crowns the village, to appreciate
an astonishing landscape. Return to Lake
Van and enjoy lunch in Gevas. Relax on a boat
excursion to Akhtamar Island to marvel at Holy
Cross Church (10th c.) with beautiful reliefs
of animals, vines, biblical scenes, and King
Gagik of Armenia. Return to Van for dinner and
overnight.
Day 9 - SATURDAy (B-L-D) 265miles
Van-Ahlat-Bitlis-Diyarbakir
Drive along the north shore of Lake Van to explore
Ahlat with its interesting Seljuk cemetery.
In a deep, narrow valley, visit the picturesque
town of Bitlis. In the big city of Diyarbakir, see
impressive city walls and the Grand Mosque,
constructed with materials recycled from
Byzantine and earlier periods. Dinner and
overnight.
Day 10 - SUNDAy (B-L-D) 143miles
Diyarbakir-Hasankeyf-Midyat-
Mardin
Travel through the Batman oilfield area to
reach Hasankeyf, 12th c. capital of the Artukids,
at the end of a gigantic gorge carved by the
Tigris River. Note the huge piers of the Old
Bridge. Above a high cliff, explore the Roman
ruins of ancient Cephe with its splendid views.
Drive through the Turbadin Plateau, where a
Syriac-Jacobite community now lives, to visit
the small architectural treasure that is Midyat.
Byzantine Monastery of Sumela, Trabzon © Izzet Keribar
After lunch, visit Mar Gabriel Monastery and the
Church of the Virgin Mary in Anitli. Continue to
Mardin, rising in tiers up the mountain slope
overlooking the vast plains of Mesopotamia.
Stroll the alleys and climb the steps to see typical
houses and explore monuments (Sultan Isa
Medrese, the Great Ulu Camii Mosque, and Post
Office). Outside Mardin, visit the Syriac-Jacobite
Deyrul Zaferan Monastery. Dinner and overnight.
Day 11 - MONDAy (B-L-D) 190miles
Mardin-Harran-Urfa
Travel to Harran to see beehive houses with
cone-shaped roofs. Enjoy lunch in Urfa, the ancient
city where Abraham allegedly spent several
years. Visit Abraham’s Caves and Balikli Gol, a
large carp-filled pool reflecting mosques. Experience
the colourful bazaar and the hans with their
different guilds. See the old quarter’s traditional,
corbelled houses. Dinner and overnight.
Day 12 -TUESDAy (B-L-D) 126miles
Urfa-Mount Nemrut-Kahta
At Gobeklitepe, investigate the recent discovery
of the oldest (12,000 years) temple in the world.
En route to Kahta, stop at Ataturk Dam on the
Euphrates River. In Kahta, marvel at the burial
sanctuary of Karakus Tumulus and the Cendere
Bridge, erected by the XVI Legion in honor of
Septimus Severus, as well as the cult monuments
at Arsameia on Nymphaios (Eski Kale). Ascend
Mount Nemrut (7,000 ft.) in Nemrut Dag National
Park to explore the site where King Antiochus I of
Commagene erected a sanctuary of monumental
statues in the first century BC. Return to Kahta.
Dinner and overnight.
Day 13 - WEDNESDAy (B-L-D) 186miles
Kahta-Halfeti-Zeugma-Gaziantep
Drive to Halfeti to explore by boat the picturesque
canyon carved the Euphrates River. See Rumkale
Fortress and the valley partially submerged by
waters rising behind Birecik Dam. After lunch,
visit the ancient Roman city of Zeugma, the
Euphrates’ most famous crossing spot for Silk
Road caravans and antiquity’s military convoys.
In Gaziantep visit the Archeology Museum with its
superb Roman mosaics from Zeugma. Dinner and
overnight.
Escorted tour 17 days
Day 14 -THURSDAy (B-L-D) 235miles
Gaziantep-Antakya-Adana
Travel to Antakya, ancient Antioch, where the
disciples of Jesus were first called “Christians.”
After lunch, visit the Mosaic Museum, which
displays one of the richest collections of Roman
and Byzantine mosaics in the world. Tour the
Grotto of St. Peter (designated by the Vatican
as a place of pilgrimage) where the Apostle
Peter allegedly preached. Drive through the
Plain of Issus (Dörtyol) where Alexander the
Great crushed the Persian army of Darius III
and Crusaders built the Fortress of Toprakkale.
Continue to Tarsus, birthplace of St. Paul.
Visit St Paul’s Well, Ulu Cami Mosque, and Eski
Mosque, as well as the Gate of Cleopatra. (Note
that Mark Anthony allied with Cleopatra VII in
Tarsus.) In the evening, arrive in Adana for dinner
and overnight.
Day 15 - fRIDAy (B-L-D) 145miles
Adana-Karatepe-Adana
In the morning, visit the open-air museum of
Karatepe, a Neo-Hittite (8th c. BC) site whose
statues, hieroglyphics, and reliefs have been
left intact after excavation. Continue to Anavarza
to discover an impressive fortress built by
the kings of Little Armenia. Return to Adana to
visit Yilankale Fortress built by the Crusaders.
Dinner and overnight.
Day 16 - SATURDAy (B)
Adana-Domestic flight for Istanbul
Transfer to airport for your flight to Istanbul.
Upon arrival to Istanbul meet with your
TurquieVIP representative and transfer to your
hotel. Day at leisure in Istanbul.
Day 17 - SUNDAy (B)
Departure to Canada
Transfer to the airport for your return flight. Fly
to CANADA.
your advantages with Turquie VIP
• One of the rare tours visiting Eastern Turkey
• The trip Istanbul-Trabzon and Adana-Istanbul
by aircraft
• Visit some sites you cannot find in other tours:
Ishan, Hosap, Ahlat, Hasankeyf, Midyat, Mardin,
Barhal, Osk Vank, Karatepe, etc.
• Itinerary well studied
• Escort by a professional guide-lecturer
Included
• International airfare « for Air & Land rates
only »
• Airport taxes 600 $ « subject to change »
• Domestic flights Istanbul-Trabzon & Adana-
Istanbul
• Arrival and departure transfers
• 15 nights of accommodation
• Daily breakfast, 13 lunches, 13 dinners
• Entrance fees to the museums stated in
itinerary
• Transportation in air-conditioned vehicles
throughout
Not Included
• Visa fees 60 $ US upon arrival in Istanbul
• Visits and services not mentioned in program
• Drinks during meals
• Personal expenses
• Travel insurance
• Gratuities to the guide & driver
Guaranteed departures on Fridays
Departures calendar
April
May
June
July
03 24
August 02 30
September
October
13
Departures Air and Land
May 3rd 4 450 $
May 24th 4 525 $
August 2nd 4 785 $
August 30th 4 785 $
September 13th 4 525 $
Land Ony 3 229 $
Single Supplement 629 $
* Per person -­‐ in Double occupancy
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